Refrigerated carriers like TransAm Trucking and Witte Bros. Exchange are also taking the opportunity to reduce fuel use from the fleets’ refrigeration units.
TransAm Trucking, which Thermo King recently presented with its Energy Efficiency Leader Award in recognition of the carrier’s commitment to energy and operational efficiency and sustainability, has chosen to upgrade its entire fleet with the manufacturer’s Precedent S-600 trailer temperature control platform.
The Precedent platform enables TransAm Trucking to achieve double-digit fuel savings, extend maintenance cycles, monitor predictive component replacement and maximize unit life cycle while ensuring compliance with new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier IV final regulations and California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements.
Be sure to read our feature on Choosing SmartWay components to save fuel
TransAm also incorporated ultrasonic fuel sensors to increase reefer fuel-level-reading accuracy and trailer door switches to track door opening and closings. The new solutions coordinate with an existing telematics fleet management solution that is used to reduce refrigeration unit run-time.
At Witte Bros. Exchange the decision was made to specify new trailers with Carrier Vector 6500 single-temp transport refrigeration units with electrical stand-by equipment. At the carrier’s facility, the Vector units are plugged into electrical outlets and run on stand-by power through a 460-volt, three-phase electric system. By virtually eliminating home-base reefer idling with electrification, the company is realizing an annualized 20% savings in fuel consumption.
