Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/255292
Voices 6 | Overdrive | February 2014 "The Precious" is here. She arrived from Wisconsin the other day, and I haven't seen my husband since. He has paced and pranced and climbed all over his new girl- friend, right in front of me. Clearly, his mind is preoccupied. It's a good thing I'm tolerant and love her as much as he does. This is as close to being a sister-wife as I'm ever gonna get. It's also been an exercise in patience as far as getting her papers straight. We are fortunate to be members of OOIDA and were able to insure her properly with their help, but all the taxes, tags and titling is an absolute nightmare. Mostly because when you look up the information online, it's com- pletely different from what they tell you when you get to the window to pay and make actual paper transactions. It's like the website and the state offices in Ohio have never met. I'm seriously convinced there is no set way to title and tag a commercial vehicle in Ohio. It just depends on who you happen to get at the DMV window. "I'm sorry, Mr. Parker. We're going to require that form in trip- licate, with eleventy-seven dollars attached to each form with a pink paperclip. Also, there will be a surcharge of three warthog hairs and a virgin." "But the website clearly states the virgin is only necessary if the vehicle has less than 200,000 miles on it." "Since you obviously didn't read the footnotes, I'll paraphrase by telling you those are galactic miles, not highway miles." Now for goodness sakes, can we just get on the road?! Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline. com. Scan the QR to read more from her on your phone or tablet. Super-single sing-along Before acquiring the 2004 Freightliner that George and Wendy Parker run in now, George had no expe- rience with wide-single tires, outfitted on his Coro- nado's drive axle. Wendy posted a question seeking advice on the dual pairs they intended to replace: "Do they really pay for themselves, as some say, or are they a pain in the rear and more expense than they're worth?" Here are excerpts from the more than 400 responses: Jenckes Whitaker: I had them, and it wasn't so bad in the snow or ice. As far as getting stuck after a blowout, by law you can't drive on a flat any- way. They were much smoother on the road, and it's anyone's guess if it's more fuel-efficient – that's the line the company sold me on mine. … The only ones I ever lost were on the trailer. Same as any, they trash the mudflap. This 2004 Freightliner Coronado is a former Chip Ganassi Racing hauler that Overdrive columnist Wendy Parker's husband, George Parker, purchased in December from a Wisconsin owner-operator. Find more pictures of the truck via the Jan. 3 post to the George and Wendy Show blog at OverdriveOnline.com/wendy. The Parkers bought the truck as part of their switch to Landstar System. Raymond Carmickle: We tried the super sin- gles here. They lasted six months before the fleet went back to doubles. Blowouts were costing a rim and a tire. Long term, they are more expensive. Lucar Borc: [ Speaking of advantages ,] how about 400 pounds less of "rotating mass" on your truck? Shorter stopping distance? Wide patch on road surface? More torque and hp to the wheels? Better handling due to two walls' flex instead of four? Better fuel economy? Bob Yerdon: Research says they save you $3,000 a year on fuel. You must check pressure every day – don't run them low on air. I've put 500,000 miles on mine and love them. Andrew Slaughter: Stick with duals. I borrowed a company truck that had [singles]. Got stuck trying to pull out of a parking spot with a small amount of ice. UpS and downS of new trUck eUphoria Voices_0214.indd 6 1/28/14 10:41 PM