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Even though the Detroit Diesel Series 60 was discontinued in 2011, it’s still one of the most common engines for Class 8 trucks. Some may not know about the fascinating story behind these engines. At the onset of WWII General Motors created the GM Diesel Division in 1938 to build engines that would support the war effort. Their first engine, the Series 71 2-stroke engine was used in tanks, generators, and construction equipment during the Second World War. After the war, Detroit kept producing the Series 71 along with the new Series 53 for on highway use. Detroit’s engines were...

Differential gear ratios; there is a lot of confusion in the trucking industry about what is the best gear ratio for pulling power, fuel mileage, and a good cruising speed.  This article will pertain to the over the road semi truck, NOT heavy haul, or vocational local trucking. To pick the right rear gears you must know the peak torque RPM of your engine, the ideal cruising RPM, and the speed you mostly drive on the interstates.  Today almost all transmissions are double overdrive which is a .73 final drive gear.  The standard 13 and 18 speed transmissions are all...

For many owner operators the love of performance runs deep in their soul and many times extends into their siblings. Mark Dinslage is one such person, he is 58 years old, owns a 2016 579 Pete powered by an ISX Cummins tuned by the engineering department at Pittsburgh Power. He runs the Max Mileage Fuel Borne Catalyst to keep the engine and emissions system clean of carbon and soot. Mark has 2 granddaughters, Kaiya (14), and Kendyll (11), and they love to go to the drag strip with their grandfather.  In fact they hold up a white sheet which they...

Several years ago, I wrote an article stating that if you are a young owner operator, think about building a garage for your truck and other equipment, however, make it large enough to build living quarters on one end.  Situate it so if you get married and she wants a house you can build one on the same property, either attached to the garage or not.  Several years later a young owner operator by the name of Chad Tennant from Spearfish, SD took my advice and built a 50’ wide by 90 ‘deep garage. On one side he built living...

  Cab Corrosion: it’s winter again and our part of the country has seen no shortage of snow so far this year. When the season is over, we often find lasting damage in the form of corrosion on the cab floor of many trucks. Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride are great at melting ice, but as you know they accelerate corrosion too. We’ve seen them rust both from the underside with salt spray, and from the top down with the salt that you track in on your shoes. Oftentimes mud, dirt, and other road debris combine with the salt and...