Five  concrete blocks were routinely carried in the bed of the truck to improve traction; the conversion of an M20 truck and M9 trailer to a semi-trailer configuration rather than a trailed configuration alleviated some of these problems, and also improved fuel economy by approximately fifty percent.
fˈaɪv kˈɑːŋkɹiːt blˈɑːks wɜː ɹuːtˈiːnli kˈæɹid ɪnðə bˈɛd ʌvðə tɹˈʌk tʊ ɪmpɹˈuːv tɹˈækʃən; ðə kənvˈɜːʒən əvən ˈɛm twˈɛnti tɹˈʌk ænd ˈɛm nˈaɪn tɹˈeɪlɚ tʊ ɐ sˈɛmaɪtɹˈeɪlɚ kənfˌɪɡjɚɹˈeɪʃən ɹˈæðɚ ðˌænə tɹˈeɪld kənfˌɪɡjɚɹˈeɪʃən ɐlˈiːvɪˌeɪɾᵻd sˌʌm ʌv ðiːz pɹˈɑːbləmz, ænd ˈɔːlsoʊ ɪmpɹˈuːvd fjˈuːəl ɪkˈɑːnəmi baɪ ɐpɹˈɑːksɪmətli fˈɪfti pɚsˈɛnt.