Life on the Road - Trucking News Blog

Truckers have long used APU technology to provide the creature comforts of climate control in their cabs.  This technology uses a fraction of the fuel of a diesel engine, but with increasing fuel prices and the push for companies to go green the savings simply isn’t enough.

Delphi and Peterbilt have green in their minds with their latest innovations in APU technology.

Dephi’s new APU used solid oxide fuel cells to run a Peterbilt 386’s electrical system and AC all without idling or depleting battery power.  The test mimicked a truckers average day and ran successfully for a solid 10 hours (the amount of rest required for every 11 hours of driving).  The SOFC APU provided an average of 800 watts of energy throughout the test.

According to Delphi this new solid oxide fuel cell APU technology has a long list of benefits to the old APU technology.

I read a LOT. I don’t read to get informed or to get edumacated, I read because I enjoy it. It’s relaxing and stress relief.In the course of my reading I came across an outfit called Baen Books. They do E-Books. They are about the only outfit that does it right in my very biased opinion. Well, to read ebooks you need some kind of electronic device to read them. I use computers. Either desktop, laptop or palmtop…I’ve experimented with them and have them all. Heck, I even read ebooks on my phone.

What does this addiction of mine have to do with buying trucks? Well, I’ll tell you. Some of the ebook addicted readers of the Jim Baen publishing house (of which there are several thousand, poor souls.) felt that they needed a special ebook reader. One that would work better than what I’ve mentioned above. This was in the days before the Amazon Kindle a device I don’t have. Won’t have because it embrasses DRM and I can’t abide DRM I refuse to use VISTA for that same reason…and others.

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………well maybe not.

However….lately there’s been a whole lot of talk about how bad it is in the trucking industry. This is no doubt true. That being the case I find it highly interesting to run across the following articles on various websites.

A World Without Trucks

Chicago’s Freight Subway does the work of 5000 Trucks

Roadless Trucking for the World

And the favorite of Science Fiction readers from way back….

………..The Driverless Car. ……with a driverless truck to follow shortly.

Trucking is changing rapidly. High fuel prices are lending impetuous to those changes. Individual truckers are caught in the gears.

What other impending changes are below the radar?

Since there hasn’t been anything interesting in the trucking news world, (I read the boring stuff, so you don’t have to) I’m putting up some Lonestar Videos. We’ve got pictures, but to see this truck in motion, is something to see! In case you missed our other Lonestar posts - go here.

Lonestar Unveiling

Turn up the audio!

More Videos after the jump.
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Can you fall in love with a truck? For years as my over the road career was winding down, I didn’t think so. They all seemed pretty much the same to me. Well not any more! I love this new Lonestar from International! The styling is fantastic and makes me want to go back out on the open road. When my wife heard me say that she got mad as all heck! ( I gave up the open road last August) The specs on this truck show that the fine folks over at International left nothing out on this one.

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I’m not much of a “chrome” guy. I can take it or leave it. My truck is a work truck not a show truck. I bought my current truck because it looks good from the inside. The LoneStar looks damn good from the inside. Everything from the dash, the murphy bed, storage and the most important 50 degree wheel cut. A short turning radius helps immensely in getting into those tight places where big trucks probably shouldn’t be in the first place.

The only thing missing is a premium laptop holder built in or at least as an option. Between GPS, laptops, MP3 players and satellite radios and all of the other electronics drivers have on their dash now, I want as many of my devices built-in as possible or at least easy to install and hide the wires. Maybe they can put that in next year’s model.

I was blown away last month when we got a sneak peak at this truck and it was all I could do to keep from spilling the beans about it then. But now, that the day has arrived for its debut, I am even more impressed.

Normally, I haven’t been too keen on the trend towards retro styling on automobiles. It’s hard to duplicate perfection from the past using todays required technology. But with the Lonestar, it seems International has found the happy medium.

That massive grill reminds me of the Diamond T’s and other solid road trucks of the past. The chrome louvers on the side add style to functionality. The factory installed “good buddy” lights are tasteful and accentuate the stylish design of the truck.

Ya’ll check out the interior. Hell, I could live in this thing. Optional Bluetooth radio setup and optional Monsoon 11 speaker stereo with sub and amp. You can bang out some tunes on that thing. My Jetta has a similar Monsoon system installed and it is awesome.

Swivel seats, a dash that is designed for driver comfort seem to make this the perfect truck for the owner operator. I don’t see many fleets putting this to work but time will be the judge of that.

This truck could definitely be the answer to driver retention and satisfaction. I know it could satisfy me in a big way. I want one!

Disclosure: Life on the Road is sponsored by International Trucks, but they don’t tell us what to say. They did however give us these incredible pictures. (Click on the picture to enlarge) The Lonestar is a classic look crossed with the fuel efficient Prostar. Big engines will be available. This has all the chrome any classic big hood, big chrome driver could ask for. And if the aerodynamics and fuel efficiency is as good as the Prostar, it will be the best of both world’s and will redefine class 8 trucks and be the model for the rest of the industry to follow. More posts and pictures to follow.

I just got word that International is getting ready to start building a new Truck.

They call it the LoneStar

I’m from Texas so that name kind of resonates. I kinda like it. It sort of looks like a grinning shark. I wonder what it would look like in a gunmetal grey over black color scheme? Psychedelics aside though… I see one thing that I REALLY like.

The intake area through the hood for airflow…… for cooling…it looks to be huge. Us heavy haulers always have trouble with engines overheating. Lots of airflow is a plus.

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Remember CW McCall and the song Convoy? The state of Colorado recruited Mr. Fries (CW’s real name) to narrate Crossing The Colorado Rockies On I-70 With C.W. McCall. Downloadable MP3’s, one for westbound and another for eastbound. Great information for driving the stretch between Denver and Vail, a lot of safety information, warnings of steep grades and sharp curves by mile marker and some really interesting stories about the towns and sights along the way. A really cool driving tour specifically made for truckers, there’s some good information for four-wheelers as well. There’s even information for four-wheelers when they’re driving around big trucks, like -

If you see an eighteen wheeler coming up real fast behind you blowing his horn, he may want to use the runaway truck ramp, you might want to move into the left lane.

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