Fuel Smarts

By Evan Lockridge

After working to revitalize the network of the truckstop electrification service provider IdleAir since purchasing it three years year ago, Convoy Solutions is turning its attention toward truck fleets as customers -- but in a new way, with what it calls dedicated terminal solutions.

Tags: MPG, Idle reduction, Fuel and Oil, Truckstops, IdleAir

By Jim Park

You get 30% less tread on some fuel-efficient tires, they cost 15% less up front and they run fewer miles to take-off, but does the money saved on fuel because of the lower rolling resistance make up for the shorter overall life? Many fleets are struggling with that question today. The answer is often anything but clear.

Tags: Goodyear, Michelin, Continental Tires, Bridgestone, Tires, GITI

By Tom Berg

Think “alternative fuel” and what comes to mind – natural gas, or maybe propane? Volvo Trucks North America believes it has one better: dimethyl ether, or DME, which it thinks is the real fuel of the future. Volvo, with the help of a small chemical company, financial investors and officials in the state of California, intends to get it to market as a motor fuel by 2015.

Tags: California, Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, DME, Safeway, Volvo, Natural Gas

By Jim Park

Next to the clang of your cell door slamming shut, there are few sounds more disheartening than the "click, click, click" of a starter that's not getting enough juice. Maxwell Technologies' Engine Start Module is an ultracapacitor starting system that can prevent that.

Tags: Idle reduction, Batteries

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.

Tags: Propane, Biodiesel, CNG, Clean Cities, Alternative Fuels

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.

Tags: 6x2, Meritor, SmarTandem, Dana Spicer, EconoTrek, Bendix eTrac, Meritor Wabco

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)

Tags: California, Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, EVs, HEVs

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.

Tags: CNG, Government Fleets, Natural Gas, Washington, Seattle, Alternative Fuels & Hybrids

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."

Tags: Idle reduction, Truckstops, Owner-Operators, Shorepower

By Kate Harlow

Green shouldn't be the only color a fleet is considering when making a move toward “going green.” "The most important colors in business are still red and black," said Joe Fiorelli, fleet and safety director for Gulfeagle Supply, during a session for the National Truck Equipment Association's recent Green Truck Summit entitled, "Compounding the Green: Incremental Measures for Going Green and Sustainable."

Tags: Telematics, Verizon, Alternative Fuels, Green Truck Summit, Gulfeagle Supply

By Jim Beach

Truckstop operators have always used technology to meet customer needs and remain competitive. From relatively low-tech devices such as pay phones and fax machines to high-tech services such as wireless Internet access, shore power connections and smart phone apps, truckstops remain places drivers can connect — with both the office and home.

Tags: Comdata, Technology, Telogis, NexTraq, Z-Con, Truckstops, diesel, Fuel and Oil

By Evan Lockridge

If you've been hoping there is an end in sight to California's tidal waves of increasing trucking regulations, unfortunately, the tsunami has yet to strike, unless it crashes in a legal challenge.

Tags: CARB, EPA, Low Carbon Fuel Standard, CTA

By Deborah Lockridge

What type of engine systems and parts will you be dealing with in the future? From electric-drive turbos to waste heat regeneration, Derek Kaufman, president of C3 Network, examined powertrain trends during Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week earlier this year.

Tags: DPF, Aftermarket, HDAW, Engines

By Tom Berg

Chicago has ordered 20 heavy-duty, electric-powered trash trucks that will be the first of their kind in the nation. The electric trucks will run almost silently, produce practically no emissions and, with no traditional pow-ertrains to fuel and maintain, will cut operating costs by at least 50%, says Jim Castelaz, chief executive officer of Motiv Power Systems.

Tags: Motiv Power, Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, EVs

By By Truckinginfo Staff

Renewable-fuel retailer Propel Fuels and biofuel maker Solazyme report good results from their 30-day pilot program of an algae-derived biodiesel, called Soladiesel.

Tags: Biodiesel, Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Propel, Solazyme

By Deborah Lockridge

Three years from now, you'll see a new API diesel engine oil-service category, designed to help meet federal greenhouse gas/fuel economy standards, which have a final phase-in date set for model year 2018 trucks.

Tags: Under The Hood, API, oils, Chevron, Shell

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Finally, a regulation that gives something back. Sometime between now and Jan. 1, 2014, all new heavy-duty trucks coming into service will be certified to a new fuel efficiency standard. Compliance rests with the truck maker, and the customer sees the benefit. So, what's the catch

Tags: Emissions

By Chris Brown, Business Fleet Executive Editor

From a frozen pizza company to neighborhood ice cream delivery, from a dry cleaner to a real estate business, these small fleets have been running natural gas-powered vehicles for years

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, LNG, CNG, Natural Gas

By Kate Harlow, Associate Editor

The old saying goes, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Life, or in this case, a landfill, gave DeKalb County, Ga., methane gas - so the Sanitation Department decided to make vehicle fuel. In 2009, DeKalb County, located just east of Atlanta, was experiencing the same economic frustrations and high fuel prices as the rest of the country

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, CNG, Government Fleets

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

The engine products of the joint venture between Cummins Inc. and Westport Innovations now dominate the existing, albeit small, market for natural gas trucks, but more are on the way from other sources, indicated manufacturer representatives during the American Trucking Associations' recent Natural Gas Summit

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Shippers, CNG, LNG

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

There are only about 167,000 natural gas-fueled vehicles in the United States, according the head of a group that promotes natural gas as a vehicle fuel, but its abundance and cheap price is spurring so much interest that an almost overflow crowd turned up at the American Trucking Associations Natural Gas Summit, which began yesterday in Alexandria, Va

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, ATA, Alternative Fuels

Ryder System Inc. has achieved a significant milestone with its fleet of 250 natural gas vehicles by surpassing 6 million miles

Tags: Going Green, Ryder, Natural Gas

Announcements about new natural gas engines, bi-fuel engines and aftermarket conversion systems are coming faster and faster

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG, Cummins

One of the key roadblocks to wider adoption of natural gas fuel by the trucking industry has been a lack of fueling infrastructure. In the past, natural gas was mostly an option only for companies that could return to a central fueling station each night.

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, CNG, LNG, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels

A growing number of fleets are testing or making large-scale deployments of natural gas powered vehicles. Here's a sampling, including a slide show of some of these fleets and others

Tags: Going Green, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

The environmental and image benefits of being "green" and reducing dependence on foreign oil are among the reasons fleets are looking at natural gas fuel for trucks, but even the most diehard "green" fleet is still looking for a return on its investment

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

Last year, food and fuel retailer Giant Eagle unveiled its first two compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations in the Pittsburgh area at its Beechnut Drive retail support and distribution center. The demonstration included a fuel-up of one of its brand-new natural gas-powered VNM daycabs

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

Propane is no longer just for your backyard barbeque or the furnace and water heater in your rural home. It's an efficient and economical fuel that powers millions of vehicles overseas, and proponents in the United States say it deserves to catch on in a big way here

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Propane, Roush

A new report from Pike Research forecasts steady growth in the market for natural gas trucks and buses. Annual worldwide sales of these vehicles will more than double over the next seven years, the firm says, growing from less than 70,000 in 2012 to more than 180,000 in 2019

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, LNG, CNG

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

Ever buy a cold or hot pre-made sandwich from a convenience store, maybe where you gas up the car? Then there's a good chance that it was a Deli Express product made and delivered by E.A. Sween, a family-owned foodservice compan

Tags: Equipment & Fuel Economy

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor and Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

Interest in natural gas as a fuel for commercial trucks has been rising, thanks to the low cost of the fuel, and the desire of fleets to be "green" and reduce dependence on foreign oil

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor & Sven-Erik Linstrand, European Editor

Engineers at Volvo Trucks are exploring the possibility of using dimethyl ether, or DME, as an alternative fuel in North America, following successful field tests in Europe.

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, DME, Volvo

More than half of large carriers say they are considering buying natural gas fueled trucks, but there are hurdles, according to a new study from Transport Capital Partners and ACT Research

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, LNG, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

In 2011, the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel rose 7.1% year over year and 38% from 2006, federal data show. It more than doubled during the past decade, to 38.85 million cubic feet in 2011

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Interest is high in natural gas as a heavy-duty truck fuel. With a dollar per diesel-equivalent gallon differential, why wouldn't it be? Natural gas is likely to remain less expensive than diesel for the foreseeable future, and domestic supplies of the stuff are plentiful. Is natural gas a savior-in-waiting for beleaguered diesel buyers? Maybe, but here are six questions you need to ask before taking the plunge

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Scott Perry, Ryder

With the fluctuating cost of diesel and the multiple variables affecting fuel efficiency, even the most experienced fleets often are challenged with finding ways to keep improving fuel economy

Tags: Equipment & Fuel Economy

By Kate Harlow

In the August issue of HDT, we kicked off a series on "Natural Gas: What Fleets Need to Know." In addition to the features in the magazine, on this page we offer additional online articles and resources

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Rolf Lockwood, Contributing Editor

Amidst all the brouhaha about natural gas, the biodiesel option appears to have gone quiet. It still has a near-cult-like following in some quarters, but in the freight-transportation mainstream, biodiesel is a very small player at this point.

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids

By Genevieve Conti, Assistant Editor

As truck owners look for ways to deal with $4 to $5 diesel, some fleets are finding that electricity is helping them plug into savings, through all-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, idle reduction or electric refrigeration units

Tags: Going Green

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

The world no longer seems concerned about "peak oil" (the idea that oil reserves are going to run out), and today's clean-diesel engines have addressed many environmental concerns about truck exhaust. Most industry experts believe conventional diesel fuel will remain the dominant fuel for commercial vehicles for decades to come

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Traction is a funny thing: We know when we don't have enough of it, but can we quantify how much is enough? It's a question that arises when discussing fuel-efficient tires

Tags: Equipment & Fuel Economy

Kwik Trip, a convenience store and fuel chain with more than 400 locations in three states, is promoting liquefied and compressed natural gas as fuel sources to help increase nationwide adoption of LNG and CNG in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and other areas.

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

You can't rightly expect a driver to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to fuel economy. It takes a huge amount of discipline to stay on top of the driving, but given the right tools, even a mediocre driver will do reasonably well

Tags: Equipment & Fuel Economy