Truck Topics

I can see clearly now...

That's the game you play when your windshield wipers have been completely coated with snow and ice and your visibility is gone because the wipers ain't wipin'.

The way the game works is you roll down your driver's side window and while trying to keep your eyes on the road, grab the wiper, lift it off the windshield and let it snap down, thereby breaking the accumulated ice and clearing the wiper blade.

Well, at least that's the idea.  Trouble is, it only works occasionally.  Most of the time, the ice and snow are too solidly frozen and you'll probably have to pull over and chip it off.  And, with many big trucks,

you can't reach the blade anyway, so no wiper tag for you.

How about a better idea?

Everblades® - 'The Hot Ones', the first successfully proven, heated windshield wiper blades were invented almost twenty years ago by a man named Bill Miller.  He was a Northern California-based tinkerer who developed the wipers through a process of trial-and-error.  He started selling the product in 1986 and enjoyed a degree of success, but he had problems with partners and funding.

After a rocky business ride, Miller was suffering from poor health when Jim Weiler and his wife, Ann McMahon expressed interest in purchasing the company.  The Weiler's were already involved in a successful business they had founded ten years before.   Weiler says, "Our company is called Office Tenders, Inc. We do paperwork for truck drivers. We do driver files, drug testing, logbook auditing, fuel tax reporting, authority, etc.  Now that we’ve added the Everblades® operation, we now operate two businesses.  Our first business is the one that is paying the bills.”

The couple purchased the business around a year and a half ago and moved the operation to Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Weiler describes some of the features of the product:

"Everblades® electrically heat the blade to prevent ice and snow build-up. The specially developed, extremely durable, rubber blade compound wipes windshields exceptionally clean both winter and summer."

Calibrated heating elements are sealed inside Everblades®. Heat from the element radiates through the rubber blade keeping the wiper free of ice.  Everblades® reach a controlled maximum temperature of 130 to 200º F depending on the model length and type of construction. Even at -40º F.  Everblades® maintain temperatures warm enough (approximately 90º F and up) to prevent ice from accumulating on the blades.

Weiler says that Everblades® are a product that is constantly being updated and improved:  "The inventor, Bill Miller, originally had the wiper designed and constructed in California.  It's a triple-edged wiper blade, a special extrusion.  The blade has an opening in the middle and the ni-chrome wire element goes down inside that.  It's finished with a high-strength adhesive that seals the element inside the blade."

Weiler continues, "We are retooling the product with a slightly different process and a slightly different profile.  One of the most important factors is a consistent wipe from wiper set to wiper set."

"This new extrusion will still be made out of EPDM and it will give us even more consistency in performance.  We had considered using silicon, but decided to stay away from that compound.  Silicon, depending on the mix, tends to leave the a film on the windshield."

"He adds, "These wipers have been 'trucker-tested' and proven in Sierra Nevada snowstorms, Great Plains blizzards, and in the nation's Midwest where as much as 200-300" of snow fall annually."

He adds, "We've also upgraded the wiring.  I come from a military avionics purchasing background and while I'm not an engineer, I was involved in highly technical issues.  The upgrades are now up to military specifications."

Everblades® are controlled by an illuminated, dash mounted on/off switch or with an optional cigarette lighter adaptor which is supplied with the installation kit. Typical installation takes minimal time and requires only simple tools. Wiper blade holders are replaced using adapters included in the installation kit.

Everblades® refills are available from the manufacturer. Refills are installed much the same as any other wiper blade.

'The Hot Ones' need not be removed during warm weather. The same properties that enable them to withstand the temperatures generated by the heating element provide superior wiping performance all year long with or without heat.

Everblades® are available for every arm style including bayonet, saddle mount, side pin, and hook.

Everblades® work on both flat and curved windshields for most vehicles including heavy-duty trucks, semis, buses, cars and vans. Everblades® refills are available and are installed much the same as any other wiper blade.

"Our 36 series is an automotive style, that will fit just about any car, pickup, SUV, van and an increasing number of heavy duty trucks and buses.  The 56 and 56HC series is a shoulder mount style used on some school buses and heavy duty trucks" relates Weiler.

Everblades® are guaranteed for a year.  We find that the actual life of the blades is much longer than that.  We've had customers ask for refills after four years, so they are definitely a long-life product. You know, we average around 200 inches of snow up here in the U.P, so our product really gets some real-world testing."

Everblades® are sold primarily through truck and bus distributors and of course, the Internet.  Visit www.everblades.com for more details and ordering information. 

Everblades® - 'The Hot Ones' end 'Wiper Tag' forever!

Jim Weiler/Ann McMahon

Toll Free - 800-746-0428

Local - 906-482-3172

Fax 906-482-3174

E Mail - [email protected]