I finally made it home and now realize what a unique and exciting experience I have left behind me. My wife surprised her Belgian Bandit with home made belgian waffles and blueberry sauce for breakfast, a personal favourite of mine. Home sweet home.
The time has come to say thank you to a lot of people. I want to thank my colleagues Andrew Dewitt and Amanda Phillips and my boss, David Siler for giving me the opportunity to do this trip. It thank Kathy Rakowiecki for helping me with this blog and uploading the pictures. It made me realize what amazing colleagues and superiors I have and what great companies Daimler and Detroit Diesel are. I am very fortunate and grateful to work for them.
I also want to thank Henry Albert and Scott Winter for giving me excellent trucker's advice on the phone, and Brian Sutherland for cheering me on from a distance. I thank Dave Ruuhela for co-driving and spending all that time with me in the Cascadia and for keeping me on the right track. I thank Kai Hillebrand for successfully passing the Cascadia truck driving fascination test, Kristina for helping me out with videoing and Hotel AAC run by Hartmut Scheller and all his people for always giving me a hearty welcome and providing a free shower.
I thank Arlene Prey for checking in with me every day, Audrey Hudetz for reading my blogs and Emanuel Demeulemeester for reminding me of the great time I am having. I thank all the nice people I have met on the road for the enjoyable conversations. Last but not least I thank Schmusi, Yannik and Mika for letting me leave for so many days to live the European fantasy of trucking in America.
Miguel
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Safety First
Component optimization is what my job is all about, be it for the present or for the future. It means selecting the components of a truck in order to optimize any given feature of a truck. This could be comfort, safety, fuel efficiency, environmental friendliness, etc. The yellow, DD15 powered Cascadia features pretty much all safety components imaginable. It is not called the "safety truck" for nothing.
Beyond the common safety features such as seat belts, airbag, ABS (anti-lock braking system) and ATC (automatic traction control), I spent the last day getting familiar with all the modern safety components.
First of all let me repeat that the maximum cruise control set speed is 60 mph and the road speed is governed at 65 mph. This is an excellent set up for safety and also fuel efficiency. The Cascadia safety truck is also equipped with Lane Sensing, Smart Cruise, Collision Alert, Automated Manual Transmission, Air Disc Brakes, Blind Spot Alert and Enhanced Stability Control.
As for the last system, Enhanced Stability Control, I cannot comment on it as I decided not to try and bring the truck in a situation where I could find out what the system is capable of. As for all the other systems, I can only say they are absolutely great once you get used to them and figure out how to use them best.
Lane Sensing warns you with a buzzing noise from the left or right side in the Cascadia's cab that you are crossing a lane where you should not. When you are changing lanes with your signal on, it will not buzz at you. For example, on the flat, straight, boring but very fast roads of Nebraska I find this system very helpful. The frequency of the buzzes lets you indirectly know that you are getting a little too tired and should stop for a rest. There is also a switch on the dashboard that lets you disable the Lane Sensing system. This makes sense in cases of traffic in and around cities, and where roadwork is present.
When you are signaling to go to the right, and there happens to be a white line, obstacle or vehicle on your right side that you cannot see, the Blind Spot Alert system will beep at you to let you know of the potential danger you are running into.
Smart Cruise does not only control the road speed but also the distance to the vehicle in front. The distance can be set by the driver between 2.25 and 3.25 seconds in 0.25 second increments. I used the Smart Cruise in combination with the engine brake. Once you get too close to the vehicle in front of you, it will first let go of the throttle. If this is not sufficient to keep the safe, preset distance, it will engage the engine brake for you. If you are still getting to close, the Collision Alert will kick in and let you know by flashing lights and strong beeps that you are running into a potential collision. Brake to slow down the truck or steer to avoid the object in front, and the Collision Alert will return to silence immediately. Smart Cruise in combination with the engine brake, Collision Alert and Blind Spot Alert system are a very comfortable and safe way of cruising down the highways.
Besides making all the shifts for you, and making only perfect shifts for you, the Automated Manual Transmission enables the driver to keep his eyes on the road and his hands on the steering wheel every time, all the time. Here again a feature for relaxed and safe driving. The Air Disc Brake system on the Cascadia is absolutely great. Not only do they reduce the stopping distance substantially, they are also very easy to dose. Pure braking pleasure to the driver.
With all this modern technology, you might easily forget about the old fashioned and not so exciting safety items. Let us note that the Cascadia is yellow and when parked on a truck stop at night in the dark, it was very easy to spot His Yellow Highness, far more easily than my first truck on the trip, the black Cascadia.
There is no safe truck without safe tires so I pay a lot of attention to them. I give them a good look and use a tire pressure gauge every morning as part of the pretrip inspection. At stops during the day, I always do a quick walk around to feel unusual temperature differences between tires with my hand and also to whack them with a tire thumper.
On our last day during the pretrip inspection we noticed that the windshield wiper blade on the driver side did not work properly anymore. We removed it from the truck and hoped to buy a new one in the truck stop store only to find out they did not have that size. We ended up switching the driver and passenger side wiper as a final resolution to the problem. Good thing we did as it was raining for most of that day.
Miguel
Beyond the common safety features such as seat belts, airbag, ABS (anti-lock braking system) and ATC (automatic traction control), I spent the last day getting familiar with all the modern safety components.
First of all let me repeat that the maximum cruise control set speed is 60 mph and the road speed is governed at 65 mph. This is an excellent set up for safety and also fuel efficiency. The Cascadia safety truck is also equipped with Lane Sensing, Smart Cruise, Collision Alert, Automated Manual Transmission, Air Disc Brakes, Blind Spot Alert and Enhanced Stability Control.
As for the last system, Enhanced Stability Control, I cannot comment on it as I decided not to try and bring the truck in a situation where I could find out what the system is capable of. As for all the other systems, I can only say they are absolutely great once you get used to them and figure out how to use them best.
Lane Sensing warns you with a buzzing noise from the left or right side in the Cascadia's cab that you are crossing a lane where you should not. When you are changing lanes with your signal on, it will not buzz at you. For example, on the flat, straight, boring but very fast roads of Nebraska I find this system very helpful. The frequency of the buzzes lets you indirectly know that you are getting a little too tired and should stop for a rest. There is also a switch on the dashboard that lets you disable the Lane Sensing system. This makes sense in cases of traffic in and around cities, and where roadwork is present.
When you are signaling to go to the right, and there happens to be a white line, obstacle or vehicle on your right side that you cannot see, the Blind Spot Alert system will beep at you to let you know of the potential danger you are running into.
Smart Cruise does not only control the road speed but also the distance to the vehicle in front. The distance can be set by the driver between 2.25 and 3.25 seconds in 0.25 second increments. I used the Smart Cruise in combination with the engine brake. Once you get too close to the vehicle in front of you, it will first let go of the throttle. If this is not sufficient to keep the safe, preset distance, it will engage the engine brake for you. If you are still getting to close, the Collision Alert will kick in and let you know by flashing lights and strong beeps that you are running into a potential collision. Brake to slow down the truck or steer to avoid the object in front, and the Collision Alert will return to silence immediately. Smart Cruise in combination with the engine brake, Collision Alert and Blind Spot Alert system are a very comfortable and safe way of cruising down the highways.
Besides making all the shifts for you, and making only perfect shifts for you, the Automated Manual Transmission enables the driver to keep his eyes on the road and his hands on the steering wheel every time, all the time. Here again a feature for relaxed and safe driving. The Air Disc Brake system on the Cascadia is absolutely great. Not only do they reduce the stopping distance substantially, they are also very easy to dose. Pure braking pleasure to the driver.
With all this modern technology, you might easily forget about the old fashioned and not so exciting safety items. Let us note that the Cascadia is yellow and when parked on a truck stop at night in the dark, it was very easy to spot His Yellow Highness, far more easily than my first truck on the trip, the black Cascadia.
There is no safe truck without safe tires so I pay a lot of attention to them. I give them a good look and use a tire pressure gauge every morning as part of the pretrip inspection. At stops during the day, I always do a quick walk around to feel unusual temperature differences between tires with my hand and also to whack them with a tire thumper.
On our last day during the pretrip inspection we noticed that the windshield wiper blade on the driver side did not work properly anymore. We removed it from the truck and hoped to buy a new one in the truck stop store only to find out they did not have that size. We ended up switching the driver and passenger side wiper as a final resolution to the problem. Good thing we did as it was raining for most of that day.
Miguel
Sleepy rider
When traveling through Nebraska and Wyoming last week, it was nicely warm, bordering on being too hot with about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Not so yesterday. We stayed overnight at the truckstop Gas 'n Go (the one with the Cowboy Cafe) in Wyoming and decided to blend in with the other drivers and have the engine idle all night to keep us warm. Good thing we did. As part of our pretrip inspection in the morning, we wanted to clean the windshield, only to find out that the windshield scrubbers were frozen into their buckets - solidly !
With winter knocking on the door, it is not all that bad. The rolling hills in Wyoming covered by a white powder coat are beautiful to look at. Not only do things get scenic in the cold, the freezing temperatures also take care of the bugs. Last week when driving through Nebraska, the windshield was one big smear of suicidal bugs, whereas now Nebraska turned into a no-bug-zone.
On day 8 or rather night 8 of my trucking trip throughout the great US of A, we also learned a valuable lesson. You want to get into the truckstops early enough if you intend to find a place to stop your truck at. Those truck stops get entirely overcrowded near midnight and hopping from truck stop to truck stop not only is an annoying activity, it also means you are adding more on-duty and driving time than the driving rules allow you to do. So start the 14 hours early in the morning and you'll be OK at night. Early birds rule the parking lots at night.
We do not only sleep at night when parked at a truck stop. Being a driver team allows the one driver to rest while the other is driving. The lower bunk bed in the Cascadia is equipped with a restraint system to allow you to lay down while riding. Or rather to try and sleep while riding. I spent over two hours in there and was very amazed by how comfortably it is to be laying down even when traveling at interstate speeds. It shows how well the Cascadia's Airliner combined with its cab suspension are tuned for driver's comfort. No wonder I learned a couple days ago that nothing beats a Freightliner in driver orientation. Beside a driver, my Cascadia turned me into a happy camper and an easy, sleepy rider.
Miguel
With winter knocking on the door, it is not all that bad. The rolling hills in Wyoming covered by a white powder coat are beautiful to look at. Not only do things get scenic in the cold, the freezing temperatures also take care of the bugs. Last week when driving through Nebraska, the windshield was one big smear of suicidal bugs, whereas now Nebraska turned into a no-bug-zone.
On day 8 or rather night 8 of my trucking trip throughout the great US of A, we also learned a valuable lesson. You want to get into the truckstops early enough if you intend to find a place to stop your truck at. Those truck stops get entirely overcrowded near midnight and hopping from truck stop to truck stop not only is an annoying activity, it also means you are adding more on-duty and driving time than the driving rules allow you to do. So start the 14 hours early in the morning and you'll be OK at night. Early birds rule the parking lots at night.
We do not only sleep at night when parked at a truck stop. Being a driver team allows the one driver to rest while the other is driving. The lower bunk bed in the Cascadia is equipped with a restraint system to allow you to lay down while riding. Or rather to try and sleep while riding. I spent over two hours in there and was very amazed by how comfortably it is to be laying down even when traveling at interstate speeds. It shows how well the Cascadia's Airliner combined with its cab suspension are tuned for driver's comfort. No wonder I learned a couple days ago that nothing beats a Freightliner in driver orientation. Beside a driver, my Cascadia turned me into a happy camper and an easy, sleepy rider.
Miguel
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Pedal to the metal
Day 7 is the day of turning around. Or in other words, beautiful I84 going east. And a new truck, the yellow safety truck Cascadia, that I can call mine for the next 4 days. Or should I say "ours" ? My fellow colleague and good friend Dave is joining me as a co-driver. It guarantees interesting conversation while being on the road, more driving hours per day and therefore getting back home to Michigan one day sooner and last but not least truck powertrain analysis. Dave and I share a common professional background of truck powertrain component matching and integration. Driving trucks is key to overall vehicle competence and coming up with a new ideas for future development. Nothing beats bouncing those ideas of another expert while experiencing present truck technology real time and first hand.
If you put two powertrain nuts together, the first thing they look at is the gearing of the truck - speed and rpm gauge. The yellow Cascadia is geared for 55 mph at 1375 rpm. For Oregon with a 55 mph speed limit that is quite OK. For our almost coast to coast trip, it is definitely not. A faster rear axle ratio would suit the truck really well.
Speaking of speeds and rpm's, the safety truck makes it all the more interesting. While driving, we discovered that the pedal controlled road speed is governed at 65 mph. Looking forward to driving the straight flats in Nebraska it is kind of, well, disappointing - at least from a perspective of getting home in time. It got even more interesting when I found out that the maximum set cruise speed with cruise control is governed at 60 mph. From a safety point of view, this is definitely and without a single doubt an excellent set up. 60 max at cruising, accelerating up to 65 with the pedal for conditions like passing another truck that is also cruising at or near 60.
Not only is it good for safety, it is also great for fuel efficiency. I had already found out last week how much of an effect speed has on fuel economy. Governed road speeds and cruise control set speeds make you drive in a very fuel efficient way.
Knowing all of this, it also means that your maximum speed is 65 mph and that you can only hold that speed with the right foot, not with the cruise control button. In other words : pedal to the metal.
The yellow Cascadia is equipped with a 10 speed automated manual transmission - Eaton Ultrashift. Easy and comfy to drive and absolutely interesting to watch how it shifts. I filmed it going up a hill and mountain just to show you how far it lugs the engine down. And with the DD15 and its great driveable torque range down to 1000 rpm, this is absolutely perfect. Eaton and Detroit Diesel worked hand in hand to create the perfectly fuel efficient shift map for the DD15's fuel map. And the results are impressive. Detroit Diesel takes powertrain integration very, very serious.
Miguel
If you put two powertrain nuts together, the first thing they look at is the gearing of the truck - speed and rpm gauge. The yellow Cascadia is geared for 55 mph at 1375 rpm. For Oregon with a 55 mph speed limit that is quite OK. For our almost coast to coast trip, it is definitely not. A faster rear axle ratio would suit the truck really well.
Speaking of speeds and rpm's, the safety truck makes it all the more interesting. While driving, we discovered that the pedal controlled road speed is governed at 65 mph. Looking forward to driving the straight flats in Nebraska it is kind of, well, disappointing - at least from a perspective of getting home in time. It got even more interesting when I found out that the maximum set cruise speed with cruise control is governed at 60 mph. From a safety point of view, this is definitely and without a single doubt an excellent set up. 60 max at cruising, accelerating up to 65 with the pedal for conditions like passing another truck that is also cruising at or near 60.
Not only is it good for safety, it is also great for fuel efficiency. I had already found out last week how much of an effect speed has on fuel economy. Governed road speeds and cruise control set speeds make you drive in a very fuel efficient way.
Knowing all of this, it also means that your maximum speed is 65 mph and that you can only hold that speed with the right foot, not with the cruise control button. In other words : pedal to the metal.
The yellow Cascadia is equipped with a 10 speed automated manual transmission - Eaton Ultrashift. Easy and comfy to drive and absolutely interesting to watch how it shifts. I filmed it going up a hill and mountain just to show you how far it lugs the engine down. And with the DD15 and its great driveable torque range down to 1000 rpm, this is absolutely perfect. Eaton and Detroit Diesel worked hand in hand to create the perfectly fuel efficient shift map for the DD15's fuel map. And the results are impressive. Detroit Diesel takes powertrain integration very, very serious.
Miguel
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Cowboy Cafe
Today is day 6 of my overall trip and I am taking my 34 hour clean cut of resting time. I used to live in Portland, OR for two and a half years and seized the opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues from former times. One of them, Kai, had gotten his Commercial Driver's Licence not too long ago and I let him drive the yellow Cascadia safety truck with trailer and all.
At the end of the trip it was picture day. As we were shooting the pictures, a trucker came to us to take a picture of Kai and myself together. Great and helpful trucker that is. He was wearing a cowboy hat and he made me think of the truck stop at exit 42 when going west on I84 in Wyoming. I stayed there overnight and met a lot of truckers. That is a truck stop with character full of truckers with even more character. Just check out the pictures and you'll see for yourself. I look forward to stopping there again on my way back. Should be sometime tomorrow night.
Two of the many interesting truckers' comments I want to share here :
1) "Nothing beats a Freightliner when it comes to driver orientation and storage space."
2) "Western Star, now, that is a truck !"
Good to see that the brands from Daimler Trucks North America receive so much appreciation from the truckers out there. Makes you wonder what they would say once they get to try a DD15.
Oh, by the way, the truck stop is called "Cowboy Cafe" !
Miguel
At the end of the trip it was picture day. As we were shooting the pictures, a trucker came to us to take a picture of Kai and myself together. Great and helpful trucker that is. He was wearing a cowboy hat and he made me think of the truck stop at exit 42 when going west on I84 in Wyoming. I stayed there overnight and met a lot of truckers. That is a truck stop with character full of truckers with even more character. Just check out the pictures and you'll see for yourself. I look forward to stopping there again on my way back. Should be sometime tomorrow night.
Two of the many interesting truckers' comments I want to share here :
1) "Nothing beats a Freightliner when it comes to driver orientation and storage space."
2) "Western Star, now, that is a truck !"
Good to see that the brands from Daimler Trucks North America receive so much appreciation from the truckers out there. Makes you wonder what they would say once they get to try a DD15.
Oh, by the way, the truck stop is called "Cowboy Cafe" !
Miguel
Truck, trucker, truckest
Day five was the final 4 hours of my trip from Detroit Diesel in Redford, MI to Daimler Trucks North America in Portland, OR. The scenery was just a fascinating as the day before. Driving along the Colombia river is pure joy for the eye. It is however a very windy route, and you want to keep your eyes on the road and not on the river. Challenging at times, I must say.
Once arrived in Portland I got to meet my third a last truck for the trip back to good, old Detroit Diesel in Redford, MI. Now, that's a truck. From the black to the silver and finally to the yellow Cascadia is going from truck to trucker to truckest.
It is the Daimler Trucks North America Safety Truck. It is loaded with all kinds of safety devices. From an automated manual transmission, to a distance management system, to a lane warning system, to much to even know what it all can do. The dashboard is loaded with gauges, displays and levers here, there and everywhere. Not a single square inch is left over. I am looking forward to the next four days of driving and finding out first hand how all of these systems work and harmonize in unison.
Here again Daimler shows its ability and pioneership not only to build efficient and comfortable trucks but also to create ultra-safe trucks.
Miguel
Once arrived in Portland I got to meet my third a last truck for the trip back to good, old Detroit Diesel in Redford, MI. Now, that's a truck. From the black to the silver and finally to the yellow Cascadia is going from truck to trucker to truckest.
It is the Daimler Trucks North America Safety Truck. It is loaded with all kinds of safety devices. From an automated manual transmission, to a distance management system, to a lane warning system, to much to even know what it all can do. The dashboard is loaded with gauges, displays and levers here, there and everywhere. Not a single square inch is left over. I am looking forward to the next four days of driving and finding out first hand how all of these systems work and harmonize in unison.
Here again Daimler shows its ability and pioneership not only to build efficient and comfortable trucks but also to create ultra-safe trucks.
Miguel
Hills and Mills
Day 4 was driving west, in the far west to be more precise. I84 in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Oregon. This is one of the most scenic routes I have ever traveled (and I have been in a lot of places around the globe). This is beautiful USA at its best.
Not only was it stunning, gorgeous and awesome all at the same time, it also gave me a good chance to work with Jake the Brake. In Utah there were a couple shorter 5% downhill grades with a 65 mph speed limit. My combination weighs 60k lbs. I left the tranny in top gear and switched on the engine brake. My great DD15 gives me 3 settings for the engine brake - low, middle, high. I switched to high and the engine kept the truck nicely at 65 mph without needing the foot brake at all. Not only is the DD15's engine brake performance very impressive, its silence is even more impressive. Very comfortable and great to use.
The real downhill test came in Oregon shortly after crossing the Idaho state border. 6% downhill for 6 miles. The traffic signs give you plenty of warning so you get a lot of time to get ready and pick the right gear. I opted for the top-1 gear and then splitted that gear. I did not have to tap the brake a single time and was able to regulate the speed nicely at 45 mph by switching the engine brake back and forth between mid and high. Here again, very easy and comfortable to use. I think I am falling in love with this engine. (No worries, Schmusi, it is just an engine.)
I84 in Wyoming and Oregon also lets you encounter a lot of windmills. Beside those, I also saw some solar panels in Idaho. And straw, lots of straw on Idaho farms. This straw would make a great feedstock for producing 2nd generation biodiesel - so called BTL - Biomass To Liquid. It made me wonder if the farmers ever use all the straw they produce.
All these sightings made me think of Detroit Diesel's and Daimler's strategy for sustainable mobility. In essence it is a 4 step approach :
1) from clean conventiol, fossil based fuels in combination with highly efficient vehicle and powertrain technologies, to
2) natural gas such as CNG - compressed natural gas and LNG - liquified natural gas, t0
3) Biomass To Liquid fuels
4) fuel cell powered by hydrogen.
Hydrogen created by clean energy sources such as wind, solar, water and geothermal sources that is then used as a fuel in a fuel cell to power a vehicle is the ultimate and longterm solution towards sustainable mobility.
Energy from water, solar, wind or plants really all have the same source : energy from the sun. Of all the sun's energy hitting the earth's surface, there is only a small fraction that we need to meet the energy demands of human society around the globe. All we need to do is capture that little fraction of energy and make it available in such a way that it can be used for mobile applications. This really is sustainable mobility. It is good to know that Daimler is working hard on turning this vision into a reality.
Miguel
Not only was it stunning, gorgeous and awesome all at the same time, it also gave me a good chance to work with Jake the Brake. In Utah there were a couple shorter 5% downhill grades with a 65 mph speed limit. My combination weighs 60k lbs. I left the tranny in top gear and switched on the engine brake. My great DD15 gives me 3 settings for the engine brake - low, middle, high. I switched to high and the engine kept the truck nicely at 65 mph without needing the foot brake at all. Not only is the DD15's engine brake performance very impressive, its silence is even more impressive. Very comfortable and great to use.
The real downhill test came in Oregon shortly after crossing the Idaho state border. 6% downhill for 6 miles. The traffic signs give you plenty of warning so you get a lot of time to get ready and pick the right gear. I opted for the top-1 gear and then splitted that gear. I did not have to tap the brake a single time and was able to regulate the speed nicely at 45 mph by switching the engine brake back and forth between mid and high. Here again, very easy and comfortable to use. I think I am falling in love with this engine. (No worries, Schmusi, it is just an engine.)
I84 in Wyoming and Oregon also lets you encounter a lot of windmills. Beside those, I also saw some solar panels in Idaho. And straw, lots of straw on Idaho farms. This straw would make a great feedstock for producing 2nd generation biodiesel - so called BTL - Biomass To Liquid. It made me wonder if the farmers ever use all the straw they produce.
All these sightings made me think of Detroit Diesel's and Daimler's strategy for sustainable mobility. In essence it is a 4 step approach :
1) from clean conventiol, fossil based fuels in combination with highly efficient vehicle and powertrain technologies, to
2) natural gas such as CNG - compressed natural gas and LNG - liquified natural gas, t0
3) Biomass To Liquid fuels
4) fuel cell powered by hydrogen.
Hydrogen created by clean energy sources such as wind, solar, water and geothermal sources that is then used as a fuel in a fuel cell to power a vehicle is the ultimate and longterm solution towards sustainable mobility.
Energy from water, solar, wind or plants really all have the same source : energy from the sun. Of all the sun's energy hitting the earth's surface, there is only a small fraction that we need to meet the energy demands of human society around the globe. All we need to do is capture that little fraction of energy and make it available in such a way that it can be used for mobile applications. This really is sustainable mobility. It is good to know that Daimler is working hard on turning this vision into a reality.
Miguel
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