Eight-Wheel Monster Truck Takes a Dip in the Gulf of Mexico

This past week TheDrive.com shared a story by Peter Holderith about an eight-wheeled Chevy Silverado that decided to take a spin in the Gulf of Mexico near Bradenton, Florida. A video of this misadventure garnered 8 million views on TikTok, the Chinese video sharing platform that has been at the center of a lot of controversy this past year. 

The story caught my eye in part because a couple years ago I was at a beach near Bradenton--located between Sarasota and Tampa Bay--watching the activities of a wind-surfing club for a while. An eight-wheel monster truck would have been quite disruptive in the middle of that scene.

The owner/driver of this 8-wheel beast is Tony Detwiler and his handle on various social media platforms is WhistlinDiesel. According to BunkerBranding.com "Whistlin Diesel is basically everything you’ve thought of doing with your truck but you’d never ACTUALLY do."

And that's the heart of this story here. He said he was going to drive out into the sea, and he did. 

I'm curious how much he knew with regard to the terrain below the surface before trying the stunt. Or are beaches there universally uniform with few surprises? 

Holderith wrote that according to an Instagram post, "Floating seemingly thanks to the immense amount of air in its tires, the truck made it into the water before local authorities arrived. No, it doesn't have a propeller—he just drove it into the water before getting pulled back by a boat, surrounded by the Coast Guard, sheriff's office and Department of Natural Resources."

The name Detwiler has given his Duramax dieel-powered Silverado is "Monstermax." The eight wheels are purportedly from a piece of heavy machinery.

* * * 

If you've ever been to a monster truck exhibition, you've probably noticed a few things. First, kids love 'em.  Second, these monsters can certainly produce power. And third, a lot of these guys are probably emblematic of the Peter Pan Syndrome. You know the tune, "I won't grow up!"

The most famous monster truck of all time is probably Grave Digger. One reason might be because there are more Grave Digger monsters than you realize. I was going to say here that there were 28 Grave Diggers, but in fact checking I learned there have been 41 built over the years, and 7 still in circulation. 
 
As for Detwiler's antics on the Florida shore, here's a link to TheDrive where you can see a whole batch of photos and links to more: Here's Why an Eight-Wheeled Silverado Monster Truck Went Sailing into a South Florida Bay.

Fixing the Economy Begins by Fixing Our Workforce

One hundred years ago there was a major debate in regards to education policy. There were some, like David Snedden, who felt that the workforce needed to be trained in practical skills for utilitarian purposes. He believed we needed more vocational training in the schools. There were others, like John Dewey, who thought everyone needed a broad liberal arts education which was less focused on actual careers and more on personal development. 

At the time, Snedden's views won the day and put American education on a more practical trajectory. But in the last half century, the ideas of Dewey seeped in. Classes like auto shop, crafts and cooking disappeared from curriculums. And today, as a result, we have a shortage of people who can do the practical functions so needed in our workforce today. 

I mentioned this in October in my article 10 Reasons to Become a Diesel Mechanic. I was reminded of that article when I saw this article titled "Is Our Workforce Overqualified?" The article begins, "The biggest problem with our economy (and our culture) may be the simple fact that everybody's going to college."

Now I'm not saying that college is bad, but the inability to find trained people who can enter many practical areas of the workforce is a real problem. Instead, kids are told that they have to pony up tens of thousands of dollars in order to get an education so they can make more money, and they graduate with no practical skills and a crushing debt.

The article succinctly describes our workforce situation like this:

Hardly anyone wants to care for the elderly, or repair short-circuited sockets, or slice meat in a supermarket. Most young people are too busy trying to hack their way into some big consulting firm that promises a bright, bold future. And they’re willing to do just about anything to get there, including sacrificing their family life, their leisure, their friendships—selling their own mother at a flea market if necessary.

Well, that may be a little hyperbole about selling mom at the flea market, but you get the picture. We need to re-think what we're teaching our children in school. And we need to recapture the idea that there is dignity in the trades. Have you tried to call an electrician in recent years. We have a shortage, and there's real money that can be made there. As auto technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, we need mechanics who are specialized in maintaining this equipment. 

The law of supply and demand states that whatever we have a glut of becomes less valuable and what we have a shortage of becomes more valuable. To illustrate: during the hula hoop craze in the 1950s the first hula hoops sold for three dollars. They were so popular they sold like hotcakes. By the fall, 28 factories were pumping out hula hoops and the price dropped to less than fifty cents. Even so, stores could hardly give them away. 

Today we have a glut of college educated kids. In most cases, their value is less, not more. Unless they've specialized.

All this to say we have a shortage of diesel mechanics. If you're young, and don't mind getting grease under your fingernails, it might be a career worth considering.  

Related Links
Diesel Mechanic Interview Tips
10 Reasons to Become a Mechanic
Diesel Mechanic vs Automotive: 10 Reasons Diesel Is Better

Motor State Distributing Offers Blue Flame Performance Diesel Engine Oil

Motor State Distributing, headquartered in Watervliet, Michigan, offers the complete line of Champion Motor Oils, Chemicals, Additives, and Lubricants including Blue Flame Performance Diesel Engine Oils.

“It is extremely important for Champion to identify a wholesale partner that shares the same goals and has the ability to provide our customers with first class service, support and distribution,” said Karl Dedolph, Director of the Racing and Performance Division for Champion Oil. “Motor State clearly fits the stringent criteria we identified to distribute our motor oil, chemical, additive and lubricant line in key enthusiast demographics, applications, and strategic markets.”

“Celebrating over 55 years in business, Motor State Distributing has set the pace for worldwide distribution of high-performance automotive components for diesel, racing, street, and off-road use; the standard for fast shipping, customer service, and technical expertise”, added

Dedolph.

With a huge selection of performance truck, tractor, Jeep, and off-road parts and accessories, Motor State is a great source for many of the most recognized and sought-after brands in the industry. From convenience accessories to complete suspension systems, they stock a wide range of customization and restoration components for both classic and late model trucks and SUVs.

Motor State offers their industry-leading line of high-quality products to speed shops, auto parts merchants, machine shops, and chassis and engine builders. Their web site has been designed as a resource for dealers. For more information about Champion Blue Flame Products visit http://www.motorstate.com/ or at their corporate office located at 8300 Lane Drive, Watervliet, MI 49098 - 800-772-2678

Just in Time for Christmas: The 2020 XDP Diesel Performance Catalog

When I was young my dad would bring home a three-inch thick Sears Catalog with the toy section bookmarked. That was fun. Our eyes would get wide as we perused those pages, making our little Christmas lists for Santa. 

Today, our interest has turned to big boy toys. Maybe we don't believe in Santa anymore but we can still make Christmas list ideas, can't we? 

I mention all this by way of introduction to this guest post by The Car Guy.

The 2020 XDP Diesel Performance Catalog.   
https://www.xtremediesel.com/manuals/2020_XDP_Parts_Catalog_WD_final.pdf

Looking back; the advent of catalog shopping brought emerging trends, products, and technologies as a new marketplace for the consumer. It comes as no surprise that the pioneer of catalog merchants was likely Benjamin Franklin who, like Amazon today, first sold books by mail back in 1744.

But it wasn’t until the post-Civil War era when Aaron Montgomery Ward cut out the middle-man pricing by taking manufacturer discounts straight to the mail order consumer. While his focus was on anything sold in his stores, it was more of the enterprising spirit of Richard Warren Sears and his partner Alvah C. Roebuck, who added Christmas specific items in the form of decorations, lights and trees to their catalogs at the turn of the century.

The very first Sears Wish Book, known as the Sears Christmas Book catalog, came out in 1933. Featured items in this first catalog included the “Miss Pigtails” doll, a battery powered toy automobile, a Mickey Mouse watch, fruitcakes, Lionel electric trains, a five-pound box of chocolates, and live singing canaries.

But that wasn’t their first. The 1896 Sears general catalog included wax candles for Christmas trees. The 1898 Sears catalog added Christmas cards, and the first Christmas tree ornaments appeared in 1900. Sears began selling Christmas stockings and artificial Christmas trees in 1910. Electric Christmas tree lights made their debut in the catalog two years later.

The 1933 Christmas Book catalog started a tradition that made the Sears Wish Book an American icon. The Sears catalog and the name Wish Book were closely linked over the years. Prior to 1933, Sears customers often affectionately referred to the large, semi-annual, general catalogs Sears issued as the “Wish Book” or “Book of Wishes.” 

Many people nostalgically think of the Wish Book as filled with nothing but toys. The 87-page 1933 Christmas Book catalog featured 25 pages of toys and 62 pages of gifts for adults. In 1968, the Wish Book totaled 605 pages, with 225 pages devoted to toys and 380 pages to gifts for adults.

A discussion of Christmas catalogs would be incomplete without an exploration of Neiman Marcus, famous now for not only operating snooty department stores but also for publishing an annual catalog of the outrageous in Christmas gift giving.

Neiman Marcus launched their catalog as far back as 1926 but it wasn’t until a radio interview with radio legend Edward R. Murrow asking Stanley Marcus if the store would be offering anything unusual that might interest his radio listeners; Marcus invented on the spot an offering of a live Black Angus bull accompanied by a sterling silver barbecue cart, subsequently altering the catalog to include his new idea, priced at nearly $2000. In 2005 they offered a private concert with Elton John for $1.5 million.   

Toys and gifts for adults are still really popular. Check out the 2020 XDP Diesel Performance Catalog.   

Will Cummins Ditch Diesel for Hydrogen?

Industry watchers who follow current trends with regard to alternative power sources recognize that a sea change has been taking place with regards to the move away from carbon-based energy. The question right now is not If but When. 

There are still a lot of unanswered questions as regards How, but there's plenty of thought being given to the possibilities of tomorrow, and a lot of money being invested in this rising tide of interest in alternative technologies.

At the beginning of the week Cummins hosted a virtual live-streamed Hydrogen Day event. Having recently purchased Hydrogenics, a fuel cell developer, Cummins wanted to show the world that there is real power in hydrogen fuel cell powertrains. A Fox Business story by Gary Gastelu featured highlights from Monday's event. 

The article, titled Cummins Is Starting to Ditch Diesel for Hydrogen, states that Cummins has a high degree of confidence that if they build it, people will come. 

CEO Tom Linebarger told Fox Business that he's personally been thinking about hydrogen power since 1999 when he first began working on fuel cell technologies. 

One of the big hurdles is creating the infrastructure to become "electric." It will be possible, Cummins executives indicated, for OverThe-Road fleets to be all electric one day, but only if the power grid gets upgraded. To do so we need a 50% increase above today's levels in electricity output. In other words, government will have to invest in producing more power to power an electric-powered future on our highways.

During one of the presentations it was noted that people driving Teslas today are powered by electricity that comes from coal. Most people do not think about that. 

Cummins' goal is carbon neutrality by 2050, which seems a long ways off. Then again, I suspect that for those of us here to see it, it might come faster than we think.

Another hurdle will be the production of lighter weight batteries. If you are hauling heavy loads, you don't want to also be loaded down with a ton of batteries. 

I remember about 5 years ago at SEMA when I saw a new battery concept which was one-fifth the weight and half the size of our current car batteries. People smarter than you or I have been working on these problems for a long time. This is what keeps them awake at night, and it's a good thing.

You can read the full story here:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/cummins-to-start-ditiching-diesel-for-hydrogen 

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The Future of Diesel

Looking for Diesel Accessories?

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Diesel World Magazine offers complete coverage of diesel-powered vehicles including trucks and diesel-powered cars. 

They also have a YouTube Channel that we hope develops further in 2021.

Diesel World Magazine is now available on Apple Newsstand, Google Play and Kindle. Get your favorite issues now or get a deal on a subscription at:

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To get The Ultimate Builder’s guide from Diesel World Magazine, CLICK HERE.

Do you have a favorite Diesel Publication you'd like us to tell your friends about? Leave a comment below and we will share.

The Future of Diesel

Interest in the future goes back to the dawn of man, no doubt. 19th century visionary Jules Verne, whose books took readers 20,000 leagues under the sea, to the center of the earth and around the moon, had his sights set on the future. H.G. Wells' Time Machine carried readers far into the future. And a whole host of 20th century sci fi writers have given us visions of a tomorrow filled with robots, androids and pre-cogs. 

These thoughts crossed my mind as I read this article about commercial trucks of the future. The headline asks, Does Diesel Have a "Sell By" Date? 

The article, appeared in the Diesel Technology Forum this week, notes that 90% of the trucks on our nation's highways and byways are currently diesel. Based on current trends, what will be the configuration of diesel technology and trucking in 2040? This is the author's prediction:

Fast forward twenty years from now, and trucks will most likely be powered by a diversity of fuels and technology. Some may be powered by hydrogen and fuel cells, some may be battery electric, some may be operating on renewable natural gas or renewable diesel fuel. In any event, according to many sources, rather than having a “sell by“ date, diesel will remain as the dominant technology moving the nation’s freight for decades to come. 

Despite California's efforts to the contrary, industry insiders seem to agree that a majority of over-the-road transporters will still be diesel powered. 

Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates that less than 20% of our heavy-duty commercial trucks will be powered by electricity in 2040. IHS Markit makes a similar estimate. Others make similar proposals. 

As one who has been paying attention to these issues--emissions and fuel economy--for more than a quarter century, I believe that there is a disconnect between what the public understands and what is really happening. Diesel engine manufacturers have made remarkable strides toward cleaner production of efficient power. 

This is by no means an attempt to derail efforts to improve. The article goes on to note that diesel engines have the advantage of being adaptable to alternative fuels that can reduce emissions.

Diesel trucks also have the capability of operating on advanced renewable biofuels that drive down greenhouse gas emissions, operating on high quality blends of biodiesel or 100 percent renewable diesel fuel. These are fuels that have at least a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to petroleum, with renewable diesel fuel, GHG emissions are reduced by at least 80 percent.

Whereas it's impossible to forecast the future with perfect 20/20 vision, that doesn't mean we can't have inklings. The stories that fill the headlines don't always reflect the realities. I remember the 1970's when  it was said that we will run out of oil in 10 years. They said it again in the 80s and 90s. Now, some say, there is more oil in the ground than we will ever take out. 

I'm not losing sleep over it. Full article here: https://www.dieselforum.org/policyinsider/what-do-the-commercial-trucks-of-the-future-look-like-in-2040-does-diesel-have-a-sell-by-date

Photo credits: corey-oconnell-EPYIbF8ly14-unsplash
and brian-wangenheim (lower photo)