Tag: highway hacks

Channel 19

Highway hack: High value in a 'parts truck'

Long-term, having a spare 'parts truck' could save you both money and time hunting down replacement parts if you're like owner-op Zach Beadle, with a 1976 Peterbilt COE. His parts donor has saved him with these four jobs and more.

January 20, 2021

Channel 19

Three pieces of unsolicited advice for government, for parking providers, for rates negotiators

The USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program for surplus food, negotiating a lowball rate offer and how it stings to pay to stop your truck in a cash pinch.

May 22, 2020

Custom Rigs

The quest for no-idle, mostly maintenance-free power

Owner-operator Chad Fowler’s “Solar Peterbilt” eliminates any need to idle the semi-truck since it provides all electrical needs during downtime.

March 10, 2020

Voices

Sharing the burden of a new-truck payment

Owner-operators Montgomery Morgan and Joe Huggins talk about the legacy of Don Morgan's 1992 Kenworth T600 and sharing the burden of a new truck payment.

February 6, 2020

Voices

Custom alternative in-cab climate control system has heat, too

Latest in the “highway hacks” series: Owner-operator Mike Greenberg’s answer to auxiliary in-cab climate control — employment of a wall-mount split HVAC unit most often used in buildings.

January 14, 2020

Channel 19

Another lower-cost alt-HVAC option: Owner-operator Mike Greenberg’s custom set-up

UPS-contracted owner-operator Mike Greenberg shared details of his own eliminator for the need to idle the truck, which involves a gasoline-powered Champion generator and a Pioneer split mobile HVAC unit (yes, it heats, too), which came with an investment well below the cost of many APUs.

November 11, 2019

Voices

A simple following-distance cheat proves effective ‘self re-training’ in speed and space management

Buchs, like so many of you, hauls in a truck built well before whiz-bang factory-equipped radar, lane-departure warnings, and automatic braking became a standard for owners opting into the systems. He devised a simple following distance cheat after self-evaluation via his own dashcam footage revealed behaviors he thought needed correction.

November 6, 2019

Business

A cost-effective APU alternative for A/C

New York-based owner-operator Doug Hasner's alternative method for an APU is using a 400lb generator that saves thousands of dollars. Details here on Overdrive.

October 15, 2019

Equipment

Stepping in instead of out for cardio health

Martin and Carolina Hill use a stepper machine for in-cab workouts on their team hauls. It and similar steppers offer a compact option for relatively high-intensity exercise where getting outside is not an option on the road.

October 4, 2019

Voices

Preventing convex mirror cracks in winter

The latest “Highway Hack,” with a few preventive measures: Seal the housing when installing replacement mirrors. Manually create moisture drain if there’s not a drain hole that’s obvious upon installation. If one is obvious, make sure any existing drain is correctly positioned.

September 23, 2019

Overdrive Radio

How far would you go for another 1-2 mpg in fuel mileage? One owner-op’s patented engine systems mods

How does a six-year odyssey in modifications to your truck’s engine and related systems — reducing the draw on the engine from the main fan, A/C system and more — sound? In this week’s Overdrive Radio, owner-op Kenny Capell describes his patented method for turning a lot of work over to electrical systems to save 1-1.5 running mpg.

August 7, 2019

Channel 19

Sliding trailer tandems sticking? Pack wheel chocks in the side box (or elsewhere)

Do you carry a set of chocks? Though they haven’t been required equipment for most truckers for years, plenty pullers still carry a set — or a four-by-four or other alternative — for this and other purposes.

July 15, 2019