Fuel Smarts

Useful Articles

Running an Alternative-fueled Fleet
Monroe County is committed to alternative fuels, and propane's a favorite

By Tom Berg
Want to get a handle on alternative fuels? Talk with someone who uses them. One person is Melvin Rose, fleet manager for Monroe County in western New York, which surrounds Rochester. The county has 700 vehicles, from compact cars to Class 8 trucks. All run on ethanol-gasoline blends, biodiesel, compressed natural gas or propane, and Rose loves to talk about them.

Rise of the 6x2
It promises to cut weight and fuel use, and interest in it is growing.
At a Meritor demonstration last December in North Carolina, soapy water and slipper plastic couldn't keep this tractor's SmarTandem from getting a grip and starting up the incline at a loading dock.

<p>At a Meritor demonstration last December in North Carolina, soapy water and slipper plastic couldn't keep this tractor's SmarTandem from getting a grip and starting up the incline at a loading dock.</p>

By Tom Berg
It's still an oddball spec in road tractors, but some believe the 6x2 — a single drive axle with two powered wheels among six total wheel positions — will someday become more common as truck operators look for ways to save fuel and cut tare weight.

Millions Available for Hybrid/Electric Vehicles Through California’s HVIP Program
HVIP is designed to offset about half of the additional cost of eligible vehicles

By Truckinginfo Staff
Greening a fleet can be a daunting prospect, but as fuel prices continue to rise, the opportunity to save money has increased. Significant and easily accessible funding is now available in California through the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP)

Seattle Mayor Challenges City Fleets to Cut Use of Petroleum-Based Fuels
CNG truck operated by CleanScapes in Seattle.

By Truckinginfo Staff
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has directed city departments to build on earlier "green fleet" efforts to cut the city's annual use of petroleum-based fuels by 1 million gallons by 2020, using electric and alternative fueled vehicles, biodiesel and more efficient use of vehicles.

Owner-Operator Seeks Out Truckstop Electrification
Owner-operator Matt Purtee likes it when he can find plug-in shore power at truckstops, but he'll search it out elsewhere, too.

<p>Owner-operator Matt Purtee likes it when he can find plug-in shore power at truckstops, but he'll search it out elsewhere, too.</p>

By Truckinginfo Staff
How bad does owner-operator Matt Purtee want truckstop electrification? “Bad enough where I know a few truckstops that have light poles with plug-ins at the base,” he says with a chuckle. “I get to those sites early so I can tap into the power before someone else does."

Fuel Smarts News

Products

IPA Introduces the Digital Flow Meter Nozzle Innovative Products of America's new High-Flow Digital Meter Nozzle allows accurate records of fuel usage while transferring common fuels, monitoring volume in real-time.

<p>Illustration of LNG In A Box, with fuel tank and pump    <br /><br /></p>

GE Introduces LNG In A Box Fueling System GE Oil & Gas introduced the LNG In A Box system, a small-scale, plug-and-play, re-deployable liquefied natural gas fueling solution it says can help accelerate the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel.

Goodyear Enhances Three Tire Lines Goodyear's G399A LHS Fuel Max, the G572A LHD Fuel Max, and the G392A SSD with DuraSeal + Fuel Max wide-base tire have been improved to help deliver reduced rolling resistance for better fuel efficiency, as well as long miles to removal.

Pay-at-the-Pump Limits for Comdata Mastercard Fleet Customers Comdata has introduced pay-at-the-pump limits for its MasterCard Corporate Fleet Card customers. This allows Comdata to send transaction limit information to participating merchants, enabling automatic pump shutoff when the approved dollar amount is reached.

Chart Improves LNG Truck Fuel System Chart Industries has addressed some of the drawbacks of using liquefied natural gas for long-haul trucking with improvements to its LNG truck fuel system, including a larger-capacity single tank to extend range and cut costs, and integration for faster installation.