In this issue of Real Answers, we visit a fleet that hauls coal from deep mines in Utah. And that got us wondering: How often do we look beneath the surface to find treasures – or what we might call “real answers”?

As the nation’s economy improves, we can expect trucking to improve as well. And as it does, will we be plagued with the kinds of driver shortages we saw a few years ago?

Dr. Dale Belman and his colleagues have been digging into that problem for a long time. Their findings suggest that not only might “shortage” be the wrong word, but
also that driver retention might not always be as desirable as we assume.

We’ll also see how digging deeper, going beyond the obvious, resulted in an innovative new steer radial, the R280, designed not just for long original mileage, but also so it can be more useful as a retread.

In our continuing series on tire manufacturing, we’ll go below the surface of a modern truck tire to gain an appreciation for all the parts inside – and see how complicated these black doughnuts really are.

We’ll also go still further – inside the air chamber of a tire and learn how changing what we put into that “empty” space might just improve retreadability and reduce the need for inflation pressure maintenance.

At an antique truck show, we’ll discover what happens when collectors cut through dirt, rust, old paint and damage to expose and restore beautiful trucks from the past.
And, we’ll see what happens when fleet executives get to go behind the scenes and see tires actually being tested.

That’s a lot of digging to do, so turn the page and let’s get started.