The Trucking Nerd

You’ve accessorized your truck so you will get noticed. Huge tires, 6” lift, lots of shinny chrome, face it, your truck looks like a beast. That is of course until you get cut off and blast your wimpy little stock horn. You can fix that problem with a train horn kit from Train Horns Delivered. These kits come with everything you need for installation and can blast up to 180 decibels. If you want your truck to get noticed and you want the respect you deserve while you’re on the road consider one of these kits as an option.

So you might be wondering, what is a train horn kit? A train horn kit is comprised of three main parts. You have a triple train horn assembly, the air tank, and an air compressor to fill the air tank. The kit also comes with every component you will need to connect the parts and install them into your truck.

The way the kit works is that the air compressor is set to automatically fill the air tank and keep the tank at 120 psi so it is ready to blast when you are. You can either set up your train horn so it sounds when you honk your horn as you normally would or you can set it up so there is a separate toggle switch to sound it. Once this happens the solenoid will open and release the air from the air tank and sound the horns. People will notice!

Now you know how to set yourself apart from other trucks on the road and make everyone take notice. Train horns for trucks are the newest, most sought after accessory for trucks and their popularity is going daily! Do not be the last one to the party. Make sure you are the first among your friends to get and install a kit and blow your friends away. It will clear a path for your truck and broadcast yourself to everyone letting them know who is in charge. These kits are easy to install and the chrome plating makes them look great as well.

Get over to http://trainhornsdelivered.com today and check out their screaming deals!

Popularity: 9% [?]

You want to turn heads this summer when you’re out in your F-150, but when your truck looks like everyone else’s truck, people aren’t going to know who’s got the meanest machine. But with some high-quality, custom truck parts from AmericanTrucks, you’ll be sure that you’re getting all the Ford F-150 Performance and style you need to keep all eyes on your truck, no matter if you’re out on the highway, track or even off-road.

Probably the most popular modification F-150 enthusiasts make to their trucks is getting that tire and chassis clearance up nice and high with a Ford F-150 Lift Kit. Whether you’re an off-roading fanatic, or just want to ride higher than the rest of traffic on your way to and from work, AmericanTrucks has a lift kit that’s right for you. Plus, we’re also offering a huge selection of Ford Truck Bed Covers. Not only does it maximize your hauling space, not only does it protect whatever cargo it is you’ve got back there, but you can’t forget the fact that truck bed covers improve your fuel economy by up to 10%, and will give you significantly better gas mileage. And with the prices at the pump rising like they do every summer, this is a modification you’ll really appreciate.

Now, it’s one thing to make your truck look different from other trucks. But if you want to really get people to notice your truck from miles away, you need to get a new Ford F-150 Exhaust. Aftermarket exhausts from AmericanTrucks will let you announce yourself and let people know to clear a path for you and your behemoth of a truck. Easy-to-install and great looking, these exhausts will also give you a noticeable performance gain of some additional horsepower and torque, after you kick those restrictive factory pipes to the curb.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Wi-Fire

I was approached a few weeks ago by hField Technologies to review their Wi-Fire product since it is a perfect fit for people who are on the go, such as folks who need to entertain business calls 24/7 on their latest mobile phone and particularly truckers who have laptops and would like to increase their range for wifi hotspot connectivity. 

The Wi-Fire is a product that acts as a wireless adapter with a high gain antenna.  Best of all, the design of it is meant to be used on the go with a retractable USB cable and slick fold up design, it is compact and easy to stick in a laptop bag. 

I was particularly interested in reviewing the product because I had built a cantenna a few years ago using a coffee can experimenting with increasing the range of my wifi signal.

After firing up the laptop and experimenting with the Wi-Fire, I am pleasantly surprised at the results.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 78% [?]

I am finding more and more value in establishing and maintaining my professional network of colleagues on linkedin.  It is a site I have been a member of for a long time and haven’t really tried to use it much until recently.  Dan Goodwill, a fellow consultant and journalist, has a great article that talks about the linked in and the value it adds.

For those who are not linked in, here’s a few reasons why you may want to consider it over some of the other popular social networking tools:

1) It’s for Professionals and is built for business.  Facebook and My Space are neat, but they are more casual and best suited for personal applications.

2) Popularity.  Linked in is quickly growing in number of users as well as functionality.

3) Features.  They provide easy ways to network and search employment opportunities as well as abilities to search for talent you may be looking to hire!

4) Network Updates.  They provide statistics and quick facts about your contacts updates which help you keep up to date with what is going on in your network of colleagues.

5) Online Resume.  I have stopped producing a paper resume and keep my linked in profile up to date.  I include it on my email tagline and offer it to people who want to know more about my experience and skill set.  It’s always up to date and I don’t have to worry about someone looking at a stale copy I had emailed months ago.

Feel free to checkout my profile for an idea of the value it adds.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/beckerben

Popularity: 69% [?]

I’ve been swamped working on several different fronts and projects with a mix of clients and am running across some pretty exciting thoughts that I intend to post some articles on.  I thought I’d drop a quick line for those of you who are still tuned in wondering what the T-Nerd has been up to. 

Some of the topics I’ve queued up include open source business intelligence, outsourcing collaboration overseas I’ve been involved with and a sweet mobile GPS application I’m in progress of building which will be spun off as yet another side venture!

On a side note, if anyone wants a Trucking Nerd Mug, let me know.  The first batch I ordered were a misprint with the ink which faded so they sent me another batch for free, however they also were a misprint, so now I’ve got mugs coming out the wazoo.  Just drop me a line, you pick up shipping and I’ll gift you a mug!

Popularity: 79% [?]

Well, as some people are still finding out, I am in the process of transitioning out of the role as the CIO at Tradewinds and am venturing down some other paths.  I had started a company called Becker Solutions a couple of years ago and pursued in my off hours custom projects and software development initiatives.  This kind of kept me tied to my roots of project based work from my consulting days in addition to exposing me to additional technologies and educational opportunities the day job didn’t afford me.  After much thought, I have decided to make a go of focusing more energy and day hours to this initiative.

It leaves me with the undecided question, what to do with this blog? I’m still a nerd, but not just a “trucking” nerd anymore.  I will probably make updates as it makes sense and as time permits.  Out of the gate, I’m finding my plate is already pretty full, so we’ll have to see how it goes. 

I’ve got a lot of trucking and related systems knowledge, so it’d be crazy to abandon it all, so if you have a project or need, don’t hesitate to give me a shout!

Popularity: 74% [?]

I am pleased to announce John Starks as a guest writer for the Trucking Nerd.  John has an array of experience and a tall resume with some very well known companies.  After working with John for a stint, I can attest to his expertise and knowledge of trucking, particularly from an operational and management perspective.  He will be crafting articles periodically for the Trucking Nerd to add some additional perspective and insights.  His content may not necessarily be technical in nature, but will always be relevant to the trucking industry.  His first article relating to operations and technology is published.

When I first started the blog, I also had registered TruckingNerds.com in the event that additional perspectives would be added to the blog.  I encourage anyone else who enjoys writing and is interested in technology and / or trucking, feel free to drop me a line!

Popularity: 92% [?]

As I’ve come to learn more about blogging, I realize that the trucking blogsphere is somewhat slim pickings, there just isn’t a whole lot out there.  I’m always on the lookout for feeds that make my shortlist and am particularly interested in other trucking and or technology related blogs.

There are a few blogs out there I enjoy, as mentioned the Private Fleets blog and a few of the others I link to here.  There is also another author, Dan Goodwill, a transportation consultant / author.  He recently posted an article highlighting some popular trucking related blogs.  I recommend checking it out if you are looking for blogs to subscribe.  I also recommend periodically checking for new blogs which enter the arena which it seems a few more here and there keep popping up.  You can leverage blogged.com and technorati to help you out!

Popularity: 76% [?]

Congratulations to Wayne and RPM, they were the chosen winners in the mug club giveaway.  The winners were chosen using the random number service from Random.org!   Stay tuned for future give aways.  I’ve got some additional ideas on future SWAG…will have to see if any of it pans out.

Popularity: 42% [?]

How many times have you come across a technical problem and have no idea where to even begin to start with it?  My favorite is when you get an error that usually has some vague text and then a sentence that says “Please contact your System Administrator for further help.”  I always chuckle since I am the System Administrator and I’m usually as perplexed as the typical end-user.

98% of the time, spending a few minutes applying deductive reasoning, googling or shooting an instant message out to my fellow nerds I usually get an answer or at least have come up with a few paths to explore.  But what happens when the issue is very vague?  Or if it is intermittent?  Or worse yet, you’ve exhausted all leads and are still striking out?

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Popularity: 53% [?]