08 June 2011 Sacramento County, Californian has chosen to order lighter weight trucks with smaller engines to haul waste to landfills. The purchase has been made as an alternative to heavier Class 8 trucks with larger engines.
The county says that its waste management department is using six lightweight, compact Kenworth T440s to deliver refuse to the Kiefer landfill with fewer truck trips.
Last year, Sacramento County became one of the first customers to purchase the T440, which is fitted with Cummins ISL9 engines rated at 380 hp (280 mw), and driven through Allison automatic transmissions.
The T440 is available as a straight truck or tractor in a gross vehicle weight (GVW) ranging from a heavy Class 7 vehicle at 33,000 lbs (15 tonnes) up to a light Class 8 truck at 68,000 lbs. (31 tonnes).
The T440s were specified for stop-and-go driving since the roughly 40 mile (64 km) roundtrip to the landfill includes an 8 mile (13 km) stretch with some 25 traffic signals, noted LaComb. The trucks typically make five trips per day and often run seven days a week.
"We're able to transport about 500 additional pounds (227 kg) of waste per trip with our lighter Kenworth T440s compared to the last Class 8 trucks we bought," said Matt Tedrow, waste operations manager for Sacramento County's Department of Waste Management and Recycling. "Over time, that means fewer trips to the landfill and more productivity for the county."
Like most municipal operations, the county says that it works its trucks hard. The transfer dump tractors are run for eight to ten years before their condition is analysed. The ones that show their age are put into service as yard goats - shuttling trailers around our facility.
In the transfer dump operation the trucks run fully loaded with 80,000 lbs (36 tonnes) of gross combination weight. Waste is compacted into 27 to 34 foot (8.2m - 10.4m) bales and fitted into 45 foot (13.7m) moving floor trailers.
However, Tedrow explained that while the trucks have been a big hit with the operators, following driver feedback some modifications were made.
"We added tilt steering wheels on our next order of three to accommodate our larger drivers and changed up the gear ratio to get a little better fuel economy. We also reduced the wheelbase by 18 inches, which provides better manoeuvrability around the landfill."
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