How an opposed engine works in Commer Knocker

Commer was a British truck manufacturer founded in 1905 as Commercial Cars Limited. Their primary business was manufacturing commercial vehicles, including car-derived vans, through to medium and heavy trucks and buses. In addition, they made engines, including their most famous, the TS3 Diesel.  If you’ve got a senior’s card, you’ll undoubtedly remember the distinct sound…

How to drive an 18-Speed Roadranger

How to drive an Eaton 18-Speed Roadranger Eaton’s 18-Speed Roadranger Driver’s Instruction manual available for download at end of article.  Driving a constant mesh transmission like a 13-speed or 15-speed Roadranger transmission correctly used to be a fundamental part of truck driving, and old school truck drivers took great pride in the way they swapped…

How to care for Alloy Wheels

Since the birth of road transport, trucking operators have strived to reduce fuel usage and increase payloads. Over the past decade, the industry’s push towards alloy wheels because they’re far lighter than steel wheels has seen many truck manufacturers make alloy rims a standard fitment on various models. For instance, almost half a tonne (476kg)…

The Cost of Mismatched Tires

With the rapid increase in heavy vehicle running costs, the following tips on how to match your tyres will undoubtedly see you extract a few extra thousand kilometres out of your tyres. But ultimately, it will make all the difference to your bottom line. Furthermore, it might even save you costly downtime from changing a…

How Hub Reduction Differentials Work

Regular readers would recall that we’ve reported on several tri-drive units operating in high productivity heavy road train applications over the last few years. Truth be told, the site of a tri-drive or “tridem” road train with four to six trailers in tow is indeed an impressive sight. Their daily payloads undoubtedly would have made…

How truck air compressors work

The primary function of a truck air compressor is to supply compressed air for the truck air suspension and braking system. Typically, this type of compressor is driven by the truck’s engine. The air compressor builds the air pressure for the air suspension, auxiliary components and brake system. In most cases, the air compressor is…