With the assistance of the MSRC, U-Haul of California purchased 23 alternative fuel vehicles in a pilot program to determine the feasibility and practicality of converting a significant percentage of its truck fleet to alternative fuels. Eight dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) and 15 dedicated liquid propane autogas (LP) Ford E-450 trucks were purchased from BAF Technologies (now Westport) and Roush CleanTech and delivered to U-Haul's Tempe, Arizona facility. Following U-Haul's inspection and assembly process, the purchased cutaway chassis were turned into customer-ready 14 foot long rental trucks, the 23 alternative fueled vehicles were deployed to select offices within the boundaries of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).
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With the assistance of the MSRC, U-Haul of California purchased 23 alternative fuel vehicles in a pilot program to determine the feasibility and practicality of converting a significant percentage of its truck fleet to alternative fuels. Eight dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) and 15 dedicated liquid propane autogas (LP) Ford E-450 trucks were purchased from BAF Technologies (now Westport) and Roush CleanTech and delivered to U-Haul's Tempe, Arizona facility.
Following U-Haul's industry leading inspection and assembly process, the purchased cutaway chassis were turned into customer-ready 14 foot long rental trucks, the 23 alternative fueled vehicles were deployed to select offices within the boundaries of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). The trucks will be monitored for usage, location and mechanical failures for a subsequent five years to ensure the trucks are utilized within the SCAQMD at least 85% of the time. As of 06/23/14, the fleet has remained within the SCAQMD for 99% of its usage and has operated entirely within California.
The objective of this project was to assist U-Haul Truck Rental, a nationally recognized truck rental company, in acquiring and deploying low-emission alternative fuel trucks into local rental service. This not only results in direct air quality benefits, but also promotes public awareness of the availability and viability of clean fuels in truck transportation.
A public outreach plan promoting MSRC's co-funding of U-Haul's purchase of the alternative fuel fleet was launched in October 2013. Through PR Newswire, a press release was sent to media outlets throughout Southern California along with approximately 350 websites in partnership with PR Newswire. In addition, the partnership was announced through U-Haul's social media efforts on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and corporate website.
In addition to the press release, Roush CleanTech and Westport (formerly BAF Technologies) prominently displayed examples of U-Haul's alternative fuels fleet during the SCAQMD co-sponsored 2014 Alternative Clean Transportation Expo held at the Long Beach Convention Center. Over 4,400 members of the industry and media attending North America's largest clean fleet expo had the opportunity to view examples of the deployed trucks during the conference. This display of U-Haul trucks generated news articles in Fleets and Fuels and Natural Gas Intelligence's Daily Gas Price Index, leading to thousands of additional views pertaining to the alternative fuel pilot program.
The initial success of the pilot program also sparked an environmentally aware, green-themed issue of U-Haul News - U-Haul's internal newspaper - showcasing the 23 rental trucks of the pilot fleet alongside recently deployed propane powered service vehicles and the continued expansion of U-Haul Centers offering propane autogas to the public.
Several of the U-Haul centers within the SCAQMD selected to receive LP trucks possessed older propane dispensing equipment incapable of generating the higher pressures required to fill on-road vehicles. The one to three horsepower pumps at these locations were upgraded to seven horsepower units allowing the centers to fill not only the 23 vehicles of the pilot program, but also to meet increasing demand for publicly accessible propane autogas stations. Once this upgrade was completed, the vehicles entered service and have been operating in regular truck rental operations. No additional technical nor programmatic issues have been experienced to date.