Overdrive

July 2017 | Overdrive | 51 Custom Rigs ReadeR Rigs Untitled-16 1 6/13/17 2:41 PM PDQ_OVD1215_PG.indd 1 11/18/15 10:17 AM SHOW US YOUR RIG Reader Rigs submissions can be made online at overdriveonline.com/ custom-rigs-gallery. Pretty in pink When Glenn Gilbert of Morrow, Ohio, ordered his "Panther Pink" 1996 Kenworth W900L, he received a call from the factory to make sure his unique color choice wasn't a mistake. The truck is powered by a 550-hp Cat 3406E and an 18-speed Eaton Fuller. The wheelbase was stretched from 270 to 315 inches to accommodate a Tripac APU mounted behind the sleeper on top of the frame. Big Tex Joel Griswold's Clayton, California-based flatbed com- pany hauls steel coils, slit coils and sheet metal with this 2015 Freightliner 122SD, nicknamed "Big Tex." The truck is powered by a 505-hp DD15 Detroit and an Eaton 13-speed. Griswold added a Protech step box and chain box and a Road Gear headache rack. The rig also features a diamond-plated deck plate with quick-release air lines and a Texas-style bumper. Black Betty Chris Phillips of Craig, Colorado, uses "Black Betty," his 2002 Kenworth W900L, for over-the-road heavy hauls, usually pulling a Fontaine TH55 lowboy with a fourth-axle tag- along. The truck is powered by a 750-hp Cat C15 and an Eaton 18-speed.

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• COVER STORY: Jump start The electrified truck concept has taken on a real life, with players large and small vying for future shares of the Class 8 market. It’s not only large fleets that are placing orders.
• Presenting logs at roadside Running with an e-logs device is one thing. Communicating e-log data to an inspector is quite another. With five months to go, states’ data transfer plans vary widely, and an ambitious federal program remains untested.
• Broker ratings Not only have the internet and mobile technology made finding loads quicker and easier than ever, those same resources also can provide more in-depth, current information on broker performance.
• Drive Test: Best of both worlds Volvo’s regional workhorse tractor, the VNM, having been on the market for more than two decades, was overdue for a refresh. But Volvo designers did much more than modernize its body lines in producing th
• Options few after ELD challenge stalls.
• Pulse: “The real problem” with ELDs.
• Another reason shippers should deal direct.
• Reader majority opposes hair-sample testing.
• Obama-era contractor status memo rescinded.
• Trucker Talent Search finalists headed for Dallas.
• FMCSA study to assess split sleeper options.
• GATS to showcase free music and famous trucks.
• “Service and sacrifice” ’88 Freightliner COE.
• Owner-operator’s self-built “RisslerBilt” 379.
• “88 Mike” Morgan earns first Bandit Series win.
• Reader Rigs: ’13 T800 a stainless dream; ’90 K100 a farming COE; salute “The General” ’17 W900L Icon; ’96 W900L pretty in pink; respect “Big Tex” ’15 122SD; ’02 W900L goes by “Black Betty.”
• BUSINESS Log data might not cover IFTA, IRP.
• Gear Guide All-position tire, mudflap, locks, more.
• FLEET NEWS Decker’s Driver of the Year gets Harley.
• 5 APPS FOR THAT Podcast players for on-the-road listening.
• TWO-BUCK TRUCKERS Wendy Parker backs a driver’s plan to highlight trucking issues and show the general public how much the industry contributes to the economy.