Spirit Truck Lines uses T660s to reduce idling
David Garza (Courtesy Kenworth)
The Trucker News Services
1/10/2008
SAN JUAN, Texas – It’s not surprising that Spirit Truck Lines caters to the needs of its drivers with Kenworth trucks, while keeping an eye on low operating costs and high fuel mileage. After all, this successful family business was founded in 1990 by the five Garza brothers, all once drivers, who have trucking in their blood dating back to 1925 when Eulalio Garza, their father, bought his first truck.
Based in San Juan, Texas, near the Mexican border, Spirit Truck Lines runs dry vans in all lower 48 states and also services Mexico and Canada. The fleet is up to 200 Kenworth trucks and continues to expand as business grows. The latest move by the company’s owners – brothers David, Johnny, Leonel, Ramiro and Raul Garza – is the recent addition of 50 Kenworth T660s with 72-inch AeroCab sleepers and Kenworth Clean Power no-idle systems. The new system is fully compliant with California Air Resources Board’s new idling regulations for 2008.
With the move to Kenworth T660s, purchased from French-Ellison Kenworth in Pharr, Texas, Spirit Truck Lines has a factory-installed idle reduction option that works best for their company, according to David Garza, who oversees the fleet’s service operations.
“It’s been a great decision,” said Garza. “We looked at APUs (auxiliary power units), but decided we didn’t want to deal with another engine. Kenworth Clean Power really makes sense with its battery system for cooling and AC power and fuel-fired heater. The system is quiet and efficient, and there is zero maintenance compared to an APU. I’ve had many drivers comment how they get a great night’s sleep because they don’t have to deal with an APU kicking on in the middle of the night.”
While Spirit drivers have been happy with the performance, idling has been decreased as much as 90 percent on the first T660s with Kenworth Clean Power put into service. “Obviously, with diesel costing more than $3 a gallon, we’re interested in saving money through idle reduction,” said Garza. “We had a fleet idle average in the low 40 percent range. The first ‘no-idle’ trucks coming in that we’ve checked with Kenworth Clean Power range from 3 to 6 percent in idle time. We’re shooting for a fleet average of five percent for those trucks equipped with Kenworth Clean Power.”
What’s more, Garza said they don’t have to worry about no-idle regulations in California. “Each day we have around 10 trucks running through California,” he said. “We can shut the truck down and Kenworth Clean Power will allow our drivers to stay comfortable in the sleeper.”
According to Raul Benavides, Spirit Truck Lines maintenance manager, Kenworth Clean Power has been simple to use with very little driver education required. “In fact when the first unit came in, I spent the night in the truck with my son to give it a test run. When the truck was shut down, the outside temperature was 95 degrees. During the night, the outside temperature still was hot at 85 degrees, but we stayed nice and cool in the sleeper. The next morning we had plenty of power – the air conditioning did not drain the battery; the system worked great.”
While Kenworth Clean Power is receiving accolades from the fleet’s drivers, the features of the new T660 are a hit as well. “Drivers are saying the Kenworth T660 is the best riding truck they’ve ever driven. Our own tests have validated that the T660 is the most fuel efficient truck we’ve ever operated and we’re close to 7 miles per gallon,” said Garza, whose fleet includes Kenworth T600s.
“And little things, like improved headlamps, are making a big difference,” Garza added. “We ordered the optional high intensity discharge headlights (which provide 75 percent more light and last 11 times longer than sealed beam lamps) and driver comments have been tremendous. They can see so much better, and as a former driver myself, I can tell you that night driving can be very tiring. These headlights really help reduce driver fatigue.”
With an on-time delivery rate in excess of 99 percent coupled with real-time GPS-based tracking, Spirit Truck Lines is a big believer in growth through superior service. “It’s what helps separate us from other trucking companies,” said Garza. “We give a great deal of credit to our success to our drivers, as well as the trucks we operate.”
Now, with Kenworth T660s equipped with Kenworth Clean Power, Spirit Truck Lines has further distinguished itself from the competition.
Kenworth Truck Co., a division of PACCAR Inc, is a leading manufacturer of heavy and medium duty trucks. Kenworth is the recipient of the 2007 J.D. Power and Associates awards for Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Over The Road, Pickup and Delivery and Vocational Segment Class 8 trucks. Kenworth’s Internet home page is at www.kenworth.com.