kscarbel2

I've never read that Paul. To the contrary, I read that American and NATO service members were instructed to always carry a loaded magazine in their weapons to save precious moments if attacked by Afghan forces. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/world/asia/afghan-attacks-on-allied-troops-prompt-nato-to-shift-policy.html?_r=1&hp&pagewanted=all I did read was contractors were only allowed to "carry weapons in accordance with Afghan laws and regulations." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_U.S._troops_from_Afghanistan#cite_note-WPBSA120131120-94

We sell V8-equipped tractors all over the world (e.g. Australia).

Paul, it was the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009) that established our long-term presence in Afghanistan. Obama merely continued it. And isn't it interesting how policies remain essentially the same irregardless of who is in office.

“We have wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in Afghanistan. Their government has zero appreciation. Let's get out!” Donald Trump / November 21, 2013 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- June 10, 2017 - Three US soldiers were killed and another wounded by an Afghan army commando during a joint US-Afghan military operation Saturday in Nangarhar province. June 17, 2017 - Seven American soldiers were wounded in an "insider attack" by an Afghan soldier at a base in northern Afghanistan. The Afghan soldier shot a rocket-propelled grenade into the back of a Navistar MRAP. .

Zenon Hansen was badly hurt in Allentown when his lawnmower flipped.

PBS NewsHour / June 17, 2017 An investigative report released Friday by USA Today, exposes a truck driving industry rife with labor violations, forcing truckers into working conditions akin to indentured servitude. Brett Murphy, the article’s author, joins Hari Sreenivasan from Naples, Florida to discuss his findings. .

Yes, the 63QT55/56M were sourced from Trico. Particularly with the R/U/DM, Trico really created a predicament for us when they abruptly backed out of the heavy truck business. We had to run to Sprague to bail us out. I forgot about the later 63QT413/414 (not my AOR). So the parts supercession goes: Right: 63QT55M (Trico) -->63QT57M-->63QT413 (Sprague) Left: 63QT56M (Trico) -->63QT58M-->63QT414 (Sprague) Rome Truck Parts should offer a reasonable price on a reman unit. They've been around for years.

Ron, Sprague was acquired by Commercial Vehicle Group (aka. CVG), who among other things produces the Mack cabs in Kings Mountain, North Carolina (south of Charlotte). http://cvgrp.com/sprague-devices/ http://cvgrp.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/SD.1001.081415.pdf

I'm not helping you, but I'll add that the original motors from Trico were 63QT55M (right) and 63QT56M (left). After Trico abruptly told us they were exiting the heavy truck business and we had to depend on Sprague, the new part numbers were 63QT57M (right) and 63QT58M (left). (Our industry-leading "Service Engineering" people put out a "Mack Service Bulletin". Did you call Rome Truck Parts? http://www.rometruckparts.com/

BC, given how much BMT members are enamored with the legendary Mack V8, a signature product of the former Allentown-based Mack Trucks, I thought they would be extremely interested in the new Scania V8 given that the two were born together. One V8 is, sadly, no longer with us. But it's sibling is alive and well. I myself think this is the best video from a truckmaker this year to date. It radiates of confidence and pride (but no arrogance). As they say, the V8 story at Scania is an emotional subject. .

Heavy Duty Trucking / June 16, 2017 The Kroger Co.* has begun rolling out video telematics to its fleet of more than 1,200 tractor-trailers, and has already seen a significant reduction in collisions, handheld phone use, and unbelted drivers. John Lobenberg, Kroger's safety manager, began adding the Lytx DriveCam system to its fleet in 2016. So far, he has equipped 316 trucks with the event recorders. Kroger Logistics prioritized cities with the largest collision-related spend for the initial deployment, which would deliver a 3:1 return on investment, according to Lytx. Two cities were selected. "Liablity spending was increasing year over year, and we’d just suffered three major driving incidents," said Lobenberg. "Changing that trend was all about proactively managing driver behavior." It only took about a week for drivers to forget that the event camera was there. Within four months of adding the system, Lobenberg saw a 50% reduction in collisions, a 71% reduction in handheld cell phone use, and an 82% reduction in unbelted driver incidents. Lobenberg gained other insights, such as that about 15% of the drivers represented 80% of the risk. Maintenance costs fell, especially with tires, because driver were no longer "bouncing off curbs," he said. The DriveCam system combined video captuire of road incidents such as hard braking or sudden swerving with data analysis of those incidents and personalized coaching to improve driver behavior. The system is being used by 650,000 commercial and government fleet drivers. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kroger .

Bracing for diesel bans in Europe Automotive News / June 17, 2016 Looming crackdown jeopardizes powertrain plans Almost 30 years ago, Volkswagen ads introduced the German term fahrvergnuegen to communicate driving enjoyment. But now, because of its cheating on diesel emissions tests, VW has unwittingly helped introduce a new, less flattering term: fahrverbote, or driving ban. Driving bans loom in Europe as governments in Germany, France and the U.K. crack down on toxic nitrogen oxide emissions from diesels, leaving brands such as VW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo at risk because they have strategically bet on the powertrain to meet tougher carbon dioxide emissions rules that start to take effect in 2020. Diesel engines have been a popular European consumer preference. But now, the industry strategy is in jeopardy. The growing anti-diesel sentiment will make it harder for automakers to meet the European Union's fleet CO2 target of 95 grams per kilometer. Diesels are about 20 percent more fuel efficient than gasoline engines, so they are key to most manufacturers' CO2-reduction strategies. Automakers that miss their CO2 targets face stiff fines. But demand for diesels, which held steady in the immediate aftermath of VW's scandal, is starting to crumble because of intensifying public scrutiny of the technology, especially in Germany. Stuttgart, the cradle of Germany's auto industry, could even prevent 3-year-old diesels from entering the city limits on certain days starting next year. Following a court order this year, Munich likely will be the next to institute a ban. That news had an immediate sales effect: Diesels accounted for just 40 percent of Germany's new-car sales in March, down from 45.8 percent a year earlier and a high of 48.1 percent in 2012. 'A catastrophe' A senior German industry official called the public reaction "a catastrophe." "The first thing we need to do is get away from this debate over fahrverbote," he said. There will be no solution to cleaning up diesels until after Germany's national election in September, he predicted. As other governments joined Germany in cracking down on the powertrain, diesel sales fell to 46 percent of the European market for the first three months of 2017, from 50 percent in the first quarter of 2016, according to data from JATO Dynamics. London's mayor said in mid-February that owners of pre-Euro 4 diesels will face an extra £10 "toxicity charge" when entering the city center starting in October. BMW has the highest share of diesels in Europe among German luxury brands, at 71 percent, according to JATO. More than 80 percent of Volvo's cars are diesel, and Land Rover barely sells any gasoline-powered vehicles in Europe. But some experts believe that the diesel-heavy premium brands will have less immediate worry because they also have high levels of fleet sales in Europe. Fleet customers often drive corporate cars for just two to three years before returning them — meaning they will not immediately worry about whether governments might enact driving bans years down the road. More immediate concern likely will come from manufacturers that sell diesels primarily to private buyers, who keep their vehicles for 10 years, on average. Those consumers will think hard before committing long term to a diesel that might be banned in the years ahead. One brand that could face this pressure of uncertainty is Peugeot, which counted on diesels for nearly half of its sales during the first three months of this year. That was higher than any of Volkswagen Group's volume brands. Victim of success? Peugeot's vulnerability on diesels masks the company's achievement. It has the lowest measured CO2 emissions of any automaker competing in Europe and is one of the only brands to use the most expensive NOx reduction-technology, SCR urea treatment with AdBlue, across its entire diesel lineup. The public backlash against diesels in general could make Peugeot a victim if consumers have to confront a new reality of not being able to drive the cars into Europe's biggest cities. Tobias Ulbrich, a specialist in transportation law with the German firm Rogert & Ulbrich in Dusseldorf, has little sympathy for carmakers, arguing they have brought the bans upon themselves with their scandalous behavior. He is representing some 1,700 Volkswagen owners in Germany suing the automaker for damages, claiming their VW diesels have lost resale value because of the emissions scandal and vehicle recall. Ulbrich said the driving bans are the result of automakers' failure to meet NOx limits. And that has hurt the perception of diesel vehicles. "In an environment where bans are an immediate threat," he said, "those people that regularly drive in the major metropolitan areas are not going to purchase a diesel under any circumstance — no matter how clean manufacturers claim these cars allegedly are."

EPA suspected Fiat Chrysler of using 'defeat device' in 2015 Reuters / June 16, 2017 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in November 2015 it suspected some of its vehicles had at least one "defeat device" that improperly bypassed emissions controls, emails disclosed under a public records request on Friday show. The EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) accused Fiat Chrysler in January of using undisclosed software to illegally allow excess diesel emissions in 104,000 U.S. 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks. Fiat Chrysler did not immediately comment on the public records. Byron Bunker, director of the EPA's Transportation and Air Quality compliance division, said in a January 2016 email to Fiat Chrysler obtained by Reuters under the Freedom of Information Act that he was "very concerned about the unacceptably slow pace of the efforts to understand the high NOx emissions." NOx refers to the nitrogen oxides in polluted air. Bunker's email said the EPA had told Fiat Chrysler officials at a November 2015 meeting that at least one auxiliary emissions control device appears to violate the agency's regulations. Mike Dahl, head of vehicle safety and regulatory compliance for Fiat Chrysler's U.S. unit, responded in a separate email that the company was working diligently and understood EPA's concerns. He added that if EPA declared vehicles to contain defeat devices, it would result in "potentially significant regulatory and commercial consequences." Fiat Chrysler said in a statement, meanwhile, that the emails showed it had been "meaningfully engaged with the EPA regarding its diesel engine emissions for an extended period of time." The documents redacted the vehicles named, but two officials briefed on the matter said they referred to diesel models. At an event in Venice on Friday, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said he was "confident of the fact that there was no intention on our part to set up a defeat device that was even remotely similar to what (Volkswagen) had in their cars." The Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler in May, saying it placed eight undeclared "defeat devices," or auxiliary emissions controls, in 2014-2016 Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles that led to "substantially" higher than allowable levels of nitrogen oxide, which is linked to smog formation and respiratory problems. It has a separate ongoing criminal probe into the matter. Marchionne said on Friday he was "confident that we have a solution that is acceptable to EPA and (California) in terms of 2017 certification and as flashback mechanism on all the 2014 to 2016 cars." The EPA notice was the result of a probe that arose out of regulators' investigation of rival Volkswagen AG's excess diesel emissions.

Just to be clear, speaking of the An-225, aircraft manufacturer Antonov is located in Ukraine, headquartered in Kiev. When the An-225 was designed in the 1980s (first flight Dec 21, 1988), Ukraine was a republic of the Soviet Union (1922-1991).

Jack Roberts, Heavy Duty Trucking / June 16, 2017 In the 1960s, when performance was king, it wasn’t unusual for dealerships to take stock muscle cars and customize them to create highly desirable street machines that are avidly sought after by collectors today. Today, a Cumberland, Tennessee, International dealership is using the same concept to provide high-performance trucks to its customers. But the emphasis today isn’t on horsepower: It’s on fuel economy. We first featured Cumberland International's C10 project in a June 2016 cover story on breaking the 10-mph barrier. That truck was based on an International ProStar. The second phase of Cumberland International’s C10 truck project is a specially tweaked International LT tractor optimized to consistently deliver fleets 10 mpg in real-world trucking operations. The truck is the brainchild of Matt Smart, fleet sales director, and sales representative Patrick Mendenhall, who wanted to “think outside the box” to show customers that International was “making a great product again” while also demonstrating that a 10-plus-mpg truck is achievable to operate in day-to-day fleet operations. Instead of waiting for a truck manufacturer's “Super Truck” or “Truck of the Future” to roll around, Mendenhall explained, the folks at Cumberland took the project into their own hands and spent most of 2013 building what the dealership calls the RX-C10, with a downsped Cummins X-15 powertrain, advanced safety systems and aerodynamics. Mendenhall said he and Smart were designated Cumberland’s “Fleet Team” by Cumberland dealer principle Terry Minor and began gathering information from resources and vendors to conceptualize the most aerodynamic truck possible. “With ever-changing technology, this was no easy task," Mendenhall said. “Thankfully, many vendors were excited to help in any way possible to get this project started.” That said, he declines to specify exactly what improvements the dealership settled on for the final version of their fuel-efficient tractor. The first demonstration truck was delivered to Cumberland in January 2014, with South East Carriers located in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, having the honor of taking it out on its inaugural run. A key concept of the C10 initiative, Mendenhall says, is to let Cumberland fleet customers test the truck for themselves in their own, real-world, every day, working conditions, to see for themselves how it performs. The initial South East Carriers run turned a promising 8.2 mpg – although Mendenhall says the route and application were particularly challenging. Since then, the C10 demonstrator model has transitioned from the original ProStar base model to an updated version based on the LT Series. All told, both trucks have completed 14 different customer demonstration runs, with overall fuel economy of 8.11 mpg. The highest number so far was an impressive 9.9 mpg overall achieved by a local Tennessee fleet. Mendenhall said no two test runs are identical and the truck experiences extreme variations in traffic, loads, wind conditions and weather each time it goes out. Customers tend to dictate the length of the runs, he added, with some keeping the truck for only a week at a time, and others keeping it for up to three months. The C10 routinely breaks the 10 mpg mark in top gear highway cruising, Mendenhall noted. And he says the truck has proven to be invaluable to the dealership as it works to provide the most-fuel efficient truck possible to its customers. And it’s an approach that is working, too. Mendenhall says that to date, Cumberland has sold more than 1,000 C10-spec’d International ProStar and LT tractors, and he expects orders to continue to ramp up as word about the truck’s performance spreads. .

“We have wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in Afghanistan. Their government has zero appreciation. Let's get out!” Donald Trump / November 21, 2013 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press / June 16, 2017 WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will send almost 4,000 additional American forces to Afghanistan, a Trump administration official said Thursday. The decision by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis could be announced as early as next week, the official said.

KrAZ Trucks Press Release / June 13, 2017 The ZSK-F-15 dry forage loader based on the KrAZ-5401Н2 4х2 chassis is another exciting new product introduced by KrAZ at Agro-2017. The KrAZ-5401 vehicle provided with the ZSK-F-15 special equipment is the first pilot project in partnership with Ukrainian machine-building company “Zavod “Nezhinselmash”. The special vehicle is used for carrying and loading forage in hoppers of poultry and stock farms. It can be used for bulk transportation of grain, combined feed and pelleted forage. The equipment is mounted on the KrAZ-5401 two-axle new generation chassis offering maximum commonality and adaptation to various power plants and superstructures. The engine rated at 312hp meets Euro-5 emission standard, transmission is manual, double-range unit. At customer’s request, other power plant, cab, superstructure are available as option. The is provided with 11 cu.m. 4-section hopper, 8 and 13,75 cu.m. hoppers with 3 or 5 sections respectively are available as options. Novelty for animal breeding has been carefully checked out by numerous attendees of KrAZ stand throughout the exhibition duration. According to them, KrAZ is headed in the right direction; extending its lineup of vehicles for both military and civilian use. It is gratifying to emphasize that manufacture of two-axle agricultural vehicles has been well regarded and supported by farmers and agrarians. They offer to manufacturer to add grain carrier to 4х2 lineup in the light of strict requirements to highway loads, precluding the use of grain carriers with curb weight exceeding 40 tonnes. .

KrAZ Trucks Press Release / June 12, 2017 These are results of participation of Ukrainian truckmaker KrAZ at the most important agro-industrial exhibition of Ukraine Agro-2017. KrAZ earned the most significant award for newly designed MEZ-330 (mobile power source) based on the KrAZ-6322 off road chassis for agricultural sector developed jointly with National Research Centre “Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Electrification”. The KrAZ-6322 base chassis is provided with PTO shaft, hydraulic equipment, additional linkage for plough and other agricultural equipment. The MEZ-330 tractor can be used in both transport and agricultural applications such as spreading fertilizers, working the soil, sowing, spraying crops, handling, etc. The first prototype exhibited was provided with body for spreading solid organic fertilizers that can be equipped with ploughs and other attachments. Workshop Future Development of Mobile Power Sources in Ukraine has been conducted as part of the exhibition, where representatives of NRC “IAEE” and KrAZ gave talks about creation of various special vehicles based on KrAZ chassis. According to doctorial candidate of the Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Electrification Mr.Sergey Pogoreliy in charge of MEZ project, newly designed product will enable to replace the KhTZ-17221. Similar solutions are applied in Germany where such tractors are based on MAN and Mercedes-Benz chassis. It was noted that KrAZ tractor is cheaper as compared with foreign-made tractors Fendt-936, Massey Ferguson-7926 and domestic-made KhTZ-17221. Those present listened to report delivered by farm manger Mr.Zadorozhniy from Vinnitsa region who uses 9 KrAZ trucks instead of tractors for plowing, sowing, working the soil, etc. He emphasized that KrAZ vehicles are more fuel efficient and easier in maintenance, offer reduced operating costs and affordable after-sales service. On completion of the workshop attendees checked out the MEZ-330 based on the KrAZ-63221 exhibited at NRC “IAEE” stand. Here KrAZ and NRC “IAEE” have been awarded the highest award, gold medal in category Mobile Power Source for Agro-Industrial Sector. .

Built-in Flexibility Diesel News AU / June 2017 The modern truck has a lot of built-in flexibility, and the Hino 500 range is no exception. The models available range from the lighter end of medium-duty up to some serious heavy-duty rigid trucks. This means the trucks are going to experience very different working lives and need to be capable, no matter what the task. Hino has looked at what they have on offer in the 500 Series and made a number of changes to increase the breadth and depth of its offering to the market. This means new chassis, new engines and new combinations of existing components. “Our previous range offered 33 models and we have now expanded that to 51, so when it comes to choice of engine capacity, transmissions, suspensions, and wheel bases, customers have a myriad of options,” says Daniel Petrovski, Hino Manager Product Strategy. “The new FG, GH, FL and FM offer a broader range of applications than ever before. “The all-new 500 Series has taken a long time to get here. The last release of an all-new model range was in 2011. In commercial vehicle terms, the wait is just about right on time. The basic DNA from design and manufacturing on any Hino truck is ‘QDR’ – quality durability and reliability. The new 500 Series project began in 2009, when Hino carried out back-to-back testing and benchmarking against our competitors on Australian roads over a number of weeks. “Some of the changes from that testing were put into place on upgrades in 2010 and 2013, like SRS airbags, Isri driver’s seat and electric heated mirrors. But the work on delivering the results of the 2009 testing didn’t stop there. “Australia is not the first to get these new models, they were released in Thailand and Indonesia in 2015. Australia is the first advanced market to receive this new model. It is a major new model for us – there are new engines, new exhaust emissions, new exterior, new staircase for entry and exit, new manual transmissions, Allisons across the range, new chassis and chassis layouts, diffs, drives steering axles, suspensions and new levels of safety.” At the heavier end of the range, Hino is now using the chassis design and concept it is currently using on the Hino 700 heavy-duty truck. This is a more flexible design with predrilled holes on the web of the chassis members and with a rivet-less flange. The holes are 50mm apart along the length of the chassis, enabling both Hino and body builders to place components like fuel tanks and body mounts anywhere along the chassis. The name of the game in this segment of the market is to ensure the truck buyer can build whatever kind of truck they like from a generic base model, without having to resort to major vehicle modifications. “We call the new chassis, ‘body-builder friendly’,” says Daniel. “It is an 840mm-wide, grid-hole chassis. It features a vaulted frame structure and a clean top flange, eliminating the need for a space between the chassis and a subframe. This is already showing real efficiency for body builders. “They are high tensile 620MPa steel now, the same as the 700 Series. It is electro plated, which helps with rust resistance. The modular chassis pattern means things like batteries, exhausts and air dryers are now all modular components. We have spent a lot of time talking to Australian body builders about where different components need to go in certain applications.” .

Reuters / June 15, 2017 Volkswagen is strengthening its presence in Russia with projects to boost its VW and Skoda brands as well as commercial vehicles as the automaker positions itself for a rebound in the Russian market. VW said on Thursday it had extended a deal with Russia's GAZ group to assemble VW brand and Skoda cars until 2025. As part of the agreement, VW will also supply 2.0 litre diesel engines to light commercial vehicles made by GAZ. The prolonged decline of the once-booming Russian car market caused General Motors to leave in 2015 but VW has kept investing and started making engines at a new plant in Kaluga, some 170 km (105 miles) southwest of Moscow two years ago. Volkswagen is the world's biggest carmaker by sales and is the leading foreign automaker in Russia by sales and revenue. In a separate statement, VW said its truck and bus division had signed a letter of intent with GAZ to examine a long-term business cooperation in commercial vehicles. The two companies are considering a strategic partnership for supplies and joint assembly of components, and possible projects will be examined in a next phase, VW said. GAZ already uses components from VW's Scania and MAN heavy-truck divisions for its buses. "With this letter of intent, we are taking another important step in our global champion strategy and are clearly demonstrating our commitment to the Russian market," VW trucks chief Andreas Renschler said. Car deliveries in Russia by the VW group, which includes the luxury Audi and Porsche brands, fell 4.3 percent to 166,900 last year. But there are signs of a rebound as Russian new car sales rose 6.9 percent in April and 15 percent in May.

Truckmakers face £3.9bn UK legal claim over price fixing The Financial Times / June 14, 2017 UK’s Road Haulage Association (RHA) seeks compensation after cartel of five groups found guilty British lorry drivers are to bring legal action demanding £3.9bn in compensation against a Europe-wide cartel of truckmakers that fixed prices for 14 years. In July last year Brussels found five truckmakers — Iveco, DAF, Volvo/Renault, Daimler and MAN — guilty of colluding to raise prices together and fined them €2.93bn. A sixth, Scania, is still being investigated after refusing to co-operate with the European Commission’s probe. On Wednesday the UK’s Road Haulage Association, which represents lorry drivers, will announce plans to bring a case to the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal against all six companies to demand compensation. The tribunal is a government-backed agency, led by judges, that rules on competition issues and has the power to levy fines. In the case, the RHA is seeking £6,000 compensation per vehicle, reflecting higher prices charged by the manufacturers while the cartel was operating. With an estimated 650,000 lorries sold between 1997 and 2011 in the UK, the total bill for the truck groups could rise to as high as £3.9bn if every truck owner takes part in the action. Between them the six companies control almost the entire European truck market, and are expected to face additional legal action from the continent’s 600,000 hauliers, most of which are small businesses. Richard Burnett, chief executive of the RHA, said: “UK truck owners affected by the truck cartel have potentially paid too much for their lorries over a 14-year period and we’re determined to get a fair deal for them.” He said members were “angry about the truck pricing cartel and want us to represent them” in the case. The commission began the investigation in 2011 after a tip-off from a whistleblower at MAN, which is owned by Volkswagen. As a result, MAN escapes a fine that would have been €1.2bn, even though it was found guilty of colluding with the other companies. In its findings last summer, the commission said its ruling was “binding proof that the behaviour took place and was illegal” that could be used by “any person or firm affected by anti-competitive behaviour” in a legal claim in their own country. It added: “Even though the commission has fined the companies concerned, damages may be awarded without being reduced on account of the commission fine.” The RHA on Wednesday will say it has secured funding for its case from Therium Capital Management, a company that specialises in funding one side of a lawsuit. Previous cases backed by the group include a class-action type lawsuit by Lloyds Banking Group shareholders.

Scania Group Press Release / June 15, 2017 Ola Karlsson has been driving trucks p­rofessionally for 30 years, in which time he has seen almost everything. Now he delivers flat packs for IKEA and field-tests a Scania R 520 6×2 Euro 6. In 30 years of professional driving, Ola Karlsson has driven most types of vehicles, including semi-trailers, charter buses and forest trucks. He is currently working for Kaj Inrikes, a haulage company based in Älmhult, Sweden. The vast majority of the goods the company transports are flat packs from IKEA. He is driving a R 520 6×2 Euro 6, which he is field testing for Scania. Karlsson’s dream was to drive a forest truck, but it didn’t work out straight away. “When I was 10 years old I had the opportunity to ride a truck in the forest and it felt like something special,” he says. “But when I started driving, it was difficult to get a job as a timber truck driver. There were many family businesses in the industry, and they preferred to employ family members.” DRIVING BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN Instead, Karlsson did something that many young drivers dream of: He went abroad to drive. Karlsson’s first job involved driving to Greece, Yugoslavia and Turkey. Later, he drove in both Western and Eastern Europe, at a time when the Cold War and the Berlin Wall were still a part of everyday life. “Driving to East Germany, Romania and other countries behind the Iron Curtain was exciting,” he recalls. “The conditions there were so different from what I knew at home. On one occasion we were stopped by the police for a made-up speeding offence. Getting out of the situation cost eight Swedish kronor with a receipt, or four kronor without one. It was a different world, even though it wasn’t so long ago.” During his first years in the job, Karlsson drove a Scania 111. He remembers picking a passenger seat that would enable him to take his canned food on the road. And he remembers how drivers from the West used to gather around in the evenings. “We would light our camping stoves in the lee of the wind behind a trailer, cook dinner and hang out,” he says. “I can’t really say this is the way I would want to do it now, but it was fun. Over the years I have met so many people on the road. That’s one of the great advantages of this job.” MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE After nearly 20 years, Karlsson’s early dream came true. He got a job as a timber truck driver. It was just as good as he thought it would be, but in the end it became too physically demanding. “The work shifts were very demanding,” he says. “For three weeks a month we would start at 3 in the morning and I never had the time to catch up on sleep. It was like living with permanent jet lag. After 12 years, I just couldn’t continue any longer. But from time to time I still miss the forest and driving through it.” Now Karlsson drives every other week and only during the day. He leaves on Friday morning and drives for six days. His load ­consists exclusively of goods that are transported to the IKEA warehouse south of Gävle. He drives to the unloading site and gets a good night’s sleep in the truck. “It has happened that I woke up with an empty truck,” he says. “But now I always set an alarm clock so that I don’t miss the unloading.” PRAISING THE ENGINE AND THE SAFETY FEATURES This is Karlsson’s first job as a field test driver, and he is impressed by his R 520 6×2 Euro 6. It has been a while since he last drove a Scania, and he likes how the brand has developed. “This is an excellent truck. I like it a lot,” says Karlsson. “I have driven V8 trucks with very thirsty engines, but this one only consumes 37.4 litres per 100 kilometres with an average load, which I think is good, and if I drive trailers with a total weight of 35 tonnes, it consumes less than 30 litres per 100 kilometres. Simply said, it has an awesome engine.” Karlsson makes use of the other advantages that the truck offers. “I use cruise control to drive 30 to 40 kilometres per hour, so I never have to worry about changing gears,” he says. He also likes the advanced ­emergency braking system. “A while ago, driving through Gothenburg during rush hour, I could feel butterflies in my stomach – people from the city drive like crazy and they don’t even check their mirrors before changing lanes. That means I occasionally got collision warnings, but the truck always takes care of it and reacts quicker than I do. The same thing happens on roads outside the city. The truck starts braking before I even see the roe deer in the ditch by the road.” SMOOTH OPERATION This is the second time over the course of his working life that Karlsson has worked for Kaj Inrikes in Älmhult. And he only has good things to say about the haulage company, which has 25 trucks, 50 permanent “guys” and a dozen extra drivers who all drive for Ikea. “Everything is well organised here, so there’s no hassle,” Karlsson says. “This is something we mostly have the office team to thank for. The company is like a self-playing piano.” Karlsson admits that working far away from home and family is difficult. “When you’ve driven 1,500 kilometres and you find out that something troublesome has happened at home, that can be really stressful,” he says. “My two older children barely saw me when they were growing up. But I’m trying to catch up on that now with my 11-year-old.” It is almost time to use the microwave to warm up a box of Thai food for lunch. While he is eating, Karlsson takes some time to think about the meal he is going to prepare when he gets back to Älmhult. On top of everything else, he is also a trained chef. .