Every year the technology in the trucking industry is improving. From autonomous trucks, electric semi-trucks, better safety devices, and countless trucking accessories that help make your job easier.
Learn more about all the latest and greatest trucker tech. From self-driving trucks, GPS units for trucks, the best Bluetooth headsets for truckers and more.
Your tax dollars at work!The United States government is the world’s single largest consumer of goods and services. One thing it spends money on is research and development to make life easier and safer for all Americans, and sometimes the world at large. To that extent, the Department of Energy has authorized $127 million in […]
The Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo happened near the start of September. Normally we write about the trucking industry, but we provide business financing for all types of equipment, equipment that the ACT Expo had in spades that makes us excited for the future. From conventional day cabs to commercial cargo bikes, here is the […]
About six months ago, we predicted that the Tesla Semi would not hit the market in 2021. Then, they had a battery cell shortage. It looks like our prediction has finally been vindicated, as Tesla Motors announced that the launch date for the Tesla Semi has officially been pushed back to 2022. The Details The […]
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that biodiesel and renewable diesel created emissions at a rate 1/3rd of electricity. This is incorrect. The correct metric is that biodiesel and renewable diesel are responsible for 3x more metric ton credits from greenhouse gas reduction than electricity is, based on the Low Carbon Fuel Standard […]
We have written about TuSimple a few times before. Now they are increasing the stakes of their plans for autonomous trucking by having an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and allowing people to take ownership in the company. The Details TuSimple had its IPO on April 15th, of which it raised about $1 billion in additional […]
Side guards might seem like another costly regulation for truckers, but they can help other drivers keep ahead.
Recently, the folks over at PACCAR unveiled their newest upgrade to their 579 line of Class 8 trucks, aptly called “The New Model 579”. Peterbilt is hoping to innovate and change the way that truckers perform their jobs. Here is what Peterbilt touts as changes from the previous model. Aerodynamics While Peterbilt advertises eleven key […]
One problem facing electric vehicles is different plugs and outlets for charging depending on the vehicle. PACCAR Parts wants to alleviate this problem for drivers, even if they are not direct customers of PACCAR brands such as Kenworth and Peterbilt.Universal ChargingWhether you have started making the transition to electric commercial vehicles or plan to do […]
While Elaine Chao has resigned from Secretary of the Department of Transportation by the time you read this article, one of her last acts was to order the DOT to create and publish what it calls the “Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan” (AVCP).It is no secret that self-driving trucks are still far away from becoming reality, […]
Even if you have never heard of the SAE J560, there is an extremely high chance that you use one. Originally issued in 1951, the SAE J560 is a seven-pin connector that sends power from the truck tractor to the trailer. This gives power to lamps and other various devices for the trailer. As trailers […]
Savvy readers of our articles may recall from late June that we wrote about Hyliion and their plans for the Hypertruck. Hyliion hoped to have their Hypertruck be negative emissions through the use of renewable natural gas (RNG). While the Hypertruck is not released yet, there is tangible proof now that their goal is attainable.Driving […]
Cummins and Navistar go together like garlic and onions. They recently extended their eighty-year partnership even further. Now the two companies hope to work together in the race to get a hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty truck to market.DetailsThe Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) wants to actively promote the development […]
Unless all the election news has pushed older information out of your brain, you may remember that the FMCSA spoke at an ATA virtual conference about many topics, one of which was working to make self-driving commercial vehicles as safe as possible. But beyond safety, there are many more uncertainties to autonomous trucks. Will they […]
It seems like for the trucking industry in 2020, everyone is working together with everyone else. Yesterday was an article about partnerships in the development of autonomous trucking, and now there is more news in the sphere of green fuels: Traton SE and Hino Motors Limited have signed an agreement to work on battery-electric and […]
On October 23rd, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Deputy Administrator Wiley Deck spoke at the American Trucking Association’s (ATA) virtual version of its Management Conference and Exhibition. The event was turned into a virtual one this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here is what he spoke about. Under 21 Drivers With the trucking industry […]
When it comes to electric vehicles overall, even beyond electric heavy-duty trucks, two major problems impede mass production and adoption: range and refueling. We have written extensively about the first one, and automotive and tech companies work around the clock to increase the number of miles an electric truck gets on a single charge. The […]
Fully electric Class 8 vehicles that can travel along the California coast in a single charge are still off into the future, but that does not mean that electric semi-trucks do not exist now. One example of such a machine is the Kenworth T680E, which will go into production and be for sale at Kenworth […]
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), the parent company of Western Star, has officially revealed the company’s latest vocational truck. The company considers it the natural evolution of the 4900 series of work trucks.“We know the 4900 is a great product, but we also know that it doesn’t bring the best of technology to the customer,” […]
In late April 2020, a tech company by the name of Pronto.ai petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, asking that its motor carrier customers get an additional two hours of driving each day thanks to the driving assistance their technology provides. You can probably tell from the title of this article where that petition […]
On September 22nd, 2020, Tesla shareholders gathered in Fremont, California to hear the latest from Elon Musk and Tesla Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy Drew Baglino. Sitting in their cars to social distance in the era of COVID-19, shareholders learned the latest technological advancements to Tesla’s vehicles. The most interesting of which is […]
Trading upward does not necessarily have to entail purchasing a newly manufactured truck right off the factory lines. Sometimes, a swap can be as easy as getting the same make and model, just increasing the year. Some thrifty companies that would rather own their trucks than lease will own used trucks until they are ready […]
We at TopMark Funding have talked about Nikola Corporation going public and how you can become a part-owner in the fledgling company. Now, it seems General Motors wants a piece of the action. The companies have announced plans to become part-owners of one another. The Details The companies became part-owners of one another by swapping […]
Alphabet Inc., known primarily for their Google search engine and YouTube video platform, has a subsidiary known as Waymo. Waymo has two wings, Waymo One for typical four-wheel driving of passenger vehicles, and Waymo Via, where they are testing the technology in 18-wheelers for long distance deliveries.Waymo is still a far way away from making […]
Whether you are a fleet owner hoping to add a new Kenworth medium-duty truck to your fleet, or a dealer hoping to add some variety to your dealership lot, your decisions in regards to T270s and T370s just became much more varied. The Default Before we go into the new options for your truck, it […]
The race to get a viable fully electric heavy-duty truck is still on, but the lower difficulty challenge of doing the same for medium-duty trucks appears to be coming to a close. Now, Peterbilt Motors Company joins the lineup of electric vehicles in the Class 6 and Class 7 markets, thanks to the Peterbilt Model […]
Cummins and Navistar International announced on August 10th their plans to continue working together in a partnership, as they have for over eighty years.Working in UnisonMost truck companies, such as Volvo and PACCAR, build their own engines in house, for both cost savings and to ensure all of the parts work together. Navistar International prefers […]
In the 19th century Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla duked it out to determine the future of electricity between DC and AC. Now, two companies, both named after the winner of that debacle, are battling it out to get their electric trucks out to market. Nikola Nikola Motor Company is the underdog in the competition. […]
We have written a lot about zero-emission trucks, but when it comes to hauling perishable goods such as frozen foods, tractors are only half of the equation. The reefer unit also needs to use energy in order to offset the second law of thermodynamics (that is, keep cold items cold). Wabash National, a manufacturer of […]
We at TopMark Funding have written before about the obstacles stopping autonomous semi-trucks from becoming the norm. One of the largest was the problem we called “Dynamic Adaptation”: how current autonomous trucks work fine in open, well-maintained highways, but start to struggle when dealing with less optimal scenarios such as road hazards and city streets. […]
Autonomous trucks may still be a far way away from becoming the norm, but the journey of a million miles begins with one wheel rotation. A small handful of companies are working together to help lay the groundwork of making it a reality.The TeamThe companies that form this partnership of establishing an autonomous network of […]
Electric vehicles are intricate machines, but eventually due to the laws of physics such as that blasted conservation of energy, the vehicles need to be recharged with juice after some amount of traveling. Emining, a Swiss technology company focusing on the mining and quarry industry, has come up with an ingenious way to have dump […]
In a unanimous vote, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a mandate detailing what percentage of medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles sold in the state have to be zero emissions for the next decade and a half. The Details The Advanced Clean Truck rule, the first of its type, sets standards for truck and chassis […]
The two largest obstacles to making electric vehicles, especially big rigs, the dominating force in the market are range capacity and charging rates. But, there is a third you may have not even considered: heat generation. Charging Speed When charging a small car into a standard 120-volt electrical socket, the car charges at a rate […]
With Tesla delaying the Semi for another year, it appears to be that the Nikola Motor Company (also named after electrical inventor Nikola Tesla) is the frontrunner to get a fully electric semi-truck to market. Their chances just increased immensely when they finished performing a reverse merger with VectoIQ Acquisition that will also raise at […]
Truckers driving through Arizona may be relieved to hear that the Arizona Department of Transportation has updated its 511 website to include rest stops. This change details not only the locations of rest stops within the state, but also whether or not they are currently open, and the number of truck parking spots at each […]
When it comes to electric semi-trucks, one of the largest obstacles is charging times. With a standard household outlet, the charging rate for an electric semi-truck can be less than one mile per hour. But there is, for all intents and purposes, a limitless source of energy in the sky that could be harnessed for […]
The trucking industry is going through many technological revolutions right now; one of the most important ones is in the telematics field. If you are unaware of telematics being an influential force for commercial trucking, there is a very good chance that you use telematics in your business today. Elaborating further on the usage of […]
Although it may be tiring to hear about COVID-19 each and every day, it appears that the pandemic may be coming to an end soon. The trucking industry may return to normal, but a new normal from how the trucking industry was in January 2020. What changes will be permanent? Online Interaction The need for […]
In the 21st century, big rigs are becoming more and more integrated into the Internet to help trucking companies, both big and small, increase their profit margins and generally make life easier. Here are some examples of tech strategies that fleets and owner-operators alike can or should adopt to help run a tight ship. Benefits […]
What Are The Best Bluetooth Headsets? What are the best Bluetooth headsets for truck drivers for 2020? Truck drivers spend countless hours on the road. On average 8 to 14 hours per day depending on if your a short haul or long haul driver. In heavy traffic situations, you need to keep your eyes on […]
With fuel costs being one of the largest costs in the transportation industry, diesel fuel may be approaching its decline. Companies are racing to be the first to bring about a revolution of fueling to reap the rewards. Many alternative power systems are being researched, but none has caught the public’s eye quite like electric […]
In 2016, Uber delivered 50,000 cans of beer over 120 miles of highway without any driver intervention. But two years later, Uber closed down its self-driving semi-trucks division to focus on self-driving cars instead. The trucking profession is huge, over five percent of all American jobs are in truck transportation. When self-driving trucks progress far […]
The first thing every up-and-coming trucker should know is that their semi-truck takes diesel fuel, not gasoline. What even some experienced truckers may not know are the nuances between diesel and gasoline, and why there is a distinction. Here, we go over the differences between the two. Origins Back in the 19th century, when automobiles […]
With changes in technology come changes in regulation. The trucking industry is no different. By December 2019, all non-exempt trucks must have an ELD certified by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In this article, we will talk about ELDs, their purpose, exemptions, and more important information. What is an ELD? An Electronic Logging […]
When you hear the words self-driving semi-truck or driverless trucks you might think you’re talking about the future. You’d very much be talking about the present because driverless semi-trucks are here. As an owner-operator or a truck driver, you’re probably wondering what that will mean for you. Is autonomous semi-trucks or self-driving semi-trucks going to […]
People have been dreaming up the self-driving car since the 1920’s, with the first semi-automated car actually coming into the picture in 1977 in Japan. This car could go 19 miles per hour supported by an elevated rail, and needed to run on specially marked streets. From then to now in 2019, you have probably […]
You know Tesla as the sleek electric cars you see zipping around on the freeways. You know they’re state of the art, all-electric, and sometimes have doors that open upwards – falcon-wing doors. What you probably don’t think of when you think of Tesla is electric semi trucks. But Tesla has indeed rolled out all-electric […]
