You may not repair your own car any more (said the government)
(www.wired.com)
🧠 These people are stupid!
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The improvement in engine electronics is good. I still think to many moving parts and to many sensors. My main problem is with the exhaust regeneration system and egr. I know owners that have deleted these systems and their mpg goes up to 9 mpg, and they run theirs trucks hard. They are not worried about fuel mileage. Back to the original post. Right to repair. When it comes to repairing engines, parts MUST be bought from a freightliner dealer or licensed retailer and to clear failure codes it must be hooked to a freightliner computer or it won't run. This is what I have seen over the years. Everytime an engine manufacturer comes up with something that improves mpg the EPA puts another restriction on the exhaust or fuel that lowers mpg. 17% improvement in 38 years is not a big improvement to me. These trucks should be getting 20 mpg.
No question on the right to repair. Regarding regeneration of hydrocarbons, absolutely agree. Most hydrocarbons that don’t burn the first time, won’t burn the second. Energy spent is negative.
But net emissions “we are told” go down. Color me dubious on that claim
I would HOPE parts for Freightliner are compatible instead of monopoly. I am planning on buying a Renegade RV when I retire, and being built on the Freightliner chassis is a big selling point.
TN tech took 5 gliders and 5 regeneration trucks and tested emissions on them. Gliders had rebuilt Detroit series 60 engines and the new trucks had DD 15 Detroit's. The DD series is actually a Mercedes engine. The gliders had no egr or regeneration systems. The emissions from the gliders was less than the regeneration trucks in all aspects. As far as the motor home, all the same built in Mexico. All systems will tie together (1 system goes down it effects 2 other system). Find you freightliner dealer and just drive by every now and then and see if there are RV's there. Also warranty isn't worth the paper it is written on. They will fight a warranty claim all the way. Basically if it goes to the shop warranty won't cover everything.
Sorry, not familiar with the term 'gliders", not my area. Don't really expect to see a whole lot of RV's in those dealerships, for a few reasons. Statistically speaking - very few SuperC RV's on the road, as most are Buses' The buses are more $$$ (significantly more), but the SuperC's make far more sense engineering-wise.
No RV is going to put anywhere near the mileage as a trucker does. For the RV class, this is as industrial and heavy-duty construction as you can get. It will see maybe 300-500 miles a day, for a few weeks a year. Florida for the winter, up to see the grandkids and some trips during the summer. Exploring for a few months. I can get routine service at any place that services Freightliner. By the time I need any real work, I'll likely be trading up. Been a Design Engineer most of my life, working R&D and Space last few decades (you have likely seen my work on TV), and working Lithium recovery on the side. Lithium batteries are the future; we aren't there yet, but there has been more development in battery technology in the last 20 years than in the last 150 years combined. I think we have the lifetime answer in the lab, but it's still a bit of work to get it ready for mass production. The "Lifetime answer" is a solid-state battery technology that will go from 0-80% charge in under 10 minutes, has more than 10,000 duty cycles before it drops from 100% capacity to 90% capacity, can be cut or penetrated without degradation cascading failure, has a temperature range of -50 to 250F, and an indefinite storage life. It's one thing to make a dozen in a lab; it's another to make a few million in mass production. But, we may be there in less than 8 years at this rate of progress.
A glider kit is a new truck from the manufacturer that does not have an engine or transmission. You then put the engine and transmission of your choice in the glider kit. Gliders are no longer available because the EPA went after the manufacturers and shutdown glider production. An RV will not have the miles put on it a truck does. A truck averages 100k a year and is at 100% power load approximately 40-50% of the time. An RV is 100% load 10% of the time. Much lower. Biggest thing to remember is tires. Tires get old no matter what when mounted. Flat spots, dry rot. The battery you are talking about sounds fantastic. Temperature and life per charge have always been my concern. And battery lifetime. How long before it has to be replaced. To many if"s with the EV's of today and application to trucking just is not feasible. I