Heartland Express, Inc. Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend

The Future of Refrigerated Trailers

Wabash National's prototype composite reefer trailer uses fiberglass, carbon fiber and resin in its panels, including the floor and supporting structure. It's said to weigh and perform about 20% better than conventional temperature-controlled trailers. Photo: Wabash National

What will the refrigerated trailer of the future be made of? Strong, lightweight and corrosion-proof composites? Very possibly. Economical, efficient aluminum sheet-and-post design, like now? Yes, for a number of years yet. So say engineers engaged in designing and building temperature controlled trailers.

Today, these are made of sheet-and-post walls on floors supported by underbody crossmembers. Walls are sandwiches of inner and outer metal panels with aluminum posts inside the cavity, and the void is filled with polyurethane foam insulation. All components, including the foam, lend strength, and of course, the foam acts as insulation, limiting conduction of ambient heat and cold to the trailer's interior. The thicker the walls and the amount of foam inside, the greater the vehicle's “R” rating, and its ability to help the mechanical reefer unit maintain a desired temperature inside. But thicker walls also add tare weight and reduce payload capacity.

“I do see more use of non-metallic materials,” says Charlie Fetz, recently retired research and development engineer at Great Dane Trailer and author of a Future Truck paper on temperature controlled trailers for ATA's Technology & Maintenance Council. “Aluminum is a great material, but it conducts heat. If they're inside the wall cavity, the aluminum posts do contribute to heat conduction. Manufacturers minimize that with careful design.”

One way is to surround narrow posts with foam, minimizing the conduction of heat. One-inch posts inside a 2-inch wall, for example, allows room for injecting foam around the posts and throughout the wall cavities. Another way is to improve the foam's efficiency, which manufacturers have repeatedly done over the years. Another round ...Read the rest of this story

Freightliner’s ‘New’ Cascadia

The 2018 “new” Cascadia is worthy of the name and will, I think, be widely embraced by drivers.

I have driven a number of Freightliner Cascadia tractors over the years and found them all to be more than satisfactory. The first was a pre-release model I took out for a two-day, 408-mile drive in 2007, three weeks after the official unveiling. It had a Caterpillar C15 ACERT engine, as that was prior to the launch of the Detroit DD15. I drove one of those for the first time in October of the same year, in a Cascadia naturally, a month before it was officially unveiled.

I have driven Cascadias in many configurations since then, from day cabs to natural gas powered, and even the Evolution model. I've witnessed the launch of several powertrain components and various bits of technology from the left seat of a Cascadia. I've also driven a few older units with more than 500,000 miles on them, and even in middle age, they were still pretty solid trucks.

Ten model years will have passed between the time Cascadia first appeared and when the initial production run of the next-generation version announced in September starts rolling off dealer lots in January as model year 2018 trucks. Many evolutionary changes took place along the way, but the basic hood and cab appearance have hardly changed from the first to the current Cascadia. With some added aero trim, the Evolution model took on a fresh outside look, but the cab remained much the same inside and out, at least to the eye.

The new Cascadia retains nearly the same cab/sleeper structure, with only a few small external changes, like the aero sculpting on the doors. The hood and the frontal profile of the new truck, however, are quite different. Almost everything inside the ...Read the rest of this story

Love’s Adds Nearly 190 Parking Spaces with New Locations

Love's new location in White House, Tenn. Photo: Love's

Love's Travel Stops has opened two new travel stops in Domino, Texas and in White House, Tenn., adding nearly 190 truck parking spaces in total.

The Domino location features 106 truck-parking spaces, five showers, and a Love's Tire Care facility. The White House location offers 83 truck-parking spaces, seven showers, and a Love's Truck Tire Care facility. Both locations will have several dining options including Subway, Chester's Chicken, IHOP, and Godfather's Pizza.

“The opening of these two travel stops adds more than 180 truck-parking spaces along highways and interstates where parking demands are high,” said Greg Love, co-CEO of Love's. “We look forward to serving customers with not only parking but with dining options, amenities, and other driver services for many years to come.”

With the opening of the two new locations, Love's has surpassed the 400-stores mark. The company is celebrating the milestone by giving customers opportunities to win My Love Rewards points, Michelin steer tires, and Love's gift cards. The company will also award $400 worth of points to 100 My Love Rewards members.

Love's will choose 25 winners randomly each week. Customers must swipe the loyalty card to find out if they are one of the winners. Swiping the My Love Rewards card will also enter customers into a drawing to win one of four sets of Michelin steer tires.

Related: Park My Truck App Helps Drivers Find Available Parking

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Western Star unveils new graphics package for 5700XE

Carrier's new HR regime cuts accidents by 75%

Western Star Offers Bold Graphics Package for 5700XE

Western Star has added a new option for personalizing the 5700XE – the Phantom 2 Graphics package featuring new, modular components for more customization options.

The Phantom 2 Graphics package is an extension of the original graphics package and is available in several colors and textures, including matte, carbon fiber, and brushed aluminum. The components can be had as separate pieces for the hood, intake, side fenders, and visor, or as a complete package.

The matte finish package is a stylish option that when spec'd with the hood module, reduces sun glare to improve a driver's experience.

The Phantom 2 Graphics package is currently available to order.

“The Phantom 2 Graphics package helps drivers and fleets make the 5700XE uniquely their own,” said Ann Demitruk, vice president of marketing for Western Star. “The truck's distinctive, bold styling turns heads when it's on the road.”

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