OOIDA tour trailer stops at Livingston, Calif.

Through Tuesday, Marty Ellis and the OOIDA tour trailer are in Livingston, Calif.

Ellis and the Spirit of the American Trucker trailer are scheduled Oct. 24-25 to be at the Livingston TA Travel Center. It is at Exit 203 from state Route 99. There is parking for 102 tractor-trailers at the Livingston TA.

Bobtail Apparel Truck Show

Over the weekend, Ellis parked the OOIDA tour trailer at the Bobtail Apparel Truck Show at the fairgrounds in Dixon, Calif.

There were around 160 trucks at the show. Proceeds from the truck show will benefit Thriving Pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is a nonprofit organization to help people in Yolo County, Calif.

Ellis snapped some photos.

Ellis on Land Line Now

Ellis regularly discusses on Friday what he hears from truckers he meets while touring the country on Land Line Now. On last Friday’s broadcast, Ellis said he was getting an earful from truck drivers about a federal proposal to require unique electronic identifiers on trucks.

He said this plan seemed to echo the build up to requiring electronic logbooks, with regulators not really listening to concerns.

“Like our government does, they like throwing this stuff out there without giving a whole lot of specifics,” Ellis told Land Line Now Host Mark Reddig.

There are concerns about broadcasting so much information, and drivers are wondering how much information being electronically sent is an invasion of privacy.

This could affect CSA scores by limiting the number of passed inspections and getting targeted electronically for problems, Ellis pointed out. Especially for small one- or two-truck operations, one bad inspection hurts, and it seems like there might be fewer opportunities to improve the CSA score with electronic monitoring.

“A lot of our guys are just up in arms. They’re hoping that it does not go through, but, as we’ve seen in the past, it seems like with all these regulations they are just putting their foot down and moving forward,” Ellis said.

Stop by when you see The Spirit

After Livingston, Ellis plans to haul The Spirit to Santa Nella, Calif., and then Wheeler Ridge, Calif.

If you see the OOIDA tour trailer, stop by and say hello. Ellis looks forward to visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. There are copies of Land Line Magazine to pick up there. You can join or renew your membership for $10 off the regular price at The Spirit. Face masks are available at The Spirit for anyone with a commercial driver’s license.

Here is the schedule for The Spirit. LL