LNG trucks equipped with early-generation Westport HD Systems have been in service in North American fleets since 2000. Extensive in-service experience allowed Westport to bring advanced systems to the commercial market with confidence, and today there are fleets operating LNG trucks powered by Westport HD in Canada, the United States, and Australia.
We caught up with a few people on the ground driving, purchasing, or selling heavy-duty trucks, and we spoke to them about their experiences with LNG trucks.
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With over 32 years in the transportation industry, Vic LaRosa knows trucks. Vic is President of California’s Total Transportation Systems Inc. (TTSI). He also knows the impact the trucking industry has made on the environment. When Vic saw an opportunity to add trucks to his fleet that run on cheaper, cleaner burning, domestically available natural gas, without compromising performance or fuel economy, he seized it with the Westport HD engine and LNG fuel system.
On the driving experience, Vic finds the trucks capable and adaptable:
“We haul anything from… 25-30 thousand pound loads all the way to maximum loads of 44-45 thousand pounds, which would be scrap-metal. The driving experience has been very, very good. It’s a quiet ride; it’s a comfortable ride; it gets the job done in terms of horsepower. We’re very pleased with the results.”
“I was opposed to it at first. I’m an old-school trucker. I thought I was going to lose a lot of power, but the power is pretty much the same. Now I’m a big believer. I like it a lot. No smell. No fumes. It’s the perfect truck.”
— Allen Williams Jr., Independent Contractor, TTSI
“Since LNG is pretty new out there I wasn’t too sure how it was going to be. One day in here changed my mind. One day is all it took, because I was just impressed with it. It’s a lot cheaper to run LNG compared to your diesel, so it’s going to save people money. It’s just as simple as fuelling up a diesel truck; it’s really quick. You don’t have to worry about over filling it and getting diesel all over you. It’s a lot cleaner in that sense. It’s great, it really is.
— Lee Leasure, Driver, Trimac Transportation
“The difference between an LNG truck and a regular diesel tractor is really none. It has the same amount of horsepower, it pulls the same commodities, the same weight...”
— Fernando Bogarin, General Manager, TTSI