Big Rig Bounty Hunters – My Thoughts

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Eric

By now you should be familiar with my thoughts on reality TV programming that in some form involve trucks and or heavy equipment. I will give any show, regardless of quality, a passing grade if it contains any of the before mentioned activities. The one exception being Container Wars. That show is a hot mess that should be avoided at all costs. All things considered History does a good job walking the fine line between factual and entertainment based programming. Attempts are least made to connect their shows to historical facts, places or events. Over the top characters and unbelievable recreations are kept to a minimum.

I enjoyed the season premiere of BRBH and for the most part found the show and its events to be plausible if not believable. However I did think the cattle truck that was stuck on the railroad tracks was just plain silly. It took waaaaay to long to resolve that simple issue. So far I don’t find any of the main characters to be annoying or dislikable. At first I thought “the veterans” would fit that bill with their goofy antics but they are clearly old school truckers who take pride in their work and their careers. This show is great for truck spotters and anyone else who enjoys seeing the gritty industrial underbelly of this country. I didn’t notice any painful edits involving stock truck footage or doctored sounds. In other words the IRT playbook has been left behind. Segments breaks and entire episodes do not end with promises of something dangerous or deadly to come. I give this show a thumbs up and will watch again.

New episodes of Big Rig Bounty Hunters air Thursdays nights at 10/9c  on History.

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Coming Soon – Ram 1500 with Diesel!

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Eric

Have the small displacement diesel floodgates finally opened? Yesterday Ram announced that starting in the 3rd quarter a 3.0 liter V-6 diesel will become an option for their half-ton truck lineup. The EcoDiesel, as Ram calls it, will be mated to their eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission. Both the engine and the transmission are the very same components found in the soon to be available Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel. Specific horsepower and torque ratings have yet to be revealed but class leading MPG is all but confirmed.

2013 Ram 1500 – Click to Enlarge

In hindsight it now makes sense that Ram would be the first to market with a small diesel. Their new corporate parent (Fiat) has extensive knowledge and use of such powerplants. The next question, when do Ford and GM follow suit?

Source/Image: Chrysler

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Sennebogen 825

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Eric

It’s hard to drive by a machine like this Sennebogen 825 and not feel the urge to stop and take a photograph. So that is exactly what I did. Plus I like to say the name Sennebogen. This particular 825 looks to be setup for timber work based on the boom attachment. One of the more interesting aspects of this machine is the elevating cab. If I am reading the brochure correctly the cab can rise to a height of 8 foot! No more craning your neck to see what you are lifting.

Sennebogen 825 – Click to Enlarge

The video below shows the Sennbogen 825 in action.

For more information you can visit the official Sennbogen by clicking here. Plenty of interesting machinery and cranes to gawk over. Well worth the visit. Who knows, you may even learn some German.

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CSX Jet Powered Snowblower

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Eric

Growing up near a busy rail yard I’ve heard this piece of equipment working before but I never saw it in action. That has yet to change but I finally did grab a shot of the machine responsible for the noise. By the time I caught this guy he was busy motoring back to the maintenance shed. Some quick google searching reveals that this jet engine runs on kerosene, a fact supported by the hazardous materials placard on the fuel tank.

CSX Jet Snowblower – Click to Enlarge

This is little machine that makes A LOT of noise. On a cold winter night the sound carries for miles.

Related Article

It’s  a Snow Thing – Jordan Spreader

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Truck 57 – Onondaga County DOT

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Eric

My neck of the woods came through relatively unscathed by the storm/blizzard that will be known to future generations as Nemo. For the most part it was just a regular winter storm that brought a respectable 6 – 10 inches depending on your location relative to the NYS Thruway. If you are from the CNY area you know that the Thruway is the dividing line for all weather in this part of the world.

Anyway, grabbing photos of plow trucks is usually about being in the right place at the right time. Carrying a camera on your person 24/7 is a good idea as well. As fate would have it I arrived home Friday afternoon just as truck 57 of the Onondaga DOT crested the hill near my house. Grabbing some photos and videos required nothing more than to stand in my driveway and watching the truck cruise by. Living at the end of a plow route has its advantages as the truck is usually back within a minute or two to clean the other side of the street.

Click to Enlarge

Usually I can see the truck swing the u-turn for the return pass.

Click to Enlarge

The next morning all was clear and bright. I had just returned home when truck 57 again paid a visit to my street.

Click to Enlarge

By now the drivers must think I am stalking them but in reality I haven’t done much more than stand outside for 3 minutes all weekend. Gotta love that low hanging fruit!

Guess what, video.

*Reader Update*

Joe writes “Truck 57 is a 1999 International 2674 4×2. There are a total of eight of these in their fleet. These replaced 1988 International Paystar single axles auctioned in 1999.”

Thanks for the info Joe!

Posted in On the Job, Snow Plows | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Big Rig Bounty Hunters

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Eric

I never complain when a new truck related show hits the airways. Our friends at the History channel seems to have the market cornered when it comes to new trucking shows. This Thursday (2/14) Big Rig Bounty Hunters premieres at 10PM. According to History the show premise is as follows…

Every year, thousands of trucks carrying valuable cargo across America go missing. These big rigs have to be hunted down and hauled in or the trucking companies pay the price. Vital to our nation’s economy, the United States depends on these trucks to deliver the goods. In Big Rig Bounty Hunters, HISTORY tracks five groups of colorful characters along a perilous competition to retrieve the missing loads while facing a ticking clock and life-threatening duty. A day in the life of a truck hunter is never easy, but the dollar signs keep these truckers hunting.

Time will tell if the show is nothing more than hyped up drama (Storage Wars) or something a little more realistic. Below is a trailer of what to expect.

Seems like the perfect way to spend Valentines Day! 😉

Posted in Diesel on TV | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Heavy Equipment Answers

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Eric

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in December of 2011, I ran a post with some photos of what I thought was a heavy equipment bone yard comprised mainly of CAT dozers and Euclid scrapers. For as long as I could remember the equipment had sat parked in orderly rows. They never appeared to move I would always wonder what the deal was as I passed by. Were these fine machines destined to just rust away? I could only wonder. Finally after all these years an answer has arrived. The short version, the machines are cared for and actually still run. In fact, they last worked as of 2007. I love it. To read the old post with all the updated information click here.

The man who contributed the information has his own collection of Euclids and other “vintage” equipment. He has a great video on Youtube of his 1965 Euclid C 6-5 dozer that I recommend you watch. Once this beast starts up there is no mistaking what power plant is in use.

Posted in Heavy Equipment | Tagged , | 1 Comment

World of Concrete 2013

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Eric

Extravagant hotels and casinos. Fabulous shows. Gambling. Free flowing liquor. These are just some of the reasons why millions of people visit Las Vegas each year. Over the past few years I’ve come to realize there is another reason to visit this fine city, the trade shows! For example, World of Concrete. For most this show sounds lame but where else will you see the latest in concrete technology? The trucks! The heavy equipment! If you attended this years show you know that Western Star trucks sponsored a drivers challenge in a nearby parking lot. You could test your skills in a brand new rigs against other drivers for a chance to win tickets to a NASCAR race. For some cool shots and videos of the event click here. I really would have liked to drive that 6900XD!

Also at the show, new products!

Navistar unveiled a variety of refinements to their existing product line mostly centered around the WorkStar. Improvements  such as break-away mirrors and LED lighting have been added along with, wait for it…..SCR! A WorkStar vocational tractor setup also premiered. Visit this article at ForConstructionPros.com to learn more.

CNG continues to make headway with both Freightliner and Kenworth showing their first CNG concrete mixers. Click here to read more courtesy of Commerical Carrier Journal. For the Kenworth story click here.

Finally, Mack donated a brand new Mack Granite with a McNeilus mixer to the Concrete Industry Management program. The truck was auctioned to help provide scholarship support to students seeking a B.S. in Concrete Industry Management. Click here for the full story.

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Name the Crane

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Eric

My wife spied this crane the other day outside of her gym. She was nice enough to take a picture for all of us to enjoy. The crane belongs to Solvay Iron Works. I’m not sure of the model so I will just go ahead and say it’s a Grove. Anyone else have a better guess?

Click to Enlarge

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Brother from a different mother

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Eric

Daimler Trucks North America, the parent company to both Freightliner and Western Star trucks. Below is an interpretation from each sibling company on what a plow truck should be. Which one would you choose?

Freightliner 114SD – Click to Enlarge

Western Star 4900 – Click to Enlarge

Posted in At the Dealer, Snow Plows | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments