So our beloved Commonwealth of Massachusetts has put together an incentive program to promote electric trucks. This is exactly what we’ve been waiting for and now we’ve ordered an electric truck. Not since the days when we powered our horses with food we grew, and warmed our homes with wood from our land have we been able to make our fuel for transportation and heat. Using our current solar installation and additional panels we’ll likely be putting up this year, we’ll be powering our office and one of our trucks with energy generated on our own roof. I think this is phenomenal, that we can convert the sun that falls on us every day into electricity and power our equipment to serve our customers. It’s also absolutely necessary if we’re to avoid catastrophic climate change. The website for the state’s incentive program can be found here: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/mor-ev-rebate-program
Where are we getting this electric truck?
So the real question became, what’s actually available? So much of the electric vehicle space is consumed with “vapor-ware”. Stuff that’s nothing more than a press release and some photos of something you can’t buy. Even with the vendors that have something that can be purchased, the price is set so high that you can’t really buy it. One major truck manufacturer wanted a HALF A MILLION DOLLARS for a truck with a hypothetical 200 mile range. To me that says “please think we’re green, but really please don’t buy our electric truck, it’s technically for sale but we’d rather you didn’t”. There are a few companies that are real options and I solicited quotes from them. Due to the tight space our warehouse is located in we needed a cabover truck which narrowed things down. From there I considered the merits of each option. There wasn’t a lot of options given I wanted a realistic price, an all-electric drive-train, a cabover, and I wanted it this year.
SEA Electric trucks.
So we selected the SEA company and are getting their seadrive 120a in a Hino 195 chassis with a 16′ box. SEA’s setup seems to be one of the better thought out setups. I like that they put the battery packs between the frame rails. In an accident I don’t want my batteries hanging out under the truck body exposed to collision. Inside a frame rail I think they’re safe, and given the problems with electric cars and battery pack fires after accidents, battery safety is a serious priority. I also like that they’ve packaged a lot of the equipment that might need maintenance as belly boxes. I see this as a realistic understanding that maintenance will be needed over the lifetime of the truck, and it should be made easy. This is something that I always look for in truck design. An unrealistic view of maintenance suggests an impractical truck design, but SEA seems in tune with the practical elements of truck ownership. The seadrive 120a has a 136kWh battery pack. For comparison a Tesla Model 3 long range has an 86kWh pack and an e-golf has 35.8kWh. It makes 110hp all the time but peaks at 170. That should be enough, especially the way electric vehicles deliver there power steadily and with a lot of torque (590-2581 lb-ft). For reference that’s more torque than the highest rated biggest diesel engine Cummins sells (the X-15, 605hp, 2050lb-ft) . The range should be in the 130-160 mile range which is fine since it’s replacing a truck that rarely goes over 80 in a day (for the first 6 months of 2019, the last “normal” year it didn’t go over 80 miles in a day once). Our application is tailor made for this truck. The company started in Australia but the power-trains are installed here in the US. In the past I’ve always been an “Isuzu guy”. I’ve always liked their drivetrains and the details of their trucks. I’ve rented some Hino trucks over the years and really liked their interiors and assumed they where a technically excellent truck since they where owned by Toyota. But they also tended to be expensive, and I didn’t really see the value proposition over an already excellent Isuzu. This time however the Hino was significantly more economical with SEA’s electric drivetrain. I’m assuming there’s some sort of special relationship due to Hino’s “Project Z” electric truck initiative. We rented a 16′ Hino 195 from Penske to try it out for the day. I found I really liked the basic diesel version. They had nice slim A-pillars for good visibility. The mirrors looked small at first glance but where actually quite nice and didn’t interfere with your view of the road. The visibility was great. The interior was classic Toyota and had lots of nooks and crannies for your stuff and I liked the control layout. I was seriously concerned with the BBC (bumper to back of cab measurement) as it on paper was higher than my Isuzu NPRs on paper, but in reality the head of the box was closer to the front bumper on the Hino than either of my Isuzus. I’m assuming the tilt mechanism is somewhat different so there’s better clearance, but regardless, this is good for maneuverability. The chassis seemed like a winner. Below is a picture of a similar truck owned by Staples, they’ll also be buying a number of these for their Massachusetts fleet through the Mor-ev program.Staples’ SEA Hino M5 EV
Where are we getting the box?
Right now I’m leaning towards Duramag. They’re a local (made in Maine) company that makes all-aluminum truck bodies. This means it will be lighter, but will also not rust. Lighter will help with range which is a concern with an electric truck. No rust is just the most amazing thing in the world to a guy who has grown up in New England. This hasn’t been solidified but it’s what we’re leaning towards. Naturally the proof of the pudding will be in the tasting, but I’m really excited for this truck. Check back later for a full review of the truck.
If you need help with understanding fleet electrification or buying an electric truck…
