2008 July | Trucks and Trailers

Truck Styling

July 24th, 2008 by Shenron

Sometimes you can purchase a vehicle and it just isn’t good enough to suit your needs or wants. If you have ever picked out a car at the lot and then not liked the final result, then you know what I’m talking about. Factory laden vehicles just don’t pack the punch that people need in order to be the “cool” car on the block. What are you to do in this type of situation? You should look for a company that specializes in truck styling. Truck styling is the act of making your car just a little bit cooler than it otherwise would be.

What sort of things can truck styling do for you? In short, it can take your ride and turn it into a much cooler vehicle. The more complicated answer is that it can make custom modifications to your vehicle to add a little bit of personality to the car. If you have a truck and you don’t think it looks tough enough, then you need the company to add some bigger tires or a brush guard. If you don’t think it looks cool enough, then perhaps you might ask the truck styling company to add a new paint job or some new rims. It doesn’t matter which specific modification you choose to make, as any of these will get the job done.

Truck styling might not have the same effect on the bottom line as something like truck tuning, but it will make you much happier with your car. It will turn your car from the standard, no fun beast into the coolest ride in your neighborhood. There are plenty of companies on the internet who are waiting to help you out with this. All you have to do is type it in and look at some of the fantastic options available.

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Trucks Fuel Economy

July 21st, 2008 by Shenron

The words truck and fuel economy usually do not go hand in hand. Trucks in general use much more fuel than passenger vehicles because of their larger size, amount of weight they are towing, poor aerodynamics and maintenance issues. However, for those that own trucks or looking to own one, you can improve your trucks fuel economy by following these tips.

Choose Diesel over Gasoline Engines
If you are planning on buying a truck, it is usually better to choose a diesel engine over a gasoline engine. For most heavy duty trucks, engines almost always only come in diesel; however, light trucks usually offer you a choice. Diesel engines have been improved over the last several decades and are now more efficient, quieter and easier to maintain. Most diesel engines can increase truck fuel economy by 30% to 50%. Besides increasing fuel economy, maintenance costs can also be lower.

Keep Your Truck Properly Maintained
Since most trucks are used for business purposes, they are relied upon to work hard. However, many times this extra work duty causes trucks extra wear and tear. By keeping your truck properly maintained, you can easily increase your trucks fuel economy by 5% to 10%.

Properly Inflated Tires
Just like cars, a truck’s fuel economy can improve when the tires are inflated to the proper level. Make sure that you always have an air gauge to measure the tire’s pressure and consult your owner’s manual as to the proper air pressure of the tires.

Don’t Haul Unnecessary Loads
Many trucks are made for hauling, however many truck owners keep unnecessary weight on their vehicle that they don’t need. Keep your truck’s load as light as possible and you will save a lot when it comes to fuel economy.

Avoid Stop & Go Traffic
Obviously, you always can’t dictate where your truck will need to make deliveries, but generally speaking, stop and go traffic can waste fuel unnecessarily. Try to drive at periods of the day and night that have less traffic and offer smoother traveling. It is also a good idea to stay at a steady speed- usually 55mph in which your trucks engine is calibrated to offer the most fuel economy.

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Hybrid Trucks - New Generation

July 18th, 2008 by Shenron

You probably already know that over the last few years the price of gasoline has skyrocketed. In the US, most Americans are paying twice as much for gas than they did just two or three years ago. While gas prices aren’t expected to come down that much in the near future, technology for better gas mileage is growing in demand. One type of technology is hybrid vehicles. Hybrid technology is mostly found in cars, but more and more light trucks (SUV’s and even pick up trucks) are being developed with this technology.

Today’s hybrid trucks for consumers generally are gasoline–electric hybrids. This means that these vehicles are a cross between both a gasoline truck and an electric truck. The advantages of a hybrid truck are more efficient gas mileage and usually better emissions. In a typical gasoline powered truck, the truck has a fuel tank filled with gas which is used to power the engine. The engine then in turn powers the transmissions which turns the wheels and moves the vehicle. However, electric vehicles are much different. Instead of having a fuel tank, they have batteries which hold electricity. Electricity is sent to an electric motor which then turns a transmission which turns the wheels and moves the vehicle forward.

Both types of trucks, gasoline and electric have pros and cons. For instance, a gasoline engine is very inefficient and environmentally unfriendly due to the many pollutants it releases. However, gasoline engines have an enormous range (usually 300 miles) and they are easy to refuel (taking only a couple of minutes).

Electric engines on the other hand have very low range (currently about 30 miles to 50 miles) and can take hours to recharge using conventional methods. The upside is that they are much more environmentally friendly and do not pollute. Hybrid trucks are built with both a gas engine and electric motor and try to reap the benefits of having the advantages of both technologies.

The typical hybrid truck has the following components: a gasoline engine, an electric motor, a fuel tank, battery and transmission.

Fuel Tank

Obviously used for gasoline engines, the fuel tank holds the gas that powers the engine. However, it should be noted that gasoline is a better way to store energy. For instance, it can take up to 1,000 pounds of batteries to store the same amount of energy found in one gallon of gasoline.

Gasoline Engine

Gas engines found in hybrid trucks are usually smaller in size than normal since they are made for fuel economy and have a secondary motor (electric) to power these vehicles.

Batteries

Batteries hold electricity; however unlike gasoline which is only used to power the engine, batteries can not only power the electric motor, but receive and store a charge.

Electric Motor

Electric motors found in a hybrid truck are very complex and sophisticated. They not only include the motor to power the vehicle, but a generator as well. Having a generator within the motor it can both take energy from the batteries and charge the batteries extending the distance the hybrid truck’s range. With a hybrid truck you do not need to plug your vehicle into an electric outlet to charge the batteries, the gas engine helps to charge the batteries. In addition, the electric motor’s generator helps to charge the batteries- such as when the vehicle brakes.

Transmission

For the most part, many hybrid trucks have transmissions which are the same as their non-hybrid counterparts. The transmission receives power from the engine or motor and turns the wheels.

Hybrid Truck Performance

There are two main goals that a hybrid truck tries to achieve. The first is better fuel efficiency and the second is less pollution. Hybrid trucks usually offer 20 to 30 miles per gallon more than their non-hybrid counterparts and as far pollution is concerned- while each vehicle is different, generally speaking pollution is considerably lower with hybrid trucks.

Hybrid trucks usually offer similar performance to non-hybrids. When a truck needs to accelerate from a stopped position, the hybrid uses the gasoline engine which offers the most torque and power to accelerate the vehicle; however when your vehicle is driving on the highway and no longer needs lots of power, the hybrid switches to the electric motor which not only saves fuel, but lowers pollution. On board are sophisticated computers and sensors that make the change-over from gasoline engine to electric motor extremely smooth and seamless.

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Ford Bronco - 5 things you didn’t know

July 17th, 2008 by Shenron

In today’s world, it is hard to imagine the streets without sport utility vehicles. SUVs have become so popular with Moms hauling kids, business owner’s using them as rolling offices, and of course what they were originally meant for, off road driving. One of the first sport utility vehicles to hit the market was the Ford Bronco. The Ford Bronco hit the automobile scene in 1966 and stayed in production for thirty-one years until the last one rolled off the assembly line in 1996. During it’s run as one of the more popular sport utility vehicles, it competed with the Chevrolet’s K5 Blazer, Dodge’s Ramcharger, and Jeep’s Cherokee. It also gave birth to the immensely popular Bronco II which was a smaller version of the Bronco. Much is known about the Ford Bronco, but here are five things you may not know about the Ford Bronco.

Every Ford Bronco made was a four wheel drive vehicle. There are two wheel drive varieties around, but they were altered using aftermarket parts made by companies other than Ford.
Ford started redesigning the Bronco as a full-size vehicle, eventually basing it on the F-100 truck, in 1972. Because of concerns over the fuel crisis of the 1970’s though, the full-size Bronco would not make it’s debut until 1978.
Beginning in the late 1980s and through the 1990s until it ended production, the Bronco which was normally only available in a two-door version became available in a four-door model. These four-door Broncos were conversions made by another Michigan automobile company called Centurion Vehicles and among the other options they offered was a built in TV and VCR.
The famous white Bronco that O.J. Simpson was riding in while being pursued by the Los Angeles Police Department before his trial in the death of his ex-wife and her friend was a 1993 model.
Donald Frey, the man who conceived of the Ford Bronco was also the main person behind the conception of the Ford Mustang.

The Ford Bronco was one of the early sport utility vehicles and it played a large role in revolutionizing the automobile industry. Even today, many people look back fondly on their memories of the Ford Bronco. With its unique blend of features common on both a car and a truck, it proved itself a versatile vehicle that could perform many duties. The Ford Bronco will be looked at for years as one of the greatest automobiles of all time.

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Toyota 4Runner - Evolution

July 16th, 2008 by Shenron

One of the more popular SUVs on the market these days is the Toyota 4Runner. The 4Runner combines Toyota’s signature reliability with the size and capabilities of the popular SUV type of vehicle. The Toyota 4Runner has come a long way since it’s inception in 1984 and was key in Toyota’s transition from a primarily small car and truck maker into a automobile manufacturer of vehicles of all sizes. The continued improvements and redesigning have elevated the Toyota 4Runner to be one of the more sought after SUVs on the market today.

Toyota 4Runner First Generation (1984-1989)

When Toyota first released the 1984 4Runner onto the market, it was essentially a Toyota pick-up with a fiberglass shell over what was once the truck bed. Toyota was spurred to get into the mid-size SUV market based on both the success and upcoming releases of competitor’s models like Chevy’s S-10 Blazer and Ford’s Bronco II. Although designed to compete against these other mid-size SUVs, the original 4Runner more closely resembled the full-size Ford Bronco and Chevy K5 Blazer because of its removable fiberglass top over the rear section of the vehicle. From the dashboard to the front bumper there was little or no difference between these first 4Runners and the Toyota pickups of the same year.

In 1985, Toyota made rear seats available in all 4Runners, not just the upscale SR5 package as had been the case in the original 1984 version. Another addition coming in the model’s second year was a new electronically fuel-injected 2.4 liter engine. The overall stability and handling was improved on the 4Runner in 1986 when Toyota widened the wheel base by a few inches and added an independent front suspension system. An interesting thing to note on the 4Runners imported to the United States from 1984 through 1986 is that most came without the rear seats. In this way they were classified as trucks and avoided the higher custom duties associated with larger passenger vehicles. The last significant change to these first generation Toyota 4Runners came in 1988 when Toyota also offered an optional 3.0 liter V-6 engine. This more powerful engine proved very popular with motorists and Toyota rewarded buyers with other features exclusive to the V-6 models like a whole new transmission and transfer case which resulted in a significant reduction in cab noise from the previously made 4-cylinder models.

Toyota 4Runner Second Generation (1990-1995)

1990 saw Toyota make vast changes to its signature SUV. All 4Runners made from 1990 on were no longer built on the same frame or platform as the company’s pickup trucks. The 4Runner now had its own body designed and mounted on its own frame. Because it was no longer built on the basis of the Toyota Pickup, this was also the end of the removable fiberglass shell as all 4Runners from there on out were built as a whole unit. One of the carry over design elements from the first generation models was a tailgate that still had a retractable rear window. To open the tailgate, the driver still had to first retract the window into it and then lowering it similar to the tailgate of a pickup. There were changes made during the life of the second generation Toyota 4Runner, but most amounted to little more than cosmetic changes like headlamp redesign.

Toyota 4Runner Third Generation (1996-2002)

While the look of the Toyota 4Runner third generation models remained similar to the second generation, there were enough interior and otherwise upgrades that the 4Runner was now seen as a competitor to the higher end Nissan Pathfinder, and a step above the Ford Explorer and Chevrolet Blazer. The engines available for the third generation 4Runner were the same engines being made for the new Toyota Tacoma pickup trucks that were hitting the market. Both the 4-cylinder and V-6 engines were enlarged, the 4-cylinder from 2.4 liter to 2.7 liter and the V-6 from 3.0 liter to 3.4 liter, with the newer more powerful engines becoming very popular with SUV buyers.

Many cosmetic and interior upgrades and changes would be included in the 1997-1999 model Toyota 4Runner. These included color matched cargo covers, updated switches and knobs, a new steering wheel, a redesigned air bag system, new bumper design, turn signals, color matched running boards, and reorganization of the controls for the vehicle’s rear window related features. Other changes during this model’s production resulted in both increased interior space and cargo space.

Toyota 4Runner Fourth Generation (2003-)

The fourth generation of Toyota 4Runner changed significantly, although it continued to be marketed towards the same high end/sub-luxury SUV market. The vehicle was now being based on the Land Cruiser Prado which resulted in a very different look than that of previous 4Runner models. The engine upgrade to the 4.0 liter V-6 was now standard on all models and for the first time the 4Runner came with the option of upgrading to a powerful V-8 engine. The V-8 engine available for the 4Runner is essentially the same V-8 available for the full size Toyota Tundra and Sequoia models. 2004 saw a tire pressure warning system added as one of the many standard features on the 4Runner while an option for a third row seat was also introduced.

With the introduction of the 2005 model came a new transmission as now a five speed automatic transmission was now considered standard equipment. Many cosmetic and add-on features also became available in the following few years like roof racks, chrome grilles, black running boards, a rear spoiler that had been redesigned, LED tail lamps, projector-beam headlamps, fog lights, a seat memory system, new bumper design, MP3 capable stereo systems, as well as both sixteen and eighteen inch wheels.

With its constant redesign and a commitment to putting a quality SUV product on the road, the Toyota 4Runner doesn’t only look like one of the more popular SUVs today, but it looks like it will remain so for a number of years. The vehicle that is now considered a borderline luxury SUV has come a long ways from the days that it was a pickup truck with a fiberglass shell. The continual adding of popular features and redesign of the overall vehicles has kept up with the public’s demand for a quality modern vehicle that can also hold a good amount of cargo, whether that cargo is in the form of other passengers or in the form of goods and products. The Toyota 4Runner is one of the most sought after SUVs on the market for good reason, it not only meets the expectations of those looking for an SUV, but it exceeds them.

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