Report from Canada's largest classic truck show

Hardware Report: Brake parts and linings

Air disc brake systems worth the extra effort

While there continues to be increased acceptance of air disc brake (ADB) systems in certain applications and operating environments, common concerns include parts identification and availability as well as serviceability of ADB components, noted Jeff Wittlinger, business unit director of wheel-end and braking systems at Hendrickson International.

“Numerous systems are available in the marketplace today, and they all use different air chambers, calipers and brake pads, which can make identifying and stocking parts a time-consuming task,” Wittlinger explained.

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Vocational Profile: Automating pays off

FFE improves on-time deliveries and lowers costs by using software to enhance visibility into its P&D and linehaul operations

One of the largest temperature-controlled LTL operations in the U.S., Frozen Food Express (FFE), fields roughly 200 linehaul trucks to transport food between its 14 service centers, and about 700 trucks make more than 6,500 pickup and delivery stops each week.

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Uber Shows Off Latest Autonomous Truck Design

Uber's Advanced Technologies Group has released a video of its latest autonomous heavy-duty truck design, shown operating on the streets of San Francisco.

The truck features new sensors and upgraded components, including a new spinning 64-channel lidar design, according to a report by TechCrunch. The new lidar (light detection and ranging) sensor design appears to be an off-the-shelf part and not designed in-house. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that the new lidar was not related to the design that is the subject of a lawsuit between Google-sister company Waymo and Uber.

The 64-channel lidar design is a more advanced design than what was previously shown in demos and should provide better sensor data to the self-driving software.

Notably, Uber's self-driving trucks no longer feature the Otto branding, which was retired in May and was consolidated under the Uber ATG business unit.

Otto was a separate autonomous trucking startup that was acquired by Uber for $680 million in August of last year. Since that time, Otto founder Anthony Levandowski has been at the center of the legal battle between Waymo and Uber.

Waymo has accused Uber of stealing the designs to its lidar sensor system when Levandowski, who was a former Google employee, allegedly downloaded crucial information about the system to use on his Otto trucks.

The suit is still ongoing, but as a result, Levandowski was forced to step down from his position with Uber ATG and was later fired.

Related: Autonomous Trucks Are A Disruptive, Positive, Fast Approaching Force

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Maintenance Bay: Diagnostic insight 24/7

Company: Central Oregon Truck Co., Redmond, OR
Operation: For-hire flatbed carrier with 300 power units utilizes over 400 employees to operate package-car delivery units and vans, plus 20,789 Class 8 units and yard tractors, across the lower 48 states and Canada.

PROBLEM:

Unexpected downtime for a maintenance issue is bad news for any motor carrier, but when you're a nationwide flatbed fleet often hauling heavy goods and large, often unwieldy shipments, such downtime can be a bottom-line killer.

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