New truck on the block: Kenworth announces new T680 Advantage day cab; retires T660.
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In harmony: MTA meets with government to discuss industry issues and harmonization.
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Western Canada’s Trucking Newspaper Since 1989
October 2016 Volume 27, Issue 10
The new classic: Freightliner unveils its ‘new’ Cascadia, improving upon a classic.
truckwest.ca
RETAIL A DV E R T I SIN G PAGES 47 -5
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Curbing GHG emissions BCTA says industry doing what it can, wants more from government By Derek Clouthier Gord Cooper raced the Smokin’ Gun to a Hot Rod Semi World Record 11.403 second quarter-mile run at the Castrol Raceway.
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Gord Cooper sets new world record with Smokin’ Gun
Contact Derek Clouthier Derek@ Newcom.ca or call 403-969-1506
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By Derek Clouthier
pg 01, 11, 14-15 tw oct v3.indd 1
NISKU, Alta. – With the rpm blasted to 2,300 right from the start line, it’s no wonder the front wheels of the Smokin’ Gun were carried off the track for more than 50 feet during its world record run Aug. 6. For 15 years, Gord Cooper has been racing the Smokin’ Gun, initially as a ‘modest’ 18-second quarter-mile vehicle when he purchased the truck in 2001 and brought it to B.C. for its first shot at glory. But at the onset, the Smokin’ Gun didn’t quite feel at home on the racetrack. In fact, Cooper had bought the vehicle to be a unique ‘limo’ for his younger son’s high school graduation. “I had done something different for each of my kids,” Cooper said, explaining how he had taken his older son to his graduation in his vintage ’57 Kenworth and daughter in a Hummer. “The Smokin’ Gun ended up as a show vehicle, it wasn’t a race vehicle at the time,” Cooper said. “It had a hydraulic opening hood and a hydraulic
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raising body. I purchased it from Tristan Jackson, a local friend (from Strathmore).” Cooper said he has always enjoyed going to truck shows with his collection of eclectic trucks, and many had commented on how special the Smokin’ Gun was, with its 380 Cat engine, a 15-speed transmission with a single axle. It is also a ‘Canadian Kenworth,’ as it was built in the Vancouver area in 1968. In its working life, the Smokin’ Gun was a tandem water truck, which Cooper said Jackson had rebuilt, bringing something unique to the vehicle, transforming it into a show vehicle. The truck now sports an 8v92 Detroit, a Detroit Diesel Series 92, two-stroke cycle, V-block diesel engine, which was built by Wayne and John Talkington of TNT Racing in Fontana, Calif. in 2006. “I noticed that their technology got much better there,” Cooper said, adding Wayne is the operator of the Lucas Oil truck for the Lucas Oil Drag Truck Team. “When I was racing against them six to Continued on page 11
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LANGLEY, B.C. – The government of British Columbia announced its Climate Leadership Plan Aug. 19, and despite a desire for more to be done, the provincial trucking association believes the two parties are quite sympatico in the effort to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “The industry’s goals, from a financial perspective, and the government’s goals, from an emissions perspective, are completely aligned,” said B.C. Trucking Association (BCTA) president and CEO Louise Yako. “I think industry is going to do what it can and as quickly as it can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because reducing greenhouse gas emissions also means reducing fuel usage, and since fuel usage is typically the second largest operating cost for trucking companies, they have an incentive to do that in any case, regardless of the climate plan.” The BCTA, however, does have its grievances with how some of the government’s initiatives have been rolled out. The percentage of biodiesel the government currently requires a company to sell is 4%, but as Yako pointed out, that number is based on a yearly average, meaning a company could at one point sell 100% diesel, then turn around and sell a blend with up to 20% biodiesel, as long as it comes out to 4% at the end of the year. But with higher percentages of biodiesel come issues for today’s truck engines with warranties, performance and maintenance. “For us, the concern is that if it goes above 5%, there are some engines that don’t have a warranty above 5%,” Yako said. “We think over time those engine standards will change, and as biodiesel becomes more available and as engine standards change, then the industry Continued on page 15
2016-09-15 11:31 AM