New DEF solutions for fleets

Benecor, a manufacturer of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) systems and a Husky Corporation strategic alliance partner, has introduced a new line of products designed to make DEF bulk storage and dispensing a reality for a wider cross-section of customers.

Benecor's Mini-Bulk Standard Duty Series is available in three different sizes of DEF storage and dispensing capability. All are designed for use on standard fueling islands, with turnkey installation, the company noted.

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Ford Ups Power, Torque, Hauling Capabilities for 2017 Super Duty Pickups

Photo: Ford

Ford Motor's 2017 F-Series Super Duty pickups with aluminum bodies have higher engine output ratings and more towing and hauling capability than ever, while “smart” technologies make backing and monitoring trailers easier, the company announced Monday.

"Military-grade" aluminum alloy and high-strength steel help reduce weight by up to 350 pounds, depending on cab configuration, compared to earlier models, the announcement said. More robust components throughout the chassis also enable the higher hauling capacities.

The 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbo diesel boosts horsepower to 440 and torque to a class-leading 925 lb-ft for all F-250 to F-450 pickups, and the 6.2-liter V-8 gasoline engine's torque goes to 430 lb-ft with 385 hp. said Doug Scott, Ford's truck marketing manager.

“This is the best heavy-duty truck we've ever made,” he said. “We listened to our customers and created the toughest, smartest and most capable Super Duty ever.”

Foundational improvements for 2017 Super Duty pickups include fully boxed frame rails and redesigned crossmembers that are more than 95% high-strength steel, and are up to 24 times stiffer than the previous frame to support increased towing and hauling. The new aluminum-alloy body is more dent and ding resistant than the previous steel body.

Ford's F-450 Super Duty SuperCrew 4x4 now has a maximum gooseneck tow rating of 32,500 pounds – 1,290 pounds more than its nearest competitor, a regular cab two-door pickup, Scott said. Maximum fifth-wheel towing is increased to 27,500 – 2,500 pounds better than the nearest competitor.

Maximum conventional towing is increased to 21,000 pounds – 1,000 pounds better than the nearest competitors' trucks and without the need for a weight-distributing hitch. Maximum conventional towing for an F-250 with the new trailer tow package, and F-350 single-rear wheel pickup, are increased to 18,000 pounds.

Maximum gross combined weight rating for truck and trailer now tops out at a class-leading 41,800 pounds. That is more than half the maximum weight of an 18-wheel tractor-trailer combination on most federal highways, he said.

Super Duty also offers adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support for heavy trailers, allowing drivers to traverse steep mountain grades while maintaining speed, even with a gooseneck trailer weighing 32,500 pounds.

A center high-mounted stop lamp camera provides visibility into the cargo box, which is especially helpful when hooking up gooseneck and fifth-wheel trailers. An Ultimate Trailer Tow Camera System uses four digital, high-definition cameras to give the driver a 360-degree bird's-eye view surrounding Super Duty.

Trailer Reverse Guidance provides visual cues and tips to help ease backing up a trailer. A first-ever factory-available trailer camera can be custom-placed on a trailer to improve visibility backing up.

A Blind Spot Information System, or BLIS, with trailer tow includes the length of the trailer up to 33 feet long; BLIS uses radar sensors in the tail lamps to monitor areas that may not otherwise be visible to the driver. Tire pressures can be monitored from inside the cab while stopped or moving.

Maximum payload of the 2017 Super Duty F-350 is 7,630 pounds, which Scott said is more than any competitor. The F-250's maximum payload is 4,200 pounds, or 600 pounds over its nearest competitor.

Diesel and gasoline engines use a TorqShift six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission. The F-250 pickup with 6.2-liter gasoline V-8 gets a new TorqShift-G six-speed automatic for improved fuel economy and capability.

The Super Duty series goes on sale this fall.

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Keeping Ice Cream Cold’s Very Important Today

Delightful choices await customers at Cold Stone Creamery in Westerville, Ohio. Photo: Tom Berg

Wake up! If you like ice cream, today, July 17, is special! It's been so since 1984, when President Ronald Reagan established National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday in July. So his time in office is known for more than just spending the Soviet Union out of business and ending the, er, Cold War.

Anyway, you have to act soon to get special deals on everyone's favorite dessert. Ice cream is a happy food, but only if it stays properly cold at all stages of its manufacture, storage and transit.

That reminds me of a story related about 25 years ago by a driver for Ralphs Grocery in the Los Angeles Basin. Barry (his real name) said he backed a reefer trailer into a dock at a cold storage warehouse, where he was picking up a load of ice cream.

“I carry a thermometer to stick loads like that,” he said. “Most other drivers don't, but I do. So before I let the forklift driver start loading my trailer, I stuck the load on a pallet” -- probed between boxes, I think he meant – “and it came up too warm. I stuck some others, and the same thing. So I rejected the load.”

I don't recall the numbers, but I think ice cream is supposed to leave a warehouse at minus 10 to minus 20 degrees or so. This load was closer to zero, and a trailer's reefer unit is not designed to pull down temperatures in the deep-freeze range. And Barry wasn't about to take any heat if it was turned away by a receiving clerk at a Ralphs store.

At the warehouse, “The guy moaned, but I told him, ‘Now, you know and I know what you're gonna do with this load,'” he said. “'You're gonna move it to the coldest place in the freezer, and it's gonna cool down and in maybe eight hours, you'll bring it out and ship it. But I can't take it as it is now.'”

Thanks to drivers like Barry and workers all along the “cold chain,” there have been very few instances of food spoilage, say people in that business. Contamination, yes, but those cases are usually traced to tainted processing equipment or farm workers' soiled hands. But thanks to vigilance and modern equipment, food safety during transport has a very good record.

It's likely to stay that way because the federal government has promulgated a long list of new requirements for handling and monitoring food while it's in transit, and some have already gone into effect.

So when you go to your favorite store for a package of ice cream, or to your favorite shop for an ice cream cone or cup of the delicious stuff, you can be assured that it's healthy in condition, and never mind the calories.

And you'll want to make that visit today because, like I said, it's National Ice Cream Day. Many shops and restaurants are offering free or discounted deals on helpings of ice cream and other sweets. I went on-line and found this list.

If today's out of the question, don't fret, because President Reagan also designated July as National Ice Cream Month. Many of the same deals will be good for a couple of more weeks. Get your treats while they're… properly cold.

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