Transforming The Simple Sleeper with Affordable Innovative Decorating Tips Posted by DC Cargo Mall on June 24, 2013

 Living on the road can be quite a challenge, and unsettling at best.

The no-bathroom sleeper causing you to necessitate more rest stops than planned, the linen that needed washing months ago, and the windowless back that gets too stuffy in summer’s heat when the AC blows out.

Avoiding these issues though, can be tricky and costly, and without the funds to back it up, throwing in the towel is the average reaction.

But having a prime sleeper that is personalized to you and gives you that home-away-from-home feeling can really motivate you to clock in more hours on the road, and to truly feel that you love your job.

There are affordable options open, if we get innovative enough, that can fit the budget but screw the unlivable conditions.

Although we admit that a crew cab sleeper, even those comfortable enough, will not suffice for the DOT authorities as sleep hours to log in, regular sleepers can still be a cheap option for you, if done right.

If replacement will cost you too much, doing it yourself can be easier than you think, and more fun as well. Here are some tricks and tips in design that will make your truck, and your day, if you consider them.

• ·         Counters can be replaced with plain slabs of wood, and hard plastic transparent cloths stapled to the underneath, giving a natural, country-chic modern twist. Woodsnap.com offers gorgeous custom-wood prints, where your photograph is printed directly onto the wood, not necessarily meant for counters! If you are into simple coloring, spray paint is a quickie and practical way to go. Be sure to spray outside though, airing out the initial fumes are not meant to be done inside.

·         Another counter option is to add to what you've already got and give it a makeover. For the more sophisticated look, head to Home Depot, and pick up a bunch of ceramic square tiles, tiny shiny tiles, or even the jumbo – whichever suits your taste, will work. http://www.wikihow.com/Install-Tile-Countertops will give you a step by step in creating this shockingly simple masterpiece.

·         New benches can be difficult to install. An alternative of bean bags are fairly cheap, and super comfortable. They are also easily portable and great for a book nook or movie hour. Some can be found for as low as 30 dollars on http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Bean-Lounge-Bags/5396/subcat.html
 

·         With a bed that has room between its bottom and the ground, instead of fitting a specially constructed drawer, simply go plastic. Target sells fun styles from charcoal dark to sparkly and bright in under-bed plastic storage drawers. Measure your space to ensure the best possible fit in purchase. Have this strapped to it's position when your truck is in motion.

·         Having no toilet can be especially difficult when not every gas station offers the most sanitary amenities. But if cleaning out your own regularly is not on your top-list of must-have experiences, than doing something as simple as downloading the ‘Rest Area’ app can save you a headache or two. At least, although your own rest room doesn't exist, your nearest rest area options are clear and choosing is quick and effortless. It is 100% free and perfect for truckers because unlike apps that help you find what's off the highways, Rest Area helps you find places to stop while still on the highway. 

·  Extra Logistic Tracks can be nailed in to offer hook space and personal hang-up storage.

·         If you have a window, open it and stick your fan between the open space. The air blowing in will be fresh and give your air an outdoorsy feel. Be sure it is properly secured or do not attempt this feat while your truck is on the move.

·         Bolting in a couple more wood or metal slabs for shelves can do your storage situation a world of good. Instead of developing a messy pile of bottles, ratchet straps and tools, more small shelves allow for proper designation for each category and offer you an easy way to organization.

·         A gleaming floor can make all the difference. http://www.laminate-floor-cleaner.com/?bingshine offers a great easy do-it-yourself process to effective floor shine.

·         Creative lighting solutions that brighten up your cabin in a unique way will put you in an instantly lighter mood. Trying something like this guy at http://www.flickr.com/photos/velvetdahlia who used empty soda bottles stuffed with LED lights and produced a more extravagant result than you think.

 

Happy Designing!

The Newly Modernized World of High Capacity Loading Posted by DC Cargo Mall on June 17, 2013

Shipping cargo overseas was not always so easy.

There were horses, there were buggies, and there were ships. Eventually, there were bikes, and better yet, tiny cars.

As time went on, and progressions took place, the truck and the plane and the modernized boat revolutionized what we now know as cargo loading and shipment.

Moving across the globe to Australia not only became a possibility, but hauling every armoire and car thousands of miles away suddenly did not seem so miraculous anymore. It’s quite ironic, that the easier it gets to do the seemingly impossible, the more we take it for granted.

In our days of old, farmers would transport their produce and hay via a small wagon, and business men their goods, by tying rope around each load at most, to keep from falling. When more freight needed moving, more than one wagon, or multiple trips, were the sorry solution.

Nowadays, a consistently growing capacity of shipment methods is taking place.

 Take a plane’s cargo hold, such as the world’s biggest transporter, the Antonov AN-225. This Russian developed plane was originally built to carry a space shuttle, and has been recently refurbished. It can now hold over 250 tons, about 4 military tanks, or 80 cars! Its wingspan is almost the length of a football field, which explains it, well, partly.

 Then there’s the CMA CGM Alexandor Von Humboldt. This grand wondrous cargo boat easily defines the word enormity.  And its capacity? A maximum of 16,020 TEU. (Twenty-foot-equivalent-unit)

 

As for trucks, there is the ‘Titan Terex’. This monster truck is a site to be seen. It is one-of-a-kind. Literally, only one of these grand things were ever built. It has been the world’s largest and highest capacity truck for over 25 years until the invention of the Caterpillar 797-F, an even larger version costing five million dollars just to construct. 

 

 You can only begin to imagine, that at this trucks capacity- a baffling 400 tons, the amount of heavy-duty straps, chains, or otherwise needed for safe loading. 

We are so lucky to have transportation of heavy items, sent in bulk, so quickly, efficiently, and at unlimited distances.

What we must take a moment to stop and remember, is that the only reason that tanks are not flying about in the belly of the transport plane, and why that enormous coil ring is not rolling off of the flatbed, why those boxes of chickens are not tossed about inside the truck’s interior van, and why the enormous shipload stays in place in spite of rocky waves, is due to cargo securing equipment, and is dependent on the expertise and carefulness of the loader- that’s you!

More specifically, straps, chains, hooks, and the like, hold more significance then we think. If safety is your priority, and loading your expertise, visit us at DCCargoMall.com to learn more safety tricks, and get any loading equipment you need, provided here only with the highest in caliber and quality.

Why is Everyone Afraid of Trucks? Posted by DC Cargo Mall on June 11, 2013

The burning question is often pondered, if not poised, or it is stated, and treated as the norm.

But the ones who are afraid are not exactly wondering why. 

They just want you off the road, and fast.

What they may not be considering is that every envelope of mail, box of food, and constructive material is hauled around via the truck, and they need us.

Ridding this fear off the roads can give the public a better appreciation for what trucking is really all about.

So what IS it about trucks that scare the rest of the vehicle population just so badly?

Is it the enormity of these truck bodies, that outweigh the proportion of the other, more petite cars on the road?

Is it that the materials carried sometimes weigh thousands of pounds, and the loads, on flatbeds, are sometimes open for the world to gawk at?

Or perhaps it is a fear factor for some, that the cargo carried is many a time hazardous material, or toxic waste?

We mustn’t forget that a healthy dose of warning is necessary for fellow drivers to keep a safer distance and keep out of the grand trucks way. 

Regardless, we need to revolutionize, and begin to form solutions and give off friendlier vibes to the surrounding traffic. 

Here are 5 of the things you can implement to lessen the prejudice:

1.       Make sure you know the measurements of your truck so that when reading signs that tell you which roads can be tread with exact measures, you know where you fit in. Realizing all too late that you are too tall to pass under a bridge, or too wide to fit through a tunnel, you can say goodbye to your little friend, called ‘Life.’

2.       Driving on the right of the other smaller vehicles is the way to go.  Unless there is traffic, other drivers getting on the right of you is dangerous on their part, and if avoided, more safety is ensured for all involved.

3.       Remember, the heavier your load is, the longer the braking time it takes to slow down speed. A substantial amount of extra space should be exercised between the vehicles on the road.  Trying to beat superman and get bumper to bumper with other cars to get to your destination faster, could end you up in a situation where you never made it to your destination at all, unless of course, you were on your way to deliver pizza to the angels in heaven.

4.      Loading and unloading your truck according to rules and regulations are probably one of the most vital tools to be taken ultra-seriously. This includes making sure that all straps are without tear, chains not bent/broken, hooks sharp and fully curved, tracks fastened sturdily, and all cargo secured tightly and on every side necessary.

5.       Checking to make sure that all lights, brakes and brake fluid, load securement items, tire air, and more are in superb condition before heading out is a must. This small portion of time set aside for checking will make your life a whole lot easier than the trucker in the lane next to you with a flat in the middle of the highway, or that other flatbed trucker on exit 92 whose cargo tumbled off to the side, leaving him with repair debt and a failed trucking mission.

All in all, assuming you now have at least a bit more of an idea of why the phobia of trucks is so rampant, let’s jump on this bandwagon (or Truck!) and make some change.

Luck to all. Safe driving!

Inspection is Hip Posted by DC Cargo Mall on June 03, 2013

The rules out there for truck securement are not there just to keep you on your toes. They exist to keep you alive and to keep your cargo in one piece.

 Let’s face it. Truckers would be out of business if not for the need to move the cargo that they haul.

  It all revolves around the cargo and its securement, but at the end of the day, it’s up to you to ensure that these standards placed by the FMCSA are adhered to in a no-kidding manner.

And it isn’t because inspections crop up on the roadside and you want to be prepared. Because whether the principal is watching the student or not, the school is there for his knowledge bank to inflate, and ultimately, for his own benefit. Trucking isn’t all that different.

Secure your load properly, and the value of hiring you to transport loads has just gone up one-hundred percent!  Similar to the graded student, your ranking is recorded with authority, and whatever decisions you make or don’t, will come back to bite you in the face, good or otherwise.

Take Y. Tager for example. He is out of the business before his time and is now working at a factory, screwing caps on bottles. He says he is qualified for the trucking industry and devastated to be removed of the privilege to continue. He was extremely knowledgeable in all the ins and outs, the rules, and the tricks.

“I knew how to pull the wool over various authorities’ eyes, as far as load securement goes.” He reminisces thoughtfully. “But,” He adds, “In the long run, I’m screwed.” Tager explained that on one of his routes, where he side stepped a couple violations, and got by without quite enough ratchet straps, it happened. He even remembers the song that blasted from his old radio as he swerved ‘round the bend and the contents of his trailer broke loose. The entire truck went on a mad frenzy and picked up momentum as it swirled into a circle, hitting an empty parked bus, and downing a tree.

“I got lucky,” he reminds us.  “I could have died in a few seconds flat. The bus could have been full. My cushioned seats happened to save my life but it was then that it hit me that it isn’t about whose watching and who isn’t. It’s about you making sure to watch yourself. I had a clean slated record of CSA compliance rankings like you wouldn’t believe, in spite of my violations, because hiding was my expertise. But in 20/20 hindsight, I obviously needed to inspect my truck's safety for my own benefit.”

He concludes that he is lucky today that he has not wound up in jail from killing someone in the accident, and that he has not wound up dead. His truck license though, is a thing of the past, and as he finishes capping on his last few bottles at the factory for the day, he shows us a beautiful picture on his now tiny mobile phone, of a shiny red truck with his smiling face in the window.

He advises to replace damaged parts instead of repairing them, or to at least spend well-worth amounts on proper repairs instead of doing it yourself, and to inspect details often.

“My truck is gone, and some of my dignity too, because that was my passion. I learnt the hard way, but I share my story so that others learn the easy way, and don’t follow my path.”

He learnt to think of inspections as a doctors’ visit for his child. “You want them to be okay, right? Even if you take care of them, you want the professionals to come and say yeah, that’s a guy we want hauling our stuff around, we feel safe around him on the road. That’s my dream.”