Heavy Duty Trucking, June 2018

HDT JUNE 2018 56 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM ogy or methods was key particularly when combined with careful attention to selecting and specing vehicles based on what the OEMs are doing The new Macks coming out of production now are a perfect example of this Lamarca says They have a new wave piston design along with turbo compounding and which are dialed in with the mDrive automated manual transmission These new trucks are up to 9 more fuel efficient than their predecessors So weve ordered some and were continually evaluating their performance now And this is the approach we now take with all OEMs and utilizing their integrated drivetrain systems Lamarca says as you progress youll typically never come to a hard bottom line number in terms of fuel savings which can be discouraging for many fuel efficiency novices Initially you see results and have a gut feel for the improvement he notes But then you have to monitor it over a long period of time to confirm that intuition Ambient temperature and seasonal temperatures are among the many factors that can cause variations in fuel economy results and make it difficult to determine consistent trends In order to determine if whatever system you are testing boosted your fuel economy you really need to test for four quarters before youll have enough data to make a judgement call Lamarca says It is a slow process large fleet or you just manage to build a relationship with them like I did its hard to catch their attention for very long Focusing on the bottom line It is very difficult in real world use to determine the impact of a single add on system equipment or devices says James Lamarca founder and executive vice president of System Freight Inc a New Jersey based fleet specializing in dedicated freight transport He says SFI has come a long way on the fuel economy front given the extreme mix of geographic conditions its trucks run in logging a fleet wide average of 71 mpg last year SFI began its fuel economy specification by ordering equipment from the standpoint of maximum fuel economy and what is practical to use in its operation From there communication became vital as fleet managers discussed the specification changes with employees so they understood why the changes were being made as well as the anticipated impact those changes would have on the companys financials It is difficult to argue against when you put it in terms like that he notes And then as results began to trickle in we shared those results with our employees to really drive the message home As SFIs fuel economy initiative progressed experience showed Lamarca and his managers that using a systems approach to specing testing and validating new technolthem And that is a relationship that continues to this day Ditch Because weve always done it that way Another important aspect of driving a shift toward a culture of fuel economy is being willing to look at everything and discard long entrenched practices that arent paying you any dividends says fleet consultant Bruce Stockton principle with Stockton Solutions and a longtime fleet equipment and maintenance exec One of the simplest things you can do to improve your fuel economy is cut weight off your trucks Stockton says And that is always a difficult thing to do But a careful look at your specs could reveal things that can be cut out For instance he says when he evaluates the truck specs of a new client it almost always includes a block heater And no one ever uses a block heater But theyre on every truck The same principle applies to fuel tanks Stockton adds Most fleets I work with spec anywhere from 240 to 300 gallon fuel tanks on their trucks And yet when I look at the figures for their average fuel fills across the fleet theyre usually around 65 gallons or so The last one I did just a couple of days ago averaged 86 gallons per fill So you have to ask yourself why youre carrying the weight of a block heater and all that extra fuel around when you dont need it and never use it Make some reasonable cuts in those areas and youll not only lighten up your truck but youll free up real estate on the frame and capital that you can use to invest in other fuel enhancement systems You have to be willing to play with things says Joel Morrow director of research and development with the small yet innovative Ohio based fleet Ploger Transport who has been buying trucks with smaller displacement engines 6x2s and some other unusual specs Its not easy Its time consuming Morrow says And not everything you try is going to work out And in the beginning youre going to have to do a lot of this by yourself with very little outside help Sales reps at dealers generally want to sell you a truck they know they can resell once youre done with it and turn it in The OEMs are a lot more enthusiastic about fuel economy But unless youre a FUEL ECONOMY CULTURE In 2012 Nussbaum Transportation was already leading the way in adoption of 6x2 drivelines PHOTO DEBORAH LOCKRIDGE