David "BudMan" Singh pulls a 53-foot stainless spread-axle reefer with his 2015 Kenworth T660, featuring an 86-inch Studio Sleeper. He's nicknamed the rig "Ghost." It was originally equipped with a Paccar engine, but Singh replaced that with a 12.7-liter Detroit Series 60. The truck boasts a few customizations, including a chrome and wood grain interior, RLK drop visor and window chops, and chrome around the sleeper windows. He also plans to add stacks on the back of the cab. For the trailer, Singh has added quarter fenders, a stainless rear impact guard with a custom light plate, a stainless ..read more

Trent Cameron has been running the roads across the United States of late. "I’m on the road 24/7 trying to find places for us to anchor our next Outpost," he said, making reference to the new name for a company that got its start in November 2021 as Semi-Stow. Cameron was among founders with a vision to deliver on the truck parking needs of individual owner-operators, small fleet owners and even large fleets.  He's seen the truck parking crisis up close on those runs, with operators "parked in unsecure locations, exit ramps, facilities with no security," he said. Dedicated, publicly avail ..read more

The trucking companies left unpaid when broker Convoy went under, and then again when Flexport bought the company's technology and relaunched the app with its own brokered freight, may finally have some way to get paid -- albeit a reduced amount, months late.  Jennifer Chrestman of Tucker Albin & Associates, the debt collection firm associated with the National Owner Operators Association, recently said that Hercules Capital, the publicly traded VC bank with a $2.7 billion market cap, has been talking settlement.  Convoy's collapse famously directed carriers and their o ..read more

The Atlas Van Lines company held its first-ever Bravo PVO Truck Show and Conference event in Arlington, Texas, in late March -- intended as a networking, educational and appreciation event for the many "professional van operators" (PVOs) doing business within the nationwide Atlas network of agents.  "The PVO Truck Show is a celebration of the dedication and hard work of our professional van operators," the backbone of the van line's service to customers. That's according to Fleet Corporate Resources Director Aaron Chenoweth, who added the company takes "pride in honoring not just their&nb ..read more

Barry "B.J." Lefroy, owner of three-truck BJ Lefroy Inc., owns and operates this 1998 Peterbilt 379, equipped with a 140-inch ICT big-bunk sleeper. The rig is powered by a 550-hp Detroit Series 60 with a 10-speed. Lefroy, a 45-year trucking veteran, runs from Anderson, Alabama, to Riverside, California, routinely.  [Related: Regional hauler's 2016 International LoneStar] Click here to see more photos of reader uploads or to submit your own.  For custom-equipment features delivered to your email inbox, subscribe to Overdrive's weekly Custom Rigs newsletter via this ..read more

Trucking news and briefs for Friday, April 19, 2024: Driver fined $19K for overweight violation, later arrested for violating OOS order The driver of a tractor-trailer found to be 63,000 pounds overweight on an Oregon roadway was fined more than $19,000, placed out of service due to insufficient rest and fatigue, and later arrested for continuing to operate. According to the Washington County (Oregon) Sheriff’s Office, deputies specializing in commercial motor carrier enforcement on April 10 conducted a traffic stop of the truck at the intersection of NW Jackson School Road and NW Shadybrook R ..read more

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is requesting approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget for a new information collection request (ICR) titled “FMCSA Registration System (FRS).” In a Federal Register notice set for publication Friday, April 19, FMCSA said it is replacing its Unified Registration System (URS) with a new online registration system, which will be named the FMCSA Registration System. FMCSA announced its plans to overhaul its registration system at the Mid-America Trucking Show last month, partly in an effort to “clean up the bad actors” in the in ..read more

DAT analytics chief Ken Adamo's "Big Rips and Fat Lips" look at broker margins -- the percentage of a shipper's payment the broker keeps after paying the carrier -- focused on outlying large takes (those rips) and very-small cutd or even money-losing loads (the lips). As Alex Lockie reported, Adamo hadn't much studied the outliers on either end before, though given intense focus among spot market carriers (and some brokers, for that matter) on dwindling revenues and profits over the last year and more, light on brokers' margins serves the interest of market trust and transparency.  A ..read more

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has petitioned federal regulators to amend a rule related to the requirement for motor carriers to return inspection reports to the issuing agency certifying that all violations have been corrected. Currently, 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 396.9(d)(3) requires that motor carriers and intermodal equipment providers return inspection reports to the issuing agency within 15 days of issuance, certifying that all necessary repairs have been made. The regulation also requires that carriers and intermodal equipment providers retain a copy of the report at ..read more

Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, April 17, 2024: Kentucky lawmakers override veto of autonomous vehicle bill After Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed a bill earlier this month that would have cleared the way for fully-autonomous, driverless vehicles -- including trucks -- to operate in the state, lawmakers overrode the veto, allowing the bill to become law. HB 7 was passed by the state’s House and Senate before being shot down by the governor. It clears a regulatory path for fully autonomous vehicles without a human driver to operate, as long as the vehicle meets certain conditions.  ..read more