Increase fuel efficiency through aerodynamics

Technology isn’t something that requires computer engineering, motherboards, and a screen to touch. Technology has been around since caveman days, using spears as hunting equipment. It’s the same today. Although many think of software, cell phones, and computers when they hear the word, technology encompasses advancements in equipment and items we use daily.

Technology in the trucking industry is the same. It includes software, telematics, radar, and artificial intelligence as it does an aerodynamic hood, a truck lift, or even a locking fuel cap.

See also: Coach drivers to meet emissions regulations, ESG goals

Innovations in the trucking industry, in both hardware and software, have recently addressed fuel consumption and ways to improve emissions efficiency.

This has brought fleets and owner-operators monetary benefits—burning less fuel means fewer trips to the pump—and environmental benefits—less fuel emissions equate to a healthier atmosphere. New trucking technologies in hardware and software help decrease emissions and can even help improve operational efficiency. This series tackles trucking innovations that will enhance fuel economy using both software and hardware, starting with TruckWings.

Using TruckWings for a more aerodynamic ride

Mark Prusak, assistant VP of Transervice, Berkeley Division, found a fuel efficiency solution from TruckWings. Transervice is a third-party logistics company. Its customers include Bimbo Bakeries, Meijer, The New York Times, and Walgreens, to name a few. The folks at Transervice are constantly looking for opportunities, technology, and aero devices to increase fuel efficiency and savings for customers, according to Prusak, and TruckWings helps drive those savings.

Made by TruckLabs, TruckWings attach to the back of a tractor and close the gap between the tractor and the trailer. This produces better aerodynamics and reduces drag. The wings automatically deploy once the tractor reaches a preset speed (52 mph for Prusak’s fleet), and then the TruckWings automatically close when the tractor slows to 45 mph. This automatic close and opening ensures no damage to the wings or the tractor when making turns.

When Transervice began its journey with TruckLabs, the company boasted that its TruckWings could produce a 4 to 4.5% improvement in miles per gallon. After testing the product on a few trucks for one customer, Prusak said they saw savings immediately.

“They continue to see that fuel savings,” Prusak stated, “even exceeding what TruckLabs had promoted … It’s been really great.”

Transervice and its customers were so pleased with the results that they put the TruckWings on most of the new trucks as they were being built and retrofitted a few older trucks with a TruckWings unit. Prusak also noted that day cabs see more fuel efficiency increases with TruckWings installed compared to sleeper cabs with TruckWings units installed because of the larger gap between the cab and the trailer; therefore, Transervice found more ROI by installing TruckWings only on daycabs.

By the end of the year, Transervice aims to install TruckWings on 400 of 1,000 of its customer’s tractors.

And Prusak said they intend to add the units to new equipment. “I could see a point where (the customer) eventually has 80% of their fleet that has the TruckWings.”

Initial customer truck testing in Dallas saw savings of what Prusak estimated to be 4.7%. He said the customer has told him they’ve exceeded test numbers consistently around what Prusak estimated to be 5%, and on some specific routes, Prusak said they are achieving a savings of more than 8% with TruckWings.

Even drivers like the TruckWings, Prusak told FleetOwner, referencing that the hands-off unit opens and closes without any interaction from the driver. One criticism the drivers did offer, however, was that, because the TruckWings close when the truck is at lower speeds, the TruckWings made it impossible to see out of the back window of a day cab when backing into a dock.

Transervice brought that concern to TruckLabs, and the two companies worked together to install plexiglass windows in the TruckWings to improve driver visibility. The solution worked well, made drivers happy, and will be equipped in the new units installed on the customer’s trucks moving forward.

What makes TruckWings work so well for this Transervice customer is that the company installed the units only on day cab tractors that ran high-mileage, highway miles. Trucks running these routes are able to take full advantage of the TruckWings as they run at speeds higher than 50 mph for longer amounts of time.