“We’ve actually had to tell people that’s a grain trailer,” says Derek Dutton, owner of Ontario-based Specialized Trailers.

“They’ve been walking by not realizing what it is.”

The trailers are built by Raglan Trailers, also out of Ontario, but Dutton’s company has been working with Raglan on design input and handles marketing for Raglan. The pair of super-B trailers was the first of that design to come to Western Canada.

“This is the first western model,” says Dutton.

“We’ve had the eastern models running back in Ontario since the end of last year.”

The eastern models Dutton refers to are shorter than the pair on display at AIM. The wider variety of crop types grown in the West called for a longer trailer combination that could also handle a larger volume of lighter grains such as oats.

The trailers on display had a 3,000-cubic-foot capacity, and Dutton says that could even be increased by using a higher sidewall. The company is willing to build the all-aluminium trailers to meet any customer needs.

In fact, the trailers on display were the result of an Alberta customer asking the company for a higher-capacity unit, one that could not only haul grain but fracking sand as well.

“It’s a very flexible design,” he says.

“We’ll do exactly what the customer wants to have.”

With curved sidewalls allowing for an interior that doesn’t require corner brackets, the trailer design is based off of pneumatic trailer configurations that allow for easy and complete cleanouts. The curved shape of the walls helps create the strength needed to eliminate interior structures that cause grain and any other material to lodge.

“It’s like an egg,” he says.

“There are no square corners that get pressure.”

The sidewalls are made from quarter-inch aluminum. The frame is also fully aluminum.

Dutton says some customers who are pulling the trailers in Ontario have told him they are experiencing about a 10 per cent increase in fuel efficiency because the trailers pull easier. They also seem to be less susceptible to high crosswinds, possibly due to their curved sides.

He adds his company intends to conduct some comparison tests soon to verify those anecdotal driver claims.

Because grain trailers are often taken off roads into fields across uneven terrain, there can be extreme twisting forces exerted on the frame. To counter that, the Raglan trailers use a solid three-inch rubber cushion block between the kingpin plate and the frame, something not all that common on other trailer brands.

“What this does is take all that (twisting) force out of the frame,” he says.

“We do it on the lead and the pup.”

The trailers are designed to be filled with a level load to distribute the weight properly across the axle groups, eliminating the need to guess how to load them unevenly to ensure road-legal weight distribution.

Because this was the first trailer of its design to come to the Prairies, Dutton says he is eager to get feedback on the design. If farmers and truckers in the West are looking for different features, the company is willing to make changes.

“We’re here to listen to everybody and say, ‘What do you see?’” he says.

“We can then go back and translate that into some other ideas.”

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How good are you at backing up a semi-trailer truck? That’s the challenge Glacier FarmMedia editors Scott Garvey and Robin Booker with the Western Producer took on at the 2025 Ag in Motion show in July. They competed with each other to see who could log the fastest time backing up a truck accurately enough to dunk a tea bag attached to the tractor unit into a cup placed behind the truck. The two editors enjoyed a little inter-office rivalry in the process.

Saskatchewan Mack dealer Redhead Equipment supplied the truck and trailer for the competition and they were on site all three days of the show to allow other visitors to the show grounds to try their hand at the task.

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For Prairie fans of IH equipment, there is the Western Canada International Harvester Club, chapter 38, which holds annual get-togethers as well as other club events.

In July, the club made an appearance at Ag in Motion 2025 to promote itself and recruit new members.

“We would like more people to join,” says club president Colleen Urich from Perdue, Sask.

“We have an annual show. This year it’s in Neilburg, Sask. Last year was Vermillion, Alta. We like to go to a different province every year.”

This year’s event at Neilburg, about an hour west of North Battleford, will be held Aug. 16-17.

Because IH produced such a wide range of products aside from ag machinery and trucks, Urich says collectors of any of those other IH items are welcome to join and participate, too.

“All the chapter members get a chance to bring their equipment and trucks or whatever to show,” she says.

“Everything you have, even tools.”

The club publishes a quarterly newsletter, which members can contribute to, highlighting their collection or restoration projects. The newsletter and website also feature a marketplace section where restorers and enthusiasts can shop for or sell parts or anything IH.

The club also sells IH branded hats, shirts, signs and other swag, which would make ideal Christmas gifts for the tractor enthusiast.

Anyone interested in joining or just finding out more about the club can visit its website. The club also has a presence on Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram.

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The W900 holds the record for the longest heavy truck model to remain in continuous production. It entered service in 1963 and has continued with the same basic body style until today, although there have been a couple of minor variations.

“We know these legacy Kenworth models are an integral part of our history here at Kenworth, which makes this decision a difficult but necessary one as we enter the next era of trucking,” Kevin Haygood, Kenworth’s assistant general manager for sales and marketing, said in a release.

“The W900 is truly historic in that it’s helped shape North American trucking culture and tradition as we know it today, often seen at truck shows, featured in movies and on TV and shown at other events.”

Those include the movie Smokey and the Bandit as well as the Movin’ On TV series.

Also ending production is the narrow cab T800 model, which debuted in 1986, as well as the very heavy-duty C500 model that first appeared in 1972 and is designed for extreme heavy-haul and off-road operations.

The W990, introduced in 2018, offers an updated design with a nod to the W900 but includes a wider 2.1-metre cab, similar to most other new on-highway trucks, providing a more spacious interior. The W990 uses a little more aerodynamic design without the external air filters used on the W900.

In a statement, Kenworth said the decision to end production of these models is due to “evolving emissions regulations and component constraints as the industry moves forward with new, more efficient and better integrated technologies and products.”

A rumour had been circulating online about the company’s intent to discontinue production, which may have caused it to officially reveal its plans early, ahead of the annual MATS truck show in the United States, where it was expected to be announced.

A final call for truck orders will be announced later in 2025 and at least one dealer, Inland Kenworth, says it is still accepting orders for W900s with manual transmissions.

Kenworth’s sister company Peterbilt, under the ownership of parent company Paccar, also discontinued its classic long-hood truck, the 389, in late 2023. The 389 also had a strong following and was similar in appearance to the W900.

The Peterbilt 589 — an updated version of the 389 and its predecessors, the 379 and 359 — was given a comparable treatment to Kenworth’s W990. It keeps a hood like that used on the 389, but mates it with a wider, more aerodynamic cab.

The post Kenworth discontinues the classic W900 after 62 years in production appeared first on Grainews.

Many of today’s newer truck drivers don’t even know how to shift a manual transmission. Having worked at a truck driver training school, I can personally vouch for that fact.

One major reason most new trucks are ordered with auto-shift transmissions is they reduce maintenance costs from drivers causing damage by shifting improperly and, most importantly, they improve fuel economy by an estimated four to five per cent.

That latter fact is behind Kenworth’s recent policy stating dealers can now only order 10 per cent of their customer-ordered trucks equipped with manual transmissions. The company sent out a sales bulletin in late November informing its dealer network of that.

At the moment, it applies only to Kenworth trucks sold in Canada.

READ ALSO: Kenworth ready to deliver hydrogen-powered trucks in 2024

When asked about the policy, the company’s PR manager Mari Colbourne, provided this response.

“Kenworth and other OEMs are faced with increased compliance regulations. At the beginning of 2024, there was a step change in the CO2 standards per the GHG Phase 2 regulations making the vehicle CO2 standards five to eight per cent more stringent than last year.

“To meet those and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some spec’ing options need to be considered. With automated transmissions being more fuel-efficient, manual transmission options will be fewer, and this is starting to apply in the Canadian market. Kenworth is committed to working closely with our dealers and customers to provide the best truck for their business while meeting regulatory compliance.”

So far, none of the other major brands have publicly notified anyone of a similar policy.

While brands such as Freightliner sell a higher percentage of aerodynamic long-haul trucks, such as the Cascadia, they naturally have better overall fuel economy rates. Kenworth, on the other hand, sells a larger percentage of vocational trucks that tend to be spec’d in ways that can’t compete in fuel efficiency with the long-haul trucks.

Why does that matter?

In March 2022, Canada announced an objective of reducing GHG emissions by 20 per cent below 2005 levels by 2026.

According to the federal Heavy-duty Vehicle and Engine Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations, if trucks in a given subset are configured in a way that can’t meet limits set for a general category, the manufacturer must rely on accumulated “credits” to permit their manufacture. Credits are accumulated when overall emissions from a category of trucks are lower than the maximum levels. Companies that build mostly aerodynamic long-haul models will accumulate more credits than a brand such as Kenworth that builds a high percentage of vocational trucks.

Fair or not, that is the world we live in.

So if you’re looking at picking up a new W900, W990 or T880 and hoped for getting the pleasure of shifting a 13- or 18-speed, just know the computer will be doing the gear jamming.

The post Kenworth to limit availability of manual transmissions appeared first on Grainews.

Every year authorities organize pop-up roadside inspections to check heavy trucks for safety violations. And although farm trucks and drivers get a variety of exemptions from some regulations commercial carriers must follow, passing a roadside safety inspection isn’t typically one of them.

So how do you get through a spot check and avoid a ticket — or worse?

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) was set up several years ago to standardize equipment requirements and inspection procedures across Canada and the U.S. Most officers checking trucks will be certified by CVSA. Inspections will be carried out in a similar way no matter the province where they occur, although exact regulations and some exemptions vary a little.

“We have level one, two and three inspections,” CVSA roadside inspection specialist Jeremy Disbrow said during an information webinar in May. “A level one is we’re looking at driver credentials, their hours-of-service status, and it’s a complete vehicle inspection. It includes all the components underneath the vehicle as well. And it focuses also on cargo securement.

“A level two inspection involves everything except going underneath the vehicle. It’s called a walk-around inspection, basically. A level three is just a driver-only inspection.”

Farm truck drivers will usually be exempt from the hours-of-service regulation.

First impressions

The first step in acing a spot check inspection is to do a thorough daily pre-trip inspection on the truck before starting work. That ensures you find any defects before heading out onto the road — and repair them.

Officers doing inspections get an overall impression of a driver and truck pretty quickly. And first impressions are important, so having a clean, well-maintained truck will help.

“If you have your vehicle in order and you’re ready for the day, you’re likely to get a clean inspection,” Disbrow says. “Quite frankly, you can tell a lot within the first 30 seconds of interaction. A driver that seems to be prepared shows a level of professionalism.”

READ MORE: Driving a loaded grain truck

Drivers must make a written record of daily pre-trip inspections, but some farm truck drivers are exempt from needing to create a written report. For example, in Manitoba, the Commercial Vehicle Trip Inspection Regulation exempts a “two-axle or three-axle commercial vehicle or any trailer attached to it while being used primarily for the transportation of primary farm, forest or aquatic products if the driver or driver’s employer is the producer of the products.”

In Saskatchewan, only two- and three-axle farm trucks are exempt. Drivers of a farm semi will have to produce a written inspection report and show it to police when requested, according to the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol.

Them’s the brakes

One of the defects most commonly found at inspections is brake problems. Though nearly all modern heavy trucks with air brakes use automatic slack adjusters, some may not realize a driver still has a procedure to follow to ensure they are set correctly.

Making six full brake applications and holding them momentarily with system air pressure above 90 pounds per square inch is required for automatic slack adjusters to set up correctly. Failure to do this at the start of each day may mean push rod travel will exceed the maximum limit, putting brakes out of adjustment.

Making a full-service brake application and holding it for one minute to measure air loss is a key pre-trip test. Single-unit trucks cannot lose more than three p.s.i. in that time. Semi-trailer trucks with one trailer cannot lose more than four.

READ MORE: Truck is key piece in transport puzzle

There are other tests as well, such as ensuring the tractor protection valve closes at no less than 20 p.s.i. when the trailer lines are disconnected.

Farmers who’ve never had to take additional training to drive a Class 3 truck with air brakes may want to pick up a copy of their provincial air brake manual to ensure they understand the full test procedure, and make sure they know how the system works. Pre-trip regulations typically require a driver to have a reasonable working knowledge of the systems they’re checking.

“Last year the top out-of-service violation we had was for brakes,” Disbrow says. “Some of the other common violations were tires and lighting devices, things like that.”

Finally, even if you’re in a hurry and annoyed at the delay, curb your attitude when pulled into a roadside inspection. Being rude and abrasive won’t help you in the least.

“Something we look for is the professionalism of the driver and their attitude,” Matthew Austin of the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol said during the webinar. “That’s immediately noticeable as soon as we walk up and say hello. Things we’re looking for — do they have their proper documentation; do they know what documentation they’re giving us? Do they understand the expectations of the inspection? That all builds up to a good interaction during the inspection.

“The more organized the driver is, the smoother the inspection goes. It speeds it up.”

To find out more about CVSA inspections, visit the alliance website.

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“We are confident that, we can bring sustainable solutions forward, using the internal combustion engine, running on renewable fuels now and hydrogen in the future,” Volvo Group’s chief technology officer Lars Stenqvist says.

Using internal combustion engine technology eliminates the need for the minerals, catalysts and batteries required by hydrogen fuel cell systems, making for a less expensive alternative and using existing drivetrain technology.

Westport says its hydrogen fuel system-equipped engines deliver higher performance than other spark-ignition hydrogen internal combustion engines, producing significantly higher efficiency and power density along with lower operating cost. They can operate on less pure hydrogen than fuel cell designs — and are also less costly to produce, the company says.

As Volvo is also a producer of heavy off-road equipment, the technology could eventually find its way into other off-road agricultural machines.

The joint venture will be headquartered in Vancouver.

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As the spring auction season ramps up, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RB) just released its “Market Trends Report for Used Equipment and Trucks” for the first quarter of 2024 — and the key takeaway seems to be supply is up and prices are down.

The report shows it’s become a buyer’s market for those two machine types — and in general, those softening prices are also reflected across most of the construction and transportation equipment categories in the first quarter of 2024.

“The majority of equipment sectors in Canada are showing deflation,” the report reads.

Skid steers lead the downward slide, with a 10 per cent overall decline in selling prices. The volume being offered for sale has roughly doubled during the first quarter of this year, compared to Jan. 1 to March 31 in 2023. The median age of the machines has declined, from an average of 10 years down to nine. So, buyers are seeing more and newer machines sell for less.

That said, those newer machines have a little more experience under their belts. The median number of hours on their clocks has actually risen by almost 500. Caterpillar, Bobcat and Case respectively made up the top three brands sold by RB.

Trucking

If the farm needs another used truck tractor to pull a hopper trailer, it’s good news for buyers there too. “In our estimation, for the three months ending March 31, 2024, prices for truck tractors decreased four per cent compared to the same time frame last year,” the report reads.

That four per cent is small potatoes compared to the 22 per cent decline in sale prices for truck tractors south of the border — likely due, at least in part, to a softened market for freight hauling in the U.S.

Just as with skid steers, the number of truck tractors RB sold in Canada during the first quarter of this year is nearly double the number for the same time in 2023. But the median number of hours on their clocks has declined, from over 5,000 to well under that mark. The median hammer price has fallen below $50,000.

As for which brands most often found the willing buyer, Freightliner, International and Kenworth, in that order, took the top three spots.

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Edmonton-based Go Auto, which now owns 65 auto dealerships in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Washington state, has added even more to its chain. In April it announced it acquired Merlin Ford Lincoln and the Canada West RV and Truck Centre in Saskatoon.

Go Auto retails 28 different new vehicle brands and says it employs about 4,200 people.

The post Auto dealership chain expands appeared first on Grainews.

It would allow them to drive almost any form of motor vehicle to and from the farm.

These licenses with be issued with condition code “P” meaning the driver must comply with farmer restrictions.

Applicants must successfully complete a knowledge and road test, vision screening and submission of a driver’s medical assessment. However, they will not be required to complete pre-licensing training.

Drivers must meet all other requirements of a class one driver’s licence, including the air brake (Q) endorsement.

Farm commodity groups have been pushing the provincial government for less-costly class one licensing procedures for producers and their employees for some time.

According to the Alberta Motor Association, a class one licence allows holders to drive almost any type of vehicle other than a motorcycle, which requires a class six licence.

The holder of a farm-restricted class one driver’s licence may operate class one vehicles only within Alberta and while engaged in necessary transportation (including return trips, picking up materials, etc.) for the delivery of animals, farm products, grains or farm produce to:

• the farmer’s farm, if those commodities are to be used by the farmer in the operation of the farm;
• a market, if the commodities being transported were either grown or raised by the farmer on the farmer’s farm, and;
• transporting material or equipment owned and used by the farmer in the operation or maintenance of their farm.

These restrictions apply for those eligible for the licence as a family member. Additionally, the family member may operate the vehicle or combination of class one vehicles on behalf of the eligible farmer(s) listed in the application, but only as a family member.

Further information, including how to apply, is available at alberta.ca.

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