Overdrive

Voices 8 | Overdrive | November 2018 Over on Overdrive's Youtube channel (Youtube.com/OverdriveMag), you can get a close video look at one of the power units used in Kenworth's unveiling of the W990 tractor in Las Vegas. As MHC Kenworth's Joplin, Missouri dealer representative for Kyle Cousins and the Fleenor Bros. small fl eet tells it, Cousins and com- pany took delivery of the unit at the Guilty by Association Truck Show after its use in the unveiling. This one's spec'd, as Joplin MHC Kenworth's Larry Lawhead says, "big and bad," like an old truck to a degree. It has a 291-inch wheelbase and an 18-speed transmission delivering big horsepower from the Cummins X13 engine to the drives, with 3:36 rears. Regular readers may recall the "second look" we took at the KW Icon 900 after that truck's unveiling years back — Cousins and Flee- nor Bros. purchased the very Icon used in Kenworth's unveiling at the Mid-America Trucking Show. As Lawhead explains in the video, Fleenor also grabbed up fi ve of the last Icon 900 special editions of the W900L ever made. Those ties helped net the Jop- lin-headquartered fl eet the opportuni- ty to get in on the early W990 action. Small fleet again scores special Kenworth PICKUP LOAD GROWS WINGS Todd Dills The W990 is "heavy built," says MHC Kenworth dealer representative Larry Lawhead. Stainless pieces on either side of the hood nod to the traditional breathers of the W900 models and feed an under- hood intake system more akin to that in Kenworth's aero models. Next up for this addition to the Fleenor fleet will be a deck plate and more at the back to complete the unit in a manner similar to the tractors they showed at the Guilty by Association Truck Show this year, where they took delivery of this new unit. Catch past coverage of their custom units via OverdriveOnline.com/tag/Fleenor-Bros. Independent owner-operator Howard Salmon was rolling along in September, having just passed through a work zone, he says, when he noticed a slow pickup ahead pulling a small box trailer. "I was starting to gain speed and thinking about getting into the left lane," he says, when an inadequately secured portable building or other large item in the bed of the pickup took fl ight. "It fl ew right out of the back of this pickup," he says, then hit the box trailer midair at speed, and "it just disintegrated" in front of him. See how he pulled through it in the video caught by Salmon's dash- cam, or share your own, at Overdrive's Dashcam Central repository for reader-submitted video: OverdriveOnline.com/dashcamcentral.

• Cover
• Mixed reactions to D.C. highway blockade.
• Pulse: Autonomous tech redefining “driver.”
• Confusion over proposed ELD exemption.
• Small fleet again scores special Kenworth.
• Three in four readers favor new Supreme Court justice.
• “New NAFTA” would allow cap on Mexican carriers.
• Rule to protect gliders appears in jeopardy.
• ATA takes fight over break laws to FMCSA.
• Criteria to suspend insolvent brokers proposed.
• Owner-operator per diem allowance rises.
• Memorial Run honors fallen firefighters.
• ’55 KW gets back to its roots.
• Bandit Series sees repeat champ.
• Reader Rigs: High-flying ’14 W9; ’14 W9 a heavy hauler; cross-country ’12 386; ’07 379 lights up the night; ’02 379 hauls glass.
• DIVERSIONS 4 State Trucks’ record convoy haul; trucking “Survivor.”
• EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT Headlamps.
• GEAR GUIDE Lights, tires, more.
• FLEET NEWS Werner opens new Illinois terminal.
• BETTER HEALTH Neck and back pain.
• CHANGING TIMES Failure to help drivers on the shoulder is a symptom of drivers’ loss of courtesy and pride.
• Case could clarify arbitration with fleets The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could have ramifications on contracts between fleets and owner-operators and lawsuits that arise from those contracts.
• Minnesota aims at moving targets Some rehabilitation of the state’s inspection program’s reputation may be under way via a shift toward mobile traffic enforcement and a willingness of officers to credit drivers’ professionalism.
• COVER STORY: Ode to the road Mandi Jo Pinheiro’s biggest passions, trucking and music, paid off when they converged and she won the annual Overdrive-Red Eye Radio Trucker Talent Search with her original tribute to highways and driver pride.
• Iconic line expands Kenworth’s new W990, featuring front-end design enhancements, cab upgrades and improved aerodynamics, becomes the latest addition to the venerable W900 lineup.
• Drive Test: Pete’s 567 Heritage blends classic, modern With its bling-heavy and blocky exterior, the vocational workhorse mixes classic Pete styling with modern comforts and efficiencies.