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Overdrive
| October 2014
October 2014 | Vol. 54 | No. 10
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
Editorial Director: Max Heine
Equipment Editor: Jack Roberts
Senior Editors: Todd Dills, Kevin Jones
Managing Editor: Dean Smallwood
News Editor: James Jaillet
Contributing Editors: Jill Dunn, Paul Hartley
Contact: truckingeditorial@gmail.com
DESIGN & PRODUCTION
Art Director: Kenneth Stubbs
Production Designer: David Watson
Quality Assurance: Timothy Smith
Advertising Production Manager:
Anne Marie Horton
Contact: production@overdriveonline.com
TRUCKING MEDIA
Vice President of Sales, Trucking Media: Brad Holthaus
Director of Content Marketing Services: Carolyn Mason
Special Projects Manager: Kathleen Buccleugh
Web Developer/Analyst: Marlin Caddell
Contact: sales@truckingmedia.com
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President: Brent Reilly
Chief Process Officer: Shane Elmore
Chief Administration Officer: David Wright
Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller
Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research:
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Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Business
Development: Robert Lake
Vice President of Events: Stacy McCants
Vice President, Audience Development: Prescott Shibles
Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid
Director of Marketing: Julie Arsenault
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Four-time
Magazine of
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plus 57 other
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Only trucking
magazine to win
five Editorial
Excellence Awards
Jesse H. Neal
2014 Grand Neal
Award winner
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VOICES
4 Speed proposals rile
readers.
5 Pulse: Freight matches
made in heaven.
10 Ice Bucket Challenge
popular at GATS.
12 Help us create the
perfect truck stop.
LOGBOOK
14 Hide CSA scores,
industry demands.
16 Feds sued for lack of
training rule.
18 Tattoo contest lets you
'Show Us Your Ink.'
18 Driver contest deadline
is Oct. 31.
CUSTOM RIGS
58 Father, son getting used
to driving winning rigs.
60 'Most Beautiful' runner-
up visits Pride & Polish.
62 Reader Rigs: Startup's
new T680; gliding '87
Pete 359; Kenworth fan
retires twice; '02 W900L
a factory original.
65 Pro Tips: Drive carefully
to protect exhaust flange.
54 EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT
Find the right APU to keep
you comfy while saving costs.
67 GEAR GUIDE
Trailer suspension, fender, LED,
tire tread, more.
78 FLEET NEWS
Con-way Freight's Phelps hits 3
million safe miles.
96 KNIGHTS OF THE ROAD
Couple's burning motor home
prompts drivers to act.
DEPARTMENTS
Cover photo by Max Heine.
26
Riding the spot market boom
For independents who primarily use
brokers for freight, taking advantage
of favorable trucking conditions is a matter of
putting yourself in a strong negotiating position.
38
Finding fault
Connecticut is getting a big bang for its
inspection buck, considering it has the
highest number of violations per inspection.
44
COVER STORY:
In tune with trucking
Keith Sampson's devotion to driv-
ing and songwriting paid off in Dallas at
GATS, where he was named the winner of the
Overdrive-Red Eye Radio Trucker Talent Search.
48
Test drive:
Western Star 5700XE
Western Star's first aerodynamic trac-
tor unites the company's reputation for tough
square-nosed trucks with the demand for a fuel-
saving design.
TRUCKING TO THE ORIENT
News Editor James Jaillet
recently got a rare close look at
a Chinese truck stop. Page 10.
