MrTruck News You Can Use

Trying to get down to 50,000 2008 F150's by November, Ford is releasing the all new 2009 F150 the end of October. This summer the move to switch from pickup trucks to small cars, changed somewhat with higher priced cars and higher truck incentives. As part of the new selling environment, Ford introduced the new SFE fuel package (superior fuel economy)  rated at 15/21 mpg with the 4.6L engine and 6 speed auto, SuperCrew with low rolling resistance tires More...

Coming to the US. You want a truck that doesn't need fuel and can carry 4,400 lb. payload.  It has a turning radius of just 36 feet,  and a range in excess of 100 miles on a single charge. Well of course it's electric. And it's kind of cute. On it's way from the UK, read more...

Cat And Navistar To Focus On Global Truck Business And Cooperate On Engine Technologies. Cat is dropping out of the truck market giving Navistar and Cummins the advantage. GM sold their  medium duty truck business to Navistar. Navistar bought Workhorse RV chassis a few years back. As fast as Navistar is growing, we know they won't need Ford anymore. We also know Ford won't be using Cat in the future or Navistar, so they have to build their own diesel engine for Super Duty. Here is their joint press release:

Caterpillar Inc. and Navistar International Corporation have signed a (MOU) to pursue global on-highway truck business opportunities and cooperate on a variety of engine platforms. Caterpillar has determined independently that it will not supply EPA 2010 compliant engines to truck and other on-highway original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). More..
Circle the wagons, pickup trucks from India are headed this way. They already sell tractors here, Mahindra brand.

All of the vehicles will be four-wheel drive, turbo-charged with "clean diesel" technology and get up to 39 miles per gallon. Coming late 2008, the rest of the report...

USRider Shares Tip with Horse Owners to Avoid Lockout. With advancing technology, life continues to become a bit easier.  USRider would like to warn its members about is the potential of being locked out of a vehicle. This can happen when two very common technological conveniences get too close – your cell phone may scramble the electronics in your key fob. Instances of this scrambling have already been reported with the....read more... USRider Reminds Drivers, Dangers of Using Cell Phones While Driving. ..read more...
GM announces 2007 Duramax details, at least for the C4500. And plans for 2009 plus V-8 Diesel in 1/2 tons. The new Duramax LMM to replace the LBZ and LLY, so we will see the 4th generation after the first of the year. Click...

Quadrasteer Tour Part 4 Reviewing Outfitter's Caribou popup camper, showing how far into the mountain forest I can get with this truly versatile combination. We tow boats & horse trailers, because we can. There is enough payload capacity left for the tongue weight of a boat or 2-horse trailer. Also Torklift's camper tie down review. Read.

Hummer H2 proved to be a great trailer tower. Equalizer wdh made it a easy pulling a 34' travel trailer from Nevada to Colorado in December threw mountain passes and snow storms. Read the story from Ultimate Hummers Magazine.

Guy Nègre of the United Kingdom has invented a zero-pollution vehicle. It involves no combustion, and it costs roughly $2 to run for 124 miles. It can reach a top speed of 68 mph and can be recharged in two minutes. And most surprisingly, it runs on compressed air. More....

 GM CELEBRATES ONE-MILLIONTH DURAMAX DIESEL.  DMAX Ltd., a joint venture between GM & Isuzu Motors Limited, was established as a diesel engine company in 1998. GM first introduced the Duramax diesel in the U.S. in 2001 model year. GM’s heavy duty diesel pickup market share has jumped nearly tenfold in the six years Duramax engines have been offered. More...
Featherlite unveils ultimate SURV for outdoor enthusiasts. The amenities in Featherlite’s newest Sport Utility Recreational Vehicle (SURV) Model 7941 make it the ultimate hauling vehicle for outdoor enthusiasts and their motorized equipment. The durable aluminum SURV’s enhanced style and functionality is highlighted by a spacious garage, two slideouts and a ‘stand-up bedroom’.

The 40-foot fifth wheel with 12-foot garage features two space expanding slideouts, including a 12-foot slideout with sofa sleeper and dinette and a slideout in the bedroom area.  More....

Cimarron Trailers to Hold a Drawing for Private Roping Clinic with Legendary Instructor Rickey Green. A lifetime opportunity for two lucky team ropers. They will be giving away a two-day private roping clinic with renowned team roping clinician Rickey Green for two winners of a drawing held on Oct. 27th, 2007 at the USTRC National Finals in Oklahoma City.  Entry forms for the drawing will be available at participating Cimarron Trailer Dealerships April 1 - Oct. 24, 2007. The private clinic will be held Dec. 1-2, 2007 at Rickey Green’s ranch in Stephenville, TX.  Cimarron Trailers will provide both of the winner’s with hotel accommodations and meals during the clinic.  For more visit click...

Now Open Transwest Truck Trailer RV on I-25  More Trailers, Trucks, RV's & Accessories.  Super full service shop, 15 paved acres of trailers. One stop shopping More...
Reviewing a patriotic display from SEMA 2004. There was a different feeling about the war in Iraq. Patriotism was running high, folks across the country were expressing what an attack on the US meant to them. Here is a truck that expressed it right. By: David Sundling, read..
GM Sells Allison Transmission for $5.6B
By Sven Gustafson, Associated Press Writer.  The sale to Onex Corp. and The Carlyle Group includes seven manufacturing plants in Indianapolis and its global distribution network and sales offices. A production facility in Baltimore, which makes conventional and hybrid transmissions for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, will remain with GM. More...
I don't use my knees to climb up into my pickup bed anymore, putting my weight on my knee on metal isn't as fun as it use to be. Access Steps allows easy access to your truck bed.

Many of the newer trucks have tall bed sides so you can't just reach over the bed rail anymore. This means you have to climb into the bed to reach anything. And then there's the long way down. Access Steps are simple to install and stay out of the way. Access Steps will work with or without a receiver hitch.  The rest of the review...
With $3 gas prices, Hybrid's became a mainstream option. As a bright spot in declining SUV sales, Hybrid's may make a splash in the truck world. Toyota seems to be leaning more toward Hybrids than diesels, as Mercedes, VW and even Honda make plans for the American diesel car craving. More on Hybrid's....  by Doug Cooley

Dumb and Dumber In Detroit Decide our Truck Choices by Kent Scott

I was anxiously awaiting the introduction of the new mid-size Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks as they were expected to use the fantastic new 4.2 inline six used the the Blazer and Envoy. I was both disappointed and amazed that some product managers decided to only offer a five cylinder version as the largest offering. The result for Chevy and GMC excluding the six has been poor sales, poor performance and a poor image for the entire line of vehicles. More...
Ford Direct
2005 SEMA was full of the big trucks. Saw new hitches, hoods and hookers, I mean lookers. It's quite a show with 3 axle Hummers, 6 door crew cabs and every kind of accessory you can imagine. Will have more product reviews coming from this years SEMA, see for yourself
Finally Dodge gives the OK for an exhaust brake with their automatic transmissions behind the Cummins diesel. Cummins OK'd it a couple of years ago, but Dodge would only allow warranty with the manual transmission using the Jacobs Exhaust Brake. Here at MrTruck.com, we highly recommend using an exhaust brake towing trailers. We'll have a review here shortly with a C4500 which comes as standard equipment with an exhaust brake. Read more on the Dodge/Jacobs story More...
Did You Ever See A Trailer Hitch Protect A Family?

Mohr MFG. of Burnsville, Minnesota has just introduced a patented, receiver mounted bumper and trailer hitch called the “SUPERBUMPER”. This new bumper and hitch combination not only pulls and cushions your trailer towing, it protects your family and your vehicle. The SUPERBUMPER combines a ball mount with an energy absorbing bumper that will protect your vehicle from rear-end collisions, reduce whiplash injuries, shield your gas tank from under-ride, eliminate parking lot and parallel parking dents and dings while lowering insurance claims. It is the only bumper (original or aftermarket) to EVER pass the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's 5 mph “Rear Into Pole” crash test without damage to the vehicle or the bumper.
Email: superbumper@qwest.net or log on to the web site http://www.superbumper.com.

 
 
World Strongman Competition, is coming to Colorado, July 2, 2005. ATS Diesel Performance HQ Arvada CO. World Strongman Cup is an all day event highlighting athletes performing disciplines that challenge their strength, endurance, and skills will be covered and aired by ESPN. more....
New Featherlite living quarters, Featherlite®, America’s oldest aluminum specialty trailer manufacturer, continues to transform the traveling experience of horse owners. Among their bold, new 2005 product enhancements, Featherlite announced a living quarters trailer series that now encompasses 15 sizes & 23 different models. More

Camless diesels, Lane Departure & Electronic Stability Control Technology coming your way some day.
USA: Delphi does DaimlerChrysler diesel deal  02 Jun 2005 Source: just-auto.com editorial team; Delphi has been awarded a contract by DaimlerChrysler to develop and supply a complete diesel common rail and engine management system for a current and future Mercedes engine range. The first phase of the project covers the applications engineering and supply of Delphi's diesel common rail (DCR) 1600 system for passenger cars. Further phases are planned to extend the application to an additional vehicle.

The new system provides high injection pressure, improved nozzle design, superior hydraulic stability and enhanced software strategies. Delphi's DCR 1600 delivers more complete combustion and provides more accurate control of very small volumes of fuel, introducing the option of up to five injection events. One of the many benefits is a reduction in NOx of up to 30% through the introduction of a late-pilot injection event. I'm thinking this means more diesels are on the way in trucks and SUV's.
We're waiting on an update on the FET laws below. Waiting to confirm, but it sounds like the new FET tax laws will be in effect on higher than 19,500 GVWR and 33,000 CGWR.
First look at the 2007 Silverado and Sierra. The new GMT900 platform from which the 2007 GM SUV's where born, was designed for the trucks first. We were at the GM media launch to see the all new trucks. Details just  Click....

Great News about Towing from the IRS; Excise tax on trucks has been confusing. Dealers whom don't collect the 12% tax on new trucks for commercial use, such a towing a trailer over 10,000#'s or trucks designed for the purpose of towing trailers, have been liable for the tax themselves. All this is such a gray area as is driving license requirements between states when towing trailers. As reported today in the current issue of Trailer Life Magazine (June 05), the IRS has issued guidance on March 15th to go into effect on sales April 4, 2005 and after, that sounds like Class 6 trucks and below are excluded from Federal Excise Tax. This would mean trucks with a GVWR of 26,000 pounds or less. For example a Ford F650, GM 6500, Sport Chassis Freightliner etc. and smaller. So the scare that 1 tons would be subject to excise tax or trucks with factory trailer brake options would be subject, has been cleared up. The link to the IRS Guidance is http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=136811,00.html This is great news for towing!
TURBODIESEL OPTION FOR CHEVY FULLSIZE VANS. General Motors announced the availability of the Duramax 6600 turbodiesel engine in the 2006 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana G2500 and G3500 series commercial models. This sophisticated diesel engine offers more horsepower and torque than the primary competitor, as well as a quieter driving experience and better projected fuel economy. More.

GM Delivers First Fuel Cell Truck to U.S. Army Military sees day when all its vehicles would be fuel cell-powered. The modified Chevrolet Silverado is equipped with two 94 kW fuel cell stacks, capable of generating 188 kW and 317 foot-pounds of torque, or roughly the motor torque generated by GM's 5.3 liter V-8 engine. The U.S. Army has the largest fleet of vehicles in the world. Improving fuel economy and reducing the logistics of the fuel supply chain could save millions of dollars. For example, it cost the U.S. Army up to $400 a gallon of gas to ship fuel to Iraq and Afghanistan. More...
No 2006 Quadrasteer. It's a sad day in the towing world today. Quadrasteer introduced in the first year of the GMC Denali in 2002, has been canceled by GM. 4-wheel-steering is the best advance this reporter has ever seen in bumper tow trailer control, safety and handling as well as all that for the vehicle and parking was amazing.  We towed a horse trailer up Pikes Peak, towed two trailers at a time and barrel raced it. The whole story..

DaimlerChrysler has begun production of the Dodge Ram Diesel (2500/3500)HEV. The Ram HEV has start-stop capability, which shuts the engine off at full stop and restarts when the accelerator is pressed. A regenerative braking system helps recharge the batteries. The savings on fuel is up to 15 percent over comparable engines. More...
SEMA 2004, it's like looking at the Grand Canyon, hard to describe how big it is. Trucks, SUV's, Cars, Motorcycles, Boats, & accessories galore. I try to sort through the good stuff. Over 1000 pictures in 4 days, took some aspirin & gallons of Starbucks as my youngest son & I race from building to building to cover it all.  See more

What's New for Trucks 2005 Dodge Turbo click 2004 Click...  Dodge HO gets more power, more... Duramax gets more power, more.... 

I covered the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in June. We had a snow storm at noon, that snowed most of the press in on top. Monster Garage will have the show with their truck and Jesse's James exhibition run Monday July 26 on the Discovery Channel. More...

Bridgestone Winter Driving School at Steamboat Springs CO. The skiers aren't the only ones having fun! Surrounded by ski slopes, this international school teaches you to drive well when the weather's bad. I attended the trailer class and trailer driving course. 04 Dodge Durango with a Hemi. Read more...
GM's oil system challenges standard 3,000-mile service recommendation GM claims it can double or even triple the time between oil changes in vehicles when compared to the common 3,000-mile recommendation simply by being able to evaluate driving conditions using its patented Oil Life System. Read more
New, ATS Diesel Performance TripleLok torque converter for Hemi Trucks with the 545 RFE 5-speed automatic transmission. These torque converters are hand built machined billet parts, not stamped. You won't find the welds that warp in this cover. I was impressed at the workmanship involved at ATS Diesel Performance in building a torque converter designed for high performance and hauling the heavy loads we buy trucks for. Read more....
ATS Diesel Performance,  Arvada Colorado,  acquired Advanced Turbo Systems, Salt Lake City Utah. Both companies specializing in diesel performance, now combine for a complete line of performance aftermarket accessories for pickup trucks and SUV's. Headquartered in Colorado......More....

Your  Online  Pickup Truck, SUV & Trailer  Resource Magazine.

USRider Distributes 500 Copies of Large Animal Rescue Video 

USRider has produced and widely distributed a video for the purpose of increasing awareness of the need for correct rescue training among emergency medical technicians, law enforcement officials, horse associations and other related groups.

This awareness campaign is succeeding. Since creating the video in the first quarter of 2003, USRider has distributed more than 500 free copies of the large-animal rescue video to numerous organizations and individuals across the nation. Videos have also been sent to Canada, Germany and Argentina.

“Initially, we thought we might send out 50 or maybe 100 copies," said Mark Cole, managing member for USRider, a member-based organization providing trailering assistance throughout North America with its Equestrian Motor Plan. "We offer our sincere appreciation to the numerous newsletters and publications that have assisted us in getting the word out about this worthwhile initiative."

Many animals end up being dragged, strangled, drowned or dropped during attempted rescues because many emergency responders do not have the proper training for rescuing large animals safely.

“Most emergency responders have extensive knowledge about rescuing humans but, due to no fault of their own, lack training in how to rescue large animals properly. When emergency responders are made aware of the need of large-animal rescue skills, most are very receptive. We just need to create awareness,” explained Cole.

The Large-Animal Rescue video covers theory and demonstrations on how to respond to overturned trailers; animals in holes, pools or open sewers; barn fires; trailer wrecks; and animals loose on the highway, trapped in various places or hurt on the trail. The video uses simulated situations to demonstrate how to tie up, pull, strap and lift large animals.

“We are extremely pleased by the quality of organizations that have requested the video thus far,” said Cole.

Those requesting the video include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the American Horse Protection Association, horse councils, veterinarians, state departments of agriculture, animal welfare departments, humane societies, fire departments and EMTs, libraries, colleges, and riding clubs and associations.  

“Several groups have gone above the call of duty by hosting viewings for emergency responders or by making copies and personally handing them out to emergency responders,” said Cole. “Others have taken the initiative to reach a wide audience by playing the video on local cable television.”

Many of those who have received the video have written back to tell us of the positive responses they have heard from local responders and to express their gratitude for being made aware of the issue of large-animal rescue preparation.

"While it is wonderful to get the word out to horse owners and enthusiasts, we must continue to mobilize those who view the video to bring this issue to the attention of local responders and ultimately get them trained and certified in large animal rescue," said Cole.

"A number of viewers have taken this extra step. Some have written to us about how they plan to broaden awareness of this issue,” explained Cole. “One simple idea was to take a horse to the local fire station to let responders simply become more acquainted with horses and to demonstrate proper handling techniques."

The video features Drs. Tomas and Rebecca Gimenez from Clemson University, nationally recognized experts in large-animal rescue training. They have been offering emergency rescue training courses around the country for over five years. Several hundred firefighters, police officers, sheriff’s deputies and animal control technicians along with organized volunteers have attended their two- and three-day workshops. Tomas and Rebecca Gimenez can be contacted via e-mail at tgmnz@clemson.edu or by telephone at (864) 656-5158.

The video was produced by Caren L. Hunter of Sylvan Inc., a television productions and commercial advertising firm. Hunter has served as a producer for television commercials, sales and marketing videos, industrial videos, half hour format national television programs and live broadcast sports television. Hunter’s equine-related productions include Kilkenny Internationale Cup Grand Prix, Zada Enterprises Masters Cup Grand Prix, Cosequin U.S. Open Jumper Championship, USET Festival of Champions and USET Show Jumping Championship. Caren Hunter can be contacted via e-mail at chunter10@aol.com or by telephone at Sylvan Productions at (561) 758-6888.

“At USRider, we are truly pleased and fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with such a high level of professionals in this endeavor,” said Cole. “We are hopeful this video will benefit the welfare and safety of horses and other large animals everywhere. It has been widely distributed, but we want to get this into the hands of as many emergency responders as possible. It is still available and we encourage interested organizations to request a copy,” said Cole.

To receive a free copy of the video, send a written request on letterhead to Attn: Large Animal Rescue Video, USRider Equestrian Motor Plan, P.O. Box 54711, Lexington, KY 40555. The request should indicate when the video will be viewed and the approximate number of people who will view it.

Funding for the creation and distribution of this video has been provided by the USRider Leg-Up Annual Giving Fund. This fund was created to enhance awareness of emergency equine response issues and to offer financial assistance to qualified, worthy organizations that provide emergency equine response. USRider donates a portion of its profits to create the Leg-Up Fund. For information about the USRider Leg-Up Annual Giving Fund or the USRider Equestrian Motor Plan’s nationwide trailering assistance program, please call 1-800-844-1409 or visit www.usrider.org .

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