Freightliner displays its eM2 medium-duty electric truck at the 2019 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.Photo: Keith Norbury
Don’t expect to play chess with your truck anytime soon. But, as automotive systems become increasingly intelligent thanks to rapidly advancing electronics and high-tech, they will change the way we work and even think on the job.
Despite speed bumps, the trend continues towards automation. The National Truck Equipment Association acknowledged this in March with a panel discussion on the evolution of work trucks into work systems at the Green Truck Summit during the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.
“Learn how truck intelligence, powertrain options and safety systems are evolving and being integrated into total vehicle design,” the program promised. “Gain insights on new product developments, field deployment and how end-users are looking to maximize truck productivity through vehicle connectivity, driver assistance and monitoring, multi-fuel options and electrification.”
Service Truck Magazine caught up with the three presenters soon afterwards to scope out what’s ahead for technicians and their trucks.
Powertrain trends
Where better to start than the powertrain. Loveland, Colorado-based Lightning Systems builds
Tim Reeser, CEO, Lightning Systems notes “Our powertrains give you about 120 miles of actual real-world range to work with so if you’re going to drive a lot more than that a day you’ll need to charge it along the way.”
electric ones, installed through certified upfitters, for a wide range of commercial fleets, from Class 3 Ford Transit vans through to Class 6 General Motors work trucks.
Lightning CEO Tim Reeser is seeing a surge in demand, driven by fleet managers’ drive for long-term profitability, the availability of grant money, and environmental concerns.
This means mobile technicians could soon be driving their own all-electric trucks to service equipment that’s also electric-powered, whether these be utility or delivery vehicles or even buses — Lightning builds electric powertrains for buses, too.
Will your electric truck will be able to run high-end tools and hydraulics without draining all the juice? For now, Reeser says, operators of all-electric trucks should be within 50 miles of their depot charging station, or reasonably close to an urban center for easy access to charge facilities. Thus anyone in remote areas may instead want to consider hybrid or natural gas options.
“Our powertrains give you about 120 miles of actual real-world range to work with so if you’re going to drive a lot more than that a day you’ll need to charge it along the way,” Reeser explains.
A related issue is cold weather. Reeser says the vehicles work well but have a 10 to 30 percent range reduction in extreme cold due to the energy required to run cabin heat and heat the batteries. Reeser does point out cabs can be pre-heated while plugged in.
Still, Reeser sees the electric tank as half full. Lightning powertrains for the Ford Transit provide 86 kilowatt hours of electricity, a Class 6 product offers up to 192 kilowatt hours, and technicians could even carry a generator.
“There’s lots you can do with that extra battery power in terms of exporting it,” Reeser says. “You can use it to run tools, you can use it to run lifts — essentially you have an on-board generator without having to start a generator.”
Furthermore, an electrified vehicle doesn’t need to idle when running electric tools, and users can save roughly $1,000 a month normally spent on fuel, oil changes, and brakes. “It depends on how many miles you drive,” Reeser says, explaining that motor-enabled regenerative braking helps brakes last up to five times longer.
Another challenge is up-front cost. An electric powertrain is significantly more expensive than a diesel or gas powertrain, but Reeser says prices can drop by two-thirds thanks to Volkswagen settlement funds and government grants and incentives.
Next big step
Electric powertrains aren’t the only game-changer. Darren Gosbee, vice-president of powertrain
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Darren Gosbee, vice-president of powertrain engineering and advanced technology, Navistar International says “Through the use of third-party telematics providers, we have a pretty good data flow established that allows us to pretty much interrogate the vehicle and understand what’s happening.”
engineering and advanced technology with Navistar International, says systems are becoming increasingly highly connected and autonomous.
For mobile technicians, connectivity stands to offer the ability to remotely diagnose issues and even make adjustments.
“That really is the next big step,” Gosbee says, adding the future is already here because change is incremental and underway. “Through the use of third-party telematics providers, we have a pretty good data flow established that allows us to pretty much interrogate the vehicle and understand what’s happening.”
Last year, Navistar expanded its OnCommand Connection system with the introduction of its own telematics module. “It gives us incremental access to more data,” Gosbee says.
Navistar plans to introduce the next iteration of its telematics hardware as early as this summer. “That will give us the opportunity to include even more functionality and be able to take that data and advise the driver, the fleet and the operator of what’s actually happening on their vehicle.”
Features like Navistar’s OnCommand Connection can turn unplanned maintenance into scheduled maintenance. Dashboard signals will help drivers decide whether to immediately pull off the road or if a fix can wait.
While fleet vehicles might not always need a mobile technician, those who are summoned will deal with diagnostic systems that can self-identify problems and guide the parties through appropriate action, Gosbee said.
One topic that’s received considerable attention is autonomous driving. “While the technology is coming from the heavy-duty domain, it has a lot of benefits for the medium-duty space,” Gosbee says, describing potential future benefits such as advanced warnings and collision-avoidance systems. “It’s really about making the truck and the driver as safe as possible in the environment that they operate in.”
Global race
Tim Campbell, vice-president with Vahana Automotive, a U.K.-based consultancy, describes a “global race for electrification” with many automotive manufacturers active in North America ultimately based in Europe or Asia.
While China currently dominates the global market for commercial electric vehicles, Campbell says opportunities are effectively global not just for OEMs but for upfitters and converters of service bodies.
“It works both ways because all of a sudden there’s market opportunities for U.S. companies go to Europe,” Campbell says. “The Mercedes are the same, the Fords are the same, the Rams are the same, the Nissans are the same.”
Campbell says he’s noticed a sea change while attending trade shows and meeting clients internationally. “In January at the Consumer Electrics Show (in Las Vegas), who would have thought you would have truck manufacturers. Daimler was there, Paccar was there — all the automotive (OEMs) were there. Whether you’re an OEM, a chassis manufacturer, an upfitter or a distributor, it’s going to be a really exciting area for the next five to 10 years.”
As to the future, Campbell says with so many incremental advances and trials it helps to look at larger chunks of time such as five-year periods. “That’s where I see the big changes.”
Campbell underscores this by pointing to autonomous vehicles. Vehicles already have elements of levels 1 and 2, where automated systems can operate a steering wheel or pedals through modes such as cruise control and lane departure. By 2025, Campbell envisions possibly reaching Level 4, with its much higher degrees of automated intervention when a human driver presses the right buttons.
“It really depends on insurance company regulations and state and federal laws,” Campbell says.
While electrification and automation are developing independently of one-another, the two technologies are maturing in tandem.
“They’re working hand in hand,” Campbell says, citing changes such as the growth of automatic gearboxes in the US perhaps a decade behind similar growth in Europe. “Technology is driving the human out of it. It’s just a case of how far do we go and how long will it take.”
— Saul Chernos
Saul Chernos is a freelance writer based in Toronto.