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One of the things we miss now off the road is MATS. We did not go every year but it is a great, great show. If you have not been to this show before but are on the fence about going, do yourself the favor of going. You will not be disappointed.

About the financial sense, consider this. Our truck will be on the lot for sale soon in Indiana (VoMac Truck Sales, New Haven). You can buy the whole truck for less than a new ARI sleeper will cost. Our ARI sleeper has been the most trouble-free item on the truck. No smoking. No pets. When we...

Yes, it is enforced. At least it was when Diane and I were driving. We once spent a night at a FL Turnpike service plaza and ended up paying big bucks at the toll booth when leaving the Turnpike. The system tracks the time you spent on the Turnpike, not just the miles driven.

I'm not sure I understand your question. The box is 16 feet and the lift-gate extension is one foot. The distance from the bogy (center point of the tandem drive axles) to the end of the truck would be about 9-10 feet. Tail swing was not a serious issue. As with any straight truck, when you...

As EOBR's have increased, so too has the number of under-the-radar yellow trucks hauling freight that used to go on regulated trucks. Is this a coincidence or are these trends somehow connected?

An outlaw driver will be an outlaw driver whether there is an EOBR in the truck or not. Drivers determined to cheat will find a way to cheat EOBR's just as they found ways to cheat the books, especially if carriers are complicit. It's not like EOBR's force outlaw drivers to go through the...

In simple terms, place the rear axle forward more than you otherwise might. In this pre-Landstar photo, notice that our rear axles are under the front half of the box. Empty, with tanks full, the front axle came in slightly above 12,000 lbs. That is no problem because the axle is rated at...

When Diane and I were driving, I found it interesting to track the effect that EOBR's had on truck safety. To do that, I followed the SMS numbers of FedEx Custom Critical. I chose that carrier as a bellwether because just as the SMS numbers were first published by FMCSA, FCC was transitioning to...

Robotic trucks are being used right now in mines and military applications where the environments are neither isolated nor controlled. It is not the operating environment that keeps these trucks from being used, it is the regulations. When those changes, robotic trucks will quickly appear. My...

Yes it does, when you think about a person driving it. But when robotic are applied and the unit drives itself, it looks like the future.

Truck design continues to evolve. Story/photos here Note that it will not be long until the driver part of this truck (the cab and sleeper) are made unnecessary because the truck will drive itself. And with that gone, the power train can be placed under the trailer make it not a self-driving...

Well, that's embarassing. It's a bit after the fact but the spelling error is now corrected. Thanks for pointing it out.

Landstar is unique among motor carriers in that it's dispatch system is decentralized. Your loads come not from the company but from a network of independent agents, with each agency developing and servicing its own customers. These agents affiliate with Landstar for the same reasons...

Diane and I resigned from Landstar Express America today, officially bringing our ten-year expediting career to a close. We are now developing a new business, outside of trucking, and are very excited about it. It is with mixed emotions that we part company with Landstar. While the new...

The friend who introduced us to trucking by taking us for our first-ever ride in a truck had retired at age 65+ but returned to the road because he could not stand it. The truck he showed us was the truck he bought to get back out. Our experience is different, probably because we are not...

I disagree that three to five hours of sleep before driving is "reality" in the trucking industry. Diane and I had sleep management as our top safety priority. We were always careful to manage our time so as to get the sleep we needed before driving. A common sight at truck stops is drivers...

I tried to put the following response into the comments section that followed this article, but was unable to do so. I'll post it here instead. If someone who can get into that page to post comments wishes to use this, by all means, please do so! ----------------------- (1) That 9,600 number...

No extension was sought. Had we obtained one, I do not know if it would have been transferable to a new owner of the truck.

Just curious. What impact on California runs and price, if any, have you seen since the new CARB rules went into effect on Jan 1?

I do not know what the lifetime fuel average is. The truck gets between 9 and 10 mpg, sometimes more, depending on speed, wind and terrain (and altitude, outside air temp and a host of other factors if you want to get technical). About the equipment. The truck cab and sleeper and toolboxes...