What’s Available in Hybrid and Electric Drive Systems

Many of Odyne's hybrid systems go into utility service trucks, where they work cleanly and  silently on job sites. Public utilities, municipalities and other high-profile fleets are still interested in cutting emissions and fuel use, the manufacturer says. Photo: Odyne Systems

Diesel and gasoline still dominate the commercial powertrain world, but hybrid and electric mechanisms, pushed by government regulations and support, might be headed for big growth. Announcements by Tesla and a new company, Nicola, that they're working on creating Class 8 electric trucks, is driving public interest in the concept, and California is pushing for zero-emission-vehicles for commercial use.

In recent years, low and somewhat stable conventional fuel prices have undercut the return on investment required to make a business case for hybrids and electrics, which have added 40 to 100% or more to prices for conventional trucks.

To some extent, user interest has swung from hybrid propulsion, which was the emphasis in the early 2000s, to electrification of work trucks as a way to reduce engine idling. Electrics have great maintenance advantages, but their high upfront costs put them largely out of reach without government grants and voucher programs.

Although Eaton left the North American market several years ago, numerous hybrid propulsion products remain available. For medium- and heavy-duty work trucks, the sole supplier now is Odyne.

“Many fleets are still interested in improved fuel economy and reduction of exhaust emissions,” says Chief Engineer John Peters. They're usually public utilities, municipalities and other operations with high profiles and progressive management. Odyne's plug-in systems are used in various truck chassis fitted with utility bodies. On the road they're parallel hybrids, meaning engine power or electricity or both move the trucks, and braking produces electricity that's sent to batteries and is used for launch assist.

On job sites the trucks operate almost entirely on electricity. Electric power ...Read the rest of this story

Q&A: How Driver Relationships Drive Safety at Southern Freight Services

Kelsey Wolfe Photo: Jim Park

Kelsey Wolfe's career took a 90-degree turn when her father started a trucking company and asked her to help out in the office. Her take-charge attitude has helped the fleet maintain an exemplary safety record and enviable culture of safety and driver engagement.

Wolfe, Southern Freight Services' director of safety, human resources and recruiting, is Heavy Duty Trucking's pick for its 2016 Safety & Compliance Award. Her father, a veteran of the trucking industry, started the Morristown, Tenn.-based SFS in 2012. Wolfe was ready to return to school to finish her nursing degree at the time, but she soon took command of some of the 48-truck fleet's most important back-office aspects, managing safety programs and driver recruiting and retention.

She implemented drug testing programs, inspection protocols and electronic logs, and last year saw the fleet's crash frequency drop from 1.61 to 0.89. But while her dedication to her craft is evident in the fleet's performance, she believes it is driver relationships that are key to the company's success.

HDT: First off, congratulations on the HDT Safety & Compliance Award. How important is this sort of recognition?

Wolfe: Honestly, I really didn't expect that call to begin with, but I definitely didn't expect that to happen. I think the fleet, from the feedback, they're proud.

I know all of the drivers and I've got their phone numbers memorized and I've hired all of them [except] three I didn't hire, they were here before I got here. Two were at my high school graduation. So they're very excited because I'm the one with the least experience in the building.

I was going to return to school to finish nursing, and Dad said, “Well you've got a month until school, so just come here and you can help answer phones and whatnot.” And other ...Read the rest of this story

SMC³ adds carrier-direct APIs

SMC³ recently unveiled a new series of web-based APIs (short for “application programming interface”) for its technology platform or “hub” for third party logistics (3PL) providers, shippers and LTL carriers.

Those applications specifically include “execution” and “visibility” web-service solutions to provide event-based visibility to help streamline workflows by sending alerts when shipments require action or attention, SMC³ said.

read more

Trailers an Important Part of 2016 SuperTech

Check the lights? Sure. The electrical system was among 12 items tested in the Trailer Track competition at TMC's SuperTech event in Raleigh, N.C., Sept. 18-21. Photos: Marsh Galloway

TMC's SuperTech competition concluded Wednesday (September 21) with a special luncheon and reading of names of the numerous winners who trouped up one by one to get their awards.

It went on for more than two and a half hours, yet almost everyone in the audience, contestants and non-contestants alike, stayed ‘til the bitter end. Of course, they wanted to see who won. And they know that these young technicians are an important part of trucking's future. (Do a subject search on the technician shortage on this website and you'll find many columns and stories about how it's only going to get worse.)

Because I write this weekly blog about trailers, I was pleased that the folks who run the Technology & Maintenance Council's SuperTech program saw fit to inaugurate a Trailer Track for competitors. Trailers get little enough attention in the real world, and this new focus gives them the respect they deserve.

Trailers (and truck bodies) are where the payloads go, after all. Besides, they're getting more complex, and mechanics need to know what makes them tick – or hum, preferably.

Anyway, among the winners announced were those in the Trailer Track. Its overall winners were 1, Scott Davidson, TravelCenters of America; 2, Robert Anderson, TravelCenters of America; and 3, Michael Kerfoot, TravelCenters of America. That's right, techs from TA swept the top three places in the trailers competition.

There were 12 stations testing the techs' skills on individual trailer systems, and TMC reported that the winners at each were:

T1. Brakes: ...Read the rest of this story

Hankook Shows New Fuel-Efficient e-Cube Blue Tire Line

Photo: Hankook

Hankook has expanded its e-cube Blue trailer tire line with special steering and drive-axle threads designed for efficiency and fuel savings, the company announced at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany.

The tire line is being released in Europe but the company has plans to bring it to the U.S. market in the future.

The new tire product line is a long-haul system solution and with the new steering and drive axle versions, Hankook is presenting a complete lineup of low-rolling resistance tires. The e-cube Blue line enables fleets to gain and additional 8% of tire-related fuel efficiency and up to 55% more durability, according to Hankook.

The tread design, which is tailored for each particular axle position, also helps to further reduce fuel consumption and increase mileage without affecting dynamic characteristics such as braking and traction performance.

Both central rib tread blocks of the e-cube Blue AL20 steering axle tires support each other through their interlocking design, which increases tread block rigidity and helps to reduce rolling resistance. The stepped main tread groove design gives extra support for each tread block side. Moreover, they provide straight stability and improved steering response. The largely closed tread design in the shoulder rib area ensures particularly uniform tire wear.

The tread appearance of the e-cube Blue DL20 steering axle tires is characterized by a central 4-block design of the massive central rib. The offset arrangement of the individual tread blocks guarantees interlocking action on both sides and results in mutual support for very good traction performance while reducing rolling resistance at the same time. In addition, the horizontally arranged semi-deep extra sipes in combination with tie bars in the open shoulder block area further promote traction.

The extra-wide contour of the e-cube Blue TL20 trailer tires supports a very high driving stability and optimizes wear ...Read the rest of this story

Freight volumes may be more normal than thought

Current freight volume levels may be more “normalized” than many in the trucking industry might suspect, according to data tracking by load matching service Truckstop.com.

read more

Lightning Hybrids CEO responds to hybrid drive technology article

Editor's note: The following is a letter to the editor submitted by Tim Reeser, CEO of Lightning Hybrids, in response to a recent powertrain column on hybrid drive technology.

In a recent column, Jack Roberts posed the question to Fleet Owner readers “Will your next powertrain feature hybrid drive technology?”

read more