Upfitting an electric truck for vocational applications

Upfitting an electric truck for vocational applications

Short routes. Return-to-home operations. Those are seemingly slam-dunk applications for electric trucks. We’ve seen electric trucks roll large in pick-up-and-delivery applications, as well as regional haul routes. So what’s the hold up in the vocational truck space?

Like many trucking segments, challenges come with the unknown. Chassis space and weight play a larger role in upfitting electric trucks compared to their diesel counterparts. But the more things change, the more they stay the same … in some respects. To find out how electric trucks can be upfitted for vocational applications, I visited with the team from Lion Electric at this year’s NTEA Upfitting Summit.

Lion’s Dominik Beckman, vice president of marketing and communications, brought me up to speed on all things Lion just before Lion’s Eric West, director of channel sales, walked me around the Lion 6–a battery electric Class 6 truck that was on display at the Upfitting Summit. From frame rail space and suspension specs to application targets and electric PTO opportunities, West detailed how the all-electric truck is ready to take on tough vocational applications.

Watch the video above for all of their insight.

FE_600x100_unscripted_header

Unscripted page to catch all of our Unscripted episodes, and subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here to have the latest news and in-depth trucking stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Fleet Equipment Unscripted is sponsored by Hendrickson.

You May Also Like

How many LED lights can be out to consider a trailer light out-of-service?

Even one is too many for safety minded fleets who like to keep their trailers rolling productively.

peterson-trailer-lighting-telematics-TMC-1000

The headline is a question that's on a TMC taskforce docket, and one that Al Anderson, vice president of sales and marketing at Peterson Mfg. Co., has a keen interest in.

"We haven't finished the recommended practice yet, but we're trending towards some percentage of LEDs being out before it's not legal anymore, which therefore [means] it's not safe anymore," he said, standing inside the Peterson Mfg. Co. show trailer at this year's TMC show held in New Orleans. "Keeping trailer lights lit is vital to uptime because you're not going to get a violation, you're not going to get an infraction, you're not going to be put out of service by CVSA. It is just very critical to keep everything illuminated like it should."

Truck tires: From mounting and balancing to alignment and tread depth

Effective tire maintenance with the right equipment ensures fleet operations remain productive and profitable.

hunter-TMC-Unscripted-1400
How Volvo Trucks aims to change preconceived powertrain notions

Rethinking traditional truck spec’ing notions, spotlighting sustainability in diesel technology.

Volvo-Trucks-TMC-VNL-1400-WEB
Apollo Tire talks national accounts program, full truck tire lineup

Making its second TMC appearance, Apollo Tire tells us how it was able to release a truck tire lineup so quickly.

apollo-tmc-2024-1400
Inside the International S13 powertrain

As the International S13 powertrain rolls out to customers, the OEM also rolled its new engine, transmission and aftertreatment package out to TMC, held earlier this month in New Orleans. David Crowe, S13 integrated sales manager at International Trucks, walked us around the powertrain that is characterized by its dual overhead cam engine design, which

international-S13-Powertrain-TMC--1400

Other Posts

Why fuel filtration science matters

Fleetguard shares the story of filtration science leading to a biodiesel solution with a seven-time increase in performance.

The trucking life of the internal combustion engine going forward

A glimpse into the fossil-free future of truck engines that run on everything from biodiesel to natural gas to hydrogen.

volvo-fuel-cell-1400
Reducing refrigeration emissions through diesel particulate filters

Rypos says active DPFs come with an initial cost, but will bring your fleet savings in the long run, while combating climate change.

Refrigerated-emissions
Navistar passes 100 EV authorized dealers

Over 30% of all dealer locations will be able to support EV sales and service, across 41 states and seven of 10 Canadian Provinces.