Overdrive Extra

Overdrive Extra
Know the value of your time to assess true profit
Gary Buchs on the value of assessing cost, profit and driver pay per hour to evaluate any given load. It could help you know that customer who’s got a huge detention problem is no longer worth the time and effort, among other benefits.
May 3, 2021
Cars and trucks driving on highway passing by truck rest area exit
Overdrive Extra
Faces of Wildwood: The Kid, the Old Pro and the Builder at the 75 Chrome Shop Truck Show
Long Haul Paul's Saturday stop at the truck show in Wildwood, Fla., yielded brief profiles of owner-ops Lincoln Williamson (Mississippi) and Tom Billington (Florida) -- and builder Dustin Dickerson's show-stopping 1956 Pete.
April 27, 2021
Dustin Dickerson's custom peterbilt truck
Overdrive Extra
Roadcheck prep: Invest in inspections to save money, hassle later
A good way to learn and gain confidence that you won’t get a roadside violation is to invest in equipment inspection, observe the inspection process at your shop/the scales, and ask questions.
May 22, 2018
semi truck on roadway stopped at red light
Trucking History
What's behind 'Woman Behind the Man Behind the Wheel'
This Red Sovine classic celebrated heroic wives and mothers, who shouldered the burdens of maintaining a household while their husbands drove over the road. It also subtly addressed doubts either spouse might have about the other ...
April 19, 2021
a woman resting her elbow on a clothesline with a sad face
Overdrive Extra
Truck stop is part of Alaska's backcountry history
Coldfoot Camp and the Dalton Highway, which runs past it, have ties to development of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and, more recently, the popular "Ice Road Truckers" TV series.
April 12, 2021
Man eating inside restaurant
Overdrive Extra
Mirah Lesa 'YoYo' Worley runs with the wind, long after retirement
The latest in Paul Marhoefer's "Faces of the Road" oral histories. Worley's story resonates decades after being featured on NBC's "Real People" TV show in 1979 and launching her road-legend status in a 359 with a KTA 600, 3:55 rears, and a 13 over.
April 5, 2021
Mirah Lesa Yo Yo Worlery
Overdrive Extra
There's much more to business ownership than having an authority
History is rich with companies that worked tirelessly to save their sinking ship rather than change when the need became inevitable. Yet failure to effectively plan for the change can be its own Achilles Heel of sorts.
March 29, 2021
usdot number 1380324
Overdrive Radio
Hey, mate, this classic American trucking song isn’t exactly American ... or much about trucking
"I've Been Everywhere," one of trucking's classic American road songs, has roots in another continent. Decades before Johnny Cash's popular rendition, it was recorded by Hank Snow and others.
March 29, 2021
Hank Snow
Overdrive Extra
Recipes for the Road: Trucked-up Chili is good on its own, easily customized
Meet Decker-leased owner-op Thomas Remington and a new series of culinary creations from the road. For this first, we'll start with a chili ripe for make-ahead potential at home, offering plenty custom latitude for your taste preferences.
March 23, 2021
A bowl of chili
Overdrive Extra
Don't let the push toward electric powertrains turn into a 'green monopoly'
Op-ed contributor Aaron Terrazas: In societal quest for fewer emissions, "unless we make a conscious effort to ensure that green trucking tech is available to smaller trucking firms, any green freight revolution risks slipping toward a green monopoly."
March 17, 2021
Convoy truck fuel economy graph from 1970 to 2018 for heavy trucks and light vehicles
Overdrive Extra
'Sitting is the new smoking,' or — Tackling stress, a trucker's war
Clifford Petersen on what drivers can do to boost the "feel-good hormone" levels to balance out the impact of chronic stress, key to long-term physical and mental well-being. Exercise plays a part, but it's not the only component of the program.
March 15, 2021
rest area with mountain view
Trucking History
The 'Mother Road' heyday of independent truck stops and diners
Take a tour down old Route 66 through the highway postcard collection of Joe Sonderman, which began early on for him on family stops at Gaspar’s Truck Stop in Kingdom City, Mo., where he saw a postcard showing its prior incarnation... The rest is history.
March 15, 2021
Three people eating at Trucker's Home in Arlington, Missouri
Overdrive Extra
Dealing with diesel aftertreatment demons
Let’s talk about emissions maintenance – the demons howl at you in the form of warning lights on the dash or, worse, a repair bill you weren’t expecting well into the four figures and, sometimes, five figures. Here's how to tame them.
March 1, 2021
clean me drum barrel
Trucking History
First hit trucker song in history channeled road woes
Louisianan Ted Daffan visited honky-tonks frequented by truck drivers to help write his 1939 hit "Truck Driver's Blues." Find more about what's believed to be the first national hit of a trucking song in this Songs of the Highway special-edition podcast.
March 1, 2021
A sketch of a truck being loaded or unloaded sometime between 1935-1939
Overdrive Extra
Is burnout stoking in your workday? Here's how to fight it
It could manifest in added responsibilities you find yourself no longer able to keep up with, much less enjoy. Clifford Petersen here details the signs, how drivers' work can compound the issues, and how to get out of them with your sanity intact.
February 16, 2021
Semi trucks and cars on highway
Trucking History
1970s documentary gives intimate look at truckers' lives
A nationwide tour opened doors of truckers' homes for documentary filmmakers to get an intimate look at the business and family lives of owner-operators in the pre-deregulation era.
February 15, 2021
Jobie Vaden standing in front of a Keaton Truck Lines White-Freightliner truck
Overdrive Extra
Video captures spirit of 1970s trucking at convention
A brief video from a 1974 truck show in San Francisco features interviews with exhibitors and attendees, including comments about Overdrive and a trucking shutdown.
February 8, 2021
Video crew member on shoulder of highway filming truck
Overdrive Extra
How to navigate 'frost laws' in northern states
Gary Buchs on how to handle tiny jurisdictions' seasonal weight restrictions in more northern states. Do your research, don't trust your GPS and question everything -- before you end up in front of a judge.
February 2, 2021
weight limit sign on county/township road
Page 1 of 55
Next Page
Top Stories
dollar sign, state of california sign
Business
California contractor law: Likely next steps, pivots for truckers if enforced
Many feel indiscriminate application of AB 5 to trucking is like carpet-bombing a legitimate business model in leasing owner-ops, when the weapon the state needs is already in its tool belt, a hammer for tax dodgers 1099'ing drivers who own no equipment.
John Malayter signing while playing guitar
Trucker Talent Search
Trucker Talent Search semi-finalists announced
Barb and Shawn Duncan
Life
Cancer survivor featured on Overdrive’s Music to Truck By
truck at natural gas site
Overdrive Radio
Rising oil prices -- for this dry bulk hauler, there's far less fear than opportunity
Rand McNally TND™ 750
Sponsor Content
Rand McNally TND™ 750
Overdrive Radio
Latest Episode
Remembering the inaugural Pennsylvania Make-a-Wish Mother's Day convoy
More episodes »
Apple PodcastsSpotifyStitcherSoundcloud
Showcase your workhorse
Add a photo of your rig to our Reader Rigs collection to share it with your peers and the world. Tell us the story behind the truck and your business to help build its story.
Submit Your Rig
Reader Rig Submission