Did you know that alligators live in the sewers of New York City? Hundreds of them. Speaking of New York City, did you know that if someone dropped a penny from the top of the Empire State Building, it would penetrate the skull of someone walking on the sidewalk below?
Drivers who walk into the Lodi, Ohio TA for the first time know they have stepped into a very special place. Every inch sparkles, and there are plenty of inches covered. A 3,000 square foot travel store, just one element of a full-service travel center, is stocked with the latest electronics for the road and all of the essentials for a comfortable and productive ride. The roomy, marble showers and bathrooms are beautiful and always clean.
In 1984, work was just starting on the “Tomorrow’s Truck” program at the TMC. Though now it’s the Technology and Maintenance Council, back then it was just “The Maintenance Council” of American Trucking Associations. Technology had not yet become important in trucking, but maintenance had a huge impact on operating costs.
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 or replaced, the cracking was found to occur even more rapidly.
These furry food foragers in Yosemite National Park let the RVs and compact cars pass with barely a second look, but when a minivan starts rolling down their roads, the park bears pounce. Officials speculate that most minivan drivers are families with children who keep a generous supply of juice boxes, cereal and other food on hand. The scents waft into the woods, and the bears do what comes naturally. They reach in for a snack.
