1/31/2012  Top Dealers Talk about 2010 Engines
Engine Smarts by Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

So far, the new engines built to meet the Environmental Protection Agency's 2010 emissions mandate are performing far better than their EPA-2007 predecessors. That was the consensus of this year's nominees for the American Truck Dealers/Heavy Duty Trucking Truck Dealer of the Year.

Terry Dotson, president, chairman and CEO of Prestonburg, Ky.-basedWorldwide Equipment Enterprises, puts it bluntly: "2010 engines work. The others that were built in '07 didn't. I'm just glad we didn't make any more of them than we did, because we're all going to have to worry with those for the next few years."

Tim Reilly, dealer principal and president of Miami Valley International in Dayton, Ohio, has seen much the same with his company's lease fleet of nearly 700 units.

"I think with every emissions change, the early engines are in many ways are beta type engines, so you encounter a number of issues, but we've seen constant improvement from launch time until today."

John Arscott, president & CEO of The Pete Store in Baltimore, Md., says the 2010 engines are definitely more reliable. "Certainly new technology has problems, but not nearly the magnitude of the previous one," he says. "We're seeing a pretty reliable product - which is great, because I felt really bad for some customers."

Trey J. Mytty, president & CEO of Omaha Truck Center, Omaha, Neb., notes that "people are happy with them. It's an improved product, in my opinion, over the previous engine. I don't think they run nearly as hot, which is helping with breakdowns, and on the other hand we're seeing improved fuel economy."

Brent Leach, president of Custom Truck Sales in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, says "from our standpoint, it's been a good transition. I think the 2007 emissions cycles was rough for everyone. I took some time to work out the bugs. I think the 2010 has gone over with a lot less issues, and reliability with the engines has been quite good." He says they've "seen really good results" with the new Paccar engines.

Challenges remain

That's not to say there aren't still some hiccups. Dotson says all the changes in the engines and the affiliated changes in the chassis have meant a lot of new and different parts. When a lot of those are being made offshore, he says, that makes it more difficult to respond rapidly to changes in demand.

Similarly, Reilly said that with the newer engines, as the manufacturers continue to tweak them, some of the parts are actually changing. "So that puts increased pressure on the aftermarket side to be able to stock those things that are new at the plant level."

Some also commented that while there's a benefit in being able to plug into today's computerized engines and be able to have an expert at the OE level help figure out the problem, at the same time, that can lead to delays in repairs.

Steve Bassett, president of General Truck sales, Muncie, Ind., says "the increased technology requires more OEM input to effectively implement repairs, as opposed to the old days when those decisions were made on the shop floor. It's a plus and a minus at the same time. We have better ability to diagnose the higher tech product we've got, but at the same time, those decisions are having to be made through other people in some cases, so it slows the process down."

While news about better reliability may help persuade customers to buy, it's hard to get past the sticker shock of trucks with the latest engines, Reilly says, "but we're starting to get some traction on the truck sales side. We're looking forward to a very good 2012."

The company has spent a lot of time in the past couple of years educating customers about the new International MaxxForce engines, he says, including "bringing in some experts from Navistar to help demonstrate it's not smoke and mirrors."

The complexity of the trucks also is leading more of MVI's locally based customers to consider leasing instead of owning, Reilly says.

At General Truck Sales, which sells Volvo and Isuzu, Bassett says EPA-2010 sales were very strong in 2011 and it looks like it's continuing into 2012. "We've seen repeat 2010 engine customers already. We think the improvement in the fuel economy is having an impact on their decision-making process."

(The ATD/HDT Truck Dealer of the Year will be announced this weekend during the ATD convention in Las Vegas. Watch for a special supplement in the February issue of HDT.)

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1/23/2012  'Tall' gearing and a big engine deliver 12 mpg in a Class 7 truck, expedited-freight hauler claims
Engine Smarts column by Tom Berg, Senior Editor

"Tall" gearing and a large engine are giving an expedited freight hauler the high fuel economy he sought, even if most factory engineers won't approve his spec'ing requests.

Tom Buchwald, who heads Expedel Services out of Shelbyville, Tenn., recently purchased a Class 7 straight truck with an engine and transmission about twice the size of what such trucks usually have.

He says it's getting about 12 mpg in highway service, compared to 6 or 7 mpg with a typical medium-duty truck whose powertrain components are much smaller and whose engine races to keep up speed.

While cruising at 55 mph, the 385-horsepower Paccar MX engine in his new Peterbilt 384 loafs at 1,100 rpm, where its torque output is highest at 1,650 pounds-feet. The Eaton UltraShift Plus transmission is in 13th gear, the higher of its two overdrive ratios. This is with a 3.21 to 1 axle ratio.

"I wanted a 2.50 ratio but the engineers wouldn't approve it," he said. "With it, the transmission would've been in 11th-direct, for even more efficiency" while the truck cruised at 55. ....

1/10/2012  Engines: Pistons Still In, But Think Outside the Block
Engine Smarts column by Tom Berg, Senior Editor

The engine of the future is probably the one under the hood or cab of your current truck. It's an internal combustion engine with pistons, valves, crankshaft and other familiar parts, either an Inline 4 or 6, or a V-6 or V-8. Those popular configurations have been in use for many years and will likely remain the most-built for some time.

The more commercially oriented the truck, the more likely its engine is a diesel. And it's likely to be an inline or "straight" design. Its block is stiff and strong, and it's easy to manufacture and simple to maintain. All kinds of advanced fuel, air and electronics systems can be applied to it, and have, especially since exhaust emissions regulations have become so strict.

Since the 1930s, when high-speed truck diesels began appearing from Cummins and Caterpillar, the design used was the Inline 6. Detroit Diesel sold V-6, V-8 and V-12 truck diesels along with a few in-line versions in its 71 series for many years. The 92 series had V-6s and V-8s.....

12/21/2011  Parked Next Door: A Study in Engine Apps
Engine Smarts by Tom Berg, Senior Editor

The other day, a remodeling contractor was working at the next-door neighbors' house and I eyeballed the two trucks that he sent his workers and supplies in. One was an older Mercedes-made Sprinter cab-chassis truck with a box body, and the other was a near-new Nissan Van, an NV-2500 with a high roof.

Here was a study in engine applications, that is, gasoline vs. diesel. Each of the trucks sat for a couple of hours before running off to fetch more supplies. Then they sat for several more hours.

"That's an application for gasoline," I told my wife. She answered, "Hmm?"

But I warmed to the subject. "Really. The trucks are just sitting there. Gasoline makes a lot more sense for something like that."

"Oh. Yes," she said.....

12/5/2011  Tell TMC About Your Engine Experiences
Engine Smarts column by Tom Berg, Senior Editor

Our Engine Smarts item and November HDT column on complaints about 2002-2010 diesels ("What's Happening with Engines?") hit a proverbial nerve, because we got a healthy amount of reader response.

Evidently the fleet managers at that Technology & Maintenance Council session last September, who said that too many engines are causing serious troubles and too many dealers aren't prepared to deal with them, are not alone.

Now we can report that preliminary feedback to a survey being done by TMC further backs those comments.....

11/3/2011  Retrofittable XL Hybrid Brings Fuel Savings to Existing Light Trucks
By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

Hybrid drive systems usually have to be part of a new car or truck, and usually they're expensive. But XL Hybrids of Boston is coming up with one that can be installed on new or existing vehicles at a moderate cost.

And while most currently available systems are for medium- and heavy duty trucks, the XL electric hybrid is for light trucks, says Justin Ashton, vice president of business development and a company founder. There are a lot of Class 1, 2 and 3 trucks out there, so the sales potential is great and so are the possible fuel savings.

It's designed for a specific light-truck model, General Motors' 2500 series G van, sold as the Chevrolet Express and the GMC Savana, with the 4.8-liter Vortec 4800 gasoline V-8.

"It's made for urban use with stops and starts," Ashton says. "We're targeting fleets with these vans operating high mileages, more than 25,000 miles per year. It will approach the performance of a diesel but at a gasoline engine cost."....