Reefer-Unit Manufacturers Roll Out New Hybrid Models
By Frederick Kiel and Jonathan S. Reiskin, Staff Reporters
This story appears in the March 30 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The two largest North American manufacturers of trailer refrigerated units each introduced updated product lines with an emphasis on hybrid power at the Mid-America Trucking Show here.
Carrier Transicold concentrated on its heavy-duty line, whereas Thermo King mainly addressed medium-duty needs.
Carrier showed a model for 53-foot refrigerated vans, the Vector 6500, which the company said increases fuel efficiency by 38% over diesel-only reefers at current prices.
“We designed this unit for our customers who want to run a single-temperature hybrid suited for today’s 53-foot, thin-wall trailers used in longhaul applications,” said David Kiefer, Carrier’s director of marketing and product management. The unit has a 2.2-liter, direct-injection diesel engine and a 23-kilowatt generator that has only one moving part and no bearings, he said.
The company’s statement said the unit would have saved 70% on fuel costs for running a conventional reefer during last summer’s spike to nearly $5 a gallon for diesel and would save 38% at a price of about $2.05 a gallon.
Kiefer said the Vector 6500 has a plug-in hookup for when the truck is parked near a power supply. Transicold’s parent, Carrier Corp., is a part of United Technologies Corp.
He said the Vector uses one-third less refrigerant than a conventional system and has a simplified cooling circuit.
Vector’s compressor is driven by an electric motor that is “semi-hermetic,” Kiefer said, meaning there is no shaft seal — a common leaking point for refrigerant.
The company introduced a similar unit in 2006, the Vector 1800MT for multitemperature applications.
Kiefer declined to give a retail price for the Vector 6500, but said it would sell at a premium over diesel-only units and make up for the extra costs in fuel savings.
He said the diesel engine meets the Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 interim standard through 2013, and the California Air Resources Board has certified the system.
Also during the show, Thermo King said it had redesigned its medium-duty line of reefer units — the T-Series — and will start shipping them out of its Hastings, Neb., plant in August, said Tim Ryan, director of truck products.
Ryan said Minneapolis-based Thermo King, a division of Ingersoll Rand Co., also will manufacture the T-Series in China and Ireland.
T-Series units will be able to run on three sources of energy: diesel reefer fuel, plug-in electricity and chassis-based export power, Ryan said. When a vehicle is in motion, the units will draw 15 kilowatts to 16 kilowatts of power exported through the chassis via an Eaton Corp. electric distribution system, he said.
Plug-in electricity takes over at loading docks, and diesel power fills in the gaps.
The company said the units comply with regulations set by CARB.
In terms of financing, Ryan and other Thermo King officials at the press conference said the reefer units are eligible for rebates through the Truckers B2B buying cooperative, and Ingersoll Rand’s in-house finance captive can provide terms for purchasing.
The company’s heavy-duty reefer units remain as they are.
