Less Is Moore

This month’s cool creation was built for Coast Pipe in Paso Robles, CA. Clint Moore may be known for his striking paint schemes and old-school stripes, but for every flashy truck he creates, two equally-nice but plain-looking ones go out the door. This is one of those units. And although it may look like there is not a lot to SEE on this truck, following the “less is more” approach, there certainly is a lot to SAY about what all has been done to it!

Coast Pipe is an outfit that specializes in all types of pipe products used for fencing, barns,

vineyards, corrals, cattle chutes and gates, as well as a wide variety of posts, panels, roofing and erosion control products. Owned by Peter Orradre and Bill Roth, the two business partners bought the company nine years ago, which sells products in the states of California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada.

Last year, Rawley Duncan, a salesman and general representative of Coast Pipe, went with his friend Clay White to pick up the truck he had ordered from Clint (featured in our August 2012 edition). The two ended up spending a week with Clint, and became pretty good friends. Shortly after Rawley returned from that trip, the company got a “nice” letter from the State of California, telling them that they had to start upgrading their equipment – or else! Not really wanting to buy a bunch of new trucks, they were pretty much forced to. Rawley recommended to his boss, Kris Broubaret, that they order these new units through Clint, and they did.

Starting out with a couple medium-duty models for pulling a gooseneck trailer in and out of those tight delivery locations, the company quickly realized that they were going to have to upgrade their big truck, too. Since they have had good luck with the red ovals in the past, they went ahead and ordered another one from Clint.

The truck is a 2014 Peterbilt 389 with a 36” sleeper, a Cummins 550 ISX, an 18-speed, Low Low-Air suspension, and a car-hauler front axle. The plain white truck sits on a modest wheelbase, but there is nothing plain about this rig. After it showed up at the dealership, the guys installed extra grill bars, a dump valve on the steer axle, a custom Clint Moore stainless drop visor, and seven cab lights with clear lenses. The air cleaners were chopped and the straps were removed, a powder-coated deck plate was installed, and an over-inflate system was added for those “what was I thinking” moments. Then, stainless Hogebuilt half-fenders were installed using Clint’s hidden brackets, custom two-inch wide skirts were added to the bottom of the cab and sleeper, a shock-box cover was built, and a rear visor was installed. But the coolest feature on this truck, if you are looking close, is the sneaky new way Clint hid the urea tank –

in the battery box! The batteries were moved to a box built between the frame rails, behind the sleeper, and then the fuel tank on the left side was moved forward to match the one on the right side – you know, the way it should be! Clint sketched out his idea on a napkin one night at dinner and then his dad (who just celebrated his 70th birthday), made it happen.

If you live in California or run into the state and are being forced to upgrade, we suggest you call Clint, just like Coast Pipe did, and let him build you a cool, compliant truck, that will allow you to keep on truckin’ for years to come. And with a “less is Moore” style (or not), you can have a simply-cool Clint Moore Peterbilt, too./10-4magazine

Where Have All the Chicken Trucks Gone?

I was lucky enough to catch the Shell Super Rigs Show in Joplin, MO, this year.
We roamed through the show, admiring the trucks, … some these rigs worked for a living and are built only for show.
Truly though, while the show trucks are great to look at and it’s interesting to see different innovations that builders have created, I prefer the working trucks that have taken time off from their hectic schedules, to detour to this great show!
These rigs are truly awesome works of art!
To keep a working rig in show condition, is an amazing feat of dedication. When one sees a big rig rolling in for the truck show, for a couple of days, and then heads back to work, I take my hat off to them. They are true professionals.
On that note, beautiful trucks like these that work for a living are becoming fewer and farther between. With the down turn in our industry and the big fleets grabbing up the good freight that’s left, there’s not many ‘chicken trucks’ and ‘large cars’ around, like there once was.
In the ’70′s, 80′s and ’90′s, there seemed to be almost a steady procession of beautiful rigs, travelling across I-40 and I-80, and I-5. Landing at night at a truck stop in California back then, was just like going to a truck show. The lots were often full of beautiful rigs.
These days, most long haul truck drivers often aren’t able to turn a profit running California and it’s going to get even worse with their new CARB regs.
So where have all the ‘chicken trucks’ gone?
Happily, there are still a few here and there…. like at these shows. There are a pocket of guys out of Pennsylvania, still running beautiful trucks and a few others.
Drivers in this business, must find it difficult to take pride in their ride, when the money that was once allotted to the truck, is now needed to pay the bills.
The profit margin has shrunk so badly, most guys can’t afford to waste money on aesthetics for the truck and upgrades that don’t bring any return….. and that’s just ‘not right’.
Working hard, long days as long as truckers do, there should be decent rewards, not subsistence living.
Leaving Joplin, I sadly realized that the death of the ‘large car’, may some time be inevitable, due to the current status and downward swing in this industry.
However, at shows such as the Super Rigs, they’re still a thrill to see, and I have hope that they’ll be around for a long time yet. They’re a sign of prosperity, a sign of hope for better things in the industry.
Leaving Joplin, headed east, and feeling just a little blue about the present ‘state of trucking’, we passed Malhon Stauffler, headed west in the construction zone in Indiana, in his beautiful Pete! One glance at this beautiful rig rolling along, and the blues quickly disappeared!

Car vs. Semi Accidents Make No Mistake The Semi Will Win.

Car vs. semi truck accidents appear daily in the news. Here is accounting from last November where, in only three days three cars crossed the centerline head-on into the path of 18-wheelers. Stay alert when driving at all times can help prevent these types of accidents. On Tuesday, November 26, 2012, a husband and wife were heading northbound when the husband drove his car left of center and hit a semi-truck heading in the opposite direction. The husband suffering life-threatening injuries required life-flight transport. His wife traveled by ambulance for treatment. On Wednesday in the same week, a 55 year old woman driving an SUV on State Route 3 drifted across the center line and into oncoming traffic into the path of a tractor-trailer. The truck driver, Bob Thomas is credited with quick thinking that reduced the injuries of the 55 year old driver. Mr. Thomas locked up his brakes just prior to impact, before turning his tractor-trailer to the west shoulder of the road in an attempt to avoid the SUV. The driver of the SUV owes Thomas for saving her life and risking his own life in the process. On Thursday, the same week, a car driven by an 80 year old man drove across the center line hitting a semi-tractor and trailer head-on. This elderly gentleman not only injured himself but earned his two female passengers an emergency trip by ambulance to a hospital for treatment. Experienced truck drivers understand the importance of looking far enough ahead, knowing what traffic is doing on all sides is extremely important. Truck drivers learn to “look at least 12 to 15 seconds ahead. That means looking at the road ahead the distance the truck will move in 12 to 15 seconds.” This mean that when driving at highway speeds drivers must be scanning the roads about a quarter mile ahead. This one basic rule can save your life. When driving on an open highway (one lane in each direction), please use extreme vigilance, paying close attention to remaining in your lane of travel. One wrong move and you may find yourself in the path of an 80,000 pound semi-truck, no matter how large an SUV or car you are driving, the semi-truck will win. This article highlights three incidents that happened within one week alone where the driver of the four wheeled vehicle was not paying enough attention. If you drive distracted, you may find yourself or your loved ones riding as a passenger in an ambulance or, worse, a helicopter.
he U.S. Government sponsors a website bringing public awareness to distracted driving. Be vigilant; do not lose your life or someone else’s life because of distracted driving. Please be hyper-aware on high-speed roads and inform your loved ones about the perils associated with driver inattention. Distracted driving habits include texting while driving, eating while driving, and/or simply not keeping your eyes on the road.

Walmart Futuristic WAVE Concept Truck with Carbon-Fiber Trailer!

Walmart, the largest food retailer in the world, has presented its idea of an efficient semi-truck that will cut emissions caused by road transportation.

They want to create a full trailer made from carbon fiber. The huge panels of the trailer made up the sides of the regular-sized trailer 53 feet or 16 meters in length and it’s the biggest of their kind in the world.

The concept is called WAVE from Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experiment. The driver of this truck has a perfectly centered look of the road because of the McLaren F1 driving position, and have additional information on the information screen.

The WAVE gets its power from a “prototype advanced turbine-powered, range-extending series hybrid Powertrain that are combined with a battery storage system and an electric motor.

The Wave won’t spawn a Walmart-branded truck, not official, because it’s financially difficult to make the trailer from carbon with the reported weight savings of 1,847kg or 4,000 lbs.

Do not try to check it yourself , do it for you ” MythBusters ” ! Present to you 12 cars myths from experts :

1. If the exhaust pipe plug , the engine fails.
All items used in the validation immediately flew out of the tailpipe after starting the engine . If the exhaust manifold tightly resealed , engine stall just 5-10 seconds .
2 . If the bullet strikes the gas tank , it will explode .
Myth was refuted by experiment with the usual bullet , but then partially confirmed using tracer – from him really tank exploded.
3 . Can protect the car door in the shootout .
Car body is made of a thin – 0.4-0,7 millimeter – sheet metal , not able to stop a bullet . As helpless and inner cladding panels . Pistol bullet .38 pierces through the door . The only exception – the door -mounted speaker sufficiently large diameter – 9 inches or more .
4 . Engine fails, if the fuel tank to pour sugar.
During the experiment, the tank emptied about 10 pounds of sugar , the motor will continue running – only chimney smoke turned black . Along with the gasoline engine will inevitably fall into foreign impurities: water , rust , additives – everything is either burned or excreted in the exhaust gases.
5 . The car can jump over a long distance , using a bunch of land as a springboard , and land with minimal damage and no loss of speed.
During the experiment, the car flew 30 meters and crashed into the ground radiator , damaging the engine.
6. A person can leave the car had fallen into the water after a water glass cover .
The water pressure on the door is too high, it is impossible to open from the inside , as well as lower the window handle or electric motor.
7. The car can drive through the ranks of the vegetable market and stay on track (as shown in the movie) .
During the experiment, the car dragged the bazaar at a speed of 70 miles per hour (about 110 km / h) . The camera on the roof came off , the car was seriously dented . Windshield covered with a grid of cracks, the driver can not see anything .
8. If you hold the steering wheel grip recommended ” ten to two ” of the airbag tear thumbs .
In the experiment with artificial hands steering threw them out , but fingers survived.
9. Police radar can cheat by placing under the windscreen of the CD.
No CD, no mirror drive on the roof, no car cover foil could not dull the vigilance radar detector . Even jingling bunch of keys did not help.
10 . Using different materials and tricks can fool a breathalyzer.
To test Adam Savage drank two whiskeys , and Jamie Hyneman – a cocktail of vodka and cranberry juice . In both cases, the device showed the presence of alcohol in exhalation air. Furthermore, the police can always ask for a blood test. Using liquid mouthwash will only increase the amount of alcohol in the breath .
11. If during refueling a car talking on a cell phone , it may explode.
Experimentally proved that the phone is not working properly can cause an explosion , even when surrounded by gasoline vapor in sufficient concentration to ignite . Real danger of static electricity on clothing, which can accumulate several times sat in the car and left it.
12. Collision of two cars at 80 miles per hour going with the same force as a car collision with a wall at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour .
Force acting on the car will be the same as in a collision with another car , and with a fixed wall.