10 mpg- Cummins-Peterbilt ‘SuperTruck’ Passes Important Milestone

This truck has a better chance of making it than the example above, also made by Peterbilt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTTgxqZqTaA

 

I believe the future truck will have electric wheel motors in all wheels they could even power the trailer, It would be covered in solar cells, and have a smaller motor, constantly running a generator, with a battery, it would all be controlled by a computer. the operator will program their destination the truck will decide the route using weather and traffic reports, with adaptive cruise it would charge the battery and drive the truck if coming to a hill, using all the power in the battery and regenerate going down the hill.
I do not think it will take that long to see the first signs of this in the trucking world Freightliner already has adaptive cruise, that speeds up, and down shifts, a bit to get the truck at the highest HP and torque output to take the hill at. The brake pedal will be a, depending on the stopping distance and other parameters, regenerative braking then actual brakes.
If you get out of control it could engage the regenerative braking in different wheel at different rates, put power to others, to put it back into control
With the solar cells, in the day it could charge the battery fully, and save the power untill it is needed the most, power the AC and heating all the parasitic power.
Many things are going to be posible, many more will be tried some will work some will not. Aerodynamics, that will always work. low resistance tires that will always work, IF they have the traction required in the different conditions.

I am sure I have not covered everything, but there are some very smart people out there, a little money and they could make things a lot better. Much of the money will be spent on solutions that may not prove to be the final ones, but will ignite the thoughts of someone else to design a better solution.
Just a thought!

 

Powered trailer axles would really help in winter weather at parking lot speeds. PUSH , PUSH ! But some conditions I would not want it though. Could very well cause a jackknife ?

 

The trailor wouldnt be powered .. but but vans could be covered with panels and move power forward to the tractor ...

 

JohnP' s post he talked about the trailer being powered. If the wheel ends are powered by electric motors , then why not ? Few extra hundred horsepower . But would want an on/off switch . We are dreaming here. Add in super model of choice!

 

The price of solar cells will have to dramatically drop. I think what we will get is a million dollar truck to replace our 150,000 dollar trucks. I hope it works but then again I hope I hit the lotto and won't be a driver by then.

Adam

 

I had a 425 Cat with the governor screws pulled out and some other things with a 6 and 4 and it would get about 6.8 most of the time loaded at 80,000. And that's was with black smoke rolling out both stacks every time you shift. Take all the emission stuff off a newer motor and we'd be surprised the fuel economy it gets. Their creating a uneccisary bottle neck. I ain't to bright and I'm just a truck driver but this doesn't impress me. They used unrealistic figures. Load it down to the legal limit and run it across the country WITHOUT BREAK DOWNS and get 10.7 then I will be impressed. I could run coast to coast with a b model cat without a worry. Why shouldn't I be able to do that with a 2014 OH WAIT TREE HUGGERS ARE TO WORRIED ABOUT FUEL ECONOMY they don't even know what the real world is like.

 

I love how they worry about diesel smoke... but if you get more mpg.. less fuel used, less overall emissions??? Seems to be the obvious answer...?

 

Would love do to see where we would have been with MPG if the EPA had left us alone. Our fleet had trucks getting from a low of 5.5 , to a high of 10 mpg in 1986. EGR stole about 1 MPG then DPF another. We are creeping back up to where we were . I dare say if left alone some of us could have been knocking on mid 12s to 13 MPG . And industry wide near 9? Burning half the fuel be half the emissions ?

 

52 mph or 62? I am over in Europe a lot, and they seem to be running 62. They run mostly single file in the right lane, you rarely see one pass another, or tailgate, and never do they pass on the right. They are very...... professional, and am told also paid very well. Now in UAE, 52 mph might be correct.