ExpeditersOnline.com The Expedited Freight Information Center

Have you ever been running down the road, everything seems fine when all of a sudden BOOM… there goes a tire, or the check engine light comes on, or the truck loses power and you have no choice but to pull over and stop?

What do you do now?

Electric. Hydrogen. Hybrid. E85. Ethanol. Natural gas. Biodiesel. Good ol' gasoline. The list goes on. There's an ever-growing list of things we've been using as fuel over the last few years. If you're planning to make a switch to something other than gasoline, there's quite a bit to consider.

Recently we had a fuel leak into the cooling system. After the repairs were done, the cooling system was flushed with cleaner to remove the fuel but to our dismay it was too late for our heater core. As it turns out, Freightliner uses a vendor for its heater cores, and the seal they use on the core is not petroleum resistant. The heater core failed about 10 days after the cooling system was cleaned out. This got me to thinking about cooling system maintenance. Also, a heads up if you get oil or fuel into your cooling system keep an eye out for coolant leaks possibly inside the cab, or on the firewall under the air cleaner housing on the passenger side of the truck. You may want to have the thermostats changed as ours failed at the same time as the heater core.

Failure to replace a leaking wheel seal is a D.O.T. violation. This could cause a bearing failure on the wheel end of the axle and you don’t want to have to find out what this will cost to fix. A good visual inspection done regularly will prevent a small problem from becoming a very lengthy expensive one.

Workers are trained to do several jobs in the assembly process so they can tell if a mistake has been made along the line. When a worker has made a mistake it is caught by another worker or the computers along the line. This worker is then counseled and then re-trained as NO defect is their goal.

How you ever thought about your exhaust system? Other then the pre-trip check for leaks, most people don’t. Here is something that was brought to my attention about 2 years ago. Diesel Engines produce soot – soot will collect on anything that it comes into contact with.

I have been saying for years “a clean truck is a Happy Truck”. Clean trucks don’t attract the attention of the DOT as much as a dirty one does. If they need to write a ticket they will choose a dirty truck before a clean one, as a clean trucks shows (in most cases) the driver cares about his equipment enough to take care of it.

Garmin has introduced a truck driver's GPS, the Nuvi 465T. It has that sleek Nuvi design, yet it's specifically programmed for the things commercial truck drivers need; bridge heights, Hazmat guidelines, and road weight restrictions are pre-programmed into Garmin's Nuvi 465T.

I had the rare opportunity to get my Sprinter into the wind tunnel at a local college to observe what happens before and after the Airtabs, as well as with and without the bug shield and rain guards. What we observed was rather dramatic.

The air filter is probably the most forgotten filter, but one of the most important. Your engine needs clear air to run its best. The air filter in most cases cannot be looked at to tell if it is dirty.