Overdrive Extra

Overdrive Extra
Processing an insurrection, with the Colonel
Long Haul Paul on the U.S. Capitol riot, and the messy questions it raises ... "How much time do we devote to the fussy comradeships of peripheral people we encounter online? And how much time does that rob from those we care about the most? ..."
January 19, 2021
Truck On Side Of Road Mechanical Breakdown
Overdrive Radio
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.
January 18, 2021
“Wreck on the Mountain Road” is about the death of a trucker on Bent Mountain, just southwest of Roanoke, Virginia.
Overdrive Extra
Trucking’s bit part in the 'COVID long-haulers’ name
A teacher's trucker cap provides inspiration for her to borrow trucking's "long-hauler" designation for COVID-19 survivors who discover they're facing an indefinite period of further suffering.
January 14, 2021
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.”
Overdrive Extra
Building personal payroll -- a step toward tax savings, better finances
More deliberate financial choices engendered by creating a personal payroll can act as subtle self-nudges that lead owners to managing money better overall, controlling discretionary personal spending and placing roadblocks in the way of unwise habits.
January 13, 2021
Dealing with personal pay has always been something of an elephant in the room for small business owners, who find ways to avoid dealing with it. How often have you had an experienced owner who tells you to pay yourself first? Too often, we don’t listen, rationalizing that hard driving and more miles, maybe the higher gross posted each week in our settlements, will make up income shortages that may occur.
Overdrive Extra
As some of its operators called it quits, 9-truck Hettinger persevered through 2020’s bad rates and new regs
Poor rates, health concerns and the new Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse drove away Hettinger's operators in 2020, but the fleet pushed through.
January 7, 2021
Mary Bohl, front, with two Hettinger dispatchers in front of the companys sign in Missouri.
Overdrive Extra
Buckle up for a year of trucking time-travel
Throughout this year, Overdrive will take a look back at early trucking to celebrate its 60 years of being "The Voice of the American Trucker."
January 4, 2021
This scene is from “Singing Wheels,” a trucking promotional film produced by the Motor Truck Committee of the Automobile Manufacturers Association to highlight the industry’s contribution to the national economy.
Overdrive Extra
Cost increases are coming — your rates need to reflect that sooner than later
Take advice from a veteran owner-operator and begin adjusting your own cost basis and rates now, rather than waiting until increases have long taken place.
December 21, 2020
Owner-operator Robert Boyle and his 2007 Peterbilt 387
Overdrive Extra
2020 through the rearview: From hours reforms to rates chaos and stories from the road, unwinding a tumultuous 12 months
HOS reforms. How COVID changed drivers' day to day. Managing money amid the chaos. Stories of truckers weathering the storm. Rights on the road. Custom trucks.
December 30, 2020
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Overdrive Extra
Stop the presses! It’s a new phase for Overdrive
The December issue is our last print edition for Overdrive, but our website and email newsletters will continue to give you the news you need. Read more here.
December 18, 2020
Overdrives-on-display-2-2018-02-28-10-13
Overdrive Extra
Making the case for renewed trucking pride
After a tough year, owner-operator Clifford Petersen opens up about his renewed sense of trucking pride and his glass-half-full outlook for 2021.
December 9, 2020
No matter your hauling niche, use that windshield time wisely to reflect on the chaotic last year with resolve to build your future.
Overdrive Extra
Calling out ‘dysfunctional’ trucking regs, OOIDA’s Spencer asks Biden to slot him as FMCSA boss
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association announced that Todd Spencer has reached out to Biden to express interest in FMCSA administration position.
December 1, 2020
Todd Spencer, president and CEO of OOIDA, speaking at an FMCSA listening session at the Mid-America Trucking Show in 2003.
Overdrive Extra
Learning to see: Your recognition could solve a crime, save a life
Truck drivers' vigilance and recognition of a myriad situations along the highways could solve a crime and save a life. Take these two men as examples.
November 23, 2020
Follow alerts from the network via their Facebook page at this link.
Overdrive Extra
When a pandemic gets personal, or ‘Why I wear a mask’
The pandemic gets personal for Long Haul Paul. Read his tribute to two friends stricken with COVID-19 and why he chooses to wear a mask on Overdrive.
November 16, 2020
Read Paul’s collection of essays from 2020, based on his stories from the road during the pandemic.
Overdrive Extra
‘The most difficult part was logging in’: Independent trucker walks through DOT Clearinghouse self-check process (with step by step photos)
Independent operators and small fleets must have DOT Clearinghouse check completed by Jan. 5, 2021. Learn about the self-check process here on Overdrive.
November 13, 2020
As the notice states in the bottom right-hand corner, independent owner-operators will need to register as employers within the Clearinghouse. Prompts are intended to help owner-operators establish their accounts as both employers and drivers within the Clearinghouse.
Overdrive Extra
Owner-operator, independent contractor: It’s all in the definition
Overdrive contributor Clifford Petersen here breaks down the conversation around current pursuit of the defining 'independent contractor' at the federal level.
November 9, 2020
Container-truck-by-bay,florida, sunrise-2020-11-09-09-43
Overdrive Extra
Trucker Mike Sheffield channels coal country, CB riffing with ‘Hammer Down Again’ album
Long Haul Paul interviews trucker and songwriter Mike Sheffield for the "Faces of the Road" series. Learn more about Sheffield and his music on Overdrive.
November 2, 2020
Mike Sheffield
Overdrive Extra
Hotshot trucker’s tough 2020 ride: Slow loads and a major breakdown, but ‘hope for a bright spring’
Hotshotter Matt Tabor discusses the impact of 2020 on his hotshot trucking operation while looking forward to a brighter spring. Details on Overdrive.
October 29, 2020
Tabor’s 2017 Ram 3500 has been in the shop of late for a fairly extensive engine repair — adding to the trials the 37-year-old owner-operator has had to weather in a year full of fits and starts.
Overdrive Extra
Growing a fleet? Don’t forget this basic rule
Treating your drivers like family is a good start for growing your small fleet. Heed this advice and more from three of Overdrive's Small Fleet Champ finalists.
October 26, 2020
From left: James Davis of James Davis Trucking; Terry Burns, right, general manager of Ed Burns & Sons Trucking, with his brother, Mike Burns; and John McGee of John McGee Trucking.
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Analysts optimistic on trucking after chaotic year
2020’s strong second half and prospects for continued high freight demand bode well into 2022, FTR says. However, several factors will affect the timing and intensity of further recovery.
“Wreck on the Mountain Road” is about the death of a trucker on Bent Mountain, just southwest of Roanoke, Virginia.
Overdrive Radio
Fatal wreck remembered in first recorded trucking song
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.”
Overdrive Extra
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.
Channel 19
'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.
Equipment
Glider kit market hits fatal nosedive with latest emissions regs
Overdrive Radio
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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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