Trailer aerodynamics and glider kits might get a reprieve from the fuel-efficiency rules, but backing away from national rules would turn California loose, some warn.
Starting in January of 2021, under the new greenhouse gas regulations, glider kits will be allowed mostly for their original purpose, which was reclaiming late-model powertrains from wrecked trucks.
EPA and NHTSA have again indicated they intend to regulate truck trailers and glider kits under their Phase 2 proposal for limiting the GHG emissions and fuel consumption of on-highway trucks.
Harrison Truck Centers will introduce a diesel-natural gas fueling system on severe-duty glider-kitted trucks, using a Turbocharged Natural Gas Dual Fuel System from American Power Group.
From the ground and behind the wheel, you’d think this Freightliner Columbia is brand new. This was obvious on a run out on Interstate 70 in eastern Missouri, pulling a hopper-bottom trailer with a heavy load of granulated lime destined for an animal-food plant in Montgomery City, west of St. Louis. It rode, shifted and ran like new, and was just as comfortable.
Dual-fuel glider kits are a relatively new alternative for fleets looking to tap into the benefits of natural gas but at less cost than buying a new, dedicated NG vehicle. A glider is a new truck without some powertrain components. Shops in the field add rebuilt or remanufactured engines, transmissions and rear axles.
Glider kits — new trucks and tractors that get rebuilt or remanufactured powertrain components — make up a small percentage of total new-truck purchases, partly because most truck operators know little about them.
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