Overdrive

September 2013

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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Severe Service Aaron Heine Courtesy of Kenworth Trucks Freightliner's Cascadia 113 natural gas daycab is outfitted with a 12-liter Cummins ISX12 engine and can run on either CNG or LNG. The "Black Pearl" 2013 Freightliner 122SD heavy-haul wrecker of Kling Towing and Recovery – pictured here at the 75 Chrome Shop earlier this year – was featured in the July 2013 Severe Duty Report from Freightliner Trucks. Scan the QR to sign up for the monthly e-mail newsletter, or search "Severe Duty Report" at FreightlinerTrucks.com. A showy 'beast' Kling Towing and Recovery's "Black Pearl" 2013 Freightliner 122SD, trimmed with no shortage of chrome and painted a rich black, has been making the truck show rounds this year. That includes the big Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., and Overdrive's Pride & Polish at the 75 Chrome Shop in Wildwood, Fla., where it placed 2nd in the Specialized category and 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in Paint and Engine. Fruitland Park, Fla.-based Kling is known for tractor-trailer, fire-truck, ladder-truck and bus recovery. The Miller Industries Century 9055 wrecker body with a 50-ton recovery boom (pulling up to 100,000 pounds) was built over the 122SD chassis to spec. The rig is powered by a 505-horsepower Detroit DD15TC engine and an Eaton UltraShift Plus transmission reprogrammed for true severe-duty applications with the Eaton Cobra Vocational shifter. The chassis' backbone is spec'd with a 16,000-pound Detroit front axle with an 18,000-pound suspension, a Hendrickson HLM-2 20,000-pound non-steer airlift pusher axle and suspension, and a Meritor 46,000-pound rear axle with a Freightliner 46,000-pound AirLiner rear suspension. It was the "first pre-series 122SD truck we have built for a wrecker," says Randy Smith, Daimler Trucks North America marketing manager. "We wanted to make it an absolute beast, which is why we teamed up with Miller Industries." Miller commonly builds wreckers for heavyhaul applications. Freightliner Trucks, freightlinertrucks.com | Miller Industries, millerind.com All-wheel drive on Kenworth T370 powers Navajo Nation To ensure its trucks can navigate the rolling and often hilly terrain in conditions ranging from bone dry to snow-covered or muddy, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority chooses all-wheel drive as its standard spec. The Nation – covering parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah – recently added a series of Kenworth T370s in both 4x4 and 6x6 configurations to its fleet of roughly 80 Class 6-8 trucks based at seven locations, including its main hub in Fort Defiance, Ariz. Two of the T370 6x6s are being used as pressure diggers (pictured) – units with augers powered by an auxiliary engine in the truck's rear – to drill holes for power line poles. With 34,000-plus electric customers and a lot of territory," says Jimmy Bekis, NTUA transportation superintendent, "maintaining the power lines is a big job, with about 70 percent of the roads we travel being 'off-road.' " Kenworth Truck Co., kenworth.com 42 | Overdrive | September 2013 Severe_Service_0913.indd 42 8/29/13 7:12 AM

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