Electric Trucks and Vehicles
Our long term plans include switching to an all electric fleet. We started with our car we take to do estimates a Tesla Model 3 electric car. It’s powered by the solar panels we have on our warehouse. We then added a 2015 VW E-Golf which we use as our shop car for running errands and transporting extra crew members to job. Most recently we’ve procured TWO electric trucks! Our first one was the first electric moving truck in the world, and the first electric truck in Massachusetts, we received it in August of 2021. It went well so we ordered a 2nd which was delivered to us in the first quarter of 2023 and is now on the road transporting customers’ goods.
Who made the truck, what are the specifications?
The chassis and cab was made by Hino, which is the truck division of Toyota. The drivetrain was made by SEA Eletric and is an SEAdrive 120a system. The truck is a Hino 195 chassis which is rated for 19,500lbs gross weight. The SEAdrive system has a 138kwh battery pack (almost double the battery in a Tesla Model 3). The full specs can be found here. We’ve installed a 16′ body on it from Morgan that’s spec’d for good tie-offs and light weight to keep our range and load capacity as high as possible. Currently we’ve been getting around 130 miles of range when we take it on a mix highway at speeds and off-highway speed. The system is rated for 186 miles but because spec’d a taller box we get more wind resistance.
The basics:
- Hino 195 cab and chassis with a SEA-electric 120a driveline
- 16′ Morgan body
- up to 170 horsepower
- up to 1106lb-ft of torque
- 138kwh battery pack
- 130-150 miles of real world range before aerodynamic enhancements
- 19,500lbs gross vehicle weight
- 8240lbs of cargo capacity
- 1067 ft3 of cargo volume
Solar Powered
Our electric trucks are charged from the solar production of our rooftop solar panels on our warehouse. A common criticism of electric drive-trains is that the power generation may be no cleaner than the equivalent diesel truck. We know our trucks are powered by clean energy because we make it ourselves. We’ve also opted up into the 100% renewable group with ACE (Arlington Community Energy). Check out this video by our friends at the Green Energy Consumer’s Alliance:
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Next Steps for our electric truck
The trucks have been great so far, but we’ve got some plans. To increase the range we’ll be adding some aerodynamic devices; a rooftop wind deflector from Aeroz, ecoflaps and air-tabs. The ecoflaps and air-tabs also have advantages in the rain as they throw up less mist increasing visibility. We’re currently charging using a Clipper Creek charger but plan to install some more to have more parking flexibility. .
The MOR-EV truck program
We took advantage of the MOR-EV truck rebate program from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Their page can be found here. It’s really heartening to see the state put their money where their mouth is to move the ball forward on climate change. So much electrification and climate change press releases are nothing but talk, real action is what’s needed.
What equipment did it replace?
We’ve been running two 14′ box trucks for a long time, one was a 2015 Isuzu NPR with a gas engine (which replaced a 2002 that was basically the same specs) and a 2005 Isuzu NPR-HD with the Isuzu diesel. The 16′ SEA/Hinos will park in the same spots as those trucks. They run every day. The SEA units are a an upgrade, they’ve got a higher weight capacity, and a lot more space in the box from the extra 2 feed of deck and another 8 inches of height.
If you need help with understanding fleet electrification or buying an electric truck…
Our Blog posts about the truck
UPDATE: check out our new blog post about the electric truck we’ve ordered
UPDATE 2: we got the truck. Check out our first post
UPDATE 3: what’s it like having the truck?. Check out our next post