Fleets Reduce Fuel Costs, Carbon Footprint with Kenworth Clean Power-Equipped T660s

No-Idle System Meets New CARB Standard

KIRKLAND, Wash. – The aerodynamic Kenworth T660 equipped with the new no-idle Kenworth Clean Power™ system offers a Kentucky-based heavy hauler and a Canadian commodities transportation company a distinct advantage over their competitors, according to officials from the two fleets.

Shepherdsville, Ky.-based Hill Transportation Service Inc. and Cambridge, Ontario-based Sharp Transportation Systems recently put into service a combined, 25 new Kenworth T660s with 72-inch AeroCab® sleepers and Kenworth Clean Power. The system helps reduce fuel costs, provides drivers with a quieter and more comfortable work environment, and bolsters green strategies for operating more environmentally-friendly trucks. That aids efforts to compete in a market where fleets are chasing after fewer qualified drivers and shipments.


Billy Hill, owner of Hill Transportation Service in Shepherdsville, Ky, says operating 20 new, aerodynamic Kenworth T660 with Kenworth Clean Power has already produced fuel economy that is almost 15% higher than the fleet’s average.

Hill Transportation operates 20 new Kenworth T660s with Kenworth Clean Power, which uses dedicated, deep-cycle batteries to provide drivers key-off cooling, plus 120-volt power for hotel loads. A small diesel-fired heater mounted under the bunk provides heating. The fleet, which has a total of 48 trucks, provides cargo delivery for automakers and also hauls heavy equipment and metal on flatbed trailers with retractable canopies.

Owner Billy Hill said that operating aerodynamic trucks and cutting idling time has already produced fuel economy that is almost 15% higher than the fleet’s average. He anticipates that the T660s will improve fuel economy by 1 mpg above the current average, as the new engines get broken in – excellent fuel mileage for a heavy hauler, noted Hill.

“Not only are we saving money on fuel costs with our Kenworth T660s,” said Hill, who estimates each Kenworth Clean Power unit will pay for itself in about 15 months, “we also feel that we’re getting better productivity from drivers because they really enjoy driving the Kenworth T660. That will make it easier in retaining our best drivers and recruiting new ones.”

Sharp Transportation operates five Kenworth T660s spec’d with the factory-installed Kenworth Clean Power system as a key part of its efforts to control costs and attract and retain drivers, according to Shawn Baird, the Canadian fleet’s sales manager. The company serves many Fortune 500 companies by delivering high-value items, such as furniture and pharmaceuticals, from factories and distribution centers to warehouses and retail stores across Canada and the United States.

So far, Sharp Transportation’s enterprise effort with the T660 and Kenworth Clean Power has generated a 7%, or one-half mpg, fuel economy improvement over the company’s fleet average of 7 mpg (U.S.). That amounts to a total monthly savings of approximately $3,000 for the five T660s with the system. Baird anticipates those units to reach the company’s 8 mpg fuel economy goal before the engine break-in period is finished.


Saving money is not the only benefit of the Kenworth T660 to the fleet’s operation. According to Sharp Transportation driver Kevin Emans, his company-assigned Kenworth T660 with Kenworth Clean Power has made his job more comfortable and pleasant. “I was up in Philadelphia and it got up to 90 degrees during the day,” said Emans, who has already driven more than 18,000 miles in his Kenworth T660 and typically drives through the night and sleeps during the day. “All I had to do was park the truck in a shady area, close the curtains, and Kenworth Clean Power kept the temperature in the sleeper a comfortable 70 degrees through the heat of the day.”

Emans said he also appreciates that the system keeps the sleeper well-lit with low-current LED lighting and has the capability of powering personal devices without the worry of draining his truck’s batteries. “I can actually run the air conditioner and iron a shirt or run my laptop without any problems,” Emans said. “Before we got Kenworth Clean Power, I had to have a separate power converter to use anything electrical.”

Company drivers are not the only ones who find the Kenworth T660 and Kenworth Clean Power System appealing, added Baird. The company’s key customers also take notice of their fuel-saving and emission-reducing attributes. “More of our customers are looking for transportation partners whose operations can help them meet their own environmental goals,” Baird said. “Many have green plans that call for reducing emissions throughout their supply chains. By operating the T660 with Kenworth Clean Power in our fleet, we can help them meet those goals.”

Baird said the Kenworth T660 and Kenworth Clean Power can also help his company meet the California Air Resources Board idling and emissions regulations, which go in effect January 1, 2008, for sleeper trucks with 2007 and later model engines. CARB’s new regulatory measures include 5-minute idling limits for heavy duty sleeper trucks. Prior to January 1, sleeper trucks were exempt from the idle limitation during sleep and rest periods.

“While not many of our fleet of 60 trucks currently operate in California, by meeting CARB, the company will be in good shape when other jurisdictions follow California’s lead and adopt similar measures,” Baird said.

Kenworth, a division of PACCAR Inc, is a leading manufacturer of heavy and medium duty trucks. Kenworth is the recipient of the 2007 J.D. Power and Associates awards for Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Over The Road, Pickup and Delivery and Vocational Segment Class 8 trucks. Kenworth’s Internet home page is at www.kenworth.com. Kenworth. The World’s Best.