Wal-Mart Unveils Concept Tractor-Trailer

[kscarbel2]

Transport Topics / February 18, 2014

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveiled a concept tractor-trailer Feb. 17 during a meeting to report on progress in meeting the company’s sustainability goals.

The Wal-Mart Advanced Vehicle Experience (WAVE) features a microturbine hybrid power train and the first-ever trailer made from lightweight carbon fiber, plus a radically designed truck cab in which the driver sits in the center of the vehicle with electronic controls on either side and an entry door that slides open.

Vendors who helped assemble the vehicle, which company officials are calling Jetson, include Peterbilt Motors Co., Great Dane Trailer and Capstone Turbine Corp.

Chris Sultemeier, senior vice president and head of corporate transportation services for Wal-Mart, said the company also has agreed to buy 2,000 hydrogen-fueled forklift trucks for use in its U.S. and Canadian distribution centers.

In 2005, Wal-Mart set a goal of doubling the efficiency of its truck fleet by 2015. Sultemeier said the company has reached 80% of its goal by buying more fuel-efficient trucks and finding ways to ship more goods in less space and using fewer trucks.

In Canada, Wal-Mart is testing a super-high-capacity tractor trailer that carriers 40% more merchandise than a standard 53-foot tractor-trailer.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company also is testing vehicles that run on waste grease and natural gas, plus several models that use diesel and hybrid-assist technologies to reduce fuel consumption.

Wal-Mart ranks No. 4 on the Transport Topics’ Top 100 Private Carriers list with more than 6,500 tractors and over 61,000 trailers.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvt7ptICxSY

More info: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/18/see-the-futuristic-concept-truck-walmart-wants-to-use-to-maximize-efficiency-on-the-road/

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[2stacksuperdog]

I'll stick to B-models and the old school convex trailers. At least they looked good and were aerodynamic

[Green Dash]

It's gonna take a helluva lot more than chrome lug nut covers and chicken lights to overcome the fugly factor on this one.

[General Ike]

That thing doesn't look like it's going to fair well in a wreck vs a conventional cab tractor.

[RSD501]

It's gonna take a helluva lot more than chrome lug nut covers and chicken lights to overcome the fugly factor on this one.

and the name on the side of the trailer...

[gearhead204]

looks like the windshield will cost more than a new e-9 ...... wanna see whats left of it after it hits an Elk.

[bullhusk]

I turned it upside down an it said MADE IN CHINA

[jaysm35a2]

Another Wal Mart joke lol

Will they be CR England trucks like the wal mart ones out here?

[Eastcoastdiesel]

.... Wut can we officially say we have a jetsonmobile

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NoClueJoe66]

It's gonna take a helluva lot more than chrome lug nut covers and chicken lights to overcome the fugly factor on this one.

Put a drop visor, and straight outs on it?.....should blend right in

[Green Dash]

and the name on the side of the trailer...

I have trouble embracing anything related to that company no matter how positive an idea it may be.

.... Wut can we officially say we have a jetsonmobile

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think Hanna-Barbera could've come up with a more eye pleasing design, and they're both dead.

Put a drop visor, and straight outs on it?.....should blend right in

New cab should do it.

[NoClueJoe66]

Another Wal Mart joke lol

Will they be CR England trucks like the wal mart ones out here?

If so just look for one backed into a pole, blocking the fuel pumps, or going up the road about 55 wide open in the left lane

[kscarbel2]

Although this is merely a concept design at this point, a working "test bed", there's a lot of cutting edge technology being put to the test here.

First, you have a trailer taking advantage of carbon fibre technology. By doing so, they reduced the weight of a 53 foot trailer by 4000 pounds. That's a meaningful increase in load capacity.

Then you have a battery-powered electric motor drive system that is recharged by a diesel-powered micro-turbine. Electric motors, known for their high torque, would be ideally suited for heavy trucks.

Today's lithium-ion batteries, while impressive, will soon be replaced by newer technology resulting in smaller and lighter battery packs offering higher capacity. That next battery technology leap will make electric cars and trucks viable.

And finally, we have the micro-turbine from California's Capstone Turbine Corporation* which keeps the battery pack charged, while sipping minimal amounts of diesel fuel.

*http://www.capstoneturbine.com/prodsol/products/

[kscarbel2]

Australian Transport News / March 6, 2014

US retail behemoth Walmat has unveiled its concept truck, dubbing it the WAVE.

Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience, the WAVE was a centrepiece of the company’s recent Sustainability Milestone Meeting.

President and CEO Doug McMillon says formal testing has just begun but pledged that it would be 20 percent more aerodynamic than its current trucks.

It has a micro-turbine hybrid powertrain that can run on diesel, natural gas, biodiesel "and probably other fuels still to be developed", and also involves electrification and advanced control systems.

"It may never make it to the road, but it will allow us to test new technologies and new approaches. I share it because it gives you a sense of how sustainability is helping us see things in new ways," McMillon adds.

‎ WAVE is the result of collaboration between vendor partners, including Peterbilt, Great Dane Trailers and Capstone Turbine.

It includes an electronic dashboard with customisable gauges and performance data, a full-sized sleeper and sliding driver’s door.

The driver’s seat has LCD screens at either hand and its single trailer is in the carbon-fibre-bodied.

According to Business Strategy and Sustainability Director Elizabeth Fretheim, the concept is part on an ongoing sustainability and fleet efficiency drive aimed at double fleet efficiency by 2015, compared with 2005.

"We’re already 80 percent of the way there," Fretheim says.

"Since 2007, we’ve delivered 658 million more cases while driving 298 million fewer miles.

"But the key to continued improvement is through technology.

"We need to use the most efficient equipment available – and we need to pursue and test the technologies of tomorrow.

"That’s why we’ve been working with our suppliers to pilot new and emerging technologies for about 20 years.

"These tests have included a number of prototypes: hybrid assist, wheel-end hybrid assist, full propulsion hybrid, natural gas (LNG and CNG) and waste grease."

She notes that Walmart’s Canadian Supercube trailer pilot study is in its second test phase "after proving that it can ship up to 40 per cent more merchandise than conventional tractor-trailer combinations, reducing costs by 24 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent". (see http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/34233-wal-mart-to-expand-test-use-of-supercube-concept-in-canada/)

"Like the concept cars you see at auto shows, this prototype will evolve before it’s ready for the road," she says.

"But it’s exciting to think about how any one of the new features might become an industry standard in the future.

"The important thing is that we find incremental improvements while also challenging ourselves to look at fleet efficiency in new and different ways."

No fuel efficiency standard was mentioned for the WAVE but Peterbuilt reportedly gets 10.7 miles per gallon (4.54 km per litre) in real-world conditions from its Cummins collaboration, the SuperTruck, and AirFlow Truck Co claims 13.4 mpg (5.67 kpl) for its BulletTruck.

[BAD DOG]

NO WAY !!!!!!! A fella is not right to wanna drive something like that!