Trucks and Truckers

January 1st, 2010

The Road to Ruin

The spray that kicks up from a road treated with chemicals settles into some hard to reach spots

By Paul Abelson

At the TMC Meeting in 2001, Roy Gambrell shocked the truck maintenance community by making everyone aware of a new phenomenon — rust jacking. Gambrell, the director of maintenance for Truck It, a small flatbed operation in Franklin, Ky., found that his fleet’s brake linings were cracking after only 30,000 to 40,000 miles of service. When shoes had been repaired…

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October 28th, 2009

Steer Masters

Truckers navigate obstacles for the chance to be named America's top driver

By Katie Neal

It’s a gray Saturday morning at Joliet Junior College, about an hour north of Chicago. Randy Thomas of the Illinois Trucking Association stands on the flatbed serving as a makeshift stage and welcomes the contestants in the state’s Professional Truck Driving Championships. “You are the best of the best,” he says. But for the more than 100 drivers about to…

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October 28th, 2009

Highway Watcher

A driver keeps his eye on how trucking is portrayed in film

Ben Ehrlich, Rantoul, Ill., Driving for 10 years

I’m about to celebrate 10 years as a truck driver. It’s pretty simple how I got into the business. I needed a job, and I thought this was something that I could do. So I called a truck driving school, they said come on in and that’s what I did. I have been driving since — I have no complaints.…

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October 28th, 2009

Now & Then

Can we get back to those old-time trucking ways?

By David A. Kolman, Senior Editor

I’m still trying to grasp why National Truck Driver Appreciation Week has moved from August to November. No matter, it’s nice to have a special designated time for companies, customers and the public to show their appreciation and honor professional truck drivers. Sadly, I’ve come to realize that today’s truckers are often lacking in their appreciation of each other, much…

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October 28th, 2009

The Town That Loves Truckers

For 20 years the people of Waupun, Wisconsin have turned out to salute drivers

By Paul Abelson

As you must know by now, Nov. 1-7 has been designated National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. It’s when America takes time to honor the efforts of more than 3.5 million professional truck drivers who deliver almost 70 percent of the nation’s freight. While most of the country sets aside one week, one community in South Central Wisconsin works on recognizing…

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