PowerTorque May 2022

SETTING UP TRUCK CHARGING

COUPLING TESTING PROGRAM

115000

TECH KNOW

771445

GEORGE TRANSPORT

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OVERNIGHT FREIGHT

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MAY/JUNE 2022 $8.95 including GST

When you’re building a business, reliability is everything.

Since Isuzu Trucks launched in Australia half a century ago, generations of businesses have relied on our trucks to deliver, day-in and day-out. As they’ve grown, we’ve grown along with them to become Australia’s number one truck brand. And we’ll be right here helping build businesses for a long time to come, because we know that reputations are riding on us. To find out how Isuzu can help you grow, visit isuzu.com.au

FSA/ISZS873

JUST A THOUGHT PUBLISHED BY Prime Creative Media Pty Ltd

IT’S TIME FOR A RESET

T

he middle of 2022 is going to be a time for a reset for Australia and its trucking industry. This is going to be a time when the stars align and many of the issues which the country faces are likely to be addressed anew.

There are some big events in this period which are going to influence what happens over the next five or so years. For a start it is extremely likely that there is going to be a federal election, at some point before the middle of the year (at the time of writing an election hasn’t been called, but all of the politicians are in election mode).

Australia, and the world, is also emerging from an extraordinary two years where all of our economies, our health and our confidence have been rocked by over two years of global pandemic. Uncertainty has been the order of the day as we watched with bated breath as new waves and new variants washed though various populations.

Alongside the subsiding of the worst effects of the pandemic, supply chains look like they may be getting back to normal. Those ridiculously long wait times for a new truck or trailer should start to come back to a more familiar length. However, any extension of the instant write off might see demand outstripping supply until the tax regime returns to normal.

This period should also see many of the extra infrastructure projects, brought forward by the Federal Government stimulus to mitigate the worst effect of the pandemic on the economy, come to fruition. The extensive road works on most of our major highways which have continued throughout the Covid crisis should start to improve congestion and safety outcomes across the country.

The stresses and strains of the pandemic period have also created some impetus for a better understanding of the need to look out for the physical and mental health of all of the people working in the trucking industry. The last two years have shown us that looking after our transport workers and thinking about their mental health is profoundly appreciated by the workforce and can reap rewards for everyone.

There are some issues which will continue their glacial progress in a, seemingly, endless process. The Heavy Vehicle National Law comes to mind, as being something which was supposed to be all done and dusted this year, but seems to be going back to square one to start again, after the debacle at the end of 2021.

New exhaust emission regulations look like they will finally make it onto the statutes, but not any time soon, probably 2025 or later. This is only ten years later than the original legislation was supposed to be enacted. In 2022, Euro 6 is becoming the norm for a large proportion of trucks sold anyway.

Hopefully, this coming period, should be one of optimism, where we have a clear view of the road ahead. This would make a pleasant change from the last couple of years, with fire, drought, war, pestilence and flood all making their mark on our collective psyche.

EDITOR

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

ABN 51 127 239 212 11-15 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia Telephone: 03 9690 8766 Fax: 03 9682 0044 Email: enquiries@primecreative.com.au Publisher and Managing Editor: John Murphy Editor: Tim Giles Contributors: Paul Matthei Correspondents: Will Shiers (UK), Steve Sturgess (US) Advertising Manager: Trevor Herkess: 0411 411 352, trevor.herkess@primecreative.com.au Client Success Manager: Justine Nardone, justine.nardone@primecreative.com.au Production Manager: Michelle Weston Circulation & Subscriptions Manager: Bobby Yung Designers: Blake Storey, Kerry Pert, Aisling McComiskey Official Media Partner:

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ISSUE 128

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Contents

WEIGHING UP THE ALTERNATIVES

Running an efficient bulk transport operation can be a tricky job, there is a need to work on weighing up the alternatives, to get the right balance of efficiency, profitability and compliance.

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DRIVING DOWN THE SAFETY HIGHWAY

ASSESSING THE MARKET

High levels of electronic safety systems are now becoming the normality in all new truck launches as we continue driving down the safety highway.

Tim Giles drives a new model to check out the latest technology in the new Isuzu N Series range.

When the TR Group arrived on the Australian truck and trailer market a few years ago, its first task was one of assessing the market and seeing where the business could develop. PowerTorque checks in on how the project is going.

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WORKING THE WICKHAM WAY

ELECTRIC TRUCK CHARGING FAQS

From humble beginnings in 1972 with one new Kenworth cab-over prime mover, Wickham Freightlines has steadily evolved into one of the largest, most diversified and well-respected family-owned and operated carriers in Australia.

Many trucking operators know that in years to come they will need to be setting up a charging station for their trucks, so PowerTorque asked JET Charge about some of the electric truck charging FAQs which the company comes across.

30 GETTING TO THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE

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RIGHT TIME It is one of the core principles behind running a trucking operation, simple enough to say and not so easy to do well, and that is ensuring the freight is getting to the right place at the right time.

IS THIS THE NEW NORMAL?

As life begins to return to normal, the Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Queensland held its annual conference on the Sunshine Coast recently.

ISRI SEATS

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the brand behind the brands • Supporting drivers for more than 50 years • Seating – on a higher level 02 97566199

isri@isri.com.au

www.isri.com.au

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MEL

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Standard Issue 08

NEWS AND VIEWS

A major shift in driveline manufacturing for zero emission trucks, more and more women are taking on roles that traditionally have not been fulfilled by women, the first electric Volvo truck on Australian roads has been working in Linfox’s beverage delivery fleet and NatRoad has announced Ampol as its official fuel partner.

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PUT YOUR OWN BUSINESS FIRST

It hasn’t been government regulation, media, research or community expectations that have thrown up disruptions, it’s been drought, fires, floods, war and disease, perhaps the most enduring and difficult of all challenges that have affected humankind over the millennia.

62 ANOTHER NEW ELECTRIC TRUCK BRAND GOES INTO PRODUCTION New UK truck factories are as rare as hen teeth, but PowerTorque’s European Correspondent, Will Shiers, was pleased to visit one in south east England earlier this year as another new electric truck brand goes into production.

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REAL WORLD COUPLING TESTING PROGRAM

Australian Multiple Combinations test truck components to their limits, and a new initiative is setting up a real world coupling testing program, to assess the forces exerted on the connections between road train elements.

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IS THIS THE CURE FOR THE ‘K-SERIES BACK’?

For more than 50 years Kenworth’s venerable K-series cab-over has been a solid and dependable prime mover used for many tasks.

Paul Matthei speaks with Wickham Freightlines Workshop Manager, Steve Lord, about a technical solution the company has developed to significantly improve the ride in its K200 prime movers.

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WHERE DOES THE DAILY FIT IN?

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TECH KNOW

Smart trucks, smart braking systems, telematics, understanding how Zero Maintenance Damping Suspensions work and more in Tech Know.

The market for vehicles with a GVM between 3.5 and 7 tonnes is quite complicated, potential ute/van/truck buyers can go down a wide range of different routes to finding a transport solution to fit their task.

ISRI: DEALERS

Mobile Sales and Service TAMDELE, 21 Hakkinen Road, Wingfield SA 5013 DARWIN Ph. 08 8927 0986 email info@isridarwin.com.au web www.isridarwin.com.au Ph. 08 8347 1222 email sales@gitsham.com.au web www.gitsham.com.au 510 Victoria Street, Wetherill Park NSW 2164 408 Welshpool Road, Welshpool WA 6106 SYDNEY Ph. 02 9756 6199 email isri@isri.com.au web www.isri.com.au PERTH Ph. 08 9361 7646 email info@mmtisri.com.au web www.mmtisri.com.au Unit 1/569 Somerville Rd, Sunshine West VIC, 3020 21 Ginger Street, Paget QLD 4740 MELBOURNE Ph. 03 9311 5544 email sales@isrisunshine.com.au web www.isri.com.au MACKAY Ph. 07 4952 1844 email admin@isrimky.com.au web www.isriseatsmackay.com.au 3/120 Gardens Drive, Willawong QLD 4110 BRISBANE Ph. 07 3275 2044 email sales@isribrisbane.com.au web www.isribrisbane.com.au Unit 2/13 Hinkler Ave, Rutherford NSW 2320 NEWCASTLE/HUNTER VALLEY Ph 02 4932 0600 email sales@hvss.com.au web www.isri.com.au

ADELAIDE

NEWS & VIEWS

WHAT ABOUT TESTING ELECTRIC TRUCKS IN AUSTRALIA? We get plenty of news about electric trucks in Europe and in the USA, but what about testing electric trucks in Australia?

Well, alongside the Linfox electric truck trial Volvo also did some testing of its own on another FL Electric to see how fast charging and extreme heat can affect range, battery charging and vehicle performance..

Equipped with Volvo Group’s secondgeneration battery packs with a capacity totalling 265kW, local VGA engineers subjected the FL Electric to a series of on-road tests in 35 degree plus heat.

Loaded to a gross weight of 15,000kg the FL Electric covered over 730 kilometres over a variety of traffic conditions and terrain including a climb up the (six per cent gradient) Toowoomba bypass as well as routes through inner-city traffic.

These second-generation battery packs have a predicted energy consumption of 0.9 kWh per kilometre, however local

testing has found consumption at this point to be lightly lower at 0.73 kWh per kilometre.

The potential of regenerative braking came to the fore coming down the Toowoomba range with braking energy alone enough to replenish battery power by nearly five per cent.

“Temperature is the enemy of battery performance in any vehicle,” said Paul lllmer, Vice President Technology Business Development,” For our industry to go electric our customers need to know we’ve tried and tested our technology in adverse conditions rather than report contrived figures derived from testing in a controlled environment.”

“And I’m extremely happy to see the results of this testing, which proves the FL Electric is a viable option for a range of urban distribution roles while being able to tolerate Australia’s harsh climate.”

The test drives also included a

40-minute fast charge from 40 per cent battery capacity using a 150Kwh DC chargers in an effort to understand how opportunity charging may be integrated into an everyday transport operation.

The 4x2 Volvo FL Electric has a gross vehicle weight of 16,000kg and creates 130kW of continuous power which is delivered to the rear wheels via a 2-speed automated transmission. Depending on application, range can be up to 300 kilometres between charges. Charging times range from 11 hours (22Kwh AC) to 2 hours (150Kwh DC).

Volvo are saying that customer deliveries of the Volvo FL Electric are anticipated to begin during 2022.

CUMMINS BUY OUT MERITOR FOR ITS ELECTRIC TRUCK TECHNOLOGY

A major shift in driveline manufacturing for zero emission trucks has seen Cummins buy out Meritor for its electric truck technology, creating a company capable of supplying a complete electric driveline to truck makers.

Cummins said the transaction will strengthen its industry-leading range of powertrain components and accelerate development of electrified power solutions. Cummins believes

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

eAxles will be a critical integration point within hybrid and electric drivetrains. By accelerating Meritor’s investment in electrification and integrating development within its New Power business, Cummins expects to deliver market-leading solutions to global customers.

Cummins has entered into a definitive agreement under which Cummins will acquire Meritor, in a total transaction valued at approximately US$3.7 billion.

“The acquisition of Meritor is an important milestone for Cummins,” said Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO, Cummins. “Meritor is an industry leader, and the addition of their complementary strengths will help us address one of the most critical technology challenges of our age: developing economically viable zero carbon solutions for commercial and industrial applications.

“Climate change is the existential crisis of our time and this acquisition accelerates our ability to address it. Our customers need economically viable

decarbonised solutions.

“In addition, our communities and our planet depend on companies like Cummins to invest in and develop these solutions. This acquisition adds products to our components business that are independent of powertrain technology, and by leveraging our global footprint we expect to accelerate the growth in Meritor’s core axle and brake businesses.”

A statement claims the integration of Meritor’s people, technology and capabilities will position Cummins as one of the few companies able to provide integrated powertrain solutions across combustion and electric power applications.

“This agreement with Cummins builds on Meritor’s track-record of outstanding performance and service to our customers,” said Chris Villavarayan, CEO and President of Meritor. “Our offerings will continue to play an important, strategic role as commercial vehicles transform to become electric and autonomous.”

NEWS & VIEWS

A ROLE NOT TRADITIONALLY SEEN AS ATTRACTIVE TO WOMEN Truck technician is a role not traditionally seen as attractive to women, but, in recent years, more and more women are taking on roles that traditionally have not been fulfilled by women. One example is Scania Australia, where, across the business, women comprise 16.5 per cent of the workforce.

There is growth in the number of women at Scania moving into roles such as technician, apprentice technician, and joining the parts and warehouse teams.

To celebrate International Women’s Day in 2022, Scania decided to showcase two women from its workshop teams who are proving that gender is no barrier to a fulfilling career within the truck industry.

Belinda Fonda.

Julianne Morell.

BELINDA FONDA Scania apprentice technician Belinda Fonda grew up around trucks, and originally started out as a light engine apprentice, working on motorcycles.

Her passion for engines started with dirt bikes at age 11, and in recent times Belinda has been competing in the Women’s Seniors category in local club events aboard a Honda CRF 150cc two-wheeler.

Now, however, Belinda has graduated to bigger, diesel-powered trucks to work on during the week, commencing a four-year dual trades apprenticeship to become not only a diesel tech but an auto electrician as well.

“I’m learning my way around the wires,” says Belinda. “The diesel hardware is straightforward, but the wiring is new.”

With just a few weeks of the Scania apprenticeship completed, Belinda says she is fitting in quickly at the Scania branch at Campbellfield, adjoining Scania’s Dealer Support Centre.

“We were straight onto the tools and getting into it,” says Belinda. “There are a few other apprentices, and there’s a good atmosphere. I’m looking forward to learning a lot about Scania’s technology.

“There’s a good structure in the way Scania looks after and encourages its apprentices, starting with the basics, and I already feel like I have learned a lot.

Down the track when I am qualified, I would like to work on trucks in the mines.

“A couple of years ago, I got into dirt bike racing after attending a ‘come and try’ day on International Women’s Day at the Broadford track. I met a few women there who like me were keen on racing.”

JULIANNE MORELL Scania Australia’s heavy vehicle technician Julianne Morell has four children and a fifth on the way, so she is used to multitasking.

She started working at Scania’s Prestons company-owned branch in October 2019, though, for now, she is off the tools and driving a desk, but is very enthusiastic about her career path through Scania to date.

“I started as a qualified technician and really enjoy the atmosphere and cultural interaction at Scania,” says Julianne. “As a qualified female technician, it can feel a little daunting walking into a male dominated workshop, although from the first day here I felt a warm welcome from my co-workers. I have been treated as an equal and fairly, which was exactly what I was hoping for, and found my feet pretty quick, so I do feel at home with Scania here in Prestons.”

One of the Scania benefits is a commitment to ongoing upskilling throughout a technician’s career, keeping pace with innovation and the rollout of new systems and features.

“We have a lot of training provided to learn the product and operational

functions, and use a number of digital tools to keep on top of the technology,” says Julianne. “Scania has provided flexibility, understanding and is very family orientated. They are a very supportive company from management down.”

While she is off the tools, Julianne has been able to soak up new experiences in other parts of the workshop, heading the front desk and meeting with customers.

“During my time with Scania I’ve developed my skills and learning across different areas,” says Julianne.

“While I started as a technician, working on the product in the workshop, I’ve also had exposure to working as a Customer Service Advisor, which gives a good understanding of what our customers expect. With my technical expertise I’m able to understand their truck’s mechanical issues and ensure an accurate picture of the problem is conveyed to the technician who is given the job to fix it.

“My current role is assisting the invoice team in completing the work orders and closing them off to invoice.

“Scania is a good place to work. The company offers a variety of different opportunities to build and develop your own personal skills and so grow with the company. I am really looking forward to visit the Scania national training centre in Melbourne, something that was derailed by COVID.”

www.powertorque.com.au

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NEWS & VIEWS

LINFOX’S REAL WORLD ELECTRIC TRUCK EXPERIENCE

Linfox Driver, Rob Smith.

1. LEFT

After over seven months, 6,000km and more than 5,200kWh, the first electric Volvo truck on Australian roads has been working in Linfox’s beverage delivery fleet in Melbourne and it has got the tick of approval from its first driver.

Rob Smith has been driving trucks for Linfox for over 17 years and currently operates out of the BevChain Distribution Centre in Melbourne’s outer west.

“I love the freedom of the job, and meeting people,” said Rob. “The truck itself is actually quite peaceful to drive, in some ways it’s just like any other truck but in others it’s smoother, quieter, it’s enjoyable.”

“When I hop out of the truck, I don’t hear engine noise and I don’t have the fumes, none of that. You get a lot more eye contact on the road as people look at it.

It’s great, I get a lot of questions.

“Everyone wants to know where the HAND PAGE

batteries are, people are very interested in the lack of noise and how far it goes, is it good to drive, things like that.”

The Volvo FL Electric he drives operates across a variety of routes across the city delivering Victoria Bitter and other Asahi Beverages beer to pubs, restaurants and bottle shops on a daily basis. As a driver, Smith clearly enjoys his days behind the wheel of the electric Volvo as well as the job at hand.

“Linfox is thrilled to see this new electric vehicle inspiring positive conversations as we lead the way in sustainable transport,” said Peter Fox Linfox Executive Chairman. “The benefits are coming to life right throughout our community.

“Our skilled drivers are at the wheel of a new age; our customers are enjoying more sustainable logistics solutions

MADE IN ITALY. MADE TO LAST. POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

and people on our streets are starting to see the everyday benefits of zero emission vehicles.”

“You can’t get a much better voice of authority than the end user of the product,” said Paul Illmer, Volvo Group Australia’s Vice President, Emerging Technologies.

“We can continue to point out the realworld benefits of zero emissions vehicles, but it’s ultimately the people that interact with this vehicle on a daily basis that will help educate others to their advantages.

“A smooth drivetrain, lack of fumes and noise create a calmer work environment, but it’s also the flow-on benefits to society as a whole that will drive towards a future of cleaner, quieter cities. This truck represents the thin end of the wedge on our zero emissions journey in Australia, and that journey is accelerating faster than many can imagine.”

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Veh

NEWS & VIEWS

NATROAD TIE UP DEAL WITH AMPOL NatRoad has announced Ampol as its official fuel partner in a deal in which Australia’s largest transport diesel refuelling network will offer big savings for NatRoad members at more than 380 truck friendly Ampol sites nationwide.

For any trucking operator, a fuel discount is always welcome, but NatRoad says there’s much more to this agreement.

The Ampol partnership gives members access to benefits like up to 51 days of interest-free credit, easy integration of receipts with accounting software and the convenience of a single bill. The Ampol card is also linked to Everyday Rewards, giving members cash savings when shopping for groceries.

The deal also brings access to a network of more than 5,000 servicing, tyre and repair outlets, and parking stations with discounts.

Ampol will have a dedicated customer service team looking after NatRoad

members to either link an existing AmpolCard account to the discount, or to help members to apply for a new account.

From March 1 2022, NatRoad members can access the discount on diesel fuel at Ampol NatRoad Network sites, at more than 380 sites across Australia.

Member benefits: • Up to 51 days interest-free with payments made by direct debit • Zero per cent surcharge when you pay your account via MasterCard by direct debit • Low monthly card fee of $2.20 per card, with an additional $2 per card to add Services and Repairs • Collect Woolworths Everyday Rewards points on all fuel and eligible in-store purchases that can be converted to Qantas Points or be used as dollars off your Woolworths shopping • The convenience and reliability of

using Australia’s largest fuel network With Woolworths Everyday Rewards: • Collect 2 points per litre of premium fuel • Collect 1 point per litre of regular fuel • Collect 1 point per $1 spent on eligible in-shop purchase • Collect 1 point per $1 on AmpolCard Services and Repairs The Sign-up Bonus will apply to new as well as existing AmpolCard account holders who are NatRoad members.

Existing AmpolCard account holders will receive an email from Ampol to link their existing account to their NatRoad membership.

NatRoad and Ampol’s new member website contains all the information needed, with their online atlas and list of Ampol NatRoad Network sites, as well as a fuel calculator, and other details of the features and benefits available with AmpolCard.

NEW SMART OBM SOLUTION HAS NOW BEEN CERTIFIED V-DAQ and Right Weigh announced that their new Smart OBM solution has now been certified by Transport Certification Australia (TCA).

The collaboration between V-DAQ and Right Weigh released the new Smart OBM Solution, which has attained Category B On-Board Mass (OBM) Type-Approval

by TCA. According to both companies, this joint solution aligns with their joint missions and enables transport operators of all sizes to meet their Smart OBM requirements simply and affordably.

“This certification demonstrates V-DAQ’s ability to use new and emerging

technologies to deliver solutions which benefit our industry, whilst keeping the cost and complexity to a minimum,” said Paul Fenech, Client Success Director at V-DAQ. “There are new options available to meet your compliance requirements and I encourage all transport operators to look around for a regulatory telematics provider and solution that best meets their business needs.”

The new Smart OBM system offered by V-DAQ extends its existing Smart OBM certifications, enabling V-DAQ to make the claim it’s the most versatile TCA certified telematics provider. For businesses

looking to meet new regulatory requirements or increase payload and road access, V-DAQ says its public pricing and self-installation options make compliance and return-on-investment (ROI) easy.

“Our mission is to provide reliable and affordable load scale systems that support productivity, profitability and safety for the Australian transport industry,”said Andy Mount, President and CEO at Right Weigh. “Right Weigh’s 201 series Smart OBM approved gauge offers the most convenient, affordable system available to fleets in Australia.”

RAVAGLIOLI WORKSHOP EQUIPMENT Vehicle Hoists, Wheel Service Equipment, On Car Servicing

NEWS & VIEWS

TRUCK MANUFACTURERS HAVE BEEN ALL AT SEA

The disruption caused to the global supply chain by the pandemic has meant that many truck manufacturers have been all at sea, or to be more precise not able to get trucks or things like semiconductors across the sea.

However, Scania’s decision to start accepting orders for its new ranges of trucks far earlier than originally anticipated, shows there is a lot more stability in supply chains and the number of imported trucks arriving by sea is starting to return to normal.

The new six-cylinder 13-litre engine range comprising 460, 500, and 560 hp models will be available to order immediately, for delivery in the latter part of 2022. The same timeframe applies to orders for the recently revised 16.4-litre V8 models: available as 590 and 660 hp variants, joining the flagship 770 hp V8 already on sale.

“We are responding to the demands

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

of the market which has been pressing us to make these new products available to order as soon as possible,” said Dean Dal Santo, Director of Sales for Scania Trucks in Australia. “We saw unprecedented demand for our truck range rise through 2021, with record levels of orders for 2022 delivery.

Now, with the availability for ordering the updated models made possible by the factory, we are opening our order books for the new products ahead of schedule.

“The surge in demand for new trucks is a positive development for the economy, and reflects the bullish sentiment in the transport and logistics industries. It also reflects the desire of the top operators to get into the cleanest, most fuel efficient as well as the safest trucks on the road. This desire for new product also helps to flush older, dirtier trucks out of the national

fleet and off the road, bringing an added benefit to all Australians in terms of improved air quality and reduction of CO2 emissions.

“Our customers drive our business and they have shown an increasing appetite to renew their fleets over the past few months and our forward projections suggest we will continue to see high levels of demand through 2022 and into 2023. We still plan to formally introduce the new product to the market in due course, but for now customers can rest assured that we can accept their orders for new product.

“During 2021 we received record orders and delivered substantially more trucks to the Australian market than in 2020. In excess of 1100 Scania trucks were delivered and an even larger number of trucks were ordered for delivery in 2022, from our existing ranges.”

NEWS & VIEWS

INSTANT WHEEL-SLIP CONTROL WITH ELECTRIC POWER Thanks to the fast response of the electric motors, the force generated between the wheels and the road can be controlled in an instant to proactively enable instant wheel-slip control with electric power.

Volvo has launched a new, patented safety feature for electric trucks, Active Grip Control. The new technology significantly improves stability, acceleration and braking in slippery conditions.

The feature clearly improves acceleration in slippery conditions. Tests performed with the Volvo FH Electric on a low friction surface with a loaded trailer showed 45 per cent improvement at full acceleration.

“The improvement when going up a slippery, gravel road is really impressive,” says Anna Wrige Berling, Traffic & Product Safety Director at Volvo Trucks. “I believe this will increase productivity, not least for our construction customers.”

If the truck starts to skid, multiple sensors allow the vehicle’s control system to react to the road surface conditions and utilise the vehicle’s electric motors, along with other actuators, in an intelligent way to help the driver stay on the road.

The new feature is also designed to reduce the risk for jack-knifing and oversteering when driving unloaded.

“With Active Grip Control we are giving our drivers further improved ability to traverse difficult roads and terrain, even during the most challenging of conditions,” explains Anna. “This is a unique function that Volvo Group has protected by patents.”

Improvements can also be seen when braking, as the function can be used for controlled regenerative braking without going into ABS. This increases efficiency, since more time is spent in regeneration, allowing for a smoother braking experience.

The Active Grip Control feature will be available on the heavy-duty Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX Electric trucks, that are used for regional haul and construction operations. A version of the feature will also be available on trucks with a diesel or LNG driveline.

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www.powertorque.com.au

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TRUCKS ON TEST

DRIVING DOWN THE

SAFETY HIGHW A High levels of electronic safety systems are now becoming the normality in all new truck launches as we continue driving down the safety highway. Tim Giles drives this year’s model to check out the latest technology in the new Isuzu N Series range.

W

hen the latest iteration of the Isuzu N Series was announced last year, the headline feature was not a new cabin shape, or a new engine, or transmission. The headline was the fact that the top selling model, in the top selling brand in Australia was getting the latest state-of-the-art safety technology as standard.

As market leader for the last 33 years, the Isuzu Trucks organisation in Australia

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

has developed a conservative approach to truck development. Invariably, it is rarely the first to introduce any major innovations, but when it does, it gives those developments the stamp of approval and, on the evidence of the last three decades, gets it right.

The major features of the design of the light duty N Series range need little updating. The exhaust emission rules will not change for at least three years, and probably longer. Therefore there is

no need to update the engines in these trucks. Similarly, the cabins in N Series are modern enough to suit Australian needs for some time to come.

Safety systems are one aspect of truck design which has changed at quite a sharp rate in recent years, after they started to appear in the heavy duty European prime movers, some time ago. Europe will always be ahead of Australia in these matters, but the North American truck makers picked up on the trend relatively quickly, after

TRUCKS ON TEST

W AY the first systems began to arrive.

Since then, the safety systems have moved in throughout the truck market.

Any truck maker introducing a new model without a suite of safety gadgets does not make much impression on truck sales. This is not just a fashion, it’s about taking on the responsibility to increase safety out on the roads and reduce fatalities around trucks.

There is also a duty of care on the part of employers and now the chain of responsibility, applying to transport operators, which expects them to use safety technology, if it is available.

Well, now it’s available on the ubiquitous N Series from Isuzu. The technology includes something we haven’t seen on any

truck here before, a stereo camera system to see what is ahead of the truck and identify and quantify any problems to alert the driver and stop the truck if needed.

DRIVING WITH THE ADAS SYSTEM The latest technology comes under the heading of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and this term covers a multitude of different individual components making up the whole, which renders the truck safer to drive.

Anyone who has had a go with a new truck in recent years will be aware of the technology available here, but the Hitachi 3D stereo camera, fitted on the new N series, is something a little different.

Most ADAS will use a radar mounted low down at the front of the truck to detect objects in front of a truck, and determine their speed and direction. This is coupled with a video camera mounted high on the windscreen. Machine learning then tries to identify the object, whether it’s a human, a car, a tree or a road sign and act accordingly. The system uses the two streams of data from radar and camera to make a judgement on the shape ahead.

By going to a stereo camera, Isuzu are able to get a better idea of the shape of the object, and its speed and distance using the binocular vision to get a 3D image of any object.

Both styles of ADAS are clearly effective.

www.powertorque.com.au

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TRUCKS ON TEST

This particular stereo camera is in use on cars already on sale in Australia and the radar camera option has been with us for some years. According to Isuzu, when ADAS is introduced in the heavier model ranges from the brand, it will probably use the camera plus radar option.

Out on the road, these modern systems need little driver input, if any.

The whole idea is that they only react and kick in when the risk arises and will act autonomously, if the driver does not react to any warnings.

This does mean that we are unable to test the ADAS to its fullest extent, i.e. get it to the point where it puts all of the brakes on at 100 per cent to avoid hitting another vehicle or a pedestrian. This is not a good idea on the busy roads of Melbourne.

However, the other aspects of the ADAS come into play on a regular basis as the truck weaves through busy traffic in the CBD and surrounds. Although the heart of the system is the Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) which does attempt to stop the truck before a collision, another function is the Forward Collision Warning (FCW) which sets off alerts to tell the driver to brake as they approach a situation where the ADAS recognises any danger.

The various levels of warning have alerts which reflect their severity.

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

The feeling when the AEB sets off is very loud, bright and everything in the cab will fly forward if not secure, this really gets the adrenalin pumping, the truck has just averted a collision.

The FCW is also loud and involves a bright light on the dashboard. The driver is very aware there is something wrong and needs to brake immediately. The urgency of the situation is signalled very clearly.

More subtle, and less urgent, is the Distance Warning System (DWS). This uses the camera to scan the road ahead and if the obstacle in front comes within a certain distance, the warning will sound, just to remind the driver to back off, or touch the brakes. The predetermined distance can be adjusted by the driver on the dashboard controls, shorter distances in the city and longer ones for the open highway.

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TRUCKS ON TEST

With an even more subtle alarm the Traffic Movement Warning (TMW) uses the ADAS to notify the driver with a small beep, that the vehicle in front has set off, in a ‘sitting at the traffic lights’ type situation. This TMW doesn’t seem to be that useful on a truck, unless you have drivers who are easily distracted and don’t watch the traffic in front of them. It is all part of the features available with the 3D camera.

“Over 50 per cent of Australian operators in road transport record that overall road safety and driver safety are key issues, with this figure increasing to 70 per cent for larger fleets,” says Simon Humphries, Isuzu Australia Limited Chief Engineer, Product Strategy. “The desire for improved safety technology is a real and current concern for our customers, and we are responding to this with product that puts driver and road safety first.

“Isuzu’s new active ADAS in N Series 4x2 trucks has been optimised with a 3D Stereo camera, which has superior capabilities for detecting low-height objects and smaller road users such as children and other pedestrians.

“This is particularly beneficial for businesses working in what we know to be the highest-risk of collision environments, urban and metro areas, in applications such as trades, services, freight and lastmile delivery.”

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

IN THE CABIN Sitting in the truck is a very familiar experience there is little superficial change to be seen as the driver jumps into the seat and turns the key in the ignition. The dash does look a little different, there is more to see on the small screen in the middle of the dashboard, but not that much.

In its innate conservatism, Isuzu has not moved to the latest high fidelity screen on the dash. There is just a small screen with some images on it and a couple of small buttons at the bottom to make the limited adjustment available.

On the test drive, the only setting which PowerTorque adjusted was the one controlling the distance to a vehicle ahead.

In this urban test drive, it was decided to set this a little further out from the truck than would normally be necessary, in order to get some real life experience of the ADAS being set off in a real situation.

As a result of this setting, the DWS did beep on a regular basis and we must have come close to setting off the FCW a couple of times. This was a useful exercise to see just how sensitive the ADAS is and to get used to the way it works. Once the driver

TRUCKS ON TEST

gets sick of the beeping, it is easy enough to adjust the ADAS so that it only activates when it really needs to alert the driver to something serious.

Another of the new systems on the N Series, the Auto Lighting System (ALS) did not get an opportunity to activate during the test drive. The skies above Melbourne remained quite bright and the drive didn’t take the trucks through a tunnel, so the lights were unable to show they will turn on automatically in low light situations.

DEVELOPING TRUCKS This new N Series range also introduced some innovations in the way the truck is put together and the way it is presented to the market. The latest technological development have streamlined the process of bringing the new trucks to the market.

During the pandemic the normal exchanges between the engineers in Australia speccing up the new model and the original model design team in Tokyo, were limited with no face-toface interaction.

Instead, Isuzu developed a portal between Japan and Australia, where both teams could work on and share the same 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) models and work on them together. This smoothed out the process of taking a Japanese original and adapting it to our rules and conditions.

This development has also had the

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

knock-on effect of making it possible for Isuzu in Australia to provide body builders here, with a CAD model of the new truck in advance, to speed up the body design and adaptation process. In the past, body builders have had to wait until the trucks arrived in their workshops to finalise a body design and fitting procedure.

The new models also feature another pandemic innovation, the QR code. There are now QR codes posted inside the door on each new Isuzu. Scanning these codes takes you to all of the information needed on each particular vehicle, including VIN data, ID codes, warranty info, GVM, GCM and much more.

SELLING TRUCKS If there is one thing the Isuzu operation in Australia knows how to do, it is selling trucks, consistently over time. The new N Series is going to help the organisation carry on in a similar vein. The truck has been designed to tick all of the boxes for a truck buyer in the 2020s and has introduced enough new technology to keep it in the leading pack.

The truck maker’s situation will be further strengthened by a few aspects of this N series truck launch. the first being the introduction of a factory warranty for six years or 250,000km, plus six years roadside assistance for all of the 4x2 models in the range.

The other aspect is the continuing

extension of the pre-built ready to work body offering, which comes along with these new models. The different options, including the Tipper, Traypack, Tradepack, Servicepack and Vanpack are being extended and developed all of the time and are making up a larger and larger proportion of total sales for the brand.

There has been some concern about how well the Isuzu brand can keep ahead of its direct competitors. The company is a stand along operation, albeit a large one with global reach, but its major competitors are all part of much bigger global corporations with access to massive research and design funding.

Isuzu’s answer to this issue has taken the form of a number of alliances with complementary manufacturers, to achieve the kind of R&D scale needed in the modern world. The relationship with Cummins is likely to lead to future power plants in the trucks and the purchase of UD Trucks from the Volvo Group, should see some developments, especially in the heavy duty market segment. There is also an engine deal with Hino.

Overall, on the evidence of the new N Series and its technology, the market will be seeing plenty of Isuzus on the road for a considerable time to come. These new N Series models will take the Isuzu brand well into the future, before the transition across to zero emissions ups the stakes and uncertainty. Watch this space.

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OPERATOR PROFILE

WORKING THE WICKHAM WAY From humble beginnings in 1972 with one new Kenworth cab-over prime mover, Wickham Freightlines has steadily evolved into one of the largest, most diversified and well-respected family-owned and operated carriers in Australia. Paul Matthei listens intently as co-founder Peter Wickham describes the story of his life and the family company that ensued.

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OPERATOR PROFILE

www.powertorque.com.au

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OPERATOR PROFILE

Wickham Freightlines Co-founder, Peter Wickham.

T

he saying ‘out of adversity comes opportunity’ was reportedly coined by noted polymath Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America.

It’s an adage that could have just as easily come from brothers Peter and the late Angus Wickham, founding fathers of today’s Wickham empire which has significant footprints in the symbiotically connected realms of agriculture, livestock and road transport.

Unfortunately, Angus had an untimely passing aged 58 in 1998, just when Wickham Freightlines was really hitting its straps. His legacy continues through Peter and numerous family members and employees who have worked hard to grow the various businesses into the outstanding enterprises they are today.

The brothers were born at Warwick in Southeast Queensland, 13 months apart, in the early 1940s, and in the early ‘50s the family moved to Spring Creek Mountain near Killarney, where their father took on a rundown property full of blackberries and scrub.

Incidentally, among his various talents, Peter enjoys playing guitar as well as writing and singing country songs, and recently recorded a CD called ‘Along Life’s Highway’. Song number four is titled ‘60,000th’ where Peter describes in song the family’s journey from the time the property was bought to the time that

24

Wickham Freightlines purchased the 60,000th Kenworth to roll off the production line at Paccar’s Bayswater plant in late 2017.

As the song relates, for the first 10 years logging on the mountainside at Killarney was the primary concern and the logs were dragged down by bullock teams. As the Wickham boys grew up, and with diesel in their veins, trucks were purchased to replace the bullock teams, hauling the timber down the Condamine Track.

Peter explains that his main interests were farming and logging, driving the Ferguson tractor and operating the International TD14 dozer and chainsaws clearing scrub and felling timber, while Angus was the trucking man through and through.

“For us, it really all started in the late ‘50s when Angus, who was 13 months older, and I were in our late teens and eking out a living in the logging game,” says Peter, who recently became an octogenarian.

“We had two trucks, an NR Mack and a sort of hybrid prime mover that Brown and Hurley, a Leyland truck dealer at the time, built for us. It consisted of a Leyland Hippo that had been cut in half behind the cab, with the front end grafted onto a Mack chassis and tandem drive setup.”

Peter says the unlikely combination (a LeyMack, perhaps?) worked very well, although it did have its limitations, as the men found out one day when lugging a heavy load of logs down the Condamine Track and across one of

the 14 rough creek crossings.

“We put this huge load of logs on it, and down we came with this big truck and Angus at the wheel,” says Peter. “He was taking it nice and steady across the rocks in a creek bed when one wheel got hung up on a slippery rock and that was that, there were no diff locks or anything else to help us out.

“So she sat there for the night and we walked the two miles back home. The next morning we came back with the tractor and gave her a shove to get her moving.”

FROM LOGS TO SPUDS The credit squeeze of 1962 made the logging work unprofitable so, as Peter’s ‘60,000th’ song goes, their father said, ‘C’mon boys now, I didn’t rear two duds, we’ll get to work and clear this ground and grow ourselves some spuds.’

The locals reckoned they didn’t stand a chance in that wild and untamed country but the two ‘boys’, then in their early 20s, and their father set to work to prove the doubters wrong. They cleared the mountainside, blowing the stumps out with gelignite to reveal the fertile country suitable for growing potatoes.

Their hard slog was rewarded with several bumper seasons, the spuds growing superbly in the rich red soil.

It was the need for a reliable truck to cart the spuds to the markets that eventually led the Wickham brothers to purchase their first Kenworth, starting a journey with the

POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

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OPERATOR PROFILE

iconic Australian-built brand that continues stronger than ever today.

Apparently, their father was none too pleased with the relatively high cost of the new Kenworth, as the song tells us: ‘Our father he was not impressed, he thought we’d run amuck, when we owed all this money on our first Kenworth truck.’

However, the brothers, having persevered over the previous decade with the likes of Austins, Commers and Internationals, that in their estimation just wouldn’t do the job, felt confident that they’d made the right decision. The success of the mighty Wickham Freightlines company of today is testament to their accurate assessment of the Kenworth capabilities.

The song continues, ‘Many tours of the factory we’ve had from time to time, buying every thousandth truck that comes off the line; see the factory people and their attitude is right, making sure every bolt and nut is always screwed up tight.

‘We’ll always just buy Kenworth ‘cause they’re Australian made, built for our conditions, other trucks won’t make the grade; with the Brown and Hurley salesman standing by the door, we buy them buy the dozen and own them by the score.’

Peter performed his song ‘60,000th’ in front of a crowd of 600 people including the entire Paccar Bayswater workforce at the

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

“We’ll always just buy Kenworth ‘cause they’re Australian made.”

2017 handover ceremony of the 60,000th Kenworth built in Australia. He received a standing ovation and that night the song had amassed more than 39,000 hits on YouTube.

“The song ‘60,000th’ is about the history of my family and the business,” says Peter.

“I made up the song and sang it there, at the event and that was the start of it.

“I wrote the song to record my memories and what I’ve gone through. I bought a guitar when I was about 40 years old and taught myself how to play it, I’ve always been making up songs and that sort of thing.

“It’s been a real privilege to have the

opportunity to put these songs together on a CD and I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend Chris Cook, who owns and runs Chris Cook Studio in Kyogle, along with Chris O-Reilly and David Waddington who helped pull it all together.”

WORKING WITH THE MODERN KENWORTH Meanwhile, today in the Southern Downs capital city of Warwick resides Wickham Freightlines’ head office, characterised by the striking building that resembles a Wickham’s cab-over Kenworth prime

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OPERATOR PROFILE

Steve Lord, Wickhams’s Workshop Manager.

mover and semi-trailer. The place is a hive of activity, with a dedicated team working hard to keep the wheels turning on an operation that now encompasses around 170 trucks.

Steve Lord, who has been with the company for 15 years, is Workshop Manager and he expands on the undying loyalty Wickham has to the Kenworth brand.

“We strayed a little a decade or so ago when the EGR engines were giving us grief but in the main it’s been Kenworth all the way,” says Steve, adding that the company purchased 25 units last year and will receive another 15 this year. “They will mostly be K200 Big Cabs and we also have one of the first new K220s coming for evaluation this year.

“We’re pretty excited about the new K220 because we had a bit to do with its development, particularly in the area of cab suspension.”

Steve explains that Wickhams is a very proactive company that tries to improve products wherever possible to make life better for its drivers and the company in general.

One of these ameliorations has been to design, develop and test an airbag suspension system for the rear of the K200 cab to improve the ride for the driver. The full story about it appears in Tech Know on page 70 of this issue of PowerTorque.

Suffice to say the successful venture caught the attention of Paccar and one of Wickham’s K200s fitted with the cab suspension ended up at the company’s R&D centre at Bayswater (Vic) so the integrity of the system could be fully evaluated.

By all accounts, the upcoming K220

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

cab-over, said to be slated for release in June this year, will feature a similar cab suspension system developed by Paccar.

Steve says he’s looking forward to the new K220 breaking cover, and he thinks it will represent a significant improvement over the current K200.

“From what I understand they have done a lot of work on the wiring and cab layout including the air-conditioning system which will help bring it up to speed,” says Steve.

Wickhams has a similar philosophy of continual improvement and the company has been experimenting with different safety, comfort and aerodynamic features on the Kenworths for many years with varying levels of success.

“We’ve had some successes and some dismal failures, but if you don’t try you’ll never know,” says Steve.

RE-POWER TO THE PEOPLE One of the big successes the company has had was to replace the problematic EGR engines in 12 of its Kenworths with the later ISXe5 Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) engines.

“Back in 2015/16 we yanked the EGRs out of two T658s, two K108s and eight T608s and repowered them with ISXe5s,” says Steve. “We had a lot of people laughing at us thinking we wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but we have a good number of very talented tradespeople including sparkies, fabricators and mechanics working here and, with some help from a guy in Melbourne to make up a couple of new wiring harnesses, we got the job done.”

Steve says that after receiving the new wiring harnesses the sparkies went to work

and replicated them for the other 10 trucks, which saved a lot of money.

“We used gold-dipped pins and good quality plugs and wiring to ensure there wouldn’t be any issues down the track, and we’ve been very pleased with the end result,” says Steve. “Those trucks have been going well ever since.”

Steve stresses that it didn’t just happen overnight, saying that the operation had to be strategically planned and everything had to be worked out in minute detail.

“I put two sparkies, two mechanics and one fabricator on the job and put them all in a room and said, ‘righto boys, this is what we’re going to do’, and we all started throwing ideas around,” says Steve. “We got the first one into the workshop and it was completely stripped down so we could work out the best way to mount the Adblue tank and doser pump, for example.

“We also put parabolic front springs in place of the multi-leaf items which improved the ride dramatically.”

After the first one was completed, the formula was perfected and the others were relatively straightforward and much quicker to convert. It was much like ‘rinse and repeat’.

According to Steve, the exercise proved fruitful and the money the company saved in fuel over the next three years paid for the conversions.

“The EGR engines were ridiculously thirsty, we were averaging around 1.6km/l pulling B-doubles,” says Steve. “In contrast, I took the first one we converted to Black Mountain and back and it averaged 2.1km/l with a brand-new engine and a similar load. So we knew we were going to make our money back with the fuel savings across those 12 trucks.”

Steve says he really enjoyed that project because it was a significant challenge to which he, and the other employees rose, and the end result was a great achievement of which they could all be extremely proud.

In the final wrap-up, the modern and efficient enterprise of Wickham Freightlines with its talented team of family members and employees is a fitting tribute to its founding fathers Peter and Angus Wickham.

The same can-do attitude, along with a steadfast reliance on Australian-built Kenworths that are fit-for-purpose in this rugged country, should ensure the success of the business for generations to come.

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TRUCK AND TRAILER RENTAL

GETTING TO THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

It is one of the core principles behind running a trucking operation, simple enough to say and not so easy to do well, and that is ensuring the freight is getting to the right place at the right time. Tim Giles meets an operator who has grown his business by following this rule to the letter.

O

perating out of a small depot in the southern Brisbane suburb of Meadowbrook and covering a freight route stretching from SE Queensland all the away West to Charleville, and beyond, Maney Transport has carved out a niche by providing a reliable freight service out to a string of towns along the route.

Tony Maney started out as an owner/ driver working from his home in Meadowbrook back in 1975. He began as a sub-contractor for Mayne Nickless, as many other trucking businesses did at that time. He would also source work from other transport companies and developed a newspaper run out into the Darling Downs.

As his business matured Tony began working for the McPhees operation, which

is where he learnt a lot of the principles he lives by today in his business, of doing the job right, being well organised and emphasising customer service. From an owner driver he grew to need premises in Bethania before starting at this current site six years ago after outgrowing that facility.

It was only about ten years ago that Tony started to concentrate on overnight freight out of Brisbane along the ‘Western Corridor’ through Toowoomba, Dalby, Chinchilla, Roma and Charleville. He was already very familiar with the area, as this was the route his paper trucks were servicing at the time. Tony saw the newspaper delivery business starting to wane along the route, but could see the rising demand for overnight freight delivery.

One of their customers was looking for

a regular overnight service into the region, so Tony took the opportunity to make the operation swing over from the declining newspaper work into developing the local delivery side of the business. The task was servicing the corridor either side of the Warrego Highway heading West across Queensland. In the beginning five trucks were enough to carry the freight and cover all of the different drop off points.

“It was bare bones at the start,” says Tony. “But we had other work to keep us going for the first 18 months. We were running six nights a week.”

The regular run to Roma/grew organically over time, to be followed by another out to Goondiwindi, for the same original customer. Further drops were added in as the operation grew and now a full trailer will run regularly out to Charleville. The number of towns with a guaranteed overnight service grew and the smaller settlements in between and beyond were serviced regularly.

THE TRUCKS The fleet has now grown to 20 body trucks, five prime movers, 12 trailers and ten utes and vans. Most of the body trucks are based in SE Queensland hauling freight into the depot for onward transport to the west or performing pick up and delivery work from the Toowoomba and Roma depots.

The fleet is supplemented by a number of rental vehicles from Penske Truck Rental. When a new run comes on board, a rental will be used to assess what the route will need in the long run, in terms of truck. Sometimes a rental truck works out well enough to be left on a particular

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

TRUCK AND TRAILER RENTAL

Tony Maney Stareted Maney Transport back in 1975.

route over the long term. The fleet also includes a couple of rental prime movers to supplement the regular trucks and allow for expansion of the fleet, if needed.

“Predominantly for our distance work, our trucks are Scanias, all on a lease,” says Tony. “It’s a fixed cost and you can factor that in and you can deal with it. I just know that a particular truck is going to cost me so much every month. If something goes wrong, it’s still going to cost so much every month. Our local body trucks are older and some bigger long distance

“PREDOMINANTLY FOR OUR DISTANCE WORK, OUR TRUCKS ARE SCANIAS, ALL ON A LEASE... IT’S A FIXED COST AND YOU CAN FACTOR THAT IN AND YOU CAN DEAL WITH IT.” trucks have come back into the yard to do local work.”

Trailers are loaded in Meadowbrook and Toowoomba for further West using a method with a great deal of flexibility built into it. The freight coming into the depot has to be assessed and loaded as it arrives to maximise use of the available load space or make the decision to load a trailer rather than a rigid truck.

“18 months ago we were only running single trailers and now we are just about running B-doubles every night,” says Tony.

“There’s a lot more demand for freight than there was when we first started, and we have established ourselves a bit better now. I think we have got a fairly good name out there.”

Working in these remote areas there is a certain amount of co-operation going on between rival carriers. If there is a piece of freight destined for an area serviced by a rival, some swapping of freight between them can cut down on kilometres travelled and time taken over these massive distances.

www.powertorque.com.au

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TRUCK AND TRAILER RENTAL

THE PEOPLE The business now employs 70 people across the three depots, the majority based at Meadowbrook.

“It’s not easy getting people to work in the business,” say Tony. “Once you get hold of a good employee, you got to make sure you keep hold of them. We’ve been bringing people up through the business.

A couple of our line-haul drivers started off driving vans and body trucks for us. Young people aren’t attracted to the industry, but you can’t blame them for that.

“We’ve got a good bunch of people here. I am fortunate to have a good team, good operational people, good accounts team and good HR. Everybody works well together.

This change in the nature of the operation has seen a small high speed, night time paper delivery service, a part of the industry with a colourful reputation, transform into a modern safety conscious enterprise meeting compliance rules and customer expectations, as well as meeting the high standard of service needs of large clients.

“Everything is monitored, and everything is tracked,” says Tony. “We use the Scania system, and then another one, Fleet Complete, in the rest of the trucks.

Our trailers are curtain siders , but we do have some flat-tops. A lot of the time the trailers are running as B-doubles.

“In terms of freight, we never know what we’ve got, for that night until about

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

3.30 in the afternoon. Then we have to decide, what’s going where and then load, and get it out. It’s a very busy part of the day.

“90 per cent of our freight is outbound, so there’s very little comes back in. We might send five trailers out at night and then only have six pallets spaces coming back in. It’s all one way traffic really.

You’ve got to get it all going one way.”

At the heart of the business are three people working in the schedulers office, who are fielding incoming calls, arranging pick ups and feeding the information into the system. Maney’s are now using the TransVirtual system with the customers able to access services via a web portal and all of the drivers armed with PDAs in the truck cabin to keep them up to date and scan consignments at the pick up point.

“The drivers can set the route if they want to,” say Tony. “They just have a list on the PDA and they can go through it to suit themselves. We tend to keep the local drivers in one area so they get to know their routes. There are about eight to ten runs in Brisbane, divided up in their areas. It helps them to build up a rapport with the customers.”

The business handles everything from from large industrial components to a small parcel or jiffy bag, but no foodstuffs or refrigerated.

In many parts of Australia, this kind of operation seems to be able to thrive, while

5

“Once you get hold of a good employee, you got to make sure you keep hold of them,” says Tony Maney.

the large corporates are not interested in such a high mileage, low margin business being part of their portfolio.

There is growth to be had in this sector of the trucking market. On the first night Maney’s loaded out of its current depot, six years ago, there was a body truck and mezzanine deck trailer loading out. Now it’s common for five B-doubles to hit the highway in the early evening.

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TRUCK AND TRAILER RENTAL

ASSESSING THE M When the TR Group arrived on the Australian truck and trailer market a few years ago, its first task was one of assessing the market and seeing where the business could develop. PowerTorque checks in on how the project is going.

B

ack in July 2019, the TR Group, which had successfully grown a truck and trailer rental and leasing business in New Zealand, made its move into the Australia market with its acquisition of a business, based in Melbourne specialising in renting out skel trailers.

“We did a lot of research leading up to starting in Australia,” says Chris Perry, TR Group General Manager. “We had the market on our radar for about eight or ten years, we were slowly working out how it might work and the differences between the Australian market and the New Zealand market.

“We’ve got a few shared customers, between the countries, the corporates, and we got some feedback from them.

We also have a couple of Australian based directors in the business, which was useful. We looked at it and have found that the two markets are, ‘the same but different’.

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

“We appear to be cousins across the Tasman, but the market is different, the equipment is slightly different and the rules and regulations are different. The big learning was the differences in rules between the states.”

The process of development has seen the purchase of a business with 1,000 trailers in one city transformed into a truck and trailer rental business in three states. There are branches in Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle.

“The learning that we needed to do was when we were up and running, spreading our wings and spreading outside of Victoria,” says Chris. “There are things, you’ve got to know. We worked closely with suppliers. We only use Australian made trailers and rely on them to get the right equipment working in the right place.

“In terms of buying equipment, we try and do our planning 18 months out and then order them at least 12 months out.

We do a lot of work with our planning,

Chris Perry, TR Group General Manager.

we expend a lot of energy figuring out what equipment we need, the volumes in different categories.

“We have a bit of flexibility around trailers, with some adjustments of build

TRUCK AND TRAILER RENTAL

E MARKET spec possible.

With the trucks the spec is locked in. We are planning now, what we want to get before December 2023.”

In the TR Group operation in New Zealand around 75 per cent of their trailers are leased to customers for the long term. Here the proportion is much lower and a lot of the fleet is going out on day or weekly hire.

TR Group are developing the leasing side of the business, coming up with options which should be attractive to the typical Australian trailer customer.

Current customers who might be hiring a trailer year on year are being offered the option of a leasing arrangement.

“The more we work within the industry with our customer base, and the supplier base, we are finding there are a lot of people asking us about leasing,” says Chris. “There’s a lot of opportunity, just from the small community we have created so far.”

With leasing growing on the trailer side of the business, the leasing option on trucks is also growing, from a small base. These kinds of cultural changes about the way operators use their trucks is a slow process and Chris understands the development is going to be slow.

Something which TR Group are familiar with in New Zealand is the fully maintained operating lease, which is something relatively rare in Australia, especially in the trailer space. Under the terms of this kind of lease TR Group take care of everything and manage the whole asset from start to finish.

“We think the fully maintained lease will be a quite a popular product for us in the future,” says Chris. “We’ve got a few very large customers who have expressed an interest and we’ve got a few multiple lease deals along those lines.”

The growth of a national network,

outside of the Eastern seaboard will also be part of this process. This would enable TR Group to offer national coverage to support leased trucks and trailers throughout the country. Effective leasing needs to be supported throughout the country, so the leasing side of the business is expected to grow as the number of outlets around the country grows.

In the long term, the operation intends to have an outlet in capital cities around Australia. TR Group has made a commitment to its its large corporate clients that it will have a national presence. Adelaide and Perth are already on the radar and Darwin may well follow. They are also looking at Far North Queensland.

“There could be another half a dozen locations for us anytime soon,” says Chris. “As we go into a new market or a different part of the country, we try to figure out what’s the most likely trailer type we are going to need, whether its curtain siders, container handling,

refrigerated, or construction.

“We will figure out what we will need to have for the customers and then gear that branch up so we can get the branch running. then, as we figure out what the volumes are, we can start to push the right volumes into that branch.

“We’ve go to make sure we’ve got enough equipment in each branch before we look at expansion. We want to do a good job, every time we get involved with a customer. We don’t want to stuff it up by spreading ourselves too thin. We are learning along the way, taking our time, doing it properly and making sure the customer gets exactly what they expected.”

SCAN QR CODE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TR GROUP

www.powertorque.com.au

35

TRUCKS ON TEST

WHERE DOES THE

DAILY

FIT IN?

The market for vehicles with a GVM between 3.5 and 7 tonnes is quite complicated, potential ute/van/truck buyers can go down a wide range of different routes to finding a transport solution to fit their task.

H

andling a transport task at the lower end of the truck license limit can be carried out by a wide selection of vehicles. The limitations of mass, engine power, load restraint, distance are all factors in the decision to choose any particular vehicle.

Each choice has its own advantages and disadvantages. There are many ways to skin a cat, as they say. However, one of the options, which can often be overlooked, is one of the most flexible, with a very wide spread of specification parameters, and that is the simple van or chassis cab, and one of those with the most options available is the Iveco Daily.

PowerTorque took the opportunity

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

to take a couple of examples of the product Iveco have on the market around the streets and suburbs of Melbourne, to get reacquainted with the model as is available today.

Driving the 2019 model is not an invalid test as most aspects of this model are going to be carried over into the next model to reach Australia, either in late 2022 or early 2023. It will be using the same three litre engine and most of the central systems on the van will be retained as they are in the current 2019 model.

Essentially, the next iteration of the Daily to arrive will be a face-lifted version of the

current model. It will have a different look, body panels and grille will be modified.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE The models tested were both fitted with the 210hp engine, although there is a 180 hp available. Both are Euro 6 compliant use both EGR and SCR to control emissions.

One of the innovations a few years back was the introduction of the Hi-Matic 8HP70L transmission. This is an eightspeed ZF Torque Converter Automatic, which is flexible and responsive and takes the need to intervene away from the driver completely.

On the 210hp 210EVID engine from Iveco, on which the auto is standard.

TRUCKS ON TEST

The auto is optional on the 180hp engine, with a standard six-speed synchro box.

On the evidence of this test, the auto is a no-brainer, unless you need a PTO, in which case, the manual is the option needed.

Anyone wanting both the PTO and the auto will have to wait for the next iteration of the Daily, due later this year.

These Dailys are a dream to drive, it is advertised as being car-like as can be seen on the artwork down the side of the van. To me that’s not a particularly attractive idea, I prefer a freight vehicle to feel like one, but the market for these vehicles is not ageing truck enthusiasts, it is young, fresh go-getter businesses who are looking for a functional delivery vehicle, but one that is easy to drive and looks good. That’s the slot where the Daily fits in.

One of the big strengths the Daily has over similar products from the van side of the equation is its inherent structural strength, the ‘C-section’ chassis rails which are the base on which the structure is built. That inherent rigidity is something you can feel and it does

The other information screen for radio, reversing camera etc, is placed more centrally, but is easy to read.

make the occupant of the driver’s seat a little more secure.

This has served the motorhome market well for the Daily, giving body builders a firm base on which to construct the body. It also suits pantech and tray bodies fitted directly on the cab chassis. The basic van or truck is a rigid frame with wheels on each corner, onto which you can build a van, a pantech, a

tray or a flash motorhome.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, directly in front, the flat-bottomed steering wheel is actually the same as is used on the Jeep product, another part of the Fiat empire. Of course, it has a dizzying array of buttons on it, which we are all getting used to, now that most manufacturers are locating the buttons in a similar pattern.

Toggling in and out of cruise control

TRUCKS ON TEST

WHERE DOES THE DAILY FIT?

One of the big strengths the Daily has over similar products from the van side of the equation is its inherent structural strength.

on the Monash Highway, the way the controls work is simple and intuitive.

Although the information screen straight in front of the driver, which shows set speed etc, is quite small, it has been well-designed and the imagery is crisp, aiding visibility. The other information screen for radio, reversing camera etc, is placed more centrally, but is similarly easy to read.

As you would expect from a modern European product, the whole safety suite is available. There’s an automated emergency braking system (AEBS), four airbags, and ESP9 includes ABS, EBD, ASR, Hill Hold and HBA. Also included in this latest version of ESP is some less well known items, such as, motor drag torque control, load adaptive control, trailer sway mitigation, roll movement intervention, roll over mitigation and crosswind assist.

It is not necessary to know and understand all of these systems, all the driver needs to know is that they will be on automatically, and if the van gets into a sticky situation, the safety systems will do their best to keep the van on the straight and narrow and avoid a collision.

Driver comfort is further enhanced with the fitting of a suspension seat.

This is not air suspended, but one in which the driver uses the dial to put in their weight and the springing adjusts accordingly. This is more than enough, as the Daily suspension is good enough for most lumps and bumps, the suspended seat is simply the icing on the cake.

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

One of those other signs of how much the designers have been thinking about the driver’s experience is the provision of drinks holders. This cabin looks after all of those issues. the big bins in the door can hold good sized bottles and there are cup holders in the middle of the dash for the driver’s morning coffee.

Ever since its reintroduction into the Australian market back in 2002 the Daily has always offered a solid, technically adept van or cab chassis, capable of doing many different jobs.

Probably, what the model has failed to do is establish a clear identity, so that a potential buyer can picture it in a particular task.

It straddles across a wide area of the market, from vans across to light duty trucks, and everything in between. However, it has never found a clearly identified niche and that has probably limited its ability to penetrate into sectors of the light duty market.

The lack of identity probably comes from the almost overwhelming number of options and variables available to the Daily buyer. Apart from the van or cab chassis choice, there are 21 different van options, depending on GVM, overall length, roof height, power etc. The cab chassis also has a dizzying number of options, coming in with 16 variants, including single cab or crew cab.

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CONVERGENCE

WEIGHING U ALTERNATI V Running an efficient bulk transport operation can be a tricky job, there is a need to work on weighing up the alternatives, to get the right balance of efficiency, profitability and compliance.

L

achlan George has been running his business, George Transport for 15 years and has grown the fleet to a position where it is all about making the right decisions to get the best out of his team, and his fleet.

George Transport is based in Lake Goldsmith in Victoria, halfway between

Ballarat and Ararat, in the heart of the large agricultural expanse of the Western half of Victoria. The operation also runs a smaller number of trucks out of a depot in Toowoomba, in Queensland.

Lachie bought his first truck when he was 19 as a development from the family farming business. He has grown into the

business and is still enjoying continuing to improve the way the operation handles the task.

“The trucks side of the business, I find easy, having the right staff all of the time, that’s the big issue,” says Lachie. “We have a farm, as well, but I have always done the grain and hay transport, mostly grain.

C D

T C t P t r

Lachlan George, proud owner of Geortge Transport.

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

CONVERGENCE

G UP THE I VES “In and around where we are based, in the Western District, it’s a massive grain growing area. Fifteen years ago it was a small area, but it has really grown, throughout the Western Districts and into the Mallee. We don’t have to venture too far to pick up grain. Sometimes, when it gets quiet we might have to go a bit further north, but it doesn’t change much.

The fleet consists of ten trucks, six of which are based in Lake Goldsmith and four in Queensland. All of the trucks are handling bulk loads, mainly grain and

fertiliser. One runs as an AB triple, six are set up as A-doubles and then three run as B-doubles. Queensland is home to three A-doubles and the AB Triple and Victoria home to the rest. All of the A-doubles run on the Performance Based Standards scheme grossing out at 85 tonnes.

The rest of the fleet run as B-doubles around Victoria.

The Victorian section of the fleet runs out of grain storage and farms into the port and feed mills, predominantly. Most of the time the tasks are based in Victoria

and Southern NSW, with forays into South Australia whenever there is a need. Much of the work for the Queensland operation involves Brisbane Port, farming areas in New South Wales and the feedlots of the Darling Downs.

USING ON-BOARD MASS TO GET MORE MASS ON-BOARD All of the A-doubles work under the PBS scheme. Lachie has on-board mass (OBM) systems fitted on all of the trailers in the fleet. The Airtec units on the trailer suspension, send data from all of the axles, communicating the mass of the load through to the Teletrac Navman system, which George Transport use for all of their tracking and on-board compliance needs, including IAP, plus Sentinel and EasyDocs.

“Without the OBM we would be stuck as a B-double,” says Lachie. “OBM is another cost that we have had to go to, where we acquire data for the government at a cost to us, but it allows us to carry more weight. If we can carry more weight, it works out better for us. Often we can

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CONVERGENCE

only do one load a day and over time the extra weight we can carry soon adds up.

“I find that, especially in Queensland, B-doubles don’t work. You have got to be able have an A-double to make it work and get ahead. We had to go to A-doubles and the on-board mass. When you looked at the numbers it was the only way to go, especially when the exporting of grain is as big as it is.

“We first got into OBM in Queensland, and when the quotes were coming in for running to the port, with the tolls and things like that, the OBM and the A-doubles were the only way to go.”

The combination of OBM, IAP and HML means the George Transport fleet can be running at maximum capacity

42

for a large proportion of the time. The interchangeability of the trailers and prime movers into different combinations means they can maximise payload on all of the trucks most of the time.

“Within reason, you’ve still got to be careful of vulnerable structures, so you still have to make sure that you are permitted on a particular route,” says Lachie. “Where we can, we want to run up on our weight all of the time, to make us as efficient as possible.”

SETTING UP COMBINATIONS Lachie uses Graham Lusty Trailers throughout the fleet, pulled by Kenworth trucks. There are four T909s, one T659 and five K200s.

“What I have found over time, because we work with some Stag B-doubles, and when you use the Stag in an AB-triple the shorter K200 comes into its own,” says Lachie. “With the big gap between the two trailers, the only way to make that gap work in an AB-triple, is to go with a cabover. Even on some of the A-double requirements for Victoria, the cabover has been a massive help to us to get over the line.

“The K200s are fit for purpose when we use drop-deck trailers to cart hay and when we are making up the longer combinations. They work against me in Queensland a bit, because you need to get over the line on length on the A-double and it can be tricky sometimes.

POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

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CONVERGENCE

E b f L

They want you to get as close to 30m long as possible, so the T9s and T659 work really well up there.

“It makes sure we are interchangeable and we are not forced to park thing up when something breaks down. We can always make something else work.

There’s nothing wrong with those K200s, you can always make them work, if you set them up right.”

BUSINESS SYSTEMS George Transport also use another system, the My Trucking system for scheduling and invoicing. Each driver works from the My Trucking app on their phone. Although Lachie likes the idea of using EWDs he is nervous about the process of moving across to a new system.

“We haven’t ventured over there yet, with the boys,” says Lachie. “It’s one of those things where I would really like to sit down with them and actually go though asking them how they feel about the idea. We just haven’t had a chance to actually do that, running into harvest and things like that.

“Actually, it’s something I haven’t ventured into and talked about much. I just want it to quiet down a little so we have the time to have the conversations with the drivers. I want to have the discussion, rather than try and

force something like that.

“There’s not enough good staff out there at the moment, for you to be able to try and force people to go one way or the other. Whatever is comfortable for them, at the minute, is what we are doing.”

The workforce in the Victorian part of the business is relatively young for the industry, with an average age in the late twenties. This is unusual for the industry, but Lachie being quite young himself. clearly knows how attract that demographic.

The operation in Queensland has to be more autonomous, with drivers expected to use their own initiative more.

As a result, the average age of drivers is older, most in their forties or fifties, with plenty of experience.

“I’m based in Victoria and for the last 18 months I haven’t been able to get up to Queensland,” says Lachie. “So, to have those experienced guys up there and be able to get them to keep an eye on things and talk to me about what’s going on up there, it works really well. I’ve got bit of a different demographic in the two areas, but it works for us.”

Apart from the ten drivers out on the road, the organisation runs with an office staff of three, including Lachie and his wife. The mechanics who work on the trucks are used on a contract basis, when needed.

E A to F c ra P

T P w

Y S v

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

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CONVERGENCE

HOW SMART DASHCAMS ARE HELPING ADDRESS TRUCK DRIVER SAFETY The truck cabin remains one of the most dangerous workplaces in Australia. In 2021, the truck driver death toll doubled, with 50 drivers dying behind the wheel on our roads.

A

s the industry searches for ways to make the roads safer for truck drivers, AI capabilities powering modern technology are stepping up to the challenge. Smart Dashcams have the potential to help drivers avoid mistakes, improve safety, augment coaching and training programs, and to help drivers make it home in one piece.

HERE’S HOW SMART DASHCAMS ARE HELPING TO MAKE THE ROADS SAFER FOR TRUCK DRIVERS Real-time visibility Smart Dashcams run continuously while the vehicle is operating. They capture footage outside the vehicle and inside the cabin; using advanced sensors and a real-time AI engine, the information and footage is analysed to deliver instant alerts as you drive to help curb poor behaviours as it happens.

Risky driving behaviours and events such as harsh usage, speed, and following distance are caught early, giving you the chance to correct them instantly.

The driver-facing camera detects distracted driving and excessive yawning, alerting you and your managers. With everyone aware of the problem, you can take a break and refresh before hitting the road again – helping you avoid serious fatigue-related incidents.

Coaching and learning No one’s perfect, which is why on-going training is crucial to improving your driving performance and safety. Smart dashcams come with built-in scorecard and coaching tools. This allows you and your managers to look at areas for improvement based on your driving metrics rather than a generalised training approach that doesn’t

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

address your specific training needs.

Training can be delivered either in person through understanding analytics, or virtually through the builtin coaching system that reviews your events and helps you identify areas of opportunity to improve.

Though making mistakes and having them recorded can feel like cause for concern, the Smart Dashcam is designed to facilitate one-on-one coaching opportunities to highlight where improvements can be made, not to punish you. The data captured from the dashcam can help you understand risky driving behaviours to avoid making similar mistakes in the future – and potentially save your life.

Score carding also encourages healthy competition between driving colleagues.

With leader boards and incentives for safe driving behaviour, everyone improves while having a little light-hearted fun.

Positive behaviour is also highlighted, meaning the opportunity to reward good habits is there, helping with driver uptake.

Removing doubt Dashcams can also play a huge role in removing doubt in certain circumstances.

They help avoid a “he said, she said” situation, which is stressful and can significantly impact your career and livelihood. The Smart Dashcam AI engine is designed to continually learn from the environment inside and outside the vehicle, so the video evidence will always be there to back you up if something goes wrong on the road, or a complaint is called in.

On the flip side, the Smart Dashcam will also be there for you when you’re doing the right thing; it records positive activity behind the wheel, letting you and your managers know when you’re driving well and removing any doubt about your firstrate driving performance.

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ALT-POWER

ELECTRIC TRUCK CHARGING FAQS Many trucking operators know that in years to come they will need to be setting up a charging station for their trucks, so PowerTorque asked JET Charge about some of the electric truck charging FAQs which the company comes across.

W

hether we like it or not there are some major changes in the future for the trucking industry. The reality of climate change is dawning across Australia, and this will, one day, introduce an increasing drive towards zero emission trucks. Exactly what that day will look like and when that day will come is uncertain, but that day is becoming inevitable.

There is plenty of debate about exactly how Australia will get to a lower carbon trucking industry. There is also an ongoing debate about electric power, hydrogen and other forms of gas power. One thing seems increasingly certain, there will be a lot of electric trucks on our roads around our cities, handling the short to medium haul work.

If this is the case in the future, the implication for road transport is that it needs to think about how it is going to move over to this power source, whether it is in five, ten, fifteen or twenty years time. If an expanding trucking operation

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

is developing a new depot, they may need to think about putting in a fuel bowser, but they definitely need to be prepared to make sure the basics are in place for any future electric vehicle charging system.

PowerTorque sat down with Alex Bowler, who is the Business Development Sector Manager for bus and truck at JET Charge, currently concentrating on the bus industry.

Some bus operators are already well down the road to electrification, years ahead of the trucking industry, but our industry can learn a lot from how the project is developing.

JET Charge was created in 2013 to supply and install electric vehicle chargers beginning with installing EV Chargers for Tesla owners in Victoria. The company has grown to be a supplier of the full range of EV charging needs. JET Charge provide services across the EV charging industry, all the way from selling the accessories an EV owner needs in their garage, to setting up full blown charging infrastructure for large fleets.

“We are already doing a lot of work with logistics fleets, and we are also doing more and more work with bus depots,” says Alex. “The size of the jobs we do can vary greatly depending on the size of the fleet that is being transitioned at each site.

For operators with one or two vehicles, job requirements are very different in comparison to a fleet with hundreds of trucks. The fundamental design principals are similar, but the size, scale and cost of the infrastructure increases with the fleet size.

“Every site is going to need the basics, like a connection to the grid or power source which runs through some sort of low voltage distribution on the site to connect up to the chargers. For bus and truck charging, you’re going to need a 3-phase connection to get enough power to the vehicles.

“There are two different types of chargers you’ll need to consider, alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). All vehicle batteries are ultimately fed with DC electricity. The conversion or rectification

ALT-POWER

from AC to DC happens either via the on-board charger in the vehicle if using an AC charger, or in the charger itself which then feeds DC power to the vehicle.

The conversion requires some heavy and expensive equipment which needs to sit either in your vehicle or in the charger.

“Most of the AC chargers we see at the moment cap out at 22kW based on the on-board charger or rectifier size in the vehicle, although there are some buses and trucks coming to market which support around 40kW to 80kW AC charging. It will be interesting to see if the new electric trucks coming to market in the next few years are going to push the requirement for AC charges higher. JET Charge has a prototype 40kW and 80kW charger we’re looking to test. Having said that, we have seen a strong trend towards DC only charging in the bus space.”

A lot of smaller trucks, those involved in pick-up and delivery tasks, will be able to get by using these AC chargers. If they have batteries sizes up to 100 kWh, they can be charged up in around five hours or overnight. If you can get away with an AC charger for a transport task, there is an advantage, they are a substantially cheaper to buy and install than the more powerful DC chargers. If a 22kW AC charger costs $2,000 - $3,500 a 22kW DC charger will cost closer to $20,000.

included in their design, they are converting the AC power from the grid into the direct current needed to recharge the battery.

However, some specialist models do have integrated batteries, which are constantly being topped up from the grid, and can discharge quickly. These are useful when you have a limited electrical capacity, but still need to charge at high powers.

“The charge rate is dependent on a lot of different elements and can be constrained at a number of different points in the charging system,” says Alex. “The vehicle can constrain the charge rate to protect the batteries, or the size of the cable you are using can limit the total current. When using a high power charger, charge rates are generally constrained by the voltage of the battery system in the truck and the amount of current you can get through the cable between the charger and the battery. This is why its important to consider how your vehicle and charger will work together before you buy them and bring them to your depot.

“Current bus systems have around 600 to 700 volt battery architectures, and we are starting to see cars coming out with 800 volt or higher battery architectures. As the voltage goes up, you can get more power into the battery for a given current.”

New charging standards are being developed, like the megawatt charging standard, but at the moment they are all

in the research and development stage.

When these appear, the charging systems will be able to get much bigger and charge at faster rates.

GOING TO HIGHER POWER SYSTEMS Although it may be desirable, there are some disadvantages to moving to higher power systems, in particular, the electrical infrastructure the operator needs to have in place to deliver the AC current to the chargers.

“As you step back from the interface between the vehicle battery and the charger, you start to look at the rest of the system and how it needs to develop,” says Alex. “The charger needs to be fed power from a distribution board, or the sites main switchboard (MSB). Many small commercial sites or depots will have an MSB and grid connection sized between 250 and 1000 amps (A) “A 200 kW charger uses around 320 amps, so if you want to charge one truck, you are either almost using up your entire electrical capacity, or you might be able to charge two or three trucks at the same time.

Because you can be constrained by power, you need to have a good idea of when and how much you’ll need to charge. We have also developed systems which control the charge rates and make sure you never exceed your capacity. This means you can plug in all your fleet, and let the computer

AC/DC CHARGING As vehicles get bigger, the batteries get bigger and the operator needs higher power levels which can be provided by DC Charging systems. These DC chargers start at around 20kW, but can go as large as you need. There are 600kW DC chargers available in the Australian market if you need them.

“The current standard charging plug is called Combined Charging System 2 (CCS2), and it can handle around 350kW, so you could buy massive chargers, but you are still limited by the capacity of the plug,” says Alex. “In many instances, the vehicles have a maximum charge rate anywhere between 100kW to 250kW to protect the batteries, so you are still looking at a two or three hour charge time on some large batteries around 450 kWh. This is a long time if you don’t have a lot of downtime in your duties, but its more than enough for most of the bus operators we work with.”

Most DC chargers do not have batteries

www.powertorque.com.au

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ALT-POWER

balance the charge rate and keep the total demand underneath a threshold.

“So when you start to scale up to high power charging across more of your fleet, it’s often the case that your current distribution and capacity is not big enough.

Then you will need to put a new connection in and new switchboards which can really increase your infrastructure costs.

It does cost quite a lot, but in the total cost of ownership analysis we have done it’s still cheaper than diesel to upgrade the site, finance it, and have a lower operating cost through fuel savings. Also, once you’re at this scale, the cost per charging bay is marginal.”

There are some big changes in store for transport and logistics depot sites across the country. Its important to know that the infrastructure requirements are standard fare for the electrical industry. It is all a known quantity. The technology available today will be capable of keeping a fully electrified pick up and delivery local truck fleet on the road. Overnight and opportunity charging with current technology is available now.

GETTING READY FOR ELECTRIFICATION JET Charge do have customers who go the whole hog in one go and get the infrastructure changed and fit all the

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

charging facility at the same time. However, others will do it in stages, a long term plan is set up and each stage increases the company’s electrification capacity, spreading the cost out over a number of years. A step by step process from no electric trucks to a final goal of full electrification over a number of years is usually broken down to suit vehicle life

cycles or planned fleet replacement.

The other infrastructure concern for truck operators will be in the positioning of chargers. Trucks are not going to be heading to bowsers and then parking up. Instead they will be charging at their overnight parking location.

This means rows of chargers along the end of the parking bays is likely to be the ideal location. Simply park the truck up at the end of shift and plug in the charger.

The analysis of Total Cost of Ownership calculations are going to be critical for many operators. There is a need to examine the current fleet and plan the replacement program, balancing the extra cost of the truck itself to the cost savings which accrue from using electricity as a power source.

The timing can be critical to ensure a smooth transition from diesel to electricity.

Infrastructure preparation is going to be critical to a successful transformation.

“Infrastructure concerns are not the hard part, we know how to do that right now,” say Alex. “The main challenges are the commercial up front costs and political factors which are affecting decisions.

For smaller operators, who do not have the knowledge to chew through this big transition, there are ways to implement the infrastructure without totally blowing the bank. We try and utilise as much of the existing infrastructure as we can, before breaking out the check book for lots of new stuff.”

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RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS

IS THIS THE NEW

NORMAL?

As life begins to return to normal, the Livestock and Rural Transporter Association of Queensland held its annual conference on the Sunshine Coast recently.

T

he issues which have bothered the rural trucking industry in the past have not gone away, and as pandemic concerns become less front of mind, the LRTAQ conference, in Marcoola, Queensland, was an opportunity to start readdressing those perennial problems.

“We’ve had a difficult time from 2019 through until now, with the fires and everything else you and your industry have had to deal with,” said Sal Petroccitto, National Heavy Vehicle Regulator CEO, speaking to the conference. “I continue to be amazed at the level of resilience that you continue to display and I think, without that level of resilience, this country would have been in a much worse state. What has also eventuated in our mind is the importance that your sector broadly plays.

“We are unique, as a regulator, because we don’t only regulate, we also facilitate a productivity agenda, and that’s probably the hardest thing to achieve in a country that’s federated and everyone has different interests. I do believe we have achieved some wins, but I also believe there’s a lot more to do.

“We do listen, you might not see the results straight away, but we do take your feedback on board. In September 2020, we did remove the requirement in the livestock permits to include registration numbers. It was an extra administrative burden placed on transport and farmers.

To date I don’t think the world has stopped, as a result of us making the change.

“We also kicked off the national road train prime mover notice, giving operators a lot more flexibility in the way you use your equipment and the way those vehicles move across the country. We will try and continue to push envelopes like that. Sometimes we do butt heads with road agencies and with others, but what I can assure

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

Mathew Munro , Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association Executive Director.

you is that we will continue to listen.”

At the end of his speech Sal re-emphasised the need for the trucking industry, as a whole, to participate in the discussion around the review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law process. He implored the industry very strongly to ensure that the policymakers really do understand what needs to change in the law.

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association Executive Director, Mathew Munro also stressed the importance of feedback to the HVNL review.

“We came up with a submission which had 108 recommendations for changes in the law,” said Mat. “This law is broken, there’s a lot that needs fixing. Here we are in 2022, the law is still unbalanced, the proposals are unbalanced and not even costed. We are nowhere near the end of this.

“They released one set of recommendations, on the Fatigue

Scott Bucholz, Federal Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight.Transport.

General Schedule and it was terrible, it was just horrendous. Chief problem was recommendations which represent somewhere between a 17 and 21 per cent productivity reduction and it doesn’t deliver increased flexibility. It was rubbish.

“That proposal should never have seen the light of day. We need to engage in this process. It would be nice to throw it in the bin and start again, but the fact is, it is continuing. We are working with this process, but I think this does illustrate a more fundamental problem with the structure of the National Transport Commission. They should be independent and speak without fear or favour, yet five of the six commissioners are long time public servants and just one is an industry representative.”

SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY “We’ve seen a disastrous start to 2022, with the road toll in Queensland, on the Warrego Highway, and everywhere

RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS

we have travelled this years,” said Athol Carter, Central Queensland Manager and Compliance Manager Fleet Operations, Frasers Livestock Transport, speaking from the floor.

“As operators, all of us in this room, we invest a lot of money and we have the latest and greatest technology, and we have all of the telematics, Seeing Machines and cameras.

“We are preaching all of the time about road safety in the transport industry. How are we going get that out to the general public for the disgraceful behaviour that they display and jeopardise all of our drivers and our trucks? I can pull out some footage from the last ten days of tragedies, which have only just been missed. All captured on in-cab cameras, what do we do with it?”

On the same topic Sal Petroccitto, National Heavy Vehicle CEO expressed his frustration and the difficulty of getting the message out to the broader public.

“We have invested over $800,000 over the next 12 months on a young driver campaign,” said Sal. “The slogan is , ‘Don’t Muck with a Truck’ and you can work out what the muck stands for.

There is no driver eduction happening in any curriculum in school. In any driving test, there is only one question, which educates young drivers how to drive around trucks. The education system has failed, the training system has failed. The trucking industry bears the brunt of it.”

Sal Petroccitto, National Heavy Vehicle Regulator CEO.

One of the other topics which was raised was the Inland Freight Route, which should see major infrastructure work to improve a designated route from Northern NSW up through inland Queensland from Mungindi in NSW, to St George, Roma, Emerald and on up to Charters Towers.

The plan is for this to be a safe and efficient highway for large combinations to haul all freight up through the spine of Queensland in a safe and productive manner. This will take the strain off of the dangerous Bruce Highway and enable transporters throughout rural and north Queensland to benefit from a fast high productivity route for trucks.

THE BULL CARTERS BALL At the traditional final act of the LRTAQ Conference, the Bull Carters Ball, the latest Young Person in Transport Award was presented to Luke Cannon.

Luke is now a Fleet Operations Saleyards Logistics officer at Frasers Livestock Transport, after starting with Frasers in 2014 in the welding/ maintenance section of the Warwick workshop. His personal character and integrity were immediately evident from the way in which he conducted himself, carrying out duties to direction as well as displaying early an ability to self-start.

Luke is a second-generation employee of Frasers (Luke’s Father Kevin also currently works at Frasers and has done so for the past 22 years) and displays immense pride and professionalism

The latest Young Person in Transport Award was presented to Luke Cannon.

in every task that he tackles and is committed to following the career highway of his profession.

Young people in the industry was one of the topics highlighted by Scott Bucholz, Federal Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport, in his speech to the conference he talked about the issue of proper apprenticeships for drivers entering the industry.

“What we have done is taken a traineeship, Logistics Certificate 3, from one place on the spreadsheet to a fully fledged apprenticeship position on that sheet,” said Scott. “We give that spreadsheet back to the states and it goes to the Skills Ministers, in each state who will put a framework around what the apprenticeship looks like.

“To use an example like an electrician, they will be trained slightly differently in New South Wales, than an electrician in Victoria, and those standards are set by the Skills Minister.

We are using industry peak bodies, like the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) to get some kind of continuity across the states.

“We should get those up and running by the end of the year. We hope that the states are like Queensland, who are more than ready to adopt the transport apprenticeship for drivers in the logistics sector.”

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RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS

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PUT YOUR OWN BUSINESS FIRST

T

he Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) is comprised of six mature state associations, together representing around 700 individual transport businesses.

For most of the past 35 plus years we have focussed on the bigger picture. We have driven our own agenda. We have put forward ideas and strategies to influence decision makers. We have been on the front foot, always striving to protect and enhance your operating environment so that it remains safe, efficient and financially viable.

But these are not normal times. Over the past two years, we have lurched from crisis to crisis. The shocks to our industry have been many and varied. It hasn’t been government regulation, media, research or community expectations that have thrown up disruptions, it’s been drought, fires, floods, war and disease, perhaps the most enduring and difficult of all challenges that have affected human-kind over the millennia.

From the perspective of a national industry association, there is not a lot we can do about the weather, species jumping viruses or centuries old territorial disputes.

So when these shocks suddenly occur, we need to be nimble and quickly switch modes from proactive to reactive. Other longer-term priorities just have to go on hold. During the storm, we batten down the hatches and man the pumps to keep the ship afloat until the inclement weather has passed.

Throughout these challenges, ALRTA and our six State Member Associations have represented the interests of grassroots members at the highest levels. We attended the National Drought Summit. We put forward views at the National Bushfire Recovery Forum. We were involved in drafting the National Freight Movement Code in response to the COVID pandemic.

And we have kept members up-to-date about flood disruptions including available support and financial assistance.

Some of our most significant achievements have been to delay significant heavy vehicle charging increases by two

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“OPERATING A TRANSPORT BUSINESS IS DIFFICULT AT THE BEST OF TIMES. IT’S A HIGH CAPITAL, HIGH COST, LOW MARGIN GAME AND WE OPERATE IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT.” years, establish national protocols for the safe re-opening of food, showers, rest and toilet amenities, and to influence the creation of a multi-year loss carry back allowance for all Australian businesses.

Through our membership of the Australian Trucking Association we have also tackled the adblue shortage, maintained generous accelerated depreciation allowances, and gained ‘in principle’ Ministerial approval for a move to competency-based licensing and a new driver apprenticeship to help address our longer-term labour shortages.

Yet, as you know, the real impacts of these external shocks are felt at the coalface, in your business. Thanks to ongoing disruptions to global supply chains and domestic labour shortages, the Australian economic climate is rapidly changing. Inflation is back, and it’s not happy!

Like all of ALRTA’s elected Councillors, ALRTA National President, Scott McDonald, runs his own freight business. McDonald Brothers Transport purchased their first truck in 2000 and have since grown it to a fleet of 12 today. The business operates tippers, crates, flattops and dropdeck trailers, servicing all types of rural transport tasks.

Scott recently offered advice for fellow carriers about surviving economic shocks in uncertain times that is worth repeating here.

“Operating a transport business is difficult at the best of times. It’s a high capital, high cost, low margin game and we operate in a competitive environment,” said President McDonald. “While recent headlines are reporting a steep and sustained increase in the price of diesel and adblue, most other cost inputs are being affected by inflation with the price of tyres, parts, vehicles and labour also

increasing significantly in recent months.

“Most transport businesses cannot afford to absorb these increases. Now is the time to put some effort into really understanding the full cost of providing your freight service. Calculating the impact of increased fuel prices is the easy part.

However, it’s important to also factor in the current cost of replacing tyres and parts as well as performing essential maintenance.

And at some point, you are going to need to replace the truck and trailers, so you need to make sure your margins can cover that too.

“Understanding these rising costs is vital in building a case to adjust your freight rates. Customers are for more understanding when you can explain why your rates must go up. It’s of no help to your business to work harder for the same rate you’ll just go broke faster. We should approach this important issue as an industry.

Rate increases are easier to achieve when everyone understands the true cost of our service.”

So, while the ALRTA and our State Member Associations are fighting the good fight on your behalf at the very top of the decision-making ladder, don’t forget to take the time to protect yourself at the individual business level.

No-one knows your business better than you. And with the price of most agricultural commodities at (or near) all-time highs, now is the time to make sure your freight rates are sustainable.

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

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NATROAD NEWS

THE MORE INDUSTRY ISSUES CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME If you want to shape the future, don’t forget the past, says Warren Clark, NatRoad CEO, in this look at the issues facing the trucking industry today.

F

ive years ago, our industry had a short-list of issues of concern in the run-up to the 2016 Federal election. We were calling on whoever formed government to take serious action to improve road safety.

The Parliament had rightly scrapped the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT), but there was concern about

It’s not that we haven’t had a lot of wins along the way in five years. What’s more of a problem is a lack of appetite for reform that pervades both sides of government. There are good people on both Coalition and Labor teams and at the State and Territory levels, but it takes more than the words of a few to change the will of the many.

“IT’S NOT THAT WE HAVEN’T HAD A LOT OF WINS ALONG THE WAY IN FIVE YEARS. WHAT’S MORE OF A PROBLEM IS A LACK OF APPETITE FOR REFORM THAT PERVADES BOTH SIDES OF GOVERNMENT. THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE ON BOTH COALITION AND LABOR TEAMS AND AT THE STATE AND TERRITORY LEVELS, BUT IT TAKES MORE THAN THE WORDS OF A FEW TO CHANGE THE WILL OF THE MANY.” new and increased regulation that might replace it. And we all wanted more practical business support for trucking to keep operators afloat. Half a decade and two elections later, our industry’s focus isn’t much different.

Safety is still fundamental to how we operate, and governments at all levels still aren’t doing enough to improve it.

The tsunami of COVID, supply chain disruptions, driver shortages and rising fuel prices that have driven some businesses to the wall are continuing to compound tiny operating margins, making life tougher for those who remain.

And while a Labor Government would review labour laws, especially those pertaining to the gig economy, NatRoad still opposes any thought of exhuming the RSRT from the grave. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that all of the above remain real and present issues for us all.

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Our history as a Commonwealth is that doing as little as possible to align ourselves with each other is more often than not the default behaviour. The national regulations that supposedly govern how we operate have grown to be increasingly unwieldy and difficult to apply.

We need to take things down to simple principles. We are an essential industry. The pandemic proved that beyond doubt. So we must ask our politicians if they want us to thrive, then why do we have a regulatory system that assumes the truck driver is always in the wrong, and penalties are applied that don’t fit the so-called crime?

Misspelling a town’s name in a travel diary should not be a fineable offence. Unless it’s a bald-faced attempt to say you were someone else, I’m struggling to think how it can even deserve a warning.

Fractionally exceeding a speed limit when driving to conditions, while accommodating the behaviour of seemingly unaware motorists to avoid a collision, should invoke a warning and not the automatic imposition of a hefty fine and loss of points. Yes, there’s always an appeal process but the costs of legally challenging infringement notices is too high, especially when the prosecutor regularly claims their costs.

For us to thrive as an industry, roads need to be better and we need more rest stops. So tie Federal road grants to states and make it mandatory that they adopt better design and rest areas as a condition of funding.

The Federal Government’s own figures show that heavy vehicle charges recover about $22 out of every $100 spent on roads, yet only $17 out of every $100 spent on roads by the Australian Government supports freight.

NatRoad was right behind Pre-Budget calls on the Australian Government to take responsibility for funding and operating all major freight roads. It should then upgrade them all to meet minimum safety star ratings, apply national rest area guidelines, drive productivity outcomes and mandate mandatory service level standards.

The annual spend on rest areas alone is only about $5.5m, which is woefully inadequate when you consider how many lives could be saved by building more.

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J o

POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

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24/3/2022 11:25

INDUSTRY ISSUE

SPREAD THE WORD: SHARE THE ROAD THIS HOL ID

We Need Space provides simple tips on how light vehicle drivers can safely share the road with trucks.

Each year, the Easter and school holiday period sees high volumes of Australians driving on our roads to visit friends, family and loved ones. And while many people are on holidays, we know the trucking industry doesn’t stop.

B

ringing heavy vehicles, light vehicles, caravans and bikes together on our roads during this particularly busy period means the potential for accidents to occur

The campaign aims to educate L and P licence holders about how to safely share the road with trucks.

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

increases. So, it’s important that we all make safety a priority during the holidays so we can ensure everyone travelling on our roads returns home safely.

We know more than 80 per cent of

multi-vehicle crashes are caused by the light vehicle driver. This is why we’re urging everyone in the heavy vehicle industry to share some simple safety messages with their mates this holiday period, which could save lives.

Please spread the word – don’t linger in a truck’s blind spot, cut in front of a truck, or park in truck bays.

If you know a mate who is taking their caravan out for the holidays, let them know about the importance of leaving rest stops free for heavy vehicle drivers who need to manage their fatigue.

Or if you have a mate who’s a learner driver or on their Ps, point them to our Don’t #uck with a Truck campaign. If they’ve been driving for years, they still might not know that trucks have four blind spots, so send them to our We Need Space campaign and explain

INDUSTRY ISSUE DON’T #UCK WITH A TRUCK

OL IDAY PERIOD

The Don’t #uck With A Truck campaign is designed to improve young drivers’ awareness about how to drive safely around trucks.

It aims to educate L and P licence holders about how to safely share the road when trucks are turning, stopping and how to overtake a truck.

Don’t #uck With A Truck was launched in January 2022 and appears online on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube.

For more information and to share the Don’t #uck With a Truck campaign with your mates, visit www. dontmuckwithatruck.com.au WE NEED SPACE

We Need Space provides simple tips on how light vehicle drivers can safely share the road with trucks.

The campaign is spearheaded by former Supercars star Garth Tander and provides educational resources and videos for light vehicle drivers about how to avoid truck blind spots, overtake a truck safely and overtake a turning truck.

In 2021, we partnered with Coles and its supply chain partners Toll and Linfox to promote the campaign, branding their trailers with the We Need Space messages.

where heavy vehicle blind spots are and how they can make it easier for you by avoiding those areas.

More generally, it’s about being truck aware. This means leaving space for trucks to stop and turn and only overtaking or merging when there is a long stretch of road, with full visibility.

The Don’t #uck With A Truck campaign is designed to improve young drivers’ awareness.

Share these simple messages with your mates: • Can you see a truck’s mirrors?

• Leave truck bays clear for truck drivers to rest • Leave extra space for a heavy vehicle to turn • Don’t steal the space in front of

a heavy vehicle • Drive to the conditions around heavy vehicles This advice isn’t new, but it remains critical and we know the message can really sink in when you – a member of the trucking community – talk about your first-hand experiences on the roads.

The more your mates understand the safety issues heavy vehicle drivers face each day, the more they can do to prevent incidents from occurring.

So please share these reminders with friends, family and colleagues, and keep an eye on our social media channels for more information.

Stay safe.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SHARE THE WE NEED SPACE RESOURCES

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INDUSTRY ISSUE

HVNL CIRCUIT BREAKER Rather than complain, the Australian Trucking Association has come up with an alternative, says David Smith, ATA Chair.

T

he National Transport Commission’s review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law has dragged on since 2018 and there’s no end in sight. Many of us have made submission after submission and yet there’s been no movement at all.

To say it’s disappointing is an absolute understatement.

The ATA could easily just sit on the sidelines and complain about the situation. However, we’ve decided to take action and introduce a circuit breaker. That circuit breaker is an alternative policy we’ve drafted called the Road Transport Act, which would replace the Heavy Vehicle National Law. The draft Road Transport Act shows our commitment to laws that have the national economy at the heart and ensure the safe, productive movement of freight. Our draft Road Transport Act would be a Commonwealth Act, not a cooperative national scheme, so the law would be the same for all the participating states and territories.

Under the draft Act, all businesses operating trucks would be required to have a safety management system (SMS). This would mean that every business operating trucks would need to address driver fatigue in its SMS. The regulations would set out maximum work hours for non-certified businesses. For a certified business to exceed that level, it would need appropriate risk controls.

The draft Road Transport Act could see the end of official work diaries, which are nothing more than a compliance trap for hard working truck drivers. Under our model,

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

“THE NEW ROAD TRANSPORT ACT WOULD DRAMATICALLY BOOST THE INDUSTRY’S PRODUCTIVITY. IT WOULD DEFINE VEHICLE ACCESS ON THE NATIONAL LAND TRANSPORT NETWORK TO INCLUDE COMBINATIONS UP TO 53.5 METRES. THE ROAD TRANSPORT ACT WOULD ALSO REPLACE THE PERMIT SYSTEM AND THE NUMBER OF ACCESS PERMITS WOULD BE REDUCED BY AT LEAST 95 PER CENT.” businesses would be required to keep records of driver work hours, which could be in any format as long as they meet the requirements of the law. This would be more efficient and would save operators millions of dollars every year.

The proposed law would also eliminate minor fatigue and work diary offences. Long term fitness for duty would be handled through the licensing system. All truck drivers would be required to have regular medicals against fit-for-purpose medical standards.

The new Road Transport Act would dramatically boost the industry’s productivity. It would define vehicle access on the National Land Transport Network to include combinations up to 53.5 metres. The Road Transport Act would also replace the permit system and the number of access permits would be reduced by at least 95 per cent.

Operators would be able to check their access 24/7. The system would match each vehicle’s configuration to the network assets on the vehicle’s

possible routes. Operators would generally be able to use an available route without needing a permit.

PBS vehicles would be handled the same way.

The Road Transport Act would make changes to heavy vehicle registration, with heavy vehicle plates to become truly national. The inconsistencies in the current scheme would easily be eliminated and heavy vehicle registrations would be exempt from state stamp duty.

We know it’s unusual for a national industry association to create a draft law. However, to us, it’s the obvious way to break the impasse.

We urge governments to adopt our proposed law and put an end to this policy review circus that has frustrated far too many of us for far too long.

YOU CAN CHECK OUT A SLIDE DECK ABOUT THE DRAFT ON THE ATA WEBSITE

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GOING GLOBAL

ANOTHER NEW ELECTRIC TRUCK BRAND GOES INTO PRODUCTION New UK truck factories are as rare as hen teeth, but PowerTorque’s European Correspondent, Will Shiers, was pleased to visit one in south east England earlier this year as another new electric truck brand goes into production.

D

uring my lifetime I’ve witnessed countless UK truck factory closures: Bedford, ERF, Foden and Seddon Atkinson to name just a few, but until now, I don’t think I’ve ever written about one that’s opening!

The factory in question is in Tilbury, Essex, about 20 miles to the east of London, and belongs to Tevva.

This may well be the first time you’ve heard of this zero tailpipe emissions truck manufacturer, but the company

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

has been around for almost a decade, and marketing director David Thackray is keen to point out to me that it’s not a start-up.

“Between 2013 and 2020 we were a start-up, but now we’re a scale-up company,” says David, explaining that this phase is capital intensive, so needs to be as short as possible. “It’s ultimately pre profit, and if you don’t punch through this phase in rapid time, you’ll make it more capital intensive than it needs to be. You need to light the rocket and

get it into orbit quickly.”

This is exactly what Tevva is doing, with the help of £53m ($95m) of funding it has secured from investors over the last 12 months.

At the heart of its rocket launch plans is the new 11,150 m2 assembly plant, which I visited in February. At the time contractors were busy fitting the 12 assembly stations, readying it for full production in the summer. When it’s up and running, it will be capable of building up to 3,000 trucks per annum.

GOING GLOBAL

If Tevva’s ambitious production targets are anything to go by, it will have outgrown the building by the end of next year. With this in mind, the process for sourcing additional facilities is already underway, reflecting Tevva’s ‘build where you sell’ approach, which minimises both cost and carbon footprint.

The first battery-powered 7.5-tonners will stealthily roll off the line in July, and by the middle of 2023 it expects to be producing between 150 and 200 units per month. By then it will be firmly into the transition phase. Of these, an estimated 33 per cent to 50 per cent will go to British customers, with the rest destined for European export markets including Benelux, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. But it is also looking further afield.

This May Tevva will show a batterypowered truck at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach, California, and at the same time is expected to announce where in the USA it will be setting up a factory. It is currently working with external partners to evaluate the relative merits of several US states. According to its ambitious plans, it will be building trucks Stateside

The first battery-powered 7.5-tonners will stealthily roll off the line in July.

TEVVA MODEL RANGE There are several Tevva models in the pipeline, but first to market will be its 7.5 and 8 tonne battery electric offerings. Based on glider chassis supplied by Iveco, the truck features a 110kW lithium iron phosphate battery, which operates at 380V. Advantages of lithium iron phosphate are that it’s thermally very stable, cost effective, and it’s good for 80 per cent capacity after 2,000 charging cycles. It is however slightly bulkier and heavier than some other chemistries.

The truck utilises a new 120kW switched reluctance motor. Developed specifically around commercial vehicle duty cycles, it has no permanent magnets, which means cooling requirements are less complex. It also doesn’t contain any rare earth metals, which helps to keep the cost down. The motor is modular, in this case consisting of two 60kW pieces, generating 150hp.

The early prototype pictured here, has a 4.8m wheelbase, air suspension at the rear and parabolic at the front. It is fitted with a pantech body and has a 2.8-tonne payload.

Thackray has a pet hate, and that’s when the industry quotes maximum ranges. In his opinion it is far more relevant to talk about worst case scenario. In the case of the 7.5-tonne Tevva, this is between 70 and 80 miles (110-130km), although operators can expect a normal range of between 110 and 130 miles (180-210km). The actual range is of course heavily dependent on a number of factors, including the weather, the driver, terrain, traffic conditions and ancillary loads (in particular refrigeration).

Full production of this currently unnamed model starts in July. The next model in Tevva’s timeline will be a hydrogen fuel cell range extender 7.5 tonner, which goes into production in Q1 2023. This will be followed by a fuel cell range extender 12 tonner in Q3 2023, which is joined by a 19-tonne version six months later.

Although Tevva only has rigids in its immediate plans, it is also embarking on an articulated truck consortium project with an interested fleet partner.

www.powertorque.com.au

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GOING GLOBAL

by the first quarter of 2024, and a year later this is likely to be its biggest single market.

Back in Blighty, the UK government has set some aggressive emissions targets, with a ban on diesel trucks below 26 tonnes GVW set to come into force in 2035 (2040 for over 26 tonnes).

However, there’s no pressing regulatory

David Thackray, Tevva Marketing Director.

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

need for operators to make the switch from diesel to zero tailpipe emissions.

In other words, operators have a free pass to buy a fleet of Euro-6 diesel vehicles today, and if they want to swap them in seven years, they can buy another fleet of diesel vehicles. In fact, if they compress the buying cycle by one year, they could also purchase a

third round of diesel trucks before the ban comes into force. However Tevva believes plenty of companies will take the moral high ground, and will look to make the move sooner.

But what I want to know is why Tevva believes these operators will come knocking on its door instead of those of the established European truck makers, many of which already have electric offerings.

“Have you seen how much they’re charging?” is his immediate response.

“Our 7.5-tonne BEV is £140,000 ($250,000).” To put this figure into perspective, the 16-tonne Renault D ZE which I drove around London’s M25 motorway (PowerTorque September 2021) had a price tag in excess of £350,000 ($626,000).

“The reality is that we only have one purpose, and that is to sell electric vehicles in volume, and not in ones or twos,” he continues.” This world isn’t going to get where it needs to go if companies put one of two halo vehicles on their fleets. Instead we’re talking about [orders of] 10s, 20s, 50s and 100s. We’re talking about selling them for mainstream re-fleeting.”However Tevva is well aware that even the most environmentally conscious companies will only make the switch if it makes some financial sense too, believing that some will be prepared to make small profit sacrifices, but only in the short term. But Tevva has this covered, having spent the last several years working to ensure that it can build an electric vehicle at a price that’s ‘market viable’.

“I’ve taken the view after all the conversations I’ve had with hundreds of operators in the UK and Europe that if you are going to sell in volume, you need the vehicle to achieve cost parity with diesel at about 25,000 miles,” says David. “We all know about the high CapEx, low OpEx equation. But if you can get to a position where your OpEx savings cancel out your CapEx uplift at about 25,000 miles per annum, then you have a vehicle that makes perfectly good sense to the operator and isn’t a financial compromise.

“It becomes a direct like-for-like swap for diesel without any compromises on cost. At the 7.5-tonne level we’re looking at £140,000 ($250,000) to make that happen. At 12 tonnes it’s a bit more, and

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at 19 tonnes it’s a bit more again.”

He believes some early Tevva customers might only purchase a handful initially, but having dipped their toes in the water, will then have the confidence to wade in. “They’ll buy in mainstream volume when they discover it’s a zero-emission option without a financial compromise and without a meaningful payload compromise,” says David.

Just how a company that’s buyingin glider chassis cabs from a third party, is able to significantly undercut the old-guard truck makers’ electric offerings, leads me to assume that we will see some significant price drops in the coming years.

Thackray agrees, and acknowledges that Tevva won’t have the market to

itself for very long. He fully anticipates that established rivals will be offering battery-powered trucks ‘at a more sensible price’ by 2025.

“That’s another reason why we’re all about pace,” says David. “The sand is in the glass, but that’s fine. In three of four years from now, when someone has 50 of our vehicles and then a competitor says ‘we’ve got one at that price now’, they’ll say ‘that’s nice but there’s no reason to change as we’re happy with what we have.

“Tevva will have built a reputation for great range, great reliability, great driving characteristics and with a great service behind them, in that situation, we expect operators will find no motivation to revert to historical supply arrangements.”

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TECH KNOW

DEPENDABLE OILS KEEP TRUCKS RUNNING SMOOTHLY When searching for the best in engine and hydraulic oils for heavy-duty rod transport, the goal is reduced service intervals and improved efficiency and emissions. Luckily, the Mobil Delvac range satisfies both.

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fter ExxonMobil and Ampol entered a marketing alliance in late 2020, Ampol took the reins on the manufacture and distribution of Mobil* lubricants in 2021, with cornerstone products like Mobil Delvac continuing to improve.

The Delvac* range of diesel engine oils was first developed in 1925, but Ampol technical solutions specialist Abdulla Nasser told PowerTorque that the range and quality of current day Mobil Delvac is worlds away from its origins.

“There is an excellent range of engine oils depending on what a customer’s emissions requirements are,” said Nasser, “but we usually recommend the Mobil Delvac Modern 15W-40 range of engine oils.”

This high-performance product range is the result of Mobil’s recognition that the road transport sector needs the best in efficiency and reliability.

Whether machines are running hot and heavy, or regulations call for strict emissions reductions – or both – Mobil Delvac Modern 15W-40 is a common calling card for the Ampol team.

“The best of the Mobil Delvac Modern 15W-40 range is the Full Protection option, which supports emissions standards and longer service intervals are achieved,” said Nasser.

“This product gives you extended drain intervals, and with our recent transition to Mobil lubricants, we’ll be looking being able to increase drain intervals by another 25 to 50 per cent.”

In a sector like trucking, where time is money, the lengthening of service intervals can be a game-changer for operations of all shapes and sizes.

What makes high performance oils attractive to machinery and equipment operators, besides spacing out the service intervals, is the potential to improve the reliability and efficiency of their equipment.

“If they somehow overextend on their

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service intervals, they still have enough of a buffer from this range,” Nasser said.

“If they’re supposed to change the oil out at 40,000km and they get around to it at 50,000km, they can still be confident that it won’t have much effect on the performance of the equipment.”

In hydraulic oils, Ampol continues to be a leader in the market with the Mobil range.

One example Nasser highlighted was the DTE 10 Excel Series hydraulic oil, designed to meet the needs of modern, high pressure, industrial and mobile equipment.

“Ampol are looking to show the road transport sector more about DTE 10 Excel because it’s a real stand-out product and we know the true benefit it can have to them,” Nasser said.

“It runs cleaner, and it lasts longer, even in hotter temperatures.

“The beauty of it is that it doesn’t break down through the machine’s pumps which could potentially decrease efficiencies for the machine overall.”

An added benefit of DTE 10 is its longevity over varying temperatures compared to similar oils in the market.

“Usually, hydraulic oils left in the sump too long can form a varnish and it thickens and becomes sticky which can build up and cause wear in various components,” Nasser explained.

“Whereas the DTE10 Excel series oils don’t tend to do that and in fact have been shown in the field to have a cleaning effect as well.”

Ampol customers include household names across the road transport sector, right down to the little operators who require just as much attention to their lubricant needs.

To cater to all kinds, Nasser said a lot of time is put into understanding unique customer requirements.

“The Ampol Technical and Product Solutions team (or TaPS) has a great understanding of Mobil products and how high-performance engine and hydraulic oils can benefit a machine as

Mobil Delvac Full Protection is highly recommended for quarrying applications.

well as a customer’s operations,” he said.

“We look at the specific applications for the customer and their required service intervals. We ask questions around what efficiency they want and how much uptime they’re targeting.”

And if for any reason the final product doesn’t seem up to scratch, which Nasser admitted would come as a shock, one can be sure that the next generation of Mobil Delvac oils or Mobil hydraulic oils will be another step in the right direction.

“The results of equipment performance and used oil analysis which Ampol and its customers are seeing in the DTE Excel fluids shows that this is most likely the best hydraulic oil in the Australian market today,” Nasser concluded.

SCAN QR CODE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AMPOL

*MobilTM and Mobil DelvacTM are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation and used under licence by Ampol Australia Petroleum Pty Ltd

DIESEL WORKSHOP

REAL WORLD COUPLING TESTING PROGRAM Australian Multiple Combinations test truck components to their limits, and a new initiative is setting up a real world coupling testing program, to assess the forces exerted on the connections between road train elements.

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urrently, the Australian Design Rules covering heavy vehicle do not offer any guidance for truck and trailer manufacturers beyond a truck GCM of 125 tonnes. At the same time, overall GCM ratings at higher tonnages are increasing and the Performance Based Standards Scheme (PBS) needs precise data on each articulation point, both fifth wheel and pin type, to design and assess possible configurations for submission to the scheme.

Measuring the forces at play between elements of a road train uses what is called the D-value, measured in kilonewtons (kN) and representing the theoretical horizontal force between towing vehicle and trailer, and between trailers.

Needless to say, this is a complicated calculation and one which is left to the engineers developing truck and trailer combinations around the world. However, Australia is one of the few places where the combinations on the road go outside of the normal parameters used

globally. As a result, the development of ever heavier road trains has taken those engineering outside of the normal envelope of understanding and created an issue for those developing large combinations.

The project is an initiative of the ARTSA Institute as lead, alongside the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), Truck Industry Council (TIC) and Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) and is funded by the Commonwealth Government through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s (NHVR) Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative.

The team behind the project is chaired by Martin Toomey (ARTSA-i) and supported by a Steering Group made up of Chris Loose from the Truck Industry Council, Bob Woodward from the Australian trucking Association, plus ASRTSA-i members Greg Rowe, Rob Smedley and Wayne Baker. there will be three working groups, On Road Testing, Laboratory Testing and Communications. Each of the working groups will have industry representation

as well, from suppliers like Jost, BPW, SAF Holland and V.Orlandi.

Project Manager and mechanical engineer Wayne Baker explains the background “We are aware that as a heavy vehicle combination gets heavier and longer, the forces that the couplings are subject to are lower than what a theoretical calculation shows. It is this phenomena that we are hoping to understand and quantify.”

LOOKING AT D-VALUES “Currently, the D-value formula on larger combinations, under the rules, caps out at 125 tonnes GCM,” says Rob Smedley, Director and Senior Engineer, Smedley Engineers. “When the calculation is used in larger combinations it can come out so high that manufacturers don’t even make couplings that meet that D-Value.

“However, those same couplings that don’t meet that D-value are being used successfully on our roads. At the moment there’s a black hole, where operators and trailer makers aren’t covered because, technically, they are

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TECH KNOW

using couplings which don’t meet the standard, but the standard was not developed in consideration of these kinds of combinations.”

Another complicating factor is that none of the normally used couplings are made here in Australia.

In setting up this testing project, no one is questioning the integrity of the couplings, or suggesting it is irresponsible of trailer makers to use them on these heavier combinations. There is also no suggestion that larger stronger couplings are needed.

The testing program is designed to quantify exactly what is going on at the point where one trailer is connected to the next, and tying up loose ends in the standards which were not designed to cope at these higher masses.

“We need to fully understand the forces that are in these larger combinations,” says Rob. “We are trying to make compliance work for everyone as these combinations continue to get bigger. Nothing like this has been done since back in the eighties.

There just weren’t combinations like that on the road, at that time.”

PBS assessors are required to make these calculations on heavier combinations and the lack of real world data available to them does mean that there is not a clearly delineated set of calculations which can demonstrate that a particular configuration will be suitable and able to cope in all conditions.

The whole process should provide engineers, road users and managers with confidence to design increasingly innovative combinations.

Currently, the calculation method is coming out with D-values up around the 600kN mark but fifth wheels which are rated at 350 kN are doing the job with little problem. This tells us that there is something not quite right about the way we calculate it.

“This work isn’t being done because of coupling failures,” says Rob. The project is designed to increase knowledge about couplings in combinations running at these higher GCMs, with the aim of reducing the risk factors for those designing, building and operating combinations running at

The vehicles will be fitted with an array of instrumentation to make a series of measurements.

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

these very high masses.

The ultimate aim will be to make updates to the Australian Standard for this equipment, which reflect the findings of the investigation. Globally, the organisation behind ISO Standards will also use the data to inform its requirements.

The project will be doing field testing on quad combinations, in the Northern Territory. The vehicles will be fitted with an array of instrumentation to make a series of measurements. Most of the equipment will be concentrated around the dolly and its connections the fifth wheel and the pin coupling.

Strain gauges and accelerometers will quantify the forces at play between vehicle units and in the couplings.

The road on which the combination is travelling will also be modelled. This will enable the team to see what input the roads surface and features end up creating as forces in the couplings as the combination travels the route.

Undulations in the road, cattle grids, etc will be on the route, so that the instrumentation will collect data on the forces exerted within the combination, on a normal working truck.

“We are going to model that road and combination, virtually, within a program called MSC Adams Multibody Dynamics,” says Rob. “Then, we are able to virtually reconfigure the combination that was tested, and calibrate that model to the on road values we have measured. From there, we will be able to rearrange that

DIESEL WORKSHOP

virtual vehicle into a number of different combinations, such as AB-triples, quins and other types of combinations.

“From this data we will develop a new formula, which can be used to determine coupling forces in all sorts of different combinations.”

Parallel to the on road testing the team will also be setting up a couple of projects in which laboratory testing of components, emulating the kind of forces at play on the road, are carried out in more controlled conditions. This will further validate the field testing results.

The D-value is simply a shorthand coupling specification that relates to the dynamic force between the vehicles in a combination. The value increases with higher the masses are either side of any connection.

The D-value requirement between the prime mover and the first trailer in a quad set-up, at the fifth wheel, is relatively low because the prime mover is a lot lighter than the trailers behind. The connection that requires the highest D-value is the one in the middle, with high masses in the trailers in front of it and behind. This is the coupling which appears to be undergoing forces higher than the notional design limits of the couplings.

“The vehicle we have selected for the project, we believe is going to be the worst case,” says Rob. “We are going to model other combinations to confirm it is the worst case, when we have calibrated it. Then we will be able to do many more

The ultimate aim will be to make updates to the Australian Standard for this equipment.

combinations, even down to singles and doubles, to make sure we aren’t overestimating the forces.

“We should come up with a formula, which will be able to be used for all combination designers come up with. That’s the goal.”

The formula may not be one single calculation for all combinations. it may well turn out there is a different formula for each distinct configuration. The initial results of this research should be available in around 18 month’s time.

The next stage will be to incorporate the findings in the Australian Standard for these couplings. Once it is in the

standards, that will feed back through the system, via relevant ADRs and the National Heavy Vehicle Standards.

The process of updating the Australian Standard is expected to be a relatively simple process, for this kind of change, because the decision-makers in this field are looking for a sound evidence base to provide clarity for the standard.

The whole process should provide engineers, road users and managers with confidence to design increasingly innovative combinations, with the benefit of a more precise knowledge of the forces being exerted on couplings within Australia’s heaviest combinations.

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TECH KNOW

IS THIS THE CURE FOR THE ‘K-SERIES BACK’?

For more than 50 years Kenworth’s venerable K-series cab-over has been a solid and dependable prime mover used for many tasks. Paul Matthei speaks with Wickham Freightlines Workshop Manager, Steve Lord, about a technical solution the company has developed to significantly improve the ride in its K200 prime movers.

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enworth’s immensely popular K-series has been a stalwart of the cab-over class for over half a century, and for good reason. Its propensity for reliability and longevity has enabled a multitude of operators to make a decent profit using it as a tool of the trade. The formula is simple, literally, in that Kenworth has stuck with a tried-and-true cab

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structure that has been gradually evolved rather than radically changed over the years.

The biggest change in the model’s history occurred when the K108 morphed into the K200 just over a decade ago. Kenworth engineers put a massive effort into improving cab ergonomics for the driver including raising the cab and fashioning a flat floor

between the seats for easier bunk access and a safer, more user-friendly set of steps and side catwalk for improved cab entry and egress.

However, they stopped short of fully addressing the K-series Achilles Heel, which is ride quality. Sure, various measures such as parabolic front springs have been added which have made a dramatic improvement over earlier

DIESEL WORKSHOP

“HE WAS BLOWN AWAY WHEN HE SAW IT AND WAS VERY EXCITED TO SEE IT BEING FITTED INTO THE TRUCK, WHICH TOOK ABOUT ONE DAY, AND THEN AROUND TWO DAYS FOR TESTING.” system to take that characteristic kick right out of them,” says Steve.

“We used as many Kenworth components as possible, including airbags, shocks and ride-height valves, so that replacement parts could be easily purchased from Brown and Hurley or Gilbert and Roach.”

Steve says the company has a number of talented fabricators who are able to construct just about anything, so the challenge of designing and building the necessary infrastructure for the cab suspension was met with relish by them.

Upon completion of the first iteration, the team installed an accelerometer to test its effectiveness and compared this with the results from one of the company’s Scanias.

“The results were actually quite similar, we were very happy with that,” Steve says, adding that the original K200 cab suspension project was started in 2018 after the company’s Operations Director Graham Keogh suggested he wouldn’t mind seeing some form of cab models. But the fact remains that the K-series ‘kick in the back’ is still evident on rough roads, of which, Australia has aplenty.

As a loyal Kenworth customer over five decades, Wickham Freightlines knows as well as any this shortcoming of the K200.

But rather than simply accepting the fact, the company decided to design and build its own solution in the form of an airbag cab suspension system.

Interestingly, in addition to a kaleidoscope of Kenworths, the company also runs a smattering of Scanias which are widely regarded as among the most comfortable prime movers in the business.

According to Workshop Manager, Steve Lord, the goal was to replicate, as near as possible, the ride quality of the Scania in the K200 by installing a twobag rear-of-cab air suspension system.

“Any cab-over Kenworth will whack you in the back on lumpy roads, so we wanted to design a cab suspension

suspension on the K200s.

“He mentioned this just before he went on a trip with Kenworth to the USA,” says Steve. “So being a bit of a thinker myself and having been in the game a long time, it started me thinking about how we could execute this and everything sort of snowballed from there.”

Steve explains that he set a time limit of three weeks to have a prototype K200 cab suspension built while Graham was away in the States, to give him a pleasant surprise when he returned.

“The boys and I pulled out all stops and worked long days to ensure the prototype was finished, painted and sitting on a frame ready to install in the truck when Graham got back,” says Steve, proudly adding, “He was blown away when he saw it and was very excited to see it being fitted into the truck, which took about one day, and then around two days for testing.

“We didn’t outsource any of it, the fabrication boys did a fantastic job using

Installing a two-bag rear-of-cab air suspension system.

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The prototype worked really well, the driver loved it and said it felt like a completely different truck to drive.

spare steel that we had laying around and the end result was most impressive.”

Steve says the first couple of days of testing included making sure nothing was going to rub due to the cab movement, with the concept operating exactly as they had envisaged.

“The prototype worked really well, the driver loved it and said it felt like a completely different truck to drive,” says Steve.

He adds that the finished product was fully engineered and mod plated so that it became an integral and, most importantly, legal part of the vehicle.

“It was actually a relatively simple concept, we didn’t try to redesign the whole truck but just focussed on an area of the K-Series that we believed could and should be improved,” says Steve.

Some three years on, the original design has been updated to MkIII status, with various improvements including individual height control valves for each airbag instead of a single unit connected to both bags, along with structural design ameliorations to make it more

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TESTAMENT TO THE SUCCESS OF WICKHAM’S CAB SUSPENSION, WHICH IS NOW FITTED TO FOUR OF THE COMPANY’S K200S THAT HAVE SINCE COLLECTIVELY TRAVELLED WELL OVER ONE MILLION KILOMETRES, KENWORTH ASKED THE COMPANY IF IT COULD BORROW ONE OF THE TEST UNITS TO EVALUATE THE CAB SUSPENSION AS PART OF ITS K220 DEVELOPMENT. aesthetically pleasing.

“The twin height control valves help keep the cab level by enabling the airbags to independently react to changes in the lean of the cab, such as when cornering,” says Steve.

Testament to the success of Wickham’s cab suspension, which is now fitted to four of the company’s K200s that have since collectively travelled well over one million kilometres, Kenworth asked the company if it could borrow one of the test units to evaluate the cab suspension as part of its K220 development.

Word has it that the forthcoming K220, reportedly due for a June 2022 release, will feature Kenworth’s version of cab suspension that will be yet another important evolutionary milestone in the lengthy K-series timeline.

All up, it’s a great example of a transport company with the initiative and wherewithal to fix an inherent foible in a prime mover; with the successful outcome leading to a similar fix in the new version for the benefit of all operators who subsequently purchase that particular model of vehicle.

POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

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TECH KNOW

GETTING THE DRIVELINE RIGHT Meritor are looking to maximise efficiency and durability when it comes to driveline specification, and have come up with a solution for some of the tougher line-haul freight tasks.

I

t is a constant battle for both truck makers and buyers to get the specification just right for the transport task they are needed for. There are so many variables, all of which will interact with each other to effect performance and durability.

This was the issue which Meritor were considering when looking at drive axle specification in prime movers. When discussing the issue with truck buyers, the market was looking for better fuel economy, lower operating temperatures, lower cost, improved warranty and tight fit differential bolts.

At the same time, the drive axle specification has to be suited to a wide variety of tasks, different tasks have slightly different needs. The decision was made by Meritor to offer two options, one mainly for line-haul and another for the vocational.

Each would be specified to meet the

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POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

“OPERATORS CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN A STRAIGHTFORWARD LINE-HAUL TANDEM AXLE, SUITABLE FOR CLEARLY DEFINED LINE-HAUL B-DOUBLE AND SINGLE OPERATIONS, WITH SPECIFICATIONS DESIGNED TO MAXIMISE EFFICIENCY, INCLUDING PUMPLESS OPERATION.” different demands of each application.

Operators can choose between a straightforward line-haul tandem axle, suitable for clearly defined line-haul B-double and single operations, with specifications designed to maximise efficiency, including pumpless operation.

The vocational drive tandem axle includes a specification for high spec pinion bearings and tight fit crown wheel bolts, and includes pump and diff lock options on both axles. This is clearly

targeted to suit multiple applications and in particular heavy duty vocational applications where customers are looking for reliability.

SCAN QR CODE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MERITOR

TECH KNOW

ZERO MAINTENANCE DAMPING SUSPENSION SERVICING Like most systems on trucks and trailers, it is important to understand how Zero Maintenance Damping Suspensions work to conduct a service inspection. bellows, air in the bellows pressurises and moves through the orifices into the piston chamber. The orifices in the piston restrict air flow in the same way as oil flow is restricted by traditional shock absorber piston valves.

On rebound, the bellows area increases in volume and the air in the piston chamber moves through the orifices back to inside the bellows. This action provides controlled suspension Air Movement within ZMD Air Spring in Rebound. movement that delivers good ride quality, eliminating the need for shock absorbers. uspensions that use Hendrickson However, one function air springs are Zero Maintenance Damping (ZMD) not able to achieve is rebound limiting. air springs don’t have the same Therefore, to prevent excessive axle service inspection requirements rebound movement ZMD suspensions use as standard shocked suspensions. The down stop chains. main difference with these suspensions is Hendrickson ZMD suspensions rely that there are no shock absorbers, which primarily on the air spring for suspension ultimately fail or leak. control. Therefore, correct ride height, cleaning and inspection of these air OPERATION springs plays a critical role in suspension The ZMD suspension system eliminates reliability. the need for conventional shock absorbers • I mportant: The specialised ZMD air and integrates the damping function springs cannot simply be interchanged into the air spring. ZMD air springs have with standard air springs. an air chamber built into the lower air spring piston.

The air spring chambers exchange air INSPECTION through calibrated orifices in the top of the Ensure that mounting hardware, air piston. When the suspension hits a bump springs, spacers and down stop chains in the road, the piston moves up into the are in good condition and correct for the

S

designed suspension ride height. Any worn, damaged or mismatched parts may result in damage to the suspension and suspension components.

Look for chafing or any signs of component damage. Look for misplaced air lines that may rub on air spring bellows. Check to ensure truck or trailer ride height is at specification. Operating at an incorrect ride height will place extra strain on air springs and other suspension components.

Ensure that the upper bead plate is tight against the mounting bracket and that the mountings show no sign of movement. Air springs should be cleaned regularly of dirt and dust that may build up around the bead. Any grime in this area will eventually wear through the rubber bellows and cause premature failure to occur.

ZMD SERVICE FAQ How can I identify a ZMD suspension?

The main sign will be that instead of shock absorbers, there will be chain down stops. There may also be a label on the trailer chassis indicating fitment of a ZMD shockless suspensions. Closer inspection will reveal the words Zero Maintenance Damping embossed above the unique ZMD part number on the air spring bellows.

How do I confirm the damping on a ZMD suspension is correct since there are no shock absorbers to check?

There are no moving internal components in a ZMD air spiring. So, there are no inner parts that will wear out or fail. If the suspension is fitted with the right air springs, that are in working order, then it will be correctly damped.

ZMD Air Spring Identification.

Zero Maintenance Damping Components.

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N S A

ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY TO BE SMARTER Smart trucks, smart braking systems, telematics, alongside some, seemingly, not so smart compliance requirements!

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e need to be smarter and start using the basics of these smart technologies for simpler, smarter compliance outcomes, says Bob Woodward, Australian Trucking Association Chief Engineer.

It is disappointing how the mandating of some safety technologies is accepted as a ‘well I have to do it’, as long as it’s fitted, from there I really don’t care! EBS is more, much more than that, and as with many technologies, we don’t know what we don’t know.

However, we also need to be willing to have our ‘what we don’t know’ horizons expanded and start to embrace, by learning and implementing, being more receptive and delving more into the unknown, to start asking the questions, what’s in it for me?

Recently, an operator called to enquire about a statement that he had heard operators can extract axle group weights from a Trailer-EBS system.

In respect of trailers, the answer is a definite yes, but may not be so readily accessible, if you don’t have the appropriate outputs/displays.

The fact of the matter is ,you can, and by managing some other specific factors the results can be surprisingly accurate. My own experience, has seen triaxle weights within 80 kg of the certified weigh-bridge are consistently achievable.

But the T-EBS system must be appropriately powered, the suspension needs to be correctly setup and the systems configured and calibrated. The suspension must be set at operating ride-height and the

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suspension eye bushes must only be torqued up when the suspension is at ride height with the brakes released (many aren’t).

Then the T-EBS system lower and upper calibration set points must be configured using actual weigh-bridge masses (with all brakes released).

The ATA-ITC produced a Technical Bulletin with input from ITC partners BPW Transpec, Fuwa K-Hitch, Hendrickson, MaxiTrans and SAF Holland (each ITC members) to assist operators. (See QR Code at the foot of this article.)

The fact is, the T-EBS smarts and mass basics are what provides the inputs for electronic brake load proportioning. So, it’s time to refocus and keep compliance requirements simple. Remember, when using suspension-based technologies for mass management, the vehicle needs to be on level ground and the brakes released to get superior results.

With a few basics sorted, is a fully functioning trailer T-EBS smart?

Definitely! So, what could go wrong?

Plenty, some of the systems supporting EBS leave much to be desired.

The Australian Design Rules ‘Definitions and Categories’ states: B-Double, a combination of vehicles consisting of a prime mover towing two ‘Semi-trailers’.

Road Train, a combination of vehicles, other than a ‘B-Double’, consisting of a motor vehicle towing at least two trailers (counting as one trailer a ‘Converter Dolly’ supporting a ‘Semi-trailer’).

ADR 35/06 Clause 5.8.2 says, ‘Each vehicle designed to be used in ‘Road Train’ combinations, must be equipped

with a special connector conforming to ISO 7638-1:2003, together with a permanent electrical supply system configured for 24-volt operation.

Note 3 adds, ‘This does not prevent fitment of an additional ISO 76382 connector for a 12-volt nominal supply voltage.’

Sounds simple enough, but there are suppliers and operators who don’t seem to (or want to) understand the downsides, a 12-volt supply just doesn’t cut it as an EBS power supply when there are more than two trailers and if you count the converter dolly as a trailer, an A-double has three trailers.

The downsides of reduced voltage (brown-out) can impact negatively.

You can get an over-braked dolly, impacting on safety, or the rear trailer wheels lock-up when lightly laden, plus, there’s trailer swing. Whether you call it a road train or a PBS A-double or a B-triple or any other combination, if it isn’t a B-double and has two or more trailers, it’s a road train and the Trailer EBS supply needs to be 24-volt.

So, what can go wrong with an EBS brown-out? Lots, including overbraking and loss of EBS functions on the trailing trailer/s.

IF IN DOUBT. Talk to your relevant T-EBS supplier: HALDEX, Knorr Bremse or WABCO.

SCAN THIS CODE FOR THE RELEVANT ATA TECHNICAL BULLETIN

POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

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Actual product performance may vary depending upon vehicle configuration, operation, service and other factors. ©2022 Hendrickson USA, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks shown are owned by Hendrickson USA, L.L.C., or one of its affiliates, in one or more countries.

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COLD CHAIN

EFFECTIVENESS OF REFRIGERATION POWER, THE FORGOTTEN FEATURE OF THERMAL EFFICIENCY Mark Mitchell, Chairman, Australian Food Cold Chain Council (AFCCC) looks at refrigeration effectiveness.

Coefficient of Insulative Effectiveness.

I

n the world of truck and trailer refrigerated body benchmarking, a lot of time is spent worrying about the K value or ‘Coefficient of Insulative Effectiveness’. This is of course, important, as is any measurement or standard that confirms the thermal quality of a transport asset.

The diagram below explains it well. If a body is built properly using the highest quality materials and techniques, the K value is lower, and the body will reject more of the outside heat from entering the refrigerated space.

This is all great, but all too often the second part is forgotten, which is the effectiveness of the refrigeration system in combination with the quality of the refrigerated body to achieve an efficient outcome.

The refrigeration system must have enough capacity to overcome the heat leakage of the trailer or truck body and the additional heat load imposed from such things as infiltration, product load, deterioration of the insulation material, and

78

POWERTORQUE May/June 2022

equipment load such from fans and lights.

All the good work of building a great trailer body can go out the window with the wrong choice of refrigeration, and conversely the work of a good refrigeration system could all be in vain if connected to a thermally inefficient or faulty body.

Effectiveness of refrigeration power.

A struggling refrigeration system means that the system needs to continuously operate to cope with the heat load, which results in significantly higher power and fuel consumption. Additionally, temperature sensitive goods such as dairy and meat could be affected and wasted in the absence of proper performance.

In addition to testing for airtightness and heat leakage, the Australian Standard AS4982 sets out requirements of refrigeration performance by measuring the time taken to reduce the temperature in a body, and the system’s ability to hold this temperature over time. For a body to achieve a freezer classification (Class C), the system must start at 38°C and reach -18°C within eight hours and hold this temperature for an additional four hours with an additional heat load of 35 percent added.

This requirement establishes the very important partnership between the refrigeration system and the body of the vehicle. It is the only true way of determining if a truck body or refrigerated trailer is fit for the purpose and the temperature requirement it is built for.

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WE’RE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. The National Road Transport Association is a not-for-profit business that supports the trucking industry by offering advice, discounts and a partnership that helps you navigate the road to success.

We are 100% independent and funded by our members and business partners, and we’ll always put you first to make sure you are across changes to the legislation plus everything else you need to know about the complex world of trucking.

For more information call 1800 272 144 or email info@natroad.com.au natroad.com.au

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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JOINING NATROAD? When you become a NatRoad member, you won’t just get a couple of bumper stickers, you’ll have access to some of the best benefits for trucking businesses in the country.

• Massive fuel discounts from Ampol: Apply for, or link your existing AmpolCard, with your NatRoad membership to save thousands of dollars per year per truck. You simply can’t afford to miss out on this deal.

• Discount on tyres: Member offers on Bridgestone and Firestone tyres, and Bandag retreads.

• Complimentary magazine subscriptions: The Power Torque Magazine, delivered to your door plus subscriptions to digital industry news sites.

• Insurance benefits with National Transport Insurance (NTI) including: - Waiving the additional age excess on prime-movers, rigid trucks and trailers.

- A move from Market Value to an Agreed Value settlement base.

- An increase in non-dangerous goods liability cover to $35M, an increase of $2.5M. - Automatic inclusion of additional insurance property increased to 90 days, up from 45 days.

- Immediate commencement of repairs through NTI’s Premium Repairer network.

Discounted roadside assistance with Truck Assist: NatRoad members receive an exclusive 20% discount on the cost of the Value or Premium plan for Truck Assist Roadside Assistance.

• Discount on health insurance with nib: NatRoad members receive up to 10% off premiums, with the usual 2 and 6 months waiting period on extras waived.

• Savings on travel and retail with Discover365: Earn loyalty currency on hotels, resorts, cruises, tours, car rental, flights and package holidays. Plus, save on gift cards for products such as groceries and other everyday purchases.

With NatRoad, you’ll get a dedicated partner who can help you navigate the complex world of trucking legislation and compliance. Our NatRoad in-house advisers help you tackle complicated issues with HR and IR, HVNL compliance, infringement notices information and much more. We fight in your corner through industry submissions and regular meetings with decision makers where it counts.

You can’t afford not to be a member.

Call us to see how we can help you on 1800 272 144 or email info@natroad.com.au Refer to this flyer when you call us, and we’ll send you a NatRoad cap and cooling towel!

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For more information call 1800 272 144 or email info@natroad.com.au natroad.com.au

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