Kitchener, Ontario: Rob Pettigrew may be pulling a turnpike double configuration load of 90,000 pounds of raw milk with a new Kenworth T800 equipped with an engine that’s new to the North American market, but he doesn’t miss his old truck.
“It’s amazing how quiet the T800 with the PACCAR MX engine is compared to other trucks I’ve driven,” says Pettigrew, who has driven for more than two decades, including the past 10 years for Stotesbury Transfer, a specialized bulk liquid foods and milk carrier based in Kitchener, Ontario, Stotesbury Transfer is one of the first Canadian companies to operate the 12.9-liter PACCAR MX engine.
Pettigrew admits when he first heard he was going to be getting a new truck with a 12.9-liter, 485-hp engine new to the trucking industry in North America, he wasn’t necessarily enthusiastic about it. But experience driving his 18-speed Kenworth T800 with the new PACCAR MX engine has completely changed that perception.
“When I get it up to speed on the highway between Kitchener and Toronto, I don’t have to touch the gear again until I get close to Toronto--not even when I am going up two mile-long Keele Street Hill with its 4 percent grade,” he said.
The tanker truck and trailer combination Pettigrew drives has a combined weight limit of about 139,000 pounds. “The PACCAR MX engine provides me all the torque and pull (1,650 lb-ft) I need to get me to Toronto,” Pettigrew says. He enjoys telling the story of how, in a friendly challenge with a skeptical driver of a competing milk hauler, the PACCAR MX engine got Pettigrew up the challenging Keele Street Hill first even though the other truck was pulling a lighter load. “I’ve never heard him say another word about my PACCAR MX engine,” he said with a grin.
While the PACCAR MX engine may have silenced the driver of one of their competitors, Stotesbury owners Bryan and Bruce Stotesbury are far from mum about the improved fuel economy from the two Kenworth T800s equipped with PACCAR MX engines.
Bruce said he estimates that the PACCAR MX engines net a 3 to 5 percent* improvement in fuel economy, even though his over-the-road fleet tractors pull quad-axle trailers with combination weights of 128,000 pounds or more. These tractors haul various bulk liquid foods.
“We’re getting about a two-tenths mpg* improvement in fuel economy with the PACCAR MX engine in our pick-up and delivery milk tanker and a two-tenths to four-tenths mpg* improvement in our comparably spec’d over-the-road fleet truck,” Bruce adds. “We expect those numbers to increase over time as we continue to break in the engines. I believe our fuel economy would be even better if we were hauling in standard configurations.”
The company operates a fleet of 23 Class 8 tractors and tanker trucks, including eight units dedicated to picking up fresh milk and 15 power units employed in its over-the-road fleet. The company’s over-the-road fleet includes tractors equipped with 62-inch and 72-inch AeroCab sleepers, and Kenworth Extended Day Cabs. The OTR trucks generally haul other food grade products such as vegetable oils, bulk confectionary chocolate, and orange juice for major food processors in North America. The sleeper--equipped trucks usually travel across the border into the United States and across the Eastern Seaboard, Midwest and partly into the Southeast.
“Ever since we first started running Kenworth trucks years ago, we’ve been pleased with their reliability and durability,” Bruce says. “Even though we keep our trucks for 10 years, we have people coming to us wanting to buy our Kenworth trucks when we’re done. It’s partly because we take good care of our trucks, but it’s also because Kenworth makes durable trucks that people want.
“The outstanding level of support we get from Kenworth of Kitchener and its parent company, Kenworth of Toronto, also plays a big role in our decision to stay with Kenworth,” he added.
“We’re also pleased that Kenworth constantly looks at improving its trucks with features that can help make our drivers more comfortable and our trucks more productive,” he says. “For example, Kenworth engineers have worked hard at making their suspensions lighter.”
And now Kenworth offers the PACCAR MX engine designed with compacted graphite iron (CGI) heads and blocks manufactured using materials that are 150 pounds lighter than competitive engines using conventional cast iron components. But the engine doesn’t sacrifice any power -- a good thing for bulk haulers who seek to increase payload and maintain performance, he adds.
The PACCAR MX engine is available with a horsepower range of 380 hp to 485 hp and torque outputs up to 1,750 lb-ft. This power range, combined with excellent fuel efficiency, high reliability, durability, lightweight design and low cost of ownership makes it an ideal choice for both over-the-road line-haul and vocational applications.
“We’re so pleased with the performance of these PACCAR MX engines that we intend to buy more Kenworth trucks with the PACCAR MX engines and you can bet that the other milk haulers in our area have certainly sat up and taken notice,” concludes Bryan Stotesbury.
* Individual customer mpg comparison results will vary, depending on truck model and engine model year selected as basis for comparison, truck specifications, and driver, among other factors.
