Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2023 - 26

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT
" Most of the potential customers for a
medium-duty, all-electric truck said they
would need a driving range between 75
and 125 miles [120 and 200 km]. The
two-pack battery will provide an up to
200-mile [322-km] range in good conditions,
so we're well above what's needed.
Of course, when it's very cold or very
hot there will be a reduction in the
range, " Bollinger said. With a Level 2
charger, the B4's 0 to 100% charging
time is nine hours. DC fast charging
takes 1.5 hours. Preliminary specs for the
B4 are 363 hp (271 kW) and 702 lb-ft
(952 Nm) of torque.
The 158-in (4,013-mm) wheelbase B4
has a dual rear axle and a solid front
axle. Alpha prototypes of the B4 used
an off-the-shelf front axle that resulted
in a high step-in cab height. " We made
the decision to spend money developing
a new beam front axle, which would
bring things inside the wheel wells and
bring down the cab's step-in height, "
Harrison said, noting the new axle lowered
the step-in height by approximately
10 inches (254 mm).
The new axle also shrunk the Alphaprototype
B4 trucks' whopping 55-ft
Development work for the Bollinger B4
electric truck (shown with payload) started in early 2020.
The Aries 79-kWh battery pack is manufactured for Our Next Energy (ONE) in Van Buren Township,
Michigan, on a dedicated production line at Piston Automotive. This Michigan site will build the
packs for the B4, according to a spokesperson for ONE.
Two Alpha prototype vehicles enabled
engineers to get a sense of what worked
and what needed to change. " We had all the
computer-aided-design data, but it just doesn't
tell you the whole story, " said Bollinger Motors'
Kent Harrison.
26 December 2023
(16.76-m) turning radius. " The [updated]
B4 has an impressive 44-ft (13.41m)
turn circle, and that is 100% attributed
to the decision to develop a new
beam front axle, " Harrison said. In addition
to the in-house-designed frame,
Bollinger engineers also designed the
high-voltage wiring harnesses, low-voltage
wiring harnesses, electronic controls,
software, leaf spring, front axle
and the battery-pack mounting. The
cab - with certain Bollinger specifications
- is being sourced from a yet-tobe-named
Chinese manufacturer.
Incentive eligible
In late 2023, Bollinger Motors plans to
announce its dealer network as well as
the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail
Price of the B4, which will be eligible
for a U.S. federal government purchase
incentive from the 2022 Inflation
Reduction Act. The incentive is 30% of
the electric vehicle's price, up to a total
of $40,000.
B4's optional equipment list includes
Mobileye advanced driver-assist
systems, which features forward
collision warning, pedestrian collision
warning and lane departure warning.
The B4 is Bollinger Motors' first vehicle
model to reach the design validation
phase.
" It's incredible to hit this milestone, "
Bollinger said.
Kami Buchholz
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: BOLLINGER MOTORS; OUR NEXT ENERGY; SAE/KAMI BUCHHOLZ

Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2023