July 7, 2006—Growing concerns about high fuel costs and increased vehicle emissions hurting the earth’s atmosphere are just two reasons Webasto has developed new idle-free technology for the commercial trucking industry. One of Webasto’s new product technologies, called BlueCool Truck, is installed on tractor-trailers to keep interior bunk temperatures near 70 degrees for up to 10 hours, allowing drivers to sleep comfortably, without idling their truck engine.
The fuel savings alone allows the BlueCool Truck system to amortize in a short time, because a traditional idling truck diesel engine consumes about one gallon of fuel per hour, says the company. Unlike Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) on the market, BlueCool Truck does not use the vehicle’s fuel, and puts out zero emissions. Fleets and owner-operators can accrue fuel savings of thousands of dollars by utilizing the BlueCool Truck system.
Webasto is taking the BlueCool Truck technology on a cross-country tour this summer to additionally demonstrate its enormous potential to meet the demands of ever-increasing environmental legislation, while also providing a chance for drivers to stay cool in the heat of summer rest-time stops.
With only limited options available until now, truckers have regularly idled their engines to run the factory-installed air conditioning if they wish to rest comfortably when summer temperatures rise. But legislation in more than 20 states and Canada, plus increased pressure nationally from the EPA, is making that practice illegal. In most cases, local laws prohibit the idling of diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds for more than five minutes when not engaged in work activities.
Webasto Product North America, Inc., based in Fenton, Michigan, provides a wide range of thermosystems and other products to the heavy-duty truck OEM and aftermarkets, as well as passenger vehicle, RV, defense, cargo and marine industries. It is a subsidiary of Webasto AG, one of the world’s largest suppliers of open roof systems and thermosystems to the automotive industry. The 104-year old company is based in Stockdorf, Germany. For more information, visit the Web site.
