Overdrive

Custom Rigs ReadeR Rigs August 2018 | Overdrive | 51 Truck Frames 866-851-6478 Toll free: www.pgadams.com Guaranteed accuracy Extreme lengths Easy-bolt frames with holes Easy-bolt www.pgadams.com Crossmembers 24 hour turnaround SHOW US YOUR RIG Reader Rigs submissions can be made online at overdriveonline.com/ custom-rigs-gallery. All in the family Chuck Varney drives this 2013 Peterbilt 389 glider owned by his brother's company, J-Rod Trucking of Pikeville, Kentucky, and pulls tankers for Louisville-based Usher Transport. The truck was built by Martin's Peterbilt of London, Kentucky, and is powered by a single-turbo 550-hp Cat, an 18-speed Fuller and 3:70 rears. Custom work includes WTI full fenders, a custom rear drop bumper and full-length fairings on the fuel tanks from Chrome Country of Nashville, Tennessee. Beating the heat Larry Olevnik and Michelle Capps of Dade City, Florida, use their 2006 Peterbilt 379 to haul grain commodi- ties and fertilizer in the Gulf Coast region. The truck is powered by a 550-hp Cat with an 18-speed and 3:23 rears. Olevnik says he and Capps have replaced the bumper, visor and pipes and gutted the interior. They plan to build the rig into a show truck. Peach State Volvo Chris Ratiu of Dacula, Georgia, uses this 2016 Volvo VNL 780 to haul equipment on his 2016 Doonan Chaparral tri-axle step deck trailer. The truck is pow- ered by a 500-hp Volvo D13 and an I-Shift automated manual. The only custom work to the truck is the bull bar on the front.

• Cover
• Remember relationships when talking rates.
• Pulse: Driving skills for tomorrow’s trucks.
• Making a health case for hours change.
• Podcasts on broken ELDs, reefer washouts.
• Readers mixed on tariff freight impacts.
• Ruling keeps restrictions on glider kits.
• FMCSA denies e-log exemption request.
• FMCSA to test new CSA scoring system.
• Younger driver pilot proposal advances.
• Medical examiner registry functions improve.
• Putting old-school Pete in the new school.
• Bright orange W9 grabs attention.
• Morgan, Ball pick up first Bandit wins of ’18.
• Reader Rigs: ’13 389 all in the family; ’15 389 is Louisiana blue; ’06 379 beats the heat; ’16 Western Star 5700 lives on the road; ’16 VNL 780 a Peach State Volvo.
• EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT CBs and accessories.
• GEAR GUIDE Prefilter, tires, suspension, more.
• FLEET NEWS A. Duie Pyle opens Bronx service center.
• BETTER HEALTH Prostate health can decline with aging.
• UNFORGIVING CLOCK | For all the attention on hours reform, it’s ELDs that still stir the most ire.
• Business: Flatbed leads broader gains in owner-op income Net income for leased owner-operators and independents in the first three months of 2018 continued to march upward. Operators across all three segments took home more in 2018’s first quarter on a
• COVER STORY: Some pain amidst the gains Overdrive’s annual CSA’s Data Trail update of national enforcement trends shows that it’s the smallest carriers that are catching the brunt of issues arising from ELD malfunctions and user errors. They’re also get
• Today’s flatbeds lighter, stronger The newest flatbed trailers, if spec’d properly, are more productive, require less maintenance, are safer and are built to last longer. Aluminum alloys offer the durability of high tensile-strength steel at less than ha
• Combating heat’s toll on batteries Winter weather takes a lot of blame for battery failures, but the damage caused by hot-weather driving is often the primary culprit. Battery wear can go undetected for months, but routine checks can head off potential f