Inverters: Choose wisely, install correctly!

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Story thanks to truckinginfo.com Link provided below:

Fleets Find Benefits in Factory-Installed Inverters

Dec, 2013  In Joe Egan’s office, a framed picture shows a long-haul tractor, or more precisely, its charred remains.

“It’s not one of our trucks, but it illustrates what can happen when an electrical fire is caused by a bad inverter installation,” he says. “It gives a visual reminder to any driver who comes into my office what can happen if an inverter isn’t installed correctly.”

As director of maintenance for Richmond, Va.,-based Abilene Motor Express, a 350-tractor fleet, Egan says inverters have long been a popular addition to the fleet’s trucks.

 “Drivers have always wanted the comforts of home and AC power is at the top of the list.  If you’re on the road, you want to be able to plug in a TV, laptop or microwave,” he explains. “Plus, several of our drivers use CPAP machines.

"Prior to 2009, we were allowing our drivers to install their own inverters, but that became an increasingly difficult situation for our company. We were worried about poor installations – thus the picture on my wall – plus when they moved to another truck they would want to pull out the inverter and reinstall it in the new truck. That was a headache for them as well as for us. So, in 2009, we changed ourpolicy and decided to have inverter/chargers factory-installed with each new truck order. That ensured a proper installation and gave drivers what they wanted.  It’s been a great decision.”

The company runs a mix of tractors – Volvo VN780s, the new Kenworth T680, some Freightliners and Macks. Each truck maker offers Xantrex inverter and inverter/chargers ranging in power from 1,000 to 1,800 watts. Each is rated at double their power for “surge” power (the power needed for the initial load when a microwave turns on for example). Plus, they are equipped with a low-voltage disconnect (LVD) to shut down the inverter, once the system detects low-battery power. This safeguard preserves the starting power in the battery. 

According to Steve Carlson, OEM sales manager for inverter supplier Xantrex, when it comes to getting even more from inverters, many fleets are gaining extra “staying-on” power by installing dedicated deep-cycle batteries.

“They’ll add additional cost, but unlike a starting battery, they can be deep discharged with no less impact on battery life, and the LVD can be set to 10.5 volts versus 11.8,” he says. “In many cases, the driver can go a full rest-period without worry of running out of power. We also recommend the dedicated batteries when drivers are using medical equipment, such as CPAP machines. to ensure they have enough power for their sleep schedule.”

Gordon Trucking, based in Pacific, Wash., uses Thermo King TriPac APUs on all its long-haul trucks to provide auxiliary heating (via bunk heater) and air conditioning. The APU also features a Xantrex 1800-watt system, for hotel power loads.

“A quality inverter is very important within that system,” says Kirk Altrichter, vice president of Gordon Trucking. “In earlier APUs we were running, an off-shore brand inverter was used, and it gave us nothing but trouble. When the inverter went out, that meant our drivers couldn’t use hotel loads in the cab and sleeper. So, we were very pleased that our new TriPac units were equipped with the Xantrex inverter – we haven’t had a problem whatsoever and that’s been big for us, and for our drivers. I can tell you that offering AC power to our drivers is a huge retention factor for us. It does make a difference.”

With the TriPac APU, Gordon Trucking uses four AGM batteries which the inverter converts to AC power for all the truck’s hotel loads. Once the system detects the battery bank needs recharging, the APU automatically fires up to recharge the batteries. Once the batteries are topped off, the APU shuts down.

Because Gordon Trucking’s inverters come with the TriPac system, the long-haul trucking company is set for power conversion. But for fleets that don’t have inverters integrated into their APUs, Altrichter has some words of wisdom.

“With inverters, you truly get what you pay for,” he says. “Installation is also critical. You have to have the right wiring to match the amperage draw -- it doesn’t take much to burn down a truck.  In the early days, we saw the problem with drivers installing inverters themselves, so we decided back in 2006 that our trucks should have inverters – we wanted to provide them with AC power and we wanted the installation done professionally.”

Carlson says proper installation and a quality inverter go hand-in-hand. “Most inverters you find at a truck stop are not UL approved,” he said. “And that’s where most inverters are purchased. I can tell you unequivocally, that it is worth the extra cost to buy an inverter with a ‘Regulatory Listed’ approval – such as UL or ETL with UL458 rating. This means the inverter was inspected and approved by an independent agency, which safeguards against issues with electricity. UL458 is the listing for inverters and chargers in mobile applications. They must meet strict vibration, environmental, and thermal requirements to be approved for that listing.”

http://www.truckinginfo.com/article/story/2013/12/fleets-find-benefits-in-factory-installed-inverters.aspx?utm_campaign=Headline-News-20131230&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Enewsletter

Blue Tiger USA bringing a real tiger to the Mid-American Trucking Show!

Blue Tiger USA, makers of the Blue Tiger Elite Bluetooth headset, are planning something a little different for the 2014 Mid-American Trucking Show in Louisville, KY.  For the first time in history, a live tiger will be appearing on the exhibition floor. 

“We’re hoping that our mascot, Blu, will bring in some visitors to the show and drive some excitement for the whole event,” said company founder and president, Fieras Saah.

Don’t worry, the excitement will be kept in check as Mr. Saah also promised that Blu, a fully grown tiger, will be kept caged when she visits on Friday, March 28^th.

“Blu” is being brought in for a celebrity appearance to assist in what Blue Tiger is calling “The Official Launch of the Elite.”

Blue Tiger’s Elite headset is touted as the new industry standard in professional communications devices featuring the longest talk time, up to 34 hours, most comfortable fitting headband, and clearest communication of any headset on the market.

“Really, the Elite was made available to our customers a few months ago, but demand has been so high, we’ve been unable to meet supply requirements,” Mr. Saah continued. “MATS is the perfect platform to finally make the headset available to all of our customers that have been waiting so long.”

Blue Tiger test

Stop by Blue Tiger USA at booth #64072 on Friday, March 28^th at the Mid-American Trucking Show in Louisville, KY to meet Blu, and the rest of the Blue Tiger USA team.

Last November I had the opportunity to put a brand new Blue Tiger Elite headset through it's paces and gave it the ultimate test. You read it by clicking this Link.

Women of Trucking HERstory

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Story thanks to realwomenintrucking.com 
I've been happily married to a woman truck driver since 2008 and have heard her story of how the business can be difficult for women.  See "Deciding on a Trucking Career". 
Links provided for additional reading:

January 5, 2014 By RealWomenTruckers
Women are not new to the transportation of freight; women working as truck drivers are merely modern day female freight movers and they have been present for nearly a century yet rarely recognized.

Luella Bates drove a class B truck for the Four Wheel Drive Auto, Company from 1918 -1922 in Clintonville, Wisconsin. She was the first licensed woman truck driver.

Lillie Elizabeth McGee Drennan is often credited as the first licensed female truck driver. Lillie was given up for adoption shortly after her 1897 birth in Texas. She had only a fifth grade education when she married at the age of 15 and became a Mother; she was divorced 2 years later.

Lillie married and divorced twice more in her lifetime. During her second marriage she was introduced to the business of trucking. She eventually became a truck driver and the sole owner of the Drennan Truck Line.

Lillie had a hearing impairment that threatened her being granted a license by the regulatory commission of her day. According to the Texas State Historical Association, Lillie perceived “sex bias” as a factor rather than her hearing ability presenting a safety risk. She argued her case successfully and was granted her commercial truck-driver’s license in 1929.

Women working as truck drivers during WWII were not uncommon according to Adriesue “Bitzy” Gomez, a female trucking pioneer that has been lost in trucking history. She says that women were encouraged to take up male-dominated jobs during the 1940’s war efforts but after the war, the women were expected to get back in the kitchen. During the 1960’s, the sexual revolution heated up the equality issues in the workplace, many which remain today.

It is hardly recognized now that it was Bitzy and the 1970’s Coalition of Women Truck Drivers, a 150 member group that organized to fight hiring discrimination and sexual misconduct in trucking companies that paved the way to modern day recruitment campaigns that encourage women to apply for truck driving jobs.

While we know that women make excellent and conscientious professional commercial drivers, we are now also becoming aware that past EEOC discrimination cases brought by courageous women truckers like Bitzy created hiring mandates.

Unfortunately for women entering trucking in 2014, the problem known as the “Sleeper Test” from Bitzy’s era has not been resolved. Male trainers and co-drivers continue to coerce badger and/or force sex from female drivers. The “put out or get out” mentality is alive and well in many larger truck driver training carriers and sadly some female students do “put out” wrongly believing it is the only way to get a passing grade for a commercial driver’s license.

Education is imperative for women entering trucking and women that are already in the industry both as drivers and as related support personnel to improve retention numbers but all too often the women in trucking work against one another.

Whether these women are well intentioned but powerless, on a prima donna power trip, feeling as though since SHE has become a qualified driver and has not encountered obstacles that SHE has no one to thank and does not need to help anyone in the future. We should not view this as an achievement for women, these are not trucking heroines.

The women in the trucking industry, as with women around the world that are struggling for very basic rights must recognize that to truly “REPRESENT” something awesome it takes great courage. The courage to speak up and not back stab, to refrain from gossip, to stop “accommodating” and acting like you need to apologize for being a woman in a male dominated industry. Women need to learn compassion and understand that just because YOU did not experience harm, it is not a license to attack those that have.

The REAL Women in Trucking, Inc. vision is to unite women truckers that have the desire to help others that are struggling just as the Coalition of Women Truckers did in the 1970’s.

It is true that the majority of men welcome women to the industry, although it is not uncommon to be shouted down or told to go home and bake cookies on a regular basis. Still, there remains a greater problem, unaccountable sexual misconduct which seems to thrive in government subsidized truck driver training carriers. This problem is most frequently reported from trainees where the “team business” model is practiced and/or lease truck programs during training are pushed. (CR England, CRST Van Expedited, New Prime, Inc. and Covenant Transport)

“It is unreasonable to require a woman to team truck drive with a man as a requirement for employment” ~ Quote from Adriesue “Bitzy” Gomez

Women play a critical role in the future of trucking and it’s time for the true history of the women in trucking to be revealed. These are not pretty fairy tales and we are still very far away from having a happy ending.

Additional Reading: Women Truckers Organize Against Male Counterparts

TIME Magazine April 26, 1976 : The Sexes – Women Truckers PDF
Woman’s World Magazine May 1977 : Keep on Truckin’ Part 1 PDF
Woman’s World Magazine May 1977 : Keep on Truckin’ Part 2 PDF

- See more at: http://www.realwomenintrucking.com

Another flawed study from the FMCSA

Mario

Post written by and thanks to  Mario RaiaExecutive Coach at TranStrategy Partners. Link provided:

Friends,

As suspected, the FMCSA did not do a complete and accurate study of the new 34 hour restart rules that went into effect last July.

Specifically, they did not consider the safety effect of the rules on pushing drivers into driving at peak traffic times (after 5:00 AM). They also did not address why the 34 hour restart can only be used once per week. This restart delay makes no sense, and it significantly strands long haul drivers in remote places, at odd times, delaying deliveries, increasing transportation costs, while keeping drivers from getting home to their families.

Many of our customers and their drivers are experiencing the pain of these new rules. We strongly recommend contacting your legislators and asking for their support in legislation delaying these rules until a proper study can be done. 

See below for more details.

Best regards,

Mario Raia
360-608-7659 (Direct)

HOS Study Proves Benefits of New Restart Restrictions, FMCSA Says

By Eric Miller Staff Reporter and Transport Topics Links provided:

A new study found that the restart provision in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration‘s current hours-of-service rule is more effective at combating fatigue than the prior hours rule, the agency said.

The “real world, third-party” study, mandated by the MAP-21 transportation law, provided scientific evidence that the restart provision helps “truckers stay well-rested, alert and focused on the road,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a Jan. 30 statement.

The hours rule, which became effective July 1, requires any driver working long enough to need a restart to take off at least 34 consecutive hours that include two periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

The study found that drivers who began their work week with just one nighttime period of rest, as compared with the two nights in the updated 34-hour restart break, exhibited more lapses of attention, reported greater sleepiness and showed increased lane deviation in the morning, afternoon and at night.

“This new study confirms the science we used to make the hours-of-service rule more effective at preventing crashes that involve sleepy or drowsy truck drivers,” FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro said. “For the small percentage of truckers that average up to 70 hours of work a week, two nights of rest is better for their safety and the safety of everyone on the road.”

American Trucking Associations said it is concerned that FMCSA did not thoroughly study all of the effects of the rule.

“We appreciate FMCSA releasing the results of its restart field study,” Dave Osiecki, ATA’s executive vice president and chief of national advocacy, said in a statement. “However, in many respects this short report is lacking critical analyses on several important issues.”

Specifically, the study did not examine the new provision that the restart can only be used once every seven days. It also did not address the extent to which the provision would push drivers to work in the morning rush hour and its effect on congestion and safety, ATA said, calling the study “incomplete.”

Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), a longtime opponent of the restart changes, called the study “worthless.”

He criticized its sample size of 100 drivers from three carriers and that it did not study the rush hour aspect.

“This half-baked study only underscores the need to legislatively delay the rule and have [Government Accountability Office] conduct an independent analysis of the study so we can get a credible account of what this rule will truly mean for the safety of truckers, commuters and businesses,” Hanna said in a statement.

Hanna has proposed legislation to repeal the restart changes until GAO can assess them.

For more policy and regulatory news, click here to subscribe to the weekly TTGovernment newsletter.

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=34045&page=1

The Red-Light Camera Rip-Off

Do you hate red-light cameras?  Would you like to play a primary role in their demise? Do you like tax deductions?  Keep reading.

Thanks to The National Motorists Association: You can join for free at the links provided:
Through our recently launched grant program for members --- the Community Support Program (CSP)  --- the NMA funded a 30-second YouTube video that is gaining wide attention. Just click on "The Red-Light Camera Ripoff" to the right to view it yourself.

Triggered by a grant request by a New Jersey member who is fed up with the red-light camera program --- a pilot program at that --- in his home state, the NMA worked with a media consultant to produce the video for wide distribution on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Within a day of the video's release, one of the most listened to radio personalities in New Jersey, Jim Gearhart, plugged "The Red-Light Camera Ripoff" spot on his morning program and also posted it to his website.

So far the reaction to the video has been fantastic.  So fantastic, in fact, that we are already making plans to produce another 30-second spot about red-light cameras.  It will likely focus on how the game is rigged for revenue by setting the yellow light intervals too short.  Too many people have a blind trust in authority, so much so that they feel that if you received a ticket, you deserved it no matter what.  What they don't yet realize is that our opposition to red-light cameras is not a law-and-order issue, it is a fairness/safety/government-abuse issue all rolled up into one.

We need to increase our funding resources in the Community Support Program in  order to have the money to produce the second red-light camera video and to award other grants to NMA members.  That is where you can help out.  

The current NMA Foundation fundraising campaign is designed to help fund the CSP.  If you send in a donation to the non-profit NMA Foundation on or before December 31, 2013, you not only will help us create that next 30-second YouTube video, you will also be able to claim that donation as a charitable deduction.

Help us strike another blow against red-light cameras and photo enforcement.  Click here to find out more about the Community Support Program and how to donate to the cause. 

http://www.motorists.org/