june2023 - 22

Finding a dependable range
» DHE has three Volvo VNR Electric Cass 8 tractors in its fleet.
Dependable Highway Express
California fleets have known what's coming in
terms of emission regulations for a while. Some
may have held out hope the lawsuit filed by the
Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association
against CARB to halt stricter 2024 emissions
standards would go somewhere (it didn't), or that
the Golden State would get tired of going green
(it won't). Dependable Highway Express decided
early on to take electrification seriously and
embrace it from the beginning, making it well-prepared
for the coming ACF mandates.
The carrier operates 400 less-than-truckload
assets, 100 in truckload, and another 100 in
drayage. DHE beta-tested VNR Electric prototypes
through Volvo's LIGHTS project and has two
first-gen production models and one new secondgen
extended-range version operating out of its
Ontario, California terminal.
Right now, DHE is figuring out two of the most
pressing issues: range and charging capabilities.
If a fleet can't answer how far a truck can go and
how to power it, it's not very dependable.
Because DHE has operated Class 8 EVs since
2020, Troy Musgrave, director of process improvement
at Dependable Supply Chain Services, has a
good idea of these capabilities.
Testing out their EVs themselves has allowed
the fleet to truly measure what the batteries can
do. The gen-1 VNR Electric has a marketed range
of up to 150 miles, though that does not mean the
truck, which has a 264-kW battery, gets close to
that on one charge.
" The first thing you have to do is remove 20%
[capacity], because the battery holds that in
reserve, " Musgrave explained. " You've got 211 kWh
to use. In my experience, they also advertise 1.8
kWh per mile-and that might be what the truck
22 Fleet Maintenance | June 2023
This is not to say these trucks' daily routes are
" We're getting
anywhere from 85
miles to as high as
180 miles [on the
first-gen trucks] and
we do that through
opportunity charging. "
Troy Musgrave, director of process
improvement, Dependable
Supply Chain Services
consumes, but when you add in standby power-
all that power that's required to put the energy in
the truck-it's more like 2 [kWh per mile]. "
This is a technical way to say DHE's older VNR
Electrics get about 105 miles per charge. These
are in LTL applications; fully loaded trailers
would diminish this performance even more.
The extended-range version ups battery energy
storage to 565kWh, for a marketed max range of
275 miles. It features an improved design (with six
battery packs) for faster charging. It can receive
250kW in one hour, according to Volvo.
DHE has not tested the extended range's upper
limits just yet, as they received the truck 45 days
before speaking with Fleet Maintenance. But
Musgrave intends to push the range limits when
given the opportunity. He expects the range to
max out at around 238 miles.
limited by one battery charge.
" We're getting anywhere from 85 miles to as
high as 180 miles [on the first-gen trucks], and we
do that through opportunity charging, " Musgrave
said. " Even 15 to 20 minutes on a 150-kW charger
will put a significant amount of energy back in. "
Opportunity charging occurs when drivers return
to the terminal for lunch or a break. And up until
80% full, the battery accepts energy at a greater rate.
" Once it gets up to about 80% capacity, the
length of time it took you to go from 20% to 80%
will be as long to go from 80% to 100%, because
the [charger software] throttles it way down to
fill up that last little bit. "
Musgrave doesn't plan on getting any more
Class 8 trucks with the gen-1 batteries. Diesels
just offer more flexibility for day and night routes.
" At night, the truck is traveling anywhere from
300 to 500 miles and in the daytime, it's traveling
up to 200 miles, " Musgrave noted.
He envisions a scenario where technology
improves enough so that the fleet can operate
from southern to central California with only
EVs, with drivers changing out depleted trucks
with fully charged ones and continuing on, " like
the Pony Express, " Musgrave mused.
" You don't need a bunch of trucks; you just need
enough trucks and a scheduling format that can
get you to the next place, " he continued.
The Tesla Semi, currently running routes in
Pepsi's fleet, boasts a purported 500-mile range,
which Musgrave noted exceeds certain hydrogen
fuel cell trucks' 400-mile range. The issue with
Tesla will be how fast they can fulfill orders.
" I've got an order for 10 of them, " Musgrave said.
" And I don't know if I'll see them before I retire. "
june2023

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