All-new Ford F-150 takes on Ram and Silverado in an uphill towing battle

Even though the new 2.7L EcoBoost is up against much larger engines from Dodge and Chevy, it rises to the occasion in a grueling uphill competition.

Explaining Truck Tire Markings

Recently, I was answering truck driver questions regarding tires and wheels on a national satellite trucking radio show. During the hour event, most of the questions centered on the confusion associated with the information molded onto a truck tire sidewall. These truckers were justified in their uncertainty—there is a lot of information, which is not always clear. In most cases, the same information is available on either sidewall with one exception, the official DOT number is only found on one side.

Tire DOT numbers are unique for a specific tire make/model and size for a given week of production. If 1,000 tires are produced in the same manufacturing plant and the tires are the same model, size and load range then all 1,000 tires will have exactly the same identical DOT number molded on the sidewall if they were produced during the same week. Just about every tire manufacturer changes the DOT week number on a Sunday. Why? Tradition.

Every time a commercial truck tire casing is retreaded, a new retread DOT number must be branded onto the tire sidewall preferably near the original DOT number. A new tire DOT number is comprised of a total of 11 digits (see the photo above) when compared to the retread DOT which has 13 digits.

The first two digits: Tire plant code

(Every tire plant in the world is assigned a unique two digit code. The NHTSA website is the best source to determine which code represents what specific new tire or retread plant.)

The second five digits: Tire construction information (This is unique for each tire construction).

The last four digits: Week and year tire was produced: 4401 = 44th week of 2001.

The most important information regarding the DOT from a fleet perspective is the last four numbers that represent the week and the year of production.

The tire sidewall tells a history of the tire. A fleet can determine how many retreads the casing received and which plants produced each retread and new tire. The age of the casing can also easily be calculated through the original DOT number.

Tire Load RangesTire make, model, size, load range and ply rating are also molded on the tire sidewall. Load range and ply rating go together. The most common truck tire load range is G or 14 ply rating. In linehaul fleet operations, drive and trailer tires are typically LR-G while LR-H is required for those fleets running higher-rated steer axles that must have tires with more weight capacity. LR-G and H tires for a given tire make/model have the same overall dimensions; however, the LR-H tires will be heavier and more costly to purchase. To support the increased load, these LR-H tires will have been built with a heavier gauge steel wire construction. You will also find on the tire sidewall specific load and inflation information.

The maximum individual tire load is listed at a specific tire pressure. To add confusion, the maximum load and inflation is shown for running the tire as a single or as a dual configuration. Just because the tire sidewall is stamped 120 PSI does not imply that is the pressure that you should be running at your fleet. The recommended fleet pressure is based on your worst case load scenario. Load/inflation tables published by all the tire companies will determine the recommended pressure for your vehicle loads.

It is always good practice to work with your tire professional if you have questions regarding the information molded onto every tire sidewall.

Maximize Your Truck's Fuel Efficiency

Don't you love your diesel truck? Most of us do. We love the torque and the power they offer. With the cost of diesel fuel rising in recent years, here are some ways to maximize your truck's fuel efficiency.

Maintain your truck

Maintaining your truck is the most important thing you can do to improve fuel efficiency. Not only regular maintenance keeps it running well, it also helps your truck to use less diesel. Some shops have the knowledge, experience, and top of the line products to keep your truck running at maximum performance and efficiency. Also here are things you can do yourself to maximize your truck's efficiency.

1. Get regular oil changes

2. Use fuel additives to keep your fuel injectors clean

3. Clean the air filter

4. Make sure your tires are property inflated

5. Drive with the tailgate up (it was once thought the tailgate should be down; however, that is a myth. Keeping the tailgate up creates an air bubble in the truck bed make the truck more aerodynamic.

6. Drive and accelerate slower

Although accelerating slower can remove some of the fun from driving your powerful diesel truck, it saves you fuel. Slow and steady driving saves fuel! The ideal speed when you are driving on a highway is no more than 55 mph for the best fuel economy.

7. Empty the bed

Look in your truck, what do you see? Heavy items like metal tool boxes filled with heavy tools weigh down your vehicle and make you burn more fuel. If these heavy items are not needed on a daily basis, you can remove them from your truck. Only keep what you need in your truck. This small modification can enhance your fuel efficiency.

8. Replace your exhaust system

Replace your truck's existing exhaust system with a high quality exhaust system. This will increase the air flow rate, provide more horsepower, reduce back pressure, and also enhance your truck's fuel efficiency considerably.

9. Use the right tires and check tire pressure often

Tires can affect mileage of the vehicle by 10%. It is important to buy the right tires and maintain proper tire pressure to optimize fuel efficiency.

10. Consolidate your trips

For getting peak performance, it takes about 15 minutes for your truck to reach its ideal operating temperature. When you make small trips, then come back home, wait for a while and then go back out, you are burning fuel in a less than efficient manner. To prevent this, consolidate your trips to use fuel in a more efficient manner.

Better fuel efficiency is something we could all use these days. Use these simple tips to enhance your diesel trucks fuel efficiency.

If you are looking for fuel tank sump, then check out Beans Diesel Performance at http://bdpshop.com/.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Bean

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8553179

The Raybestos Rattlesnake™ 2014 Toyota Tundra is Ready to Strike!

Raybestos Brakes and Chassis have assembled an automotive dream team in the Phoenix desert to build a venomous off-road monster -- the Raybestos Rattlesnake™ 2014 Toyota Tundra. This desert sidewinder is carefully being hand crafted by Addictive Desert Designs, with help from the boys at Joe Gibbs Racing, TRD, Mickey Thompson, Dick Cepek and it's finished with a custom wrap created by world famous tattoo artist Corey Miller.

The best part, is that you can win it! Just enter at http://raybestosgarage.com/contest/ for your chance to win this monster of a truck!

Music:
Opening track: "Fausto's Flamenco"

Largest Supply of Trailer Parts at North Bay Truck Center

Tour of the Trailer Parts inventory at North Bay Truck Center

Baldwin Filters Expanded ! North Bay Truck Center

A video tour of the expanded stock of Baldwin Filters at North Bay Truck Center

Tommy Gate Releases All-New Tuckunder Series Liftgate

Woodbine Manufacturing Company, producer of Tommy Gate hydraulic lifts, announced today the availability of a brand-new Tuckunder Series liftgate (TKT) for flatbed, stake, and van bodies.

TKT Models, the first Tuckunder-style liftgates ever produced by Tommy Gate, incorporate a state-of-the-art, wide-arm, dual-cylinder design along with numerous installation, operation, and service features to maximize both operator and upfitter convenience.

TKT Models are initially being offered with self-leveling, wedge-style platforms (either extrud­ed aluminum or steel treadplate), lifting capacities of 2500 or 3000 lbs., and bed extensions fitting either 96- or 102-inch-wide bodies.

Standard features include:

• hydraulic power-down to provide quick, consistent platform deployment 
• underride impact guard to protect from vehicle underride 
• 24-inch rubber dock bumpers to protect bed extension from direct contact with dock surface 
• snubber kit to secure stored platform 
• low-profile, fixed toggle control (with five minute inactivity shut off) 
• 2-gauge, full-length power cable and ground

Throughout an extensive research and development process, the Tommy Gate engineering and customer service departments elicited mass amounts of feedback from their network of indus­try resources which dictated many of the TKT Models’ specifications and features.

According to Tommy Gate Senior Engineer Andrew Fitzgibbon, “[Tommy Gate] interviewed distributors and installers about what sort of things they liked, or didn’t like, about the prod­ucts in the marketplace. And we talked to some end customers about how they used their gates. We also mixed in a healthy dose of taking into account our capabilities, our expertise, here at the factory and what we do well. So, we kind of mixed all three of those things together and ended up with our finished product.”

Complete product information for the Tuckunder Series may be found at the Tommy Gate web­page: www.tommygate.com. Development and operational videos may also be viewed via the Tommy Gate Youtube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/tommygateco

Located in Woodbine, Iowa, the Woodbine Manufacturing Company facility sits on the same piece of land where every Tommy Gate hydraulic lift has been produced for forty-nine years.

Find a distributor by using Tommy Gate’s Distributor Locator at www.tommygate.com or email marketing@tommygate.com for more information.

HD Exhaust Components at North Bay Truck Center

A line-up of HD Exhaust Components at North Bay Truck Center, ready to meet all Heavy Duty exhaust requirements.

Hydraulic Lines at North Bay Truck Center

Hydraulic hose must match the highest pressure of the pump output. Hoses usually have a burst rating of 4 times the operating pressure. Look at the failed hose to make sure the replacement hose will match the hydraulic flow circuit pressure ratings. Don’t accept a wrong type of hydraulic hose; it may fail again in the future.

North Bay Truck Center has an extensive Parts Department. We carry most parts for Series 5-8 Class Commercial Trucks, including Peterbuilt, Western Star, Kenworth, International, GMC, Ford, Volvo, Mack, Sterling, Isuzu, and Mitsubishi.

We carry just about every hydraulic hose and fittings. We can properly assemble, size, type or length of hose. If we don't carry it, we can get it very quickly and get your truck back on the road. If you would like more information on pricing, please contact us.

To find out more, you may call North Bay Truck Center at 707-427-1386.

Also find us at http://www.northbaytruckcenter.com

Inflate your Tires, Not Your Fuel Bill

The harm from overinflating tires, especially those that run a high percentage of unloaded miles, could outweigh the perceived gains in fuel efficiency.

Underinflation kills not only tires, but fuel economy too. According to Rick Phillips, senior director of sales, commercial and OTR roducts at Yokohama Tire, a tire underinflated by 10% can result in 20% increase in rolling resistance, and a corresponding drop in fuel economy.

For as hard as fleets work for a 1% gain in fuel efficiency, it's hard to imagine giving up something like 2-4% in fuel efficiency to something as simple as maintaining correct inflation pressure, especially today when almost every inflation or monitoring system on the market offers payback in less than a year.

Improper inflation bites you in two ways: it reduces the ability of the tire sidewall to support the load on the tire which increases the degree to which the sidewall will flex, and it changes the footprint or contact patch of the tire.

"It is not the tire, but the air inside it that supports the load," says Guy Walenga, Bridgestone director of engineering, commercial products and technologies. "And it is the air inside the casing that keeps that casing the right shape."

The energy needed to make the sidewall flex consumes extra fuel, and that partially explains why wide-base single tires can be more fuel-efficient. Since a single wide-base tire replaces a dual assembly, there are half as many sidewalls flexing.

Additionally, as the contact patch changes, more or less rubber will be in contact with the pavement, and that could generate higher than normal drag at the tread area. This will eventually reveal itself as irregular wear, but in the meantime, you're consuming more fuel pulling the softer tire through its rotation.

According to Al Cohn of Pressure Systems International, it's all about the footprint of the tire.

"When you over-inflate, the footprint changes and it gets a little smaller," he says. "But the biggest impact is -- and this is what people don’t normally talk about -- the loaded vs. unloaded condition, especially on trailers. Because you’re spec'ing the pressure based on the loaded worst-case scenario, but in many cases, they’re empty, or at least a lot lighter than fully loaded. So when you’re empty -- I mean it’s great for rolling resistance and fuel economy -- but the tire is going to develop all kinds of issues like uneven wear because it is bouncing along the highway."

Several things happen to a tire that's over-inflated for its load.

"The tread tends to crown, leaving the shoulders of the tire scrubbing along the road as it tries to keep pace with the larger circumference of the center of the tread," says Walenga. "That causes all kinds of wear along the edges of the tire."

Even though the "industry standard" pressure for drive and trailer tires seems to be 100 psi, is that the correct pressure?

Yokohama's Phillips seems to be the outlier on this issue. He suggests fleets should be running dual tires in a fully loaded tandem axle (34,000 pounds) at 80 psi, not 100.

"The higher number might be easier to remember, or provide a hedge against underinflation, but it could be compromising traction and tire performance," he says. "I've seen very little evidence of quantifiable fuel economy gains from running at 100 psi rather than 80, but I can show lots of tires that were scrapped prematurely because of irregular wear arising from overinflation." 

Looking forward, Phillips says tires could become very sensitive to inflation pressure.

"We're looking very hard at the footprint of the tire, and if we can manage that contact patch exactly as we want it to be, we think it will do a lot for the performance of the tire," he says. "If you run the tire at its design pressure, you run it the way it was designed to run, which gives you optimum traction, mileage and minimizes inflation-related irregular wear, so you get best performance over the life of the tire."

In other words, running tires under-inflated – below the recommended pressure found on the tire makers' load and inflation tables – will hurt tire performance and fuel economy, but overinflating tires may compromise tread life with few if any gains in fuel consumption.