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1775
Old 6 Road, PO Box 535, Brooklyn, IA 52211-0535 USA |
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Feast or
Famine
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As you all know, the construction season got off to a
slow start. When the paving crews are not into full production,
it also affects the trucking department. Dwight and Elmer were
scrambling to find something for the trucks to do. Unfortunately
this was not always possible. Now that we are into the busy time
of the year, it seems to be feast or famine. Some days there are
not enough trucks in the state to cover everything, and the next
day there’s not enough work to keep all of our trucks busy.
In an effort to be more efficient we have tried some
different set-ups on trucks. One of which is the oil tanker
pictured above. Dave Kreutner operates this truck out of Ames.
Our old oil tankers could haul an average of about 25 tons (5800
gals.). This new one can haul 31 tons (7200 gals.). This is an
increase of about 24%. While the purchase price of the tractor
and trailer are higher, the operating costs are only slightly
higher. This should give us a good pay back over the life of the
unit. The one draw back is that we can only haul these larger
loads on state highways. We are not allowed to run on the
interstates with the heavier loads. There is some talk of these
weight laws changing in the future.
The D.O.T. has been increasing the number of roadside
inspections around the state. Their goal is to improve safety in
the trucking industry by getting unsafe trucks off the road.
With the number of accidents and fatalities involving trucks in
the last few weeks, I’m sure this increased enforcement will
continue. We need everyone to take a little extra time to be
sure your tires; lights, brakes, etc. are working properly
Our goal should be for zero accidents and injuries. With
everyone’s cooperation we should be able to achieve this goal.
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