We had to modify our 40′ sailboat trailer somewhat to be able to haul this boat safely. It wasn’t easy but in the end it was all worth it to see this pirate ship ending up where it really belonged – in a pirate Caribbean paradise! That’s right, the buyer has completely replicated a Caribbean island in the backyard of his 2 acre property where he holds fundraisers and community events. This project started out as a hobby 10 years ago believe it or not.

Enough of the talking! Here are the videos and photos!

Out of necessity, we’ve had to expand across Canada to maintain our great level of service. As an update, we’d like to announce that we now operate out of Calgary Alberta, Regina Saskatchewan, Winnipeg Manitoba, Cumberland Ontario and also our original home base of Vancouver British Columbia.

We transport Canada wide and hope that within the next few years we will have operations in every Canadian province to uphold the primary idea of what our hotshotting business is based on – to exceed customers’ expectations and not just meet them.

Not only can we handle over-dimensional loads with our equipment, we can also hire out our pilot car to you at competitive rates if that is all you require. Please head over to our contact page if you need to get in touch with us to find out more information on  how we can help out with your logistical requirements.

However, we finally got some free time to throw up a post smothered with photos of our recent jobs! All of the new images you see here have also been added to the appropriate gallery on the gallery page. Please enjoy the new photos and as usual, if you have any questions in regards to what we can transport for you don’t hesitate to call or email us.

When most others are shutting down for the holiday, we will be striving to provide you with the best round-the-clock service that you’ve come to expect from JT Hotshotting. After all, logistical requirements aren’t put on hold just because it’s a holiday!

Please have a safe and wonderful Canada Day.

-JT Hotshotting Staff

As a result, a 3 year program has been proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation that will permit approved Mexican carriers to operate in the U.S. However, they will be forced to comply with immigration, safety, taxation and vehicle registration laws.

The other requirements set in place will include:

• Mexican drivers must have a solid grasp of the English language to be able to understand traffic signals and signs.
• Mexican carriers who enroll in the program must receive a satisfactory rating following a compliance review by the FMCSA after 18 months of operation. In order to achieve permanent status in the program, they must also not have any pending enforcement actions.
• Mexican pilot project truckers from the 2007-2008 trial period will be given credit for that time.
• Valid Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance decals will be a requirement to have on each vehicle which would also need to pass emissions control standards.
• Mexican truckers will be restricted from point-to-point transportation and will also be subject to cabotage requirements.

Although the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is opposed to this program stating that it’s “irresponsible and reckless”, the American Trucking Associations welcomed it. The ATA noted that since they submitted their concern about the U.S. government’s plan to pay for and provide onboard electronic recorders to Mexican carriers, the DOT has made an allowance for GPS systems to be used for tracking purposes to monitor compliance.

Hino Motors Canada was proud to announce that the truck will show up at dealer lots as soon as December of this year. Fuel economy and engine exhaust emissions have been improved through use of  Hino’s EPA 2010 compliant SCR system and advanced diesel-electric hybrid technology.

The Hino 195h hybrid will be the first of its kind for the Class 5 truck market in North America. It will be ideally suited to pick-up and delivery applications where low average speed allows the hybrid system to develop large efficiency gains.

- Eric Smith – Hino Motors

All models of the Hino 195 will use Aisin’s A465 fully automatic 6 speed and Hino’s J05E series engine which puts out 210 hp and 440 tq. Starting this September, the freshly designed cab and chassis will be available also in a class 4 and class 5 diesel engine only combination.

I thought I’d just share some photos from a couple of recent jobs we did for boat clients getting ready to play with their toys.

A quick back story on the photos below:

33′ Donzi – This one was picked up in Blaine, WA and taken to Abbotsford, BC where it got the yellow stripe (side and bow) refinished with new vinyl. After that it was hauled to the Burrard Civic Marina in False Creek Vancouver, BC.

28.5′ Bayliner – This boat was hauled from Tsawwassen, BC to Point Roberts, WA.

29′ J29 – This sailboat was hauled from Richmond, BC to Kelowna, BC. We ended up fabricating custom support arms for our trailer to accommodate the tall keel.

Also, if you’re interested in having your boat polished, waxed, washed, shampooed (interior), bottom painted or reupholstered we have a detailing company called JT Autospa. Check out the website and send your request using the contact form!

Each eStar is slated to annually reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 tonnes. They have a range of 160 kilometers per full charge and take 6-8 hours to completely charge up. What’s different about the eStar is that  it is not a retrofitted fossil fuel truck. They’ve been purpose built and offer a low center of gravity due to the batteries being mounted between the frame rails and not above.

Part of our environmental commitment is to evaluate and proceed with alternate fuel technologies that will offer us a return on investment. Our trucks are in every neighbourhood in the country everyday and we take pride in our efforts to deliver to our customers in an environmentally responsible way.

- Deepak Chopra-Canada Post President and CEO

At the moment, the class 3 eStar is being sold by the Western International dealership in Toronto and also by Kemptville International in Ottawa.

Hence, the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is collaborating with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) in order to harmonize the regulations and standards which govern the trucking industry. Changes to annual safety inspections, motor vehicle inspection stations and commercial motor vehicle inspections were the amendments made.

The OTA noted that it had first recommended harmonization back in 1997.

A lot has changed since then — the gap between Ontario‚s regulations and the NSC standard had widened and certain aspects of the NSC standard itself had become out-dated — so we needed to work with MTO to ensure a common sense, modernized approach.

- David Bradley-Ontario Trucking Association

The general consensus from all parties involved in this process is that a smooth transition from the current regulation to the national standard could be achieved using a migration protocol. MTO would also have to commit themselves to ensuring that everyone follows the same standards. There is also talk of incentives being issued to companies which go above and beyond the national standard when maintaining their equipment.

If you’re maintaining your equipment now and have adequate preventative maintenance programs in place you should see little or no difference between the new rules and the old one’s aside from getting used to the format of the national standard.

- David Bradley-Ontario Trucking Association

The sub-committee specifically established by the OTA from their Maintenance Council have reviewed the following main items in regards to the modernizing and harmonizing of the two sets of regulations:

1. Incentives – A reduction in the administrative burden associated with annual inspections will be granted to carriers with a strong safety record.
2. Out dated technical issues related to transition – The OTA identified 8 technical issues which are cited by the national standard  which are both nonsensical and irrelevant to current truck technologies. MTO has agreed not to include these parts of the national standard.
3. Inspection times – To gather more valid vehicle information, the new inspection format could take 5-10 minutes longer to complete. Since most businesses already conduct more in-depth inspections than what’s called for by the national standard, there was no time added to certain sections of the inspection regulations.
4. Enforcement – The MTO is looking at implementing a more visible enforcement system in their Motor Vehicle Inspection Station (MVIS) program. To ensure that the difference between public stations and fleet stations is not abused, MTO is going to tighten up the loopholes with the programs’ regulations.