TMC Deals With California on ‘Clean Truck Check’

The RP 1226 14-pin standardized connector.

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A contingent of Technology & Maintenance Council member experts and staff from fleets and technol­ogy suppliers joined with representatives of the California Trucking Association and American Trucking Associations in a meeting with the California Air Resources Board in January to discuss ways of implementing a fleet-preferred method for complying with CARB’s Heavy-Duty Inspection and Maintenance reporting under its Clean Truck Check requirements.

“Currently, CARB’s regulations only recognize data generated through the vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostic port as legally conforming to the regulation. That means fleets have to take a vehicle out of service to physically connect a diagnostic tool to the vehicle to comply, as opposed to using more cost-effective over-the-air telematics solutions. TMC’s RP 1226 offers a better solution,” said TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell.

TMC’s members have been communicating for several years that the OBD2 port is inadequate in heavy-duty commercial vehicle applications because most telematics service provider technologies do not principally rely upon OBD2 for the data source for generation of telematics reporting to fleets. Fleets also contend in a combination vehicle setting there is insufficient cybersecurity protection for the onboard CAN network via the SAE J1939 databus. Fleets currently rely heavily on data connectors conforming to TMC RP 1226B, Vehicle Accessory Connector Guidelines, that have been in service since 2015. The two-part plug and socket connection is commonly referred to as an “RP 1226 Connector.”

Partly in response to discussions with CARB during the last several years, TMC also developed a companion document RP 1230(T), Accessory Databus Message Standardization, to provide secure and reliable support for current and next-­generation vehicle electronic architectures that are becoming increasingly complex and the amount of operational data generated that is also increasing in parallel. RP 1230(T) was successfully balloted by TMC members and is currently in the final days of its required appeal period prior to publication in the council’s 2025 TMC RP Manual Supplement.

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Legler 

Cybersecurity is a critical component of compliance reporting from both regulatory and fleet perspectives. TMC’s fleet members emphasized that with multiple data generating and data utilization technologies using both single and multiple RP1226 connectors, both the integrity of the data as well as its accuracy can only be rationally accomplished via the RP 1226B and RP 1230(T) protocols. In fact, even very large fleets stated that compliance reporting may well remain via manually generated records, rather than utilizing the OBD2 port. RP 1230(T) recommends segmenting and separating accessory devices and internal vehicle databuses to isolate the privileged vehicle network segment functions from the accessory devices.

Critical to all telematics systems, RP 1230 requires that all forms of communication between the acces­sory device networks and other vehicle networks should be denied by default unless specifically authorized for reconfiguration from the default setting by the fleet owner. Part of compliance reporting for CARB is documenting that diagnostic trouble codes are corrected by the fleet. Particularly in large fleet operations this requires interactive parsing of data as enabled for the TSP by TMC’s Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards, remote data logging, resetting DTC codes, remote reprogramming and the like, all the while protecting vehicle integrity. For fleets, this is the only way to support both compliance reporting and the fleets’ day-to-day operational needs.

Reflecting the positions expressed by fleet representatives, ATA Senior Director of Energy & Environmental Affairs Mike Tunnell relates, “Getting standardized data to the connector locations fleets want is what this effort is all about. As more and more data needs arise, this work is foundational to making sure that data will be accessible.”

While CARB’s contingent seemed very receptive to these arguments, they also emphasized that a formal regulatory action would be required on CARB’s part to legally allow RP 1226-compliant systems to be certified as meeting the fleet data reporting requirements. Future meetings are expected to further develop how to achieve certification of compliance reporting via RP 1226 connectors.

Kurt Dunn of Pitt Ohio, who chairs TMC’s S.12 Onboard Vehicle Electronic Study Group, said, “This team has worked really hard to make this an impactful recommended practice and this meeting is a sign of the work done. We look forward to future conversations, and the possibility of reaching an agreement on the certification of the RP1226 port.”

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The RP 1226 14-pin standardized connector.

TMC and its subject-matter expert members will continue to support the efforts of ATA and CTA to achieve CARB recognition of RP 1226 Connector ported data as compliant with California’s regulation.

Defining the NextGen Connector

TMC’s Shop Talk — at the council’s 2025 Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition in Nashville March 10-13 — will have a special focus on the next-generation tractor-trailer electrical connector. TMC’s S.1 Electrical and S.7 Trailer, Bodies & Material Handling Study Groups have been attempting to define connector in terms of architecture and performance characteristics, resulting in a number of prototype, conceptual and even market-ready solutions from a number of connector suppliers. In addition, a 2024 survey of TMC’s fleet members indicated preferences for designs that are both backward and forward compatible, but did not denote a clear single design target.

The current SAE J560 connector only came about after a 20-year per­iod of multiple connectors vying for a dominant position at which the major fleets in the industry arrived at consensus to focus on the seven-­pin solution. A single solution facilitates integration of equipment from multiple chassis, trailer and technology providers, optimizes parts inventories and supply chain leverage, and enables fleet acquisition and divestiture.

TMC’s Shop Talk session will provide a forum to drive industry consensus on a single solution to ensure widespread industry compatibility. Panelists will discuss the evolution of the current process, fleets’ perceptions of the solutions being proposed and the pros and cons of fixing a single solution vs. an open market winnowing of the offerings.

Paul Menig, CEO of Business Accelerants and TMC Silver Spark Plug recipient, will facilitate this open forum discussion along with a panel of top experts from a truck manufac­turer, a trailer manufacturer and a provider of mobility technology. Menig said, “Tractors and trailers have been minimally connected for more than half a century by a few wires and two pneumatic tubes. Greater connections are necessary in a future that is more fully connected from shipper to receiver. Continued improvements in productivity and safety demand a standardized connection that has improved durability, backward compatibility and future potential. I welcome people to connect with me at TMC and, especially, at TMC Shop Talk.”

This plenary session will take place March 12 at the Music City Center in Nashville. All fully registered attendees may actively participate in this session. Fleets are especially encouraged to engage in this discussion. For more information, visit https://tmcannual.trucking.org.