Guest editorial
By Amy Dobrikova, President, Intelligent Fleet Solutions
Green Truck Association Chairperson
This article was published in the February 2018 edition of NTEA News.
The November 2017 NTEA News featured an article on NTEA’s first Lightweight and Advanced Technology Demo Truck, which was showcased at The Work Truck Show® 2016 and donated to Habitat for Humanity in Anderson, Indiana. Following is information on two demo trucks featured at the 2017 Show.
Lightweight Technology Council, a working group within NTEA’s Green Truck Association (GTA) affiliate division, facilitated the design and build of the vehicles. To further the boundaries of efficiency, NTEA and GTA member companies partnered with several innovative industry businesses.
The Ford F-350 aluminum cab chassis with concept gooseneck platform from The Knapheide Manufacturing Company pushed the envelope and showed how a 15 percent reduction in curb weight can be achieved to maximize load and towing capabilities (see Figure 1). This combination, when commercially available, will deliver a 7.4 percent improvement in fuel use.
The Isuzu NPR diesel Class 3 truck featured an empty weight of 6,848 pounds and payload allowance of 12,652 pounds. It included a Reading Truck Body Tool-Pro aluminum enclosed service body and Arconic’s lightweight aluminum wheels (sold under the brand name Alcoa Wheels).
National Renewable Energy Lab engineers provided expert analysis of the value in terms of fuel and CO2 reductions. In addition to lightweighting the body and wheels, other technologies such as Isuzu’s chassis data system were factored into the calculations on fuel and emissions savings over a 10-year operating period.
Donation and use
The Isuzu truck was donated for a one-year, no-cost lease to Man4Man Ministries (man4manministries.com) — an organization that reaches men returning from or facing incarceration, or in work release. Utilized daily, the vehicle enables Man4Man to collect donated material and perform local household and business demolition, repairs and landscaping.
Executive Director Bob Blume was excited to receive the donation. “The truck you have blessed us with gives five guys jobs to deliver and pick up items for our thrift store,” he said. Blume added that donations have increased due to the branding and awareness messaging on the side of the truck.
GTA also provided Man4Man with a data logger supported by FleetCarma. This gives an online snapshot of how the truck is being used and where it is going (see Figure 2). Such reports help fleet managers better understand usage and opportunities for operational improvement.
To learn more about GTA and the data logger initiative, visit greentruckassociation.com.