Karl Williams, age 57, has driven almost every diesel-powered truck brand on the road, in his two million miles and twenty years of driving them. Now, he’s driving an electric truck and get this, he even enjoys waiting in traffic. He said he does not miss the smell of diesel nor the loud clatter from the engine. “I never imagined I would be driving an electric truck,” said Williams.
When William’s employer, NFI Industries, formed a partnership with Daimler Trucks North America, the company had access to trucks from their Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet. This was when Williams began driving electric vehicles. He drove on battery-powered drayage routes between Chino, in the Inland Empire of South California, and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Since then, he has fallen in love with the convenience and ease of an electric truck and won’t go back to diesel trucking, unless he’s compelled too. “I drove all kinds of trucks over the years. It’s a lot of work compared to this. These trucks drive themselves. You don’t get beat up,” he recalled.
How Many Miles Does He Drive Per Charge?
A typical day for William consists of two runs: driving an empty drayage trailer to the port and driving a load back to NFL’s site. Then, he puts the eCascadia he arrived in to charge and climbs into another one and repeats the 100-mile roundtrip.
Over the past four months, the NFL’s fleet of nine fuel-cell electric day cab semi-trucks has racked up nearly 50,000 miles. “They want us to put as many miles on each truck as possible. That’s the only way they are going to find any issues,” explained William.
The eCascadia has no tailpipe, therefore, emits zero emissions. With batteries that offer 550kWh of storage capacity, the trucks can travel up to 250 miles on a single charge, which can be 80% recharged in about 90 minutes.
Diesel Vs. Electric In Traffic
When Williams is driving the Electric truck, and he takes his foot off the throttle, one of three levels of regenerative braking takes control based on his actions. As the truck slows down, braking energy flows toward the engine, extending its energy capacity before it has to be recharged.
Williams said:
We drive in massive traffic here. As far as this truck goes, I barely even use the brake.
Diesel trucks are slowed by their traditional engine braking, which retards the motor on steep downgrades. However, when William presses the accelerator on the eCascadia’s single gear, it provides immediate power.
This feature saves him a lot of time at the end of the day, especially during traffic slowdowns on the highway. When the traffic picks up again and starts to move, he quickly moves too. When William drove diesel, he would get held up in traffic longer because every time they stopped and moved again, he would have to work through all the gears to gain speed. During heavy traffic, William saves fifteen minutes off each drive from the ports to Chino.
He added:
I would have the space of two diesel trucks in front of me. By the time I get going, five cars jump in front of me. With this truck, I can stay right with the cars rather than being dropped back every time we stop and go.
Furthermore, with advanced driver assistance systems like automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control, it’s safe to say, Williams drives a safer truck today.
