K & L Truck Body and Truck Sales Deliver hybrid trucks helps Oakhurst Dairy go more green and save more green on fuel
Dec 1, 2012 12:00 PM
A New Hampshire truck equipment distributor recently made a dairy a little greener.
L & K Truck Body and Truck Sales, Chichester NH, delivered three new hybrid delivery trucks to Oakhurst Dairy of Portland, Maine, October 10.
The dairy used an Alternative Fuel Vehicles grant from the State of New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services in acquiring the three new hybrid delivery trucks. The trucks are targeted for service primarily in New Hampshire's “Ozone Non-Attainment Areas.”
The trucks, Freightliner M2 models, run on diesel fuel and electric power; 50% of the diesel is bio diesel. The chassis' were equipped with 24-ft Kidron Dairy Classic truck bodies that had the floors modified to include a hydraulic lift system at both the side door location and the rear sliding door to get product in and out of the truck body. According to L&K, this lift system design is similar to the RPW Slicklift Delivery System that is used in the dairy industry (as well as other applications). Both systems offer improved operational safety, faster delivery times, and virtually no
maintenance. In addition, L&K says that workers' compensation claims have been reduced among fleets that use the lift system.
Oakhurst says it purchased the dairy industry's first hybrid delivery truck in 2009 for its Portland facility. According to the company, the hybrids burn 30 gallons of fuel on their 260-mile routes — a fuel savings of 35%. www.landktruckbody.net.
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