Electric standby power saves fleet 80,000 gal. of diesel

 

Truck idling is one of the most common targets for cost reduction among fleets today. It burns fuel, racks up runtime and maintenance needs for engines, and produces harmful emissions—all of which could potentially be avoided, saving money and helping the environment at the same time.

COMPANY: Golden State Foods, Garner, NC

OPERATION: A multinational, diversified supplier to the quick-service restaurant and retail industries. Golden State has more than 7,000 employees worldwide and supplies more than 125,000 restaurants and stores on five continents from its 50 facilities. Its core businesses include processing liquid and dairy products, meat patties, and produce and providing related logistics services.

CHALLENGE: Fuel is burned, emissions are increased, and maintenance costs are incurred due to trucks idling engines to power refrigeration units.

Truck idling is one of the most common targets for cost reduction among fleets today. It burns fuel, racks up runtime and maintenance needs for engines, and produces harmful emissions—all of which could potentially be avoided, saving money and helping the environment at the same time.

But when you're distributing refrigerated food goods and using the engine to power reefer units, idling happens all the time. At Golden State Foods' distribution center in Garner, the company's 65 trucks were burning some 80,000 gal. of diesel each year to keep food cold as it was awaiting delivery runs. Taking an average cost of diesel of $3/gal., that's $240,000 just for the fuel alone, and that's not accounting for other associated costs.

It's not only a dilemma for Golden State Foods: according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), long-duration truck idling in the United States soaks up more than a billion gallons of fuel and creates 11 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.  An hour of idling uses a gallon of fuel on average.

SOLUTION: Install SafeConnect standby power outlets to run truck refrigeration units at the depot on electric power instead.

Looking for an alternative, Golden State Foods turned to SafeConnect Systems, maker of hybrid transportation refrigeration units that can be powered either by diesel or electric power. SafeConnect has developed an electric standby system with a special circuit for safer operation at the high voltages required.

A total of 32 electric power outlets that SafeConnect installed will help Golden State Foods' trucks switch off, cutting costs and lowering emissions considerably while keeping food cold at the depot while en route to delivery.

"Incorporating renewable energy at all Golden State Foods facilities and fleets is a priority and part of our fundamental values and 2020 sustainability goals," said Gregg Tartlon, general manager of Golden State Foods' Garner facility. Even accounting for electricity costs to power the refrigeration units, the facility will come out well ahead with net savings.

"These new electric power outlets are estimated to save Garner nearly $110,000 a year, resulting in 80,000 gallons of fuel saved for our 65 trucks," Tartlon noted, adding there are now 15 Golden State Foods and subsidiary Quality Custom Distribution centers using this type of electric technology.

Bob Provencher, director of technology and sales at SafeConnect, pointed out that SafeConnect has installed its electric standby connection system for truck refrigeration units at more than 10 Golden State Foods distribution centers over the last three years.

The Golden State Foods electrification project in Garner was supported by funds from Duke Energy. The funds stem from a 2015 settlement between Duke Energy and EPA and environmental groups in a case dating back to 2000. This is now Duke's third project in North Carolina to use electric power to replace the need to idle truck engines.

"Duke Energy is a strong believer in the benefits of electrification for our industrial customers," said Clark Gillespy, senior vice president of economic development at Duke Energy.

He pointed to this latest project's social as well as cost-reduction benefits: "At Golden State Foods, truck idling will be lessened—saving money, lowering noise levels, and reducing air emissions," he noted.

 Source: https://www.fleetowner.com/running-green/electric-standby-power-saves-fleet-80000-gal-diesel?NL=FO-06&Issue=FO-06_20181123_FO-06_790&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_1&utm_rid=CPENT000004488230&utm_campaign=22069&utm_medium=email&elq2=fd41e15a5cea4ba4820df0e0db509ae0

5 Steps To Buying A Big Rig

When you decide to buy a truck there are some simple steps you can take to be sure you get the best bang for your buck. If you go into a truck purchase blindly, you are likely to pay too much and get much less than you hoped for.

1. Shop Around.

Truck dealers can only advertise in their own region. A truck dealership in Ohio is not allowed to advertise in California. But dealerships are allowed to sell trucks to customers in other regions if the customer contacts them. As you travel, grab some truck papers from different regions of the country and consider contacting dealers that are far from you. If you already know what make of truck you want, call around to dealers around the country.

2. Compare Apples to Apples.

If you are going to be ordering a new truck, ask for a price quote along with the specifications- this will be about 10 pages long. Compare the spec sheets from different dealers line for line. You may find that a salesman who gives you a lower price quote also skimped out on some of the options without mentioning that to you. If you find that a salesman's quote has inferior specs, tell them which ones you want changed and have them resend the specs and quote. ALWAYS read through the specs line by line- don't trust anything verbal. You may have to pay a chunk of change to receive the faxes from all these dealers, but at least you'll know you're comparing prices, not options.

3. Prioritize

If you are shopping for a used truck, it's unlikely that you will be able to find two trucks that are exactly alike. You won't be able to compare apples to apples like you would if you were buying a new truck. Make a list of the specifications that are most important to you. What make and model are you looking for? How old and roughly how many miles? What engine do you want? What transmission? What rears? Once you nail down those requirements, you may have to compromise on some of the options. Power windows, gauge packages, color. Most options can be changed if they are not to your liking. The things that matter most are the things that are permanent, but you will want to consider the less important options once you have narrowed it down to a few trucks.

4. Get a loan from your own bank.

If you have the dealership set up financing, they are likely to add "points" to your interest rate. There is nothing unethical about this- you are, after all, using their resources to secure financing and they should be compensated for the work their employees do. But you need to decide if you are willing to pay the difference over the life of the loan. The bank may give you a 10% interest rate, but the dealer sets it up for 12% and will pocket the difference with each payment you make. Generally, the dealer will not disclose this information. However, you need to be aware that you may be able to secure a lower interest rate on your own. Consider- a difference of 3% will save you hundreds of dollars each month. It's worth it to do the extra legwork on your own.

5. Make sure you can afford the truck.

There are a lot of owner-operator contracts out there. There are many more mediocre owner-operator contracts than there are lucrative ones. Before you take on the risks involved with owning a truck, make sure you have a contract that can pay for it. Will you be pouring every dime you make back into the truck? Calculate the costs of fuel and maintenance and taxes. If you are a company driver, spend a few months putting your records on paper. Look at the bottom line- what will you have left after all your expenses? If you are not yet a driver, you will want to spend a couple of years driving a truck as a company driver before you decide to buy a truck on your own. Don't buy the lie that owner-operators with rates twice as high as company drivers are making twice as much. They may not even be making the same amount once you figure in all the expenses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Suzanne_Roquemore

Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks for a little, and you will find a lot. 

-Hausa Proverb

Advanced Clean Transportation Expo

CONFERENCE April 23-26, 2019 EXPO April 24-25, 2019

Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, California

 Early Bird Registration is Open. Register Today »

Learn more at:  https://www.actexpo.com/

We will Service Your Motorhome at North Bay Truck Center

North Bay Truck Center is becoming the go-to place for motor home chassis work. That is because if you take the shell off of a motor home--take the body off of it--let’s say, for example, a diesel pusher. It’s really a bus chassis. It’s really built by the truck and bus chassis manufacturers. Many that built the motor home chassis also built big trucks, and Freightliner is an example. For us, if we’re under the motor home or we’re looking into the engine compartment, we’re really looking at the same picture as we are if we’re looking on a Class 6, 7 or 8 truck. We are well versed on the platforms of engines that they use. Primarily, they use Cummins or Caterpillar engines on some of the older ones. For the diesel pushers, we’re very well versed on those engines. We have the computer software to plug into them. We’re familiar with the Allison transmissions that are most all of them use. The braking systems on a lot of them are air brakes, similar to that of a Class 6 through 8 truck. They also have suspension components that are shared. They use air ride suspension on the front axle a lot of times, which is found on the newest class 6 through 8 trucks. We’re very familiar with the chassis of the diesel pushers. North Bay is also going to be able to look up maintenance schedules on those as well. Motor homes generally will come with all manuals in a big binder referring to your refrigerator, your heating system, air conditioning. If your vehicle is new, you should have the Cummins manual for the engine and in the case of the Freightliner chassis, a Freightliner chassis manual with maintenance intervals for that chassis as well as the engine. Again, we can help look those things up if you don’t have the manuals available. On the diesel pushers, we have a facility large enough to bring the biggest unit into the shop. Even a 45-foot 3-axle diesel pusher can fit inside our shop and be kept under cover. If it does require to be outside for a time, we have surveillance cameras outside our shop and you can rest assured that our facility is locked down and that the cameras are working 24/7. We're also very familiar with the smaller coaches that are built on a gasoline or light-duty diesel chassis such as Ford or Chevrolet or GMC, or even the Sprinter chassis. Again, these are truck chassis or cutaway van chassis that we work on every day. We service almost anything related to the truck chassis part of the motor home, including, axle bearings, tires, the rear differential, transmission, steering components, including the air conditioning on the chassis. We do not work on the roof mounted air, but we can help direct you to who can help with that, and other internal aspects of the motor home. Everything to do with what makes it go down the road and stop, we can take care of for you.  Tires on motor homes can easily develop flat spots from sitting too long, and the air and UV rays deteriorate tires over time whether they are being used or not. We can help with tires because we sell tires for all trucks and buses and can balance and install them so that your coach rides smooth again and is perfectly safe in your travels. North Bay recently purchased six Mohawk pedestal lifts that will allow us to lift the largest diesel pusher up in the air outside of our facility to facilitate faster and more efficient repairs. Our goal is to get you back on the road on your travels very quickly, and insure that the repairs are done right. You can count on us with your motor home.

121 Ways to Save Fuel: Tires

 

Buy fuel-efficient tires

Getting the right tire at the right wheel position can improve fuel economy by several percentage points.
About 13% of each gallon of fuel consumed goes solely to overcoming rolling resistance. That can vary by the load on the tire, the tread pattern and of course, inflation pressure.


“The relationship between rolling resistance and fuel consumption is about 8:1,” says Rick Phillips, senior director of sales, commercial and OTR products at Yokohama Tire. “An 8% reduction in tire rolling resistance will result in a 1% savings in fuel consumption.”

Various wheel positions have different impacts on fuel economy.
“On a tractor-trailer combination, the steer tires contribute 15-20% to fuel economy, drive tires 30-40% and trailer tires about 40-50%,” says William Estupinan, vice president of technical service for Giti Tire USA. “The first priority for a fleet interested in saving a significant amount of money is to start moving toward fuel-efficient tires for the trailer axles.”

Learn more at:  https://www.truckinginfo.com/155093/121-ways-to-save-fuel-tires

Dangers of driving drowsy

November 2018

Each month, Rental Management highlights a topic that will help equipment and event rental companies conduct effective safety meetings. These topics, developed by the American Rental Association (ARA) and ARA Insurance, are ARA-member-only safety resources available for free at ARArental.org under the “Risk Management” tab.

Every year, 1,550 people are killed and 71,000 are injured in crashes involving drowsy driving. These statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show the dangers of getting behind the wheel while feeling drowsy. To help raise awareness, the National Sleep Foundation has created Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, which is Nov. 4-11.

Drowsy driving dangers, sleep tips and ways to stay alert can be found in ARA’s “Dangers of Driving Drowsy” safety meeting agenda sheet through Work Safe. This agenda — which can be used as a resource during your next safety meeting — also includes a handout with car crash statistics as a result of drowsy driving, warning signs and tips to avoid drowsy driving. Work Safe safety meeting agendas are designed to help you and your staff quickly understand and address important safety issues.

The National Sleep Foundation offers tips to protect yourself from drowsy driving, including:

• Getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
• Not driving if you’ve been up for more than 24 hours.
• Drinking caffeine if you feel tired.
• Stopping if you’re traveling and start to feel drowsy.

Keep you and your staff members safe by focusing on the dangers of drowsy driving this November. Learn more about this safety meeting agenda and other safety topics at ARArental.org/go/WorkSafe.

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An official publication of the American Rental Association.
Produced by Rental Management Group. Copyright © 2018 Rental Pulse all rights reserved

Bandag Retread Shop Tour

Int. ADAC Truck-Grand-Prix 2018

Also in 2018 we are back at the Nürburgring at the 33rd Int. ADAC Truck Grand Prix 2018 with us. Our customers are thrilled and are once again taking home many impressive experiences from the ring. Many thanks to "1Truck.TV" for the compilation.

A & T Road Service Kenworth with NRC Quickswap unit with tag axle.

The newest addition to our tow fleet is truck number 32. This is a 2014 Kenworth with a Cummins 500 hp engine and 18-speed transmission. The working end of this mighty tow vehicle is the NRC Quickswap unit with tag axle. This unique design will allow us to tow almost anything on the road. We can now lift up to 20,000 lb steering axle trucks, and also buses and large RV units. The long wheelbase and the tag axle combine to allow us to tow a wide variety of units.

In addition, this truck is well suited for short and long haul jobs. With the sleeper unit, we can tow across the country if needed, or for local jobs the sleeper will accommodate extra passengers. The unit is equipped with state of the art LED lighting to light up the are needed in the night, as well as tool, equipment and parts storage to take care of small repairs, DEF issues and much more.