WORK TRUCKS HIT THE STAGE

March 16, 2011 Vol. 7, No. 6

Highlights weren't in short supply at last week's Work Truck Show, which seems to grow every year. It's certainly been drawing a progressively larger press contingent, which isn't a bad indicator of success and consequence. And while I haven't done a count, it seems to me that there were more product introductions -- 'big' products, I mean -- this year than ever before.

Truck introductions included the new Western Star 4700, a good looking vocational beast small enough for lots of municipal and construction applications. And very body-builder friendly. I especially like its approach to electrics, including its dedicated wiring raceway, an easily accessed routing path through the cab floor that's said to provide plenty of room for body builders to route wiring more efficiently.

A new Freightliner severe-duty plow also made the scene, the 114SD platform equipped with an elliptical dump body, front plow, and belly scraper on a  set-forward-axle configuration with ground clearance package.

Navistar unveiled the International TerraStar 4x4 medium-duty truck. Launched in 4x2 form last year, the 4x4 variant also gets International's 300-hp, 6.4-liter MaxxForce 7 V-8 engine,

And then there was a trio of medium-duty cabovers which I'll get to in a minute, plus a new parallel hybrid propulsion system for class 6, 7, and 8 vocational trucks from BAE Systems.

THE BUSY SHOW, produced by the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) and aligned with its 47th annual convention, took over the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis from Tuesday to Thursday last week. It was preceded by the Green Truck Summit on Monday through Tuesday morning, jointly presented by the NTEA and CALSTART.

Amongst this year's intros was a particularly significant one, namely Hino's new model 155 and 195 cabovers. That significance wasn't so much about the trucks themselves, good as they seem to be on the face of it, but because this was the first time the company has launched a new product outside Japan. That's no small thing, and seemingly the entire Hino executive team was on hand for the smoke and mirrors.

Ironically, given the stunning tragedies that befell Japan just a couple of days later, two of the other major Work Truck Show introductions also involved new Japanese medium-duty trucks, from Mitsubishi Fuso and Isuzu. Important as those trucks are to their respective companies and to the market, exciting as it is to see new hardware hit the street, it all seems very small in the face of what Japan is dealing with now. I can only wish these companies and the Japanese people at large a swift recovery.

HINO'S CABOVER IS BACK, much to the pleasure of some tow-truck operators in Quebec and elsewhere who bemoaned its disappearance a few years ago with fairly serious passion. Hino says this one was designed from the ground up for North America.

The new class 4 model 155 (with a 14,500-lb GVW rating) and class 5 model 195 (good for 19,500 lb GVW) cabover trucks will also be available in diesel/electric hybrid versions, a first for Hino on this continent. The latter will be designated 155h and 195h respectively, and that 195h is said to be the first ever North American class 5 diesel-electric hybrid.

All of them, hybrids included, are powered by Hino’s 5-litre J05E Series diesel engine, rated at 210 hp and 440 lb ft of torque, hitched to Aisin’s A465 6-speed automatic transmission. It uses selective catalytic reduction (SCR) aftertreatment.

The hybrid version’s power module and all related equipment are designed and manufactured in-house, with 60% of the componentry coming from parent company Toyota’s hybrid parts cupboard. It provides 258 lb ft of start-up torque. The system automatically shuts the diesel down when the truck stops, even briefly at traffic lights.

Hino suggests a remarkable payback period of under five years for these hybrid models in typical P&D applications.

Hino is no stranger to hybrids, by the way, having developed the world’s first hybrid bus in 1991, the company says. It’s been evolving its hybrid technology ever since and claims to have manufactured more hybrid trucks than anyone else. The new truck is in fact the company’s sixth generation of hybrid technology.

The diesel 155 and 195 models will be available starting in August, with orders being taken in May. The hybrid models will be phased in gradually and will be available in selected U.S. markets in December, some time in 2012 for Canada and the rest of the U.S.

At the very crowded Hino press conference -- heck, call it a lively zoo -- I asked a question that for some reason hushed the assembled multitudes and seemed to cause consternation amongst the Hino brass. Not sure why, because I only wanted to know if a class 6 or 7 hybrid might also be coming in the future. After a little consultation and presumably translation on stage, I was told a very firm and simple “no”. An executive later told me that the company simply feels the price would be too high -- they couldn't raid Toyota parts bins quite so effectively for a heavier hybrid -- and isn’t confident of a reasonable payback period for a larger hybrid.


THE MITSUBISHI FUSO LAUNCH was of the all new Canter FE/FG series of class 3-5 cabover models, all sporting the newly minted 4P10 diesel engine, Duonic 6-speed automated manual transmission featuring the industry’s only double-clutch technology, and Daimler’s BlueTec SCR. Mitsubishi Fuso is 90% owned by the German giant.

Long successful in Japan and doing well in Europe, with a hybrid model in the range, the Canter brand is new to North America, though its arrival here has been anticipated for some time.

Five Canter models include standard chassis designs — the FE125, FE160 and FE180 -- but also  a 7-passenger crew cab model, the FE160CC, and the only 4-wheel-drive medium-duty cabover in the industry, the FG4X4.

There's no hybrid model in the North American mix yet, and it's not clear that it will come any time soon, but it strikes me as a natural. I know at least one dealer who's been asking for it.

The 4P10 turbocharged engine has dual overhead cams and dual balance shafts, along with a much improved service interval of 18,000 miles, up from just 6000.

Among other features, the trucks have a new frame, lighter but said to retain the strength and stiffness of its predecessors. They get hydraulic disc brakes with ABS on all four wheels, except for the FG4X4 that has to make do with drums.

One of the neatest bits on these trucks is their unique offset door hinges that open to 70 degrees, then push forward several inches to provide full access for driver and passengers, while limiting the extension of the doors into traffic or curbside obstructions.

ISUZU'S COOL NEW WALK-IN VAN, built jointly with Utilimaster, should be in production this summer. Shown for the first time at the Work Truck Show, it has a unique name -- Reach --  which I rather like. With a body designed by Utilimaster sitting on the familiar Isuzu NPR Eco-Max chassis and powered by Isuzu’s 150-hp, 3.0-liter diesel engine, the Reach is said to deliver "exceptional" fuel mileage.

The stripped chassis’s engine has been relocated to minimize engine protrusion into the walk-in cab, making it easier for drivers to move around in there. Otherwise, it's the same proven 12,000-lb GVW Isuzu N-series chassis, of which something like 200,000 are sold annually around the world.

The biodiesel-compatible 4JJ1-TC turbocharged engine is mated to an Aisin medium-duty six-speed automatic transmission with double overdrive, lock-up torque converter, and power take-off (PTO). In terms of durability, Isuzu says the engine has a B10 rating of 310,000 miles, meaning that 90% will reach that mileage before needing an overhaul. It's an SCR motor.

The Reach will be offered in two wheelbases -- 134 and 151 in. -- and three body lengths -- 10, 12 and 14 ft. It's said to have an interior up to 27 in. higher than a conventional domestic van and 10 in. wider than a Sprinter van, with a cargo-area capacity of 450, 540 or 630 cu ft.

Features of the Reach’s body include flat, vertical side walls;  available sliding cab doors; and multiple rear-door options. There are impact-resistant urethane rear and lower exterior panels, energy-absorbing side bumpers, and a one-piece molded roof to eliminate leaks. All body panels have been designed for quick removal and replacement.

ISUZU ALSO ANNOUNCED THE RETURN of gasoline-powered NPR and NPR-HD single cab and crew cab models to the line-up. They'll be built, starting next month for dealer delivery in May, at the Spartan Motors facility in Charlotte, Michigan. Spartan is the parent company of Utilimaster, not incidentally.

The NPR and NPR-HD (12,000 and 14,500-lb GVW rating respectively) will be available in single cab models with wheelbases of 109, 132.5, 150 and 176 in. Crew Cab configurations get 150- and 176-in. wheelbases.

N-Gas models will be powered by a General Motors Vortec 6.0-liter V8 engine that produces 297 hp and 372 lb ft of torque. The engine will also be offered in CNG (compressed natural gas) and propane versions. In all three variations, the transmission will be a GM six-speed automatic with double overdrive.

AMONG THE MORE INTERESTING new offerings in Indianapolis was the latest version of a parallel hybrid electric propulsion system for heavy-duty truck applications from BAE Systems, based in Johnson City, New York. Designed for class 6, 7, and 8 vocational trucks, a variation is already in service on more than 3000 transit buses in cities around the world -- including New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, Houston, and Seattle.

The new HybriDrive system is said to address the needs of trucks with duty cycles that involve higher operating speeds and less frequent stops. 

For truck users the company promises "fuel savings not before seen in these truck classes,” a rather bold statement. The company adds that it's "the optimal hybrid electric solution for vehicles that operate in diverse duty cycles beyond standard urban operational modes.”

The HybriDrive parallel system is based on a single electric machine integrated between the engine and the transmission. The system can be installed with minimal impact to the vehicle, says BAE, and its power and torque ratings range from 95 to 145 hp and 300 to 400 lb ft. It's designed to support big-bore diesel engines ranging from 350 to 600 hp, with associated torque ratings of 750 all the way up to 2150 lb ft.

I'm going to have look closely at this one, which is in the final stages of development. BAE says it will see its first road trials this spring and should be on the market around the world next year.

I'll leave the Work Truck Show for now, but do note that it will return to Indy next year, on March 5-8, 2012, to be precise.

AND HERE'S AN ENGINE TEASER before I go. Last time out I wrote about the Opposed Piston/Opposed Cylinder 'OPOC' engine from EcoMotors International, based in Troy, MI. Navistar has signed a development agreement with that small outfit to help bring its OPOC engine to market, and I believe Caterpillar will jump in here as well as of next week.

But hold the presses, there's another opposed-piston engine on the scene, this one called the 'Achates' -- think Greek mythology, I believe -- coming out of a company called Achates Power in San Diego.

It's a compression-ignition diesel that aims at heavy truck applications, and seems to be just a touch behind the OPOC in its path to market. I'll tell you more next time.

UPCOMING SHOW NOTES...  Will I see you at the big one? I'm expecting the Mid-America Trucking Show, which runs in Louisville, KY from March 31 through April 2, to be a smiley sort of affair like other shows have been this year.

A week later I'll be at ExpoCam in downtown Montreal, an always busy show in my fave city. Ask me about a Tibetan restaurant there. The show runs at Place Bonaventure on April 7, 8, and 9.

See you all in two weeks time from deep within Louisville.

THIS NEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED every two weeks. It's a heads-up notice about what's going on with trucking technology as well as what you can see at  www.todaystrucking.com where you'll find in-detail coverage of nearly everything that's new. Plus interesting products that may not have had the 'air play' they deserved within the last few months. Why not subscribe today?

I should remind you that I don’t endorse any of the products I write about in this e-newsletter, nor do I have the resources to test them. What you’re getting is reasonably well educated opinion based on three decades in trucking. And in the case of the individual product items, I’m just presenting simple news from the manufacturer or service provider, with the hyperbole mostly removed and   clarification applied.

If you have comments of whatever sort about Product Watch, or maybe you've tried a gizmo I should know about, please contact me at rolf@newcom.ca.

HINO'S CABOVER IS BACK

(March 15, 2011) -- Hino unveils new class 4/5 cabover, first hybrid versions too

A SMALLER WESTERN STAR

(March 15, 2011) -- Aiming at construction and municipal markets, here's the Western Star 4700

THE CANTER CABOVER

(March 15, 2011) -- Mitsubishi Fuso shows off its all-new class 3-5 Canter cabover

WIRELESS COLUMN LIFT

(March 15, 2011) -- Rotary Lift introduces the Wireless Mach 4 mobile column lift

TERRASTAR 4X4 WORK TRUCK

(March 15, 2011) -- Navistar's new TerraStar 4x4 model expands product breadth in class 4/5 market