LNG powered OTR trucks

When I worked for sysco some of the tractors were lng/cng. The downside of it was it had absolutely zero torque, the truck would literally almost stall out going up hills. On the straights and downhill it was fine but extremely dangerous going uphill

 

I wonder what the tax advantages are on alturnitive fuel trucks....

 

I put around a 2,000 miles on an OTR CNG truck this summer. Like others have said you have to plan your fuel stops out very carefully. I was fueling up the truck in the morning and in the evening. The good thing is there are no lines at the CNG or LNG stations. When the truck will sit overnight the pressure in the tank will drop a little bit. Right now it is cheaper to run diesel but once the price of diesel goes back up CNG will be cheaper in the long run. Sure the trucks have less power than a diesel. I got use to driving the truck around with the different characteristics that it has. There is a bit of lag from when you put your foot into it to when you get the acceleration. I also wouldn't want to drive it in the mountains anymore but in rolling hills it does alright.

 

I drove a CNG truck at my last company. I don't want to even list all the reasons they suck right now, because I'm ready to hit the hay, but trust me: the technology is not really ready for prime time. I think it is fine for small light fleet use and city buses and stuff, but it horrible for heavy truck applications.

The place I had to get fuel at was also frequented by CNG garbage trucks and I asked them how their trucks did power-wise. They had the same problems I did when they carried any weight. I would lose speed and downshift on minor hills just pulling empty trailers and it was absolutely useless with weight on. 20,000# felt like 44,000#. I used to say "the only time this thing pulls well is when I'm bobtailing!" Also, the fuel economy is way lower than diesel, especially in wintertime. It is metered in GGE (Gasoline Gallon Equivalent units), and even with the slightly cheaper fuel, it is not saving any money when you factor the mileage. I was getting around 4.6 miles per GGE in the winter and around 5.7 miles per GGE in the summer. The people who invested in CNG trucks are praying for diesel to increase, because they are most likely losing money on those trucks at this point if you factor in everything.

I hated the way the throttle response was, like @Sportster2000 was saying. That lag happened when you hit the gas and also when you let off, so it screwed up the timing of shifts and especially took a while to get used to downshifting. When you stomp the gas, nothing happens for a half second, and also it seemed like there wasn't much finesse in the middle of the throttle range. It was almost like it was all or nothing. If it was slippery, you could break traction easily when that thing shot fuel to the engine.

The other problem was the range. Mine didn't have that big metal box on the back of the cab in addition to the side tanks, mine only had the round side tanks. It was a daycab, but those tanks are so long the frame was almost sleeper-length. Even with those huge tanks, the range was only about 350 miles. Despite being a home everyday driver I had to fuel every morning, and on some days I'd have to get it in the middle of my day when I was out of town. I ran into some of the JRayl guys, and they said their trucks (with the additional cabinet of tanks behind their sleepers) would only manage around 650 miles. For that reason, the company had to move them around so they'd only be used in certain areas. Remember, if they run out of gas, they have to be towed. There is no road service to bring CNG out to a truck like they can with diesel.

Speaking of service, the shop that was the designated place to take it under our company's lease agreement was not even equipped or licensed or insured or whatever to be allowed to take those trucks inside into the bays. Any work that had to be done was only allowed to be done outside. So those mechanics weren't fans of the trucks in the wintertime, either.

I absolutely hated that truck.

Blah blah. Ok seriously, I gotta go to bed.

 

The company I'm at received a 500k grant to replace some (20?) diesels , I'm guessing there's a pretty good tax incentive on top of it. I know they replaced warehouse lights with LED and get tax credits for that, which pretty much evened out the cost... So I can't imagine them not getting tax breaks for CNG trucks.

They're not bad for our application, prolly 20-30k loads, local and we fuel at our terminal. We may need to refuel between loads once in a great while, but it's very rare that anyone has to find an alt fuel location.

And Bob D., you hit the nail on the head on every point. About the only good thing is, is that they're quiet. Kinda get the feel of driving a large modern pickup truck (esp w/auto).

I still pick a diesel, unless CNG are all that's available.

 

Supposedly they want to convert our entire fleet to these LNG trucks. I'm driving a diesel currently but that may change in the next few months when the new trucks arrive.
I've talked to a bunch of the guys who drive the LNG trucks and some of them like it and some hate it. They seem to be having a big issue with spark plugs and some "coil" issues. We have LNG fueling stations at our Albany GA terminal, and Eden NC terminal. IDK I think if I had the option to choose I would choose diesel over LNG

 

All new UPS tractors, at least in the Denver area, are LNG or CNG, same with Coremark for local deliveries. Someone told me that Domino's may be going this route as well.

 

LNG is liquid natural gas and CNG is compressed natural gas. LNG is is liquified by keeping at low temps. Around -200 degrees.

I only have experience with LNG and they have no low end. They need to be reved out high to start moving out.
Our LNG tractors have two large fuel tanks. Probably 125 gallons each. Completely full i can get 625....maybe 650 miles tops.
I think theyre junk and nowhere as good as diesel. They seem to break down alot.
You have to bleed pressure out the tanks often. If you dont, it wont take as much fuel but will show on the gauge as though youre full. Lots of people run out of fuel on the road for that reason.

 

Columbus, OH UPS has LNG trucks and fueling at the big terminal. It can make sense for them, having their own fueling network built into the terminals, but until infrastructure is built up around the country it is not viable for true OTR applications.

My guess is LNG will never be widespread. CNG stations are sprouting up everywhere, but like I said, diesel prices need to increase for CNG to make any sense. What worried me the most when I drove a CNG truck was what would happen in the event of a collision. Not just risk of explosion (which the manufacturers claim is minimal), but the risk of massive pressure release should a tank get punctured. Imagine if that happens with 3600 psi of gas in the tank.