For years garages, fleets, truckers and repair facilities have struggled with what to do with spilled oil, lubes, fuel and gas. It has always been considered acceptable to clean a spill with kitty litter type absorbant materials. This is great IF you have a way to dispose of the contaminated litter – or is it? Let’s think for a minute. When you clean up a spill with litter the majority of the time there is residual spillage and staining left behind. Granted you may have cleaned up a portion of the spill but in reality all you have done is transferred most of the spill in to an absorbant material that now is considered a hazardous material and needs to be properly disposed of. Still today in this country thousands of pounds of contamnated absorbant ends up in landfills. So for those of us that properly dispose of contaminated absorbant what is the true cost? There is the time factor – it takes time to clean a spill, there is the cost of the absorbant and on top of that there are fees to properly dispose of the contaminated absorbant, which still leaves potentially hazardous residues and stains behind and then there can be professional cleanup fees and fines. There are many products out there other then the kitty litter type of absorbant as well. There are specialty mats and sponges again these become contaminated and must be disposed of properly as well. For fuel and tanker drivers I have heard there is a law or proposed laws that they must carry enough absorbant type material to clean a spill, this can get very costly and adds considerable weight to loads dropping fuel mileage. So what is the answer to the question how do I effectivly clean a spill? There is a product we proudly sell, Bio-Trac which actually neutralizes any hydrocarbon spill. (for more info now visit http://www.truckerzparadise.com/tps/biotrac.html ) What is a hydrocarbon? Hydrocarbons are found in any type of fuel or oil such as gasoline, oils, hydraulic fluids, transmission fluids, gear oils, diesel, kerosene and more. Usually some sort of petrolium based product. This includes your synthetic oils as well. There have been many advancements in oils and lubes including soluble and environmentaly safe formulas but the majority of the product we still use in this country contains hazardous hydrocarbons. What Bio-Trac does is far different then conventional absorbants. First, Bio-trac is not an absorbant but an enzyme based hydrocarbo neutralizer. It comes in a concentrate form and is applies directly to the spill and then water is applied to activate the reaction. The result is an environmentaly safe by product where the hydrocarbons have been neutralized and can cause no harm to the environment or people when properly applied. Bio-Trac can even clean contaminated soil and earth! This product is perfect for tanker drivers, oil and lube facilities, refineries, golf courses, gas stations, fire departments, landscapers, truckers, fuel haulers, garages, fleets, repair facilities any where gas, oil or diesel is used or can be found. Bio-Trac is also on the EPA safe list and best of all there is ZERO costs involved in disposing of the product. When applied correctly the residue simply gets washed away safely. Safe travels! Find out more about Bio-Trac today! http://www.truckerzparadise.com/tps/biotrac.html
Green technology
February 21st, 2010Photos from friends on the road
January 24th, 2010Today I had a conversation with a good friend of mine. I very much enjoy talking with this person and helping share what they contribute to the world. This persons name is Sean. He is a long haul trucker who shares beautiful landscape pictures on his Twitter pages. Some of you already know who I am talking about but for those who don’t it is Sean Brown otherwise know as Protruckr or @ProtruckR for Twitter. Protruckr travels with his companion Monkeybone (a sock puppet who has his own personality) and shares many a breathtaking view with the rest of us. Sean is not a professional photographer nor does he have state of the art photography equipment, he is an average hard working Joe just sharing the beauty of his countryside. Armed with his Blackberry he heads off delivering crucial loads and on the way shares some of the beautiful Canadian countryside with his followers. Sean’s photo “work” is so good we built a page to share our friends photos on our site. To see some of Seans photo’s visit www.truckerzparadise.com/protrucker.html you wont be sorry! About once or twice a week we upload various pictures that protruckr has shared so check back often for updates. If your on Twitter give @ProtruckR a follow and be prepared to see some of the nicest photos you will ever seen from a phone camera. Thank you Sean “ProtruckR” Brown!
Flat tires – Dont deal with them – Prevent them!
December 29th, 2009Clear you mind and imagine this…….. Its raining or at this time of year in many parts of the US its snowing. Your in your vehicle, heat is on warming your chilled bones, your favorite music is drifting out of the speakers soothing your weary soul as you drift down the highway trying to make your next destination on time, when it happens. No warning out of the blue one of your tires goes flat. Best case scenario you ease your ride to the side of the road with no extra problems, worst case……..i’ll leave it to the imagination. Nothing is worse then having to be somewhere, at a certain time and your stuck on the side of a road changing a flat, getting soaked or worse. Even if you have AAA or Autoroadservice.com you still have to sit there and wait often times in an unsafe position on the side of the road. What to do – well here is an idea – prevent the flat before it happens. How?? Easy. Flats-No-More will prevent flat tires. Please don’t confuse this product with a flat fix spray those can be unsafe, messy and are not a preventative. Flats-No-More was originaly developed for military use designed to make tires bullet resistant. It is able to handle multiple punctures and still maintain proper pressure for the life of the tires. You can find more information and buy Flats-No-More here http://www.truckerzparadise.com/tps/flats.html
Now more about our topic –
Here is a staggering thought – over 1 billion tires are produced annually. In our “Green” lifestyle we are all trying to cut waste, reduce landfill mass and greenhouse emmissions. Tires are one of the most difficult things to dispose of. There is no good way. What if we could realize a 20 – 30% increase in our tire life? What impact would that make on our planet and our carbon footprint? Along those lines what if we were also able to increase our gas milage? Both of these things add up to more and more out of pocket savings for you along with helping the environment!. All of this can be accomplished with Flats-No-More. Taking the one billion annual tire figure above if you could increase your tires life by 15,000 miles. That would be a significant amount of tires saved from landfills every year even if were only taking 1000 vehicles in to account. Oh yeah, what about the fuel savings? Tires run at proper pressure yield the most amount of fuel efficiency each of us could feasibly gain an extra tank of fuel a year by running our tires at proper inflation levels.
Now, let’s talk more about tires, performance, how and why they fail along with their relationship with fuel economy and tire life.
Tires perform a variety of functions. They help provide a smooth ride, provide protection to our rims (wheels), provide traction and grip and keep us on the road. Tires can loose air from several locations – punctures, the sealing bead of the tire that fits to the rim and the valve stem (where air goes in the tire). As tires loose pressure several things happen. The flex on the tire increases which in turn causes temperatures to rise both of which puts extra stress on the tire, tread and sidewall. Tread wear patterns increase which causes uneven and premature wear. All of the above lead to premature tire failure and decreased fuel mileage. At $2.75 a gallon who wants or needs that! So how do we keep our tires at optimum pressure all the time? Some trucks utilize a tire pressure monitoring system. These systems are tied in to air systems of trucks and if there is a pressure difference air is directed to the low tire to bring it to a pre determined pressure. These systems work great and have saved some fleets mucho denero in fuel and tire savings. It is not feasible or practical to outfit all vehicles with these systems so the next best thing and more economical approach is to utilize a flat tire preventative to keep pressure at constant levels and stoping air leaks from valve stems, punctures and bead leakage.
Now if you take your vehicle off road, load it heavy, run it in demanding or construction areas, or work it hard your tires feel that same pain and will show it in increased wear not to mention unseen objects like nails, screws, bolts, tie hooks, rocks, glass, metal shards etc. Bottom line a flat preventative like Flats-No-More is just the ticket to keep you from having to worry about another flat tire headache. It is easy to instal, environmentally safe, can be cleaned easily and will increase your safety, tire life and fuel savings. Simply deflate your tires by removing the valve core, determine the amount of Flats-No-More needed by tire size, use the provided pump with Flats-No-More pail to pump in to tire, inflate with air to manufacturers specified pressure and drive away worry free! Works on any size or application tire. If you prefer to have your tire shop install the Flats-No-More for you send them to our site, let them know you want this product for your tires. Typically Flats-No-More will cost around $10 per passenger car tire which after reading this you should agree will be easy to recoup in fuel savings and longer tire life alone not to mention your savings with tire repair or road service calls and the frustration of being stranded fixing a flat on the side of the road or waiting for a tow truck. Be safe out there!
Find Flats-No-More flat tire preventative here – www.truckerzparadise.com/tps/flats.html
It Could Happen To You
December 24th, 2009Recently there was a tradgedy involving a fire truck and faulty brakes. Cutting corners in an 80,000 pound rig is not the right or safe way to do things and it happens every day. If your cutting corners your costing yourself big bucks in the long run and could be compromising safety and laws. Brakes are a crucial component to keep your rig rolling and earning income. Never sacrifice saftey for cost savings by using the wrong shoe or lining for your application. For instance if your hauling heavy stone in hilly conditions an economy brake shoe lining is really not right for your application. You can smoke your shoes easily, lining life will be decreased and you will spend more money then if you used the right lining the first time. Your parts professional can help you make the correct desicion. Remember you can find high quality parts on our site www.truckpartstore.net At the end of the day use and install the correct parts for your application, install and maintain the parts correctly by following the manufacturers reccommendations and dont compromise safety for cost savings. Lastly make sure you and any of your mechanics are properly trained to perform required repairs and maintenance on your equipment. Almost every manufacturer provides training and usually your parts supplier can help you set this training up. Be safe out there!
Wheel Seal Failures – what are the main causes??
December 6th, 2009Having spent many years in the parts and service side of the business we thought it would be good to provide some insight to this common failure in the wheel end.
Wheel seals have come a long way since the inception of the first seals being made out of leather. Today they are designed to run upwards of 500,000 miles with proper installation techniques. Let’s explore some of the failure types:
Improper installation is a leader. Each seal manufacturer designs their seals to be installed a particular way some with specific tools. This is not by mistake. Using one mfgs tools on anothers seals is not proper nor are they designed to work together. Always use the proper tooling if required as stated by the mfg.
Improper bearing adjustments. Doesnt sound like much but it leads to many wheel end and seal failures or wearing of components far to early. Always install and tighten wheel bearings to proper tolerances as determined by axle mfg.
Contamination many of today lubricants are not compatible with others. Also the wheel end must be super clean when serviced. The correct lubricants will cool the wheel end properly as well.
Spindle condition – always make sure your spindles are freee from contamination, burrs, gouges and any damage that can harm a seal.
The seals of today are built so well that they will provide serivce life even if all of the conditions above are not met, it will be short lived but it will prodive its function just the same. Please take the time to do the job right it will pay you great dividends in the long haul!
Run with Jazzy awesome article!!
December 5th, 2009All, here is a heart warming story that was written by Jason Cox and can be seen on the Examiner. See Jason’s full story here: Jason Cox article
Jazzy is A 16 year old young woman running from LA to NY for the St Christopher Truckers Development Fund. Jazzy will be the youngest woman ever to accomplish this feat! Please visit www.runwithjazzy.com for more information on Jazzy and the run. Also on our website we have an exclusive 20question spotlight interview with Jazzy. See it Here for more information on St. Christopher fund Click here
Jasmine Jordan running across America to help out Truck Drivers
December 3, 3:49 PMLexington Truck Industry ExaminerJason CoxPrevious Comment Print
Jasmine “Jazzy” Jordan, 16 years old grew up in and around the trucking industry. She has seen the problems people have had in the past with no or not enough health insurance.
A friend of the family and a co-worker passed away in April of 2009. Jasmine, who also goes by Jazzy made a decision to make a difference.
Jazzy had been running hard, training, in hopes of making the 2012 Summer Olympics, but now has put that dream on hold.
September 1, 2009 she set out on her journey across America. She had decided to run across America to bring awareness to the growing problem of people not having insurance or to little of insurance. Jazzy learned of a not-for-profit organization called St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund.
What is St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund? This is an excerpt from their website. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund (SCF) is a not-for-profit organization that provides financial assistance to professional truck drivers who have medical problems and cannot otherwise afford healthcare. SCF also conducts health research to benefit professional drivers and the trucking industry.
Her parents own a small trucking company and also a pilot car company. Lee and Paulette Jordan are members of OOIDA, and you can read another excellent article on Jazzy’s run here. Jazzy grew up in a trucking family envionment she understands the need for truckers and all involved in the trucking industry to stay healthy. She knows that is how they make their living as well as making it possible for others to have jobs as well “AMERICA MOVES BY TRUCK”.
She has her route planned out and it started in California, and it will end in New York City, the routes are listed on her website which can be found here, and also are subject to change. She had completed California and Arizona and much of New Mexico, when a stress fracture in one foot sidelined her for a month. December 1, 2009 she was back out there running again. Updates come from her FaceBook page where you can become a fan and follow her on her journey.
Jazzy’s biggest supporter happens to be her Mom and the business she operates. Jazzy wrote on her website that this, could not be possible without her mom, “Thanks Mom you are true greatness”.
Jazzy can be followed on Twitter @RUNWITHJAZZY and Jazzy
Big shoutout and thanks to Jason Cox for writing and publishing this story and thank you for letting us post it!
Sunday – another thanksgiving
November 29th, 2009The wafting succulent smell of turkey slowly roasting in the oven….buttery stuffing with a slightly crunchy top, Garlic and butter smashed potatoes, smooth creamy squash, pumpernickle and rye soft browning rolls……………SO cant wait to eat today!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!
November 26th, 2009Just wanted to give a Happy Thanksgiving shout to all wishing you a safe and happ holiday! We sure are thankful for all of you who visit and share our site with others!
we are also very thankful to our new followers we have picked up from our friends at Twitterfriend.org. Please do yourself a favor and check them out! www.twitterfriends.org
Coming very soon is our own 20 question spotlight with an amazing young woman helping the industry – Jasmine “Jazzy” Jordan – YOU will NOT want to miss that!
Cya’ll reall soon!!
Thank you all again and please have a safe and happy holiday!
Social newtworking………why we do it and our strategy
November 24th, 2009Hey Truckerz! We wanted to take a moment and let you know what were up to as it relates to our social networking sites. We Tweet, we FB, we Friendfeed, we Digg and we Myspace. Why?? To get our name out – absolutly. More important to us though is to be on a more personal level with our visitors, followers, fans and friends. We absolutly LOVE this industry but we L O V E the people in it more! We at www.truckerzparadise.com and www.truckpartstore.net value every single friendship we have made and person we have met on our short 5 month journey, heck we thought we were industry connected LONG before the site and social networking but we were very wrong! Utilizing these little tools have certainly brought us good fortune in friendships. We have met the most awesome and incredible people in the industry and yes we WILL name drop!! Ellen Voie – a very, very nice person! Alex Debogorski & his son Curtis – Awesome guys! Daniel Audet – Outstanding individual, Protruckr Sean and Monkeybone – Absolutly great, Truckerdesiree – super nice girl! Lisa Kelly – Just a peach! Keystrucker and keystruckergal – super sweet folks! Jasmine “jazzy” Jordan – absolute angel! TruckerSteve – darn cool dude! Mike Rone and RMRconsultants – Great people! Jason Cox – Great asset to the industry! Findtruckservice.com – Awesome folks! the list goes on and on and on with the best most sincere people on the planet! If we left anyone out we sure are sorry but our minds and memories arent what they used to be – trust us you are absoulty incredibly important to us and THANK YOU ALL for being a part of our little corner of the world!
What is our strategy with social networking? Simple – there are many reasons but we will list them so you, our followers know exactly what were up to:
Networking – these are great networking tools. We can’t make every show or visit every truckstop and we need to know our customers – yes we said customers! We need to know you to be able to help you and give you the very best that we can and to build solid, life long relationships.
Advertise – we need to advertise and frankly we have no budget. We need to keep you informed on our site progress, whats new, whos is our spotlight interviews, changes, news and on and on. We utilize advertising the best we can we try to be very informative and helpful to you.
Curiosity – were very curious people here at www.truckerzparadise.com and www.truckpartstore.net. We WANT to know what is going on with the industry, our competitors, and YOU! Yes we read a T O N of your posts and tweets and we re-tweet A LOT of what your posting.
profit – bottom line end of the day were in business just like every other company on the planet – to make money. We will advertise certain products and third party companies if it makes sense for you, our loyal fans. Having said that there is a treasures chest of NO COST tools, information and interviews on our site and we gladly provide them to you FREE just visit our site and utilize our services. You can find news, traffic updates, recipes, sports news, music, horoscopes, games, loads, jobs and tons more, for FREE. All we ask is you visit www.truckerzparadise.com as your source for everything trucking and if we are missing something LET US KNOW! Were here for you and we will work hard to find valuable resources for you!
Friends – one thing that makes people rich is friendship – we desire to be lavishly rich with friends. jump on board! Follow us or communicate with us we LOVE IT!
Our overall strategy is to become your source for everything trucking. We can only accomplish this by being visible, very visible. We need you, you are our most valuable resource. We need your friendships, We need friendships with your friends, we need those that believe in us to talk us up, retweet our good stuff, post comments on our posts etc, we need your input and advice along the way and we need you to make www.truckerzparadise.com THE source for everything trucking!
Well thats about it. Please don’t be a stranger, say hi, email us, tweet us, direct message us and tell your friends to do the same!
In closing, on this Thanksgiving holiday the staff of www.truckerzparadise.com and www.truckpartstore.net will be giving thanks, we will be giving thanks for all of you, our friends, our associates, our followers, our fans, and we will be praying for ALL of you and your families to have a very safe ad happy holiday!
Happy Saturday!!
November 21st, 2009Whats up Truckerz?? TONS of new stuff kicking around on the site! www.truckparstore.net is LIVE! There you will find Amsoil, Wix, Mann, Donaldson Trico, Mothers, The Griffin tool, Bio-Trac hydrocarbon eater, Flats-No-More, NGK plugs and wires and TONS of truck parts – chrome and accessories. www.truckerzparadise.com/news.html is your source for industry news and updates! Great new 20 question spotlights coming up with an amazing young woman named Jazzy Jordan, Alex Debogorski and Ellen Voie to name a few! Tons of new stuff! Talk soon and be safe out there!!