Indiana’s JAT gets cool air and cool savings
By SiefkesPetit Communications

“We tested diesel-powered auxiliary power units (APUs) for use in our over-the-road trucks for a few years, but too often they needed quite a bit of maintenance,” said Jared Thompson, president of JAT of Fort Wayne, Indiana. “An APU is not critical to delivering the freight, not like the truck engine or the transmission,” he explained. “If the APU engine goes down while your truck’s on the road, you’re not going to have the driver go 100 miles out-of-route and put the truck down just to get the APU fixed. It’s got to wait until the truck can go in to be serviced.”

Thompson said the extended downtime associated with APUs lengthened the payback period to the point where the cost of the APU couldn’t be justified. JAT looked at units that provide heating and cooling solely from battery power, but their cost, complexity and weight made them unappealing.

Simplicity was one major factor for JAT when the Webasto BlueCool Truck climate-control system was chosen for installation in its over-the-road sleeper-equipped trucks. The potential return on investment was estimated at over $100,000 saved annually in fuel costs.

Also, the company’s trucks are legal in all 50 states, no matter what idling reduction legislation or laws are in effect for any particular area to which they’re dispatched.

JAT is a family-owned regional hauler based in Fort Wayne, Ind., that operates a fleet of 100 late-model tractors and 350 dry-van, refrigerated, pneumatic and flatbed trailers. The company hauls food products and household items from manufacturers to distribution centers and from distribution centers to stores. About 90 percent of the company’s business is done within a 500-mile radius of Fort Wayne.

Of the 100 trucks the company operates, 68 are equipped with sleepers, varying in size from studios to full-sized units with double bunks. The remainder are day cabs. JAT runs primarily Freightliner Columbias with 14-liter, 465-hp Detroit Diesel engines, and Volvo VNL 630s and VNL 670s, with 12-liter and 14-liter, 465-hp Cummins engines.

Webasto introduced BlueCool technology in 2006 as an alternative to diesel-powered APUs. It produces cool air using thermal energy stored in a frozen graphite/water matrix. A high-efficiency pump circulates coolant throughout the storage unit and through a heat exchanger inside the vehicle. Four quiet, efficient fans in the heat exchanger draw in warm air from the bunk and pass it across the exchanger. The air releases its heat to the chilled mixture circulating through the exchanger, and the cooled air is then returned to the bunk through adjustable openings.

The system is designed to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the bunk or sleeper area for up to 10 consecutive hours without having to idle the engine to recharge the system. The thermal energy in the graphite/water matrix is recharged while the truck is on the road.

At 326 pounds, BlueCool Truck is the lightest no-idle cooling system available compared to diesel APUs and battery-based systems that require two to four additional deep-cycle batteries.

Webasto products are eligible for the federal excise tax exemption under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership and were among the first idle reduction devices to receive approval for the California Air Resources Board’s ULEV II (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) idling emissions reduction requirements.

“More of our shippers are looking for transportation partners that operate in an environmentally friendly and sound manner,” Thompson added. “Reducing our idling is an important part of our effort in meeting their expectations.”

For more information: http://www.bluecooltruck.com/