Large Tow Trucks | How It's Made

Large, specialized recovery units are welded, painted and then secured to a pre-built truck. The resulting rig is strong enough to tow buses and other large vehicles. | http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-show...

A BIG TOW - 774,000 lb Transformer Superload

Beyel Brothers Crane & Rigging moved this 200 ton transformer out of Rockledge, Florida with ease. The crew shares a little of what goes into carrying out such a move.

Cummins History: 1931 Coast-to-Coast with Clessie Cummins

Determined to top a coast-to-coast record held by GM's gas engine, Clessie Cummins set out with a diesel-powered cargo truck on a route from New York City to Los Angeles in August 1931.

Winter Weather Reminder from OSHA.

 

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reminds employers to stay vigilant when it comes to weather-related hazards that can put employees at risk when temperatures plummet in winter months.

Slippery roads and surfaces, frigid temperatures, and carbon monoxide fumes from engines, generators, and heaters are among the hazards that can lead to employee injuries and illnesses during the season. Working outdoors in excessively cold environments or without adequate protection – such as thermal clothing, gloves, and hats – can cause serious loss of surface and internal body temperature. Cold environments also increase risk factors associated with physical exertion, including dehydration, and existing health conditions.

OSHA offers winter weather resources to help protect employees from cold stress and hazards that are present when clearing heavy snow around workplaces and from rooftops, driving on icy roads, and coming across downed power lines.

Employers should perform preventative maintenance and inspect equipment before use, monitor carbon monoxide levels in workplaces, operate gas-powered equipment only in well-ventilated areas, and prevent blockages in ventilation and exhaust systems after snowfalls and when ice forms.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov.

Six Tips for First Time Towing

 You've just bought your first camper, horse trailer, boat or cargo hauler, and now you have to tow it from the place you bought it to where you're going to store it. Don't get caught unprepared. While towing might seem intimidating at first, the following tips, coupled with the right equipment and practice, can make you a master tower.

These are the most important issues to consider when towing:


1. Weight compatibility

The most important factor to consider when towing anything is weight compatibility — cars and trucks have specific towing weight limits. Know how much your tow rig and your trailer weighs. A simple trip to the local scales will get you started. Make sure that your tow vehicle can handle the weight you plan to tow. Follow manufacturer recommendations wherever possible. Every vehicle capable of towing will have a posted maximum tow rating. Check your owner's manual first, but manufacturer websites should also have the information.
2. Understand the language of towing

Towing has a language all its own, and you need to learn it for buying, towing and following the law in your state. There are many acronyms in trailering and most have to do with weights and capacities. Below are just some of the most important:

    Max tow rating: The largest total weight recommended by the tow vehicle maker that a particular rig can tow safely.
    Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR): This is the total amount of weight a fully loaded truck can carry safely as determined by the manufacturer. The total number should include passengers, fluids, cargo and any applicable tongue weight.
    Gross combined weight rating (GCWR): This is the total allowable weight of a fully loaded tow vehicle and trailered vehicle that includes all tow vehicle occupants, cargo, fluids, tongue weight and accessories. One mistake often made is underestimating the total weight of your truck and trailer. Making another trip to the local scales with a fully loaded setup is recommended.
    Gross trailer weight rating (GTWR): You should be able to find this on a metal tag attached somewhere on the trailer frame. It states the maximum allowable weight of the cargo and the trailer combined.
    Gross axle weight rating (GAWR): This describes the maximum weight a single trailer axle can safely carry, independent of the rest of the rig.

3. Hitch balls are critical safety gear

The hitch ball is attached to the tow vehicle receiver hitch. Many vehicles come with a factory-installed receiver that are typically attached to the frame or reinforced section of a unibody. Higher-quality aftermarket hitches are available as well, but all should be clear about exact weight rating capabilities. The ball itself supports some trailer weight and couples the trailer with the truck or car. Trailer hitches are categorized by tongue weight, and as hitch numbers climb, so does the tongue weight it can handle.

Towing Mirrors II

Tongue weight, or the amount of weight on the vehicle's hitch, is an important issue. If your tongue weight is less than 10 percent of the weight of the fully loaded trailer, the trailer will probably sway a bit, making it difficult to control. On the other hand, if you have too much weight on the tongue (let's say more than 15 percent of total trailer load weight), your tow vehicle's rear tires can overload (and overheat) and push the rear end of the vehicle around; this makes stopping and handling curves and cornering difficult.

4. Always use safety chains

Nobody who wants to tow safely would fail to make sure the trailer and tow vehicle are attached, not only between ball and tongue, but also with strong safety chains. Experienced towers cross the chains under the trailer tongue so in case of a catastrophic separation, the trailer and the hitch are less likely to separate. Be sure there is enough chain slack to make turns, and always be sure the chains will not drag on the pavement.
5. Trailer load balance is important

Most manufacturers recommend you distribute 60 percent of the weight of the trailer load over the front half of the trailer. After you have the load balanced correctly, make sure that cargo is secured with straps or tie-downs. When cargo shifts, your load becomes unbalanced, making your trailer unstable and less predictable.
6. Driving with a trailer

At the risk of oversimplifying the point, driving with a fully loaded trailer — when done properly and safely — is not much more difficult than driving your tow vehicle empty. However, do not confuse the two as the driving techniques and vision strategies are very different. Most people tow a boat, a camper or perhaps a car trailer to a show or race.

First, use common sense. Second, when driving with a trailer, everything you do should be done at half the speed without the trailer. This means turning and stopping will take more time — so allow twice the distance for the increased mass. Also, remember to allow for your extra length when you change lanes. And, finally, be sure to watch for objects and/or situations far enough ahead of you to react with plenty of time. Look much farther ahead than normal so you'll have plenty of time to slow or change course if an unanticipated person or vehicle comes into your path.

Most experienced towers prefer pickup trucks over SUVs and full-size cars. Pickups generally have better power-to-weight ratios and more torque than cars, and extra power is needed for hauling trailers up hills and mountains. Generally speaking, full-size pickups can handle more trailer weight than a car or SUV mainly due to their stronger frame construction, but you'll need to weigh quite a few factors when deciding on the right vehicle for your needs.

For more information about towing or products you might need to do it safely, visit Curt Manufacturing.

Cars.com photos by Mark Williams

Source: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2015/07/six-tips-for-first-time-towing.html

Who You Gonna Call? A&T Road Service - We'll Get You Back on the Road!

At A&T "Mobile" Truck Road Service we like to think of ourselves as the "Ambulance Service for Trucks." If your truck is broken down, we will come to you and perform the necessary triage to get you back on the road. Now includes towing, load adjustments, and more.

A&T "Mobile" Heavy Duty Truck and Trailer Road Service is a 24-hour, 7-days a week roadside mobile truck repair service for light and medium-duty to heavy duty commercial trucks and trailers. A&T Road Service, a subsidiary of North Bay Truck Center.

Our fleet incudes a 2014 Kenworth (Shown in video) with a 500 hp Cummins and 18-speed gearbox is outfitted with an NRC Quickswap detachable tow unit with a tag axle for extra capacity. This allows the truck to be a wrecker and also a transfer vehicle, so with the unit disconnected, it will tow mobile home units, trailers of all kinds and with the wrecker unit attached is capable of lifting up to 20,000 lb steer axles for heavy duty truck towing. This unit can easily to HD trucks, buses, mobile homes.


Not only do we provide 24 Hour Emergency service, we could come out and do light mechanical work on site to our customer's fleet and avoid the truck having to come in the shop.We will go just about anywhere for anything, at anytime. We have a wide normal service area and have been known to go beyond those boundaries by request. See our Service Area.

Below is a bullet point list of services by A&T Road Service.

 New: In-House TOWING
            Fully Equipped Mobile Repair Units
            Tire Replacement
            Load Adjustments
            Welding
            Fuel Delivery
            Lock-Outs
            Vehicle Storage
            Hydraulics
            DOT & BIT Inspections
            Crane Inspections
            Glass Replacement
            Vehicle Rentals
            Liftgate Repairs and Service
            Tens of Thousands of Parts In Stock


North Bay Truck Center is centrally located in Fairfield CA to service all of Solano County along with much of the San Francisco/Oakland bay area and Sacramento. A&T Road Service is available by calling 800-434-1205,

You can also visit our website at http://www.NorthBayTruckCenter.com

New CDL Truck Driver Tips Using Gross Weight Scales To Scale Your Trailer Load

This new commercial truck or potential CDL truck driver tips video discusses how to scale your load if you are on a gross weight scale where each axle is not broken out for you. Most truck driver shippers or distribution centers who are larger will have scales, but most only will have a gross weight scale, not an individual axle scale. I show you how to figure your scale load out per axle when you only have a gross weight scale for your 18 wheeler big rig.

Daily preparations make getting through Roadcheck easier

Pilot Flying J offers Roadcheck 
advice and updates on roadside service.

Michael Donner, regional manger with Pilot Flying J Truck Care, has advice for any truck drivers that might be cramming to be ready.

“Drivers should be preparing daily for these inspections and not just this one big push,” he said.

Donner spoke with Fleet Owner in advance of the 30th annual Roadcheck inspection blitz, scheduled for June 6-8. Guided by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, inspectors throughout North America will conduct tens of thousands of checks on vehicles and drivers at 1,500 locations during this 72-hour period. Many will be the Level I inspections, a thorough 37-step process.

Learn more at: http://fleetowner.com/equipment/daily-preparations-make-getting-through-roadcheck-easier

Semi Trucks Revenge & Brake Checks . Stupid Drivers Karma. 2018

Stupid Drivers Karma. 2018

Semi Trucks Revenge & Brake Checks

Freightliner eCascadia electric truck review and road test

Join us for a trip in the cab of Daimlers fully electric Class 8 truck the Freightliner eCascadia at the Las Vegas Speedway bowl, with a phenomenal range and quick charging time its a great vision of the future.

SOURCE:  TruckWorld TV