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Are these trucks “style cowboy” trucks? The company is in Cape Town, South Africa. “Legends and Heroes” isn’t the only truck at Broekhuizen. There is a fleet, including “Iron Duke” which has a Cummins Signature 620 hp engine, “Iron Warrior,” and others.

This one pictured also has the 620 hp Signature Cummins.

This is Bulk carriers statement on their products:

“Bulk Carriers, a division of Broekhuizen, is one of the leaders in transport offering our customers integrated transport services and providing them with the highest standards for safety and quality. Our commitment is to deliver goods on time, building partnerships with key customers and continuing to invest in quality service and promised delivery,” state the trucking company.

They say their trucks / trailers have air suspension and Alcoa rims, and these together decrease the trucks / trailers weight while increasing load bearing. They also check their tires routinely, weekly. The right inflation level for the tires makes for better life expectancy. Not only that; better fuel efficiency, too.

Now about that Cummins Signature 620, for that we go to Gastech to get their take on things: “[The] 620 HP gas engines has been developed for heavy load applications such as those experienced by B-double, B-triple, road train work and mining operations.”

And we go to Engine Builder Mag, too, for details on the Cummins Signature 620, who say of the engine: “The ‘ISX’ in Cummins ISX stands for “Interact System” which is the on-highway fuel system Cummins developed to vastly improve performance.” Engine Builder says the ISX engines are popular with buyers because they can pull 430 hp to 620 horsepower at 2050 ft/ pounds. This makes it a favorite choice for on-highway and commercial trucking applications.

Visit Broekhuizen Trucking

Greener Options for Truckers: RCO-reducing CNG Freightliner Cascadia Evolution

This is the “bold blue Freightliner Cascadia Evolution” displayed by Freightliner trucks at their booth at The Great American Trucking Show 2015.

“With Demand Detroit power & Assurance suite of safety systems, this Freightliner Cascadia Evolution is the whole package,” stated Freightliner about their greener alternative truck line.

“Going green doesn’t just benefit the environment, it also grows your bottom line. See how the slippery aerodynamics of the Freightliner Cascadia Evolution increase efficiency & reduce your RCO…”

What it boils down to is this. 7% increased fuel economy.

This is due in part to Freightliner’s research into aerodynamic features to reduce the wind resistance faced by the tractor.

They do this by “filling in the bags and inproving seals” Freightliner also adds deflector elements to streamline the shape, directing air flow above and around the cab. This gets me wondering, can’t we just modify all our trucks with these streamlining features to make them percents more economical?

The Cascadia Evolution also has as-standard side extenders and chassis fairings to help in crosswind driving — this also improves airflow and increases fuel economy.

7% is pretty significant, I think you’d say, for a single truck owner. Imagine the savings nationally, too, and to the world.

Visit Freightliner Trucks.

Somewhere Down The Road: 6 Years of Work for a Farmer Created this Pete

Six years and several customizers to built, this 1969 Peterbilt 358A hay truck with tilt hood. It didn’t always look like this.

The dairy farmer owner of this custom truck, one Neil McIsaac III, a fifth generation dairy farmer, bought it in 2008. When he got it, it was part of a project, to become something like what it is today. McIsaac tripped it down to frame rails and parts on the floor of a shop, scrapping much of what had made up the semi. McIsaac had a 1965 Peterbilt he bought for parts, and he used some of that.

A lot of work went into the rebuilt, including drilling just about every hole.

He bolted on new Eaton DS404 rear ends and a 4 State Trucks air-ride kit.

The motor is a Big Cam III 4000 Cummins. The suspension is a Pete Low-Air from Rocky Mountain Truck Parts. The transmission is from the same place in Utah.

After a few bumps in the project, including damaging the hood, McIsaac started with the finishing touches. As Ten Four Magazine covered the build:

“Finally, it was time to start adding the bling. Getting many of the accessories from our friends at 4 State Trucks in Joplin, Missouri, Neil installed 8-inch Dynaflex pipes with ‘Chino’ tips and Pickett elbows, a new visor, a 22-inch American Eagle bumper, new air cleaners, new headlights, Hogebuilt stainless quarter fenders and all LED lights. To accommodate the 50-gallon fuel tanks he mounted on each side, Neil moved all of his batteries and air tanks to the inside of his frame rails, and then added stainless tool boxes on both sides underneath the bed, which Neil bought as a kit and then fabricated himself (John at Colorworx painted it).

Neil also bought and installed an electric windshield wiper conversion kit, stainless rear light bars, a billet grill, and a custom headache rack, complete with a stainless panel featuring a cutout of Neil’s ranch brand.

Visit Ten Four Magazine

Green Giant Legacy Sleeper Semi

Here’s a home on wheels recommended by a Planes, Trains and Automobiles Page member, Fiesty Twowatch.

It’s a Legacy Sleeper made by the people at ARI Legacy Sleepers. They make and modify semi trucks to add space, comfort and style.

The luxury semi sleeper company makes and modifies trucks for Canada as well as the US.

Fiesty Twowatch listed the features of this green giant:

Steam room .check
Swimming pool. Check
Sun Deck. Check
Full Bathroom. Check
King Size Bed . Check
Full Kitchen. Check
Heliport. Check
Basketball Court. Check
9 Hole Golf Course. Check
Full Service Bar & Female Bartender For when I’m Done Trucking For Day. Check
Oh yea Steering Wheel . Check.

That’s a lot of checks. Maybe they aren’t all absolutely true, but probably anyone driving this sleeper semi after being in a regular sized truck might feel a little like that is the case.

Some features of a regular unit:

4,100 pounds, front shower/rear entry, hot water system, insulated tank for the water system, fold-out bed dinette, passenger side 20×17 inch sink and desk area kichenette, Coleman roof AC/heat, wall-mount thermostat, generator, shore power, storage under the sink, 6 drawers, 6 overhead cabinets, toolbox, 24×16 inch windows (above sink and on driver’s side), roof vent, 20″ TV with antenna.

What do you want in a sleeper? The company offers custom sleepers for budgets large and small. The price has been reported to be around $70,000 or so dollars for a custom sleeper addition/modification.

Custom from the Post-War Days

Quite the tow vehicle, isn’t it? It’s a custom 47-54 GMC COE/Suburban hybrid sitting on a big rig chassis. The owner, reportedly, is in Orangevale and Folsom area, California. The GMC/Chev cabover trucks of the era have that old GMC art deco styling, as you see in this well-preserved truck.

GMC’s were always targeted commercial use, and Chevy trucks were marketed toward private owners. Starting in 1920, GMC and Chevrolet trucks are virtually identical except for the grilles and nameplates, though their differences have varied over the years. From 1955 through 1959 small (less than 2 ton) GMC trucks with gasoline V8s were equipped with Pontiac V8s. This 47 is in the middle.

The first major redesign for Chevys was after WWII. The Advance-Design series the company billed as stronger, sleeker, an larger — compared with the AK Series that preceded it. These came on the market in 1947, and were sold until 55 (only small changes made by the year). Then the Advance-Design, which was considered to be aging, was replaced by the Task Force Series. Would that have been the name if there hadn’t been a WWII, I wonder?

The Suburban model was also in the Task Force Series design — all trucks were. Panel trucks, COEs, canopy expresses. The COEs used taller, shorter hoods and different fenders though, and those fenders required cowls unlike others. That’s why the COEs and normal trucks aren’t compatible in this, even when all other truck cabs and all weights match up.

How to spot a 47: Gasoline tank filler neck on passenger side of bed. No vent windows in doors. Hood side emblems read “Chevrolet” with “Thriftmaster” or “Loadmaster” under it. Serial numbers: EP ½ ton, ER ¾ ton, & ES 1 ton. Radios were first available in Chevrolet trucks as an “in dash” option on the “Advance-Design” body style.

How to identify a 54: Only year for significant design changes. Windshield now curved one-piece glass without center vertical dividing strip. Revised steering wheel. Revised dashboard. Cargo bed rails, previously angled, now horizontal. Tail lights round instead of rectangular. Grille changed from five horizontal slats to crossbar design commonly referred to as a “bull nose” grille, similar to modern Dodge truck grille. Engine now 235 in³ straight-6. Serial number codes unchanged from 1953. Hydramatic automatic transmission is available for the first time as a paid for option.

Wikipedia was used as a source for most of the history parts of this article under their Creative Commons licence.

Tractomas: the Highest Tractive Force in the World

The Guinness Book of World Records has in fact confirmed that the Tractomas TR 10×10, developed and produced by Nicolas Industries, have the highest tractive force in the world.

Nicolas Industrie (the French spelling of the heavy duty truck company) built and developed the largest road tractor in the world. With an empty weight of 40 tons, this monumental vehicle is capable of moving a convoy of about 700 tons. The Tractomas has been used for many years:  reliable and solid, it has proven itself in the fields of road transport and heavy materials handling everywhere in the world and whatever the conditions (desert, humid, etc.).

You can see these things towing trains of cargo, like 4 short trailers, then a long piece of a drilling rig or mining rig. They haul giant excavators, dumptrucks and other construction equipment, and they haul upright pieces of offshore drilling rigs… The power is significant.

I have yet to see a custom job one though.

The European heavy duty truck company Nicolas boasts this record on their own website, and you can see why. They elaborate on their Tractomas line (there are several sizes):

• Tractive force more than 1,000 horse power
• Can pull trailer and semi-trailer
• Tried and tested  in extreme conditions (desert, arctic, mining environments) all over the world
• Tractomas is available with a lot of special accessories depending on the use and the location

Certificate from Guinness for the largest semi-truck:

Visit Nicolas Industrie truck company

Brighter and Warmer Roads Carved out by this “Shogun…”

Have you ever wondered about how vehicles can be compared with people? Especially those in which their drivers spend more than one day and travel tens of thousands of kilometers…?

The most common “second home” for drivers in the current era is the truck cab, and these cabs seem to identify with their “masters”. How many of you have experienced this? Hopping in a trucker’s cab and finding it’s just fitting to that driver? Drivers often gives names to their tugs, trying to “tame” them, “find a common language” between them, their vehicle, the road. Not only do truckers take care of their vehicles, but they also decorate them, creating something distinctive, unique.

And it pleases many, because our roads, on which these trucks every day deliver cargo become more cheerful, more interesting, more colorful.

Here’s a fun Scania tractor. As much as possible our often gray road world, this makes it a bit more bright and warm with colors. 

This is a Scania tanker, actually, and it’s been referred to as “Shogun Truck.” It’s decorated in bright orange and asian paint designs. The model is a R620 and it’s apparently from Finland and belongs to a Mike Auvinen. It won a Nordic Trophy in 2008 and 2009.

Ready for a long name? Tractomas-TR-8×8-D75-900-CP-si-4.000-Nm-3-1 (Yes, European)

Ever heard of these makers Nicholas? This is their Tractomas TR 8×8 dezvolta 900 CP si 4.000 Nm, and it’s one of the most powerful trucks in Europe, although the engine is American.

The towing truck bears a load of 1,000 tons, pulling with a 4,000 Nm torque CATERPILLAR 27,000 cc engine. The American motor develops a maximum output of 900 hp.

The 4-axle truck is built by the Nicholas and is based on a model of the Renault Kerax class, but this heavy truck is not as rigid and small as the Kerax cab.

Nicholas is one of the leading manufacturers of heavy load trucks in Europe. According to Nicholas themselves, The Guinness Book of World Records has confirmed that another of their drucks, the TR 10X10, has the highest tractive force in the world. This TR 8 is just one of the middle brothers in the Nicholas family?

It’s still one of the largest civilian semi trucks on the roads made in France. It’s generally a mining truck, and it looks pretty speedy driving around the gravel.

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