Jesse Gonzalez’s 2016 Peterbilt 579

Jun 09, 2020

Jesse Gonzalez, a second generation owner-operator, owns this 2016 Peterbilt 579. He uses the rig to haul mostly hazmat and high-risk freight for Landstar Ranger. The truck sports a performance-tuned Paccar engine with a 13-speed Eaton. The truck is stock other than the custom painted fenders and visor. Gonzalez owns New Generation Transportation out of El Paso, Texas.

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Germann Soeth’s 1976 Kenworth K100, in service after long retirement

December 30, 2020

“Wreck on the Mountain Road” is about the death of a trucker on Bent Mountain, just southwest of Roanoke, Virginia.

Fatal wreck remembered in first recorded trucking song

No. 1 in Overdrive Radio's new 'Songs of the Highway' podcast series looks at a 1928 song believed to be the first recorded trucking tune.

The trucker cap in teacher Amy Watson’s selfie from the day she was tested for COVID-19 later inspired her choice of “long-haulers” to describe COVID survivors with persistent symptoms. “My school’s mascot is a squirrel,” she said, which she finds appropriate, given that her pre-school students, with their short bursts of activity, are “very squirrel-like.”

Trucking’s bit part in the 'COVID long-haulers’ name

Small-fleet owner Jesse McGinness was going for originality with the look of this 2021 Peterbilt 389, spec'ing the black Alcoa rims from the factory. After his maiden voyage in a Class 8 tractor years ago, in a Peterbilt 379, he fell in love with the classic square-hood series. He plans to modify the stacks, the grille and more to all-black finish -- committing sacrilege, says the operator who took him on that first 379 run. McGinness'll maintain plenty in chrome/stainless accents, not to worry. The flattop with lift-axle is powered by the X15 Cummins at 605 hp, with an 18-speed transmission. 'I wanted this truck to be a truck that I thought was cool,' McGinness said, in addition to doing the tough over-dimensional/heavy hauling he'll require of it.

'WTF' stresses service for long-term success

The glider market grew from a few hundred sales a year in 2010 to upwards of 10,000 as recently as 2017. Gliders sported pre-emissions-regs engines -- no exhaust gas recirculation or selective catalytic reduction components and, thus, no need for DEF. With simpler technology and refurbished engines, the products were much cheaper than new trucks with new engines, making them attractive buys for small-business truckers.

Glider kit market hits fatal nosedive with latest emissions regs

After weakened demand in 2020, diesel prices jump back to pre-pandemic levels

Beware: Human smugglers luring truckers along the border

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The Business Manual for Owner-Operators

Overdrive editors and ATBS present the industry’s best manual for prospective and committed owner-operators. You’ll find exceptional depth on many issues in the 2021 edition of Partners in Business.

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