MVTS Finds FlowBelow Technologies Bring Significant Fuel Savings
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Tansportation products testing company Mesilla Valley Transportation Solutions recently tested FlowBelow Aero Inc.’s tractor and trailer wheel covers for the first time as well as the Tractor AeroKit, and found that each technology provided significant fuel savings.
“We’ve never formally track-tested the wheel covers as stand-alone products before,” Katie Breitschopf, FlowBelow director of sales operations, told Transport Topics. “We’ve had customers do extensive testing on our tractor wheel covers, and they provided us feedback showing 0.9% improvement.”
MVTS found, in certified test results, the FlowBelow tractor wheel covers showed a savings of 1.38 gallons/1,000 miles, or 0.93%; the trailer wheel covers had a savings of 1.23 gallons/1,000 miles, or 0.81%, according to Las Cruces, N.M.-based MVTS, a subsidiary of truckload carrier Mesilla Valley Transportation.
Breitschopf
In the latest tests, the Tractor AeroKit had a fuel savings of 3.16 gallons/1,000 miles, or 2.13%. “The AeroKit has tested at 2.23% in the past, and this time the test came in at 2.13%, a variance of less than 5%,” Breitschopf said.
Its flagship Tractor AeroKit is a complete aerodynamic system for the tractor that includes drive wheel fairings and quick-release wheel covers.
MVTS, which has performed 500 fuel-economy tests since 2016, reported it conducted sequential tests on the FlowBelow technologies, starting with the trailer wheel covers, then the tractor wheel covers and lastly, the Tractor AeroKit. Testing was conducted at 65 mph on 2018 Freightliner Cascadia day cab models with 48-foot refrigerated trailers and a gross vehicle weight of 72,000 pounds.
“We are absolutely marketing with these numbers,” Breitschopf said. “Trailer wheel covers are becoming much more mainstream. We knew what the savings would be, based on quite positive feedback from some key customers, but fleets often want more verified results than what our customer testimonials can provide.”
Amazing news from Mesilla Valley Transportation Solutions (MVTS) about FlowBelow tractor and trailer wheels covers, which showed significant fuel savings in recent testing.
Read more about it on Newswire:https://t.co/c6bZQmZRJ2#FlowBelow #MVTS #aerodynamics #truckingindustry — FlowBelow (@FlowBelow) March 26, 2021
“We just needed the math to help prove it to potential customers,” she said.
FlowBelow noted its wheel cover kits are compatible with all Class 8 trucks and all makes and models of trailers. They come in a variety of colors, and more than 150,000 kits have been sold over the past five years.
MVTS calculated that the use of FlowBelow’s tractor wheel covers would result in 173 gallons of fuel saved annually, which would equal $529 in savings each year. The fuel savings for the trailer wheel covers equated to 154 gallons annually, calculating to $470 saved in fuel costs.
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FlowBelow’s AeroKit showed even more significant fuel savings, MVTS reported, resulting in 395 gallons and $1,207 saved annually. Calculations were based on 125,000 miles traveled annually and an average diesel fuel price of $3.056 per gallon.
Round Rock, Texas-based FlowBelow announced its locking aerodynamic wheel cover has been standard on all Freightliner Cascadia trucks since Jan. 1. Freightliner is a brand of Daimler Trucks North America.
“We’re in a really good place,” Breitschopf said. “We’ve got a large cadre of customers that have validated and support our product line. Our relatively small crew of sales and support folks are working to ensure those fleets and others are doing the math and really looking at the return on investment because when they do, our sales go up.”
She added: “We’re working really closely with the engineering teams at each major OEM to ensure we’re supporting their vision for trucks of the future.”
Mesilla Valley Transportation ranks No. 78 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
Wheel Covers Save Fuel - for both tractors and trailers. #FlowBelow's quick release wheel covers are easy to install and even easier to remove for wheel inspection and maintenance. #aerodynamics #truckingindustryhttps://t.co/Wnz2KcLauW — FlowBelow (@FlowBelow) March 19, 2021
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