There is great new safety technology coming from Vernon, Canada with a company called Wolf Trailer Company. Called the “Roll-Coupled Trailer Hitch”, they have developed a new hitch that replaces the pintle hitches for safer turns.
The Pintle hitch was created in the early 1900’s and is just now evolving into a safer hinge. Larry Wulff, the leader of Wolf Trailer Company research and development, describes this new technology as the “most significant improvement in the trucking industry in the last 80 years”.
Larry explains that the older Pintle hitches have no preventative precautions built in to keep trailers from rolling over in extreme turning maneuvers. With the new Roll-Coupled Trailer Hitch, truck and trailer combinations cannot independently roll without the other, thus preventing more rollovers and creating more stability than if working independently. He notices that drivers feel a difference instantaneously between the Pintle Hitch and the Roll-Coupled Trailer Hitch while driving.
The article gave Wulff’s example:
“Wulff said a tri-drive truck pulling a four-axle wagon would have a load transfer ratio of 0.94 (a value of 1.00 is a guaranteed rollover) during a standard evasive maneuver. Testing indicates that same vehicle equipped with a roll-coupling device would reduce the ratio to 0.526, which is below the 0.60 maximum required by the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC).
Truckers right now that buy a Tridem trailer can only carry 21,000 kilograms. If it’s a roll-coupled trailer, they can carry 3,000 kg more in B.C. In other provinces it will go up to 26,000 kg. He adds that roll-coupling a tandem-drive truck-tandem pony trailer will increase carrying capacity by around 21 per cent, and most significantly, A-trains could see capacity increased by 9,000 kg.
That means you need one out of five less trucks in a place like Vancouver where the roads are congested. Less exhaust emissions, less tires in the landfills – it makes quite a difference.
The industry gets productivity and the public gets safer highways. It’s a win-win all around.”
For more information on the Roll-Coupled Trailer Hitch, go to http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/business/103177989.html.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/business/103177989.html
There’s a new 7-inch navigation gadget out there for truck drivers called the 7750 Platinum that was created by Cobra Electronics. It has updated graphics and 3D images of oncoming intersections and exits. This great new technologically savvy mechanism has the following qualities: last-mile routing, road coverage on secondary highways, hours-of-service log, junction view, junction view with lane assist, and state mileage log.
We figured it would be a good time to talk about this because the weather is a huge influence on your amount of idle time. Also, With Companies becoming more environmentally friendly, Truck Drivers have made changes in their idle time. No longer do truckers idle their engines to supply electricity or to heat their cab. With the winter weather we are experiencing,