Composites and other lightweight materials are the way of the future. This is evidenced by the transition to lighter weight technologies in just about all things that go. But losing weight isn’t the only factor, these lighter weight materials must also be strong. According to BMW, “CFRP is at least as strong as steel but 50 percent lighter.” Read More.
Almost a third of the worlds fleet of A380′s will be grounded within the next six weeks to check for wing cracks. Checks were ordered after the discovery of wing cracks which led to more serious fractures in other planes. Read more.
Available earned cap and trade style credits are likely to sabotage the success of new technologies emerging as we head toward 2016 CAFE standards. Under the plan CO2 credits are earned by automaker fleets as they incorporate items from the EPA’s approved list for earning credits. If the intent is to support green technologies that will most advantageously decrease GHG, reduce our reliance on foreign oil, and create U.S. jobs, it will require opening their policies to allow new technologies. Hybrid, CNG, and Electric vehicles are only part of the solution – lightweight material technology for one, has much more to offer.
Can we say enough about the Boeing 787 – no we cannot. Wow, 10,710 miles in a little more than 42 hours. Setting a record that has no competition thanks to it’s lightweight construction the plane is 50% lighter than steel and 30% lighter than equivalent aluminum planes, increasing fuel efficiency and lowering lifecycle costs. Get the scoop.
This article by Erik Sofge on Popular Mechanics was a shocker. How is it possible that automakers scurrying to increase average MPG to 54.5 by 2025 would increase the size of their vehicles across cars and light duty trucks? Ok, demand for spacious vehicles drives the market, but don’t we all want more fuel efficient vehicles? Erik’s forecast is very interesting. Read More.
Lightweight Composite Truck Bodies Do More
Less Weight Less Filling of Landfills & Gas Tanks
In a recent article from Boeing, they discuss joint research efforts with the University of Nottingham to develop recycling methods for composite materials. Thanks to the estimated 30 year life of the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, there’s plenty of time to develop those recycling processes, benefitting the many industries moving toward lightweight composite construction. Confidence in their research was reflected in this statement,”By the time the first 787s are being retired, that plane will be more recycled than aluminum aircraft.” Boeing already plans to use recycled composite in non-support structures such as interior aesthetics.
Lee Finley, founder of BrandFX, designed and produced his first composite utility body in 1984. That unit is still in service. In fact, most of our truck bodies are re-installed for decades of service. You just can’t beat the Life Cycle benefits of composite, through strength and light weight, it literally reduces costs at every step of the lifecycle.
Referenced:
Boing Article
We’ve all grown a bit desensitized to the green hype. Remember back when doing the right thing didn’t have a trendy name, and we all went about recycling and being frugal and managing our businesses within our means?
What if you could gain efficiency just by lightening your load with composites? What if that weight savings meant you’d need less payload, buy smaller chassis’s, use less fuel, and re-mount that same lightweight composite truck body over 4-5 trucks – saving up to $7K on acquisition and up to $6K on remounts? And what if that weight savings resulted in 6.8% MPG increase for every 10% drop in weight – on top of improved MPG by moving to a smaller chassis? You can.
The point is, though alternative propulsion is certainly a part of the equation – it’s incomplete. Its the sum of all these efforts, light weighting, alternative propulsion, and best practices, that make a fleet a green fleet and the budgetary efficiencies that make it sustainable.
It All Starts with BrandFX Composite Truck Bodies
We found a great new tool on the Department of Energy website, it will calculate and compare the lifecycle costs of different vehicles and different propulsion systems. Imagine what you can do when you add lightweight truck bodies. Click the below graphic.
Calculate and Compare Lifecycle Costs by Truck
If you’re one of many fleets incorporating hybrid and CNG trucks, don’t stop there, incorporate light weight composite truck bodies, and you’ll have a green fleet with good return on investment. It’s all about efficiency, rightsizing, and incorporating lightweight truck equipment. The U.S. Department of Energy states for every 100 pounds of weight added to your vehicle you reduce your MPG by up to 2 percent.
When BrandFX truck bodies are specified it’s often possible to downsize to one of today’s beefier 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton trucks or say good riddance to vans. Of course there are some applications that demand more, however, in service today are thousands of work trucks and vans carrying 1200 lbs. or less payload. We’re talking about thousands of dollars in bottom line life cycle savings per fleet unit. Accomplish up to 50% fuel savings as well. Combine the benefits of rightsizing your truck, buying alternative propulsion vehicles, using lightweight composite truck equipment and re-mounting over 4-5 trucks, to have it all.
General Motors is at the 2011 PestWorld Show this week featuring the BrandFX 56″ CA standard service body with cab-high canopy option. Adding a transverse tunnel to the front compartments creates a large storage space across the entire width of the truck body, a transverse drawer makes exterior loading and unloading of large, heavy storage items easily accessible and more safe to load. The rear access door reveals a truck bed mounted Rolldeck ®, providing cargo bed storage and access from the exterior of the truck, for a complete exterior loading, filling, painless solution. Four additional storage compartments provide the perfect storage for all your gear.
BrandFX 56" CA Composite Service Body with Transverse and Cab-High Canopy
