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USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

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Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#31

Post by madrox »

tyingq wrote: post #8

The proposed new trucks look pretty wonky, like a cartoon: https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images...

Not visually appealing at first glance, but the posts I've seen by postal workers are that this thing looks great. The cargo capacity will handle the increase in package delivery, and it's much easier to see around the edges to maneuver up to a mailbox, which reduces the times a carrier has to get out to deliver the mail. The current vans don't even have A/C, and their collision warning system is a plastic pole at the corner.

Form really follows function.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#32

Post by throwaway0a5e »

ogre_codes wrote: post #17
uneekname wrote: post #3

Does this mean they'll have all the old trucks up for sale? Who wants to start a food truck with me in an old USPS vehicle

Suspect they will destroy them much as they did the older style postal jeeps towards the end. They are not safe and there is a lot of potential liability in selling them. I think they also want to avoid the situation where people drive around in official looking vehicles that are identified as belonging to the post office. Also, they are too small to make a decent food wagon.

> potential liability in selling them.

This is a cop-out. Especially when it's the government (notoriously hard to sue) selling. "You couldn't normally sell this stuff to consumers" gets sold on govdeals and ironplanet all the time.

Additionally, the LLVs likely meet applicable NHTSA regulations and FMVSSs for the year they were made and their class of vehicle.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#33

Post by hx2a »

tyingq wrote: post #8

The proposed new trucks look pretty wonky, like a cartoon: https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images...

Looks wonky but I would have preferred to drive one of these. Those two cameras would have been super helpful, plus that blind spot warning for the left side. Those will make a big difference.

Also, these have air conditioning!! What a luxury! The previous ones did not have that. Just a sad little fan that barely did anything.

Postal workers don't care what the vehicles look like, they want practical safety features that help them do their jobs.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#34

Post by hx2a »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #29
hx2a wrote: post #28

I'm a former postal worker (summer job in the 90's) and I drove some of those postal trucks. I drove the "half ton" and "quarter ton" trucks. Those are the small or very small delivery trucks you would typically see in residential neighborhoods. Those things were named after their actual weight and made of aluminum. Obviously driving around in a 500 or 1000 pound vehicle when every other car weighs considerably more…

FYI the "S10 with a funny body on it" you were driving does not weigh 500lb or 1000lb. Those are load ratings (very conservative ones).

Really? That's not what they told me when I worked there. They were such flimsy vehicles, so what I was told sounded reasonable.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#36

Post by SamWhited »

tshaddox wrote: post #5
uneekname wrote: post #3

Does this mean they'll have all the old trucks up for sale? Who wants to start a food truck with me in an old USPS vehicle

Would it be street legal to operate a civilian right hand drive vehicle?

It's legal, just expensive as all get out to insure I suspect.

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#38

Post by throwaway0a5e »

tyingq wrote: post #8

The proposed new trucks look pretty wonky, like a cartoon: https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images...

That image doesn't emphasize any of the stuff that the people that will have to work with the vehicle and will be responsible for fleet performance want to know (and by proxy, their bosses, who are authorizing the expense).

What's my maintenance costs and times gonna look like?

Will it be ergonomic to get in and out all the time?

Can this vehicle pull out into traffic easily?

Is this vehicle gonna be a fatiguing pain to drive?

The features list almost raises more questions than answers. Half the tech they highlighted comes with a very high risk of being worse than the manual solution it's replacing if the tech is not up to par. Nobody wants to wait for the automatic door to close to put it in gear.

Edit: So why is this opinion so unwelcome here, because I'm not on the "more tech more better" bandwagon or something of actual substance?

Re: USPS Awards Contract to Modernize Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet

#39

Post by justicezyx »

tyingq wrote: post #8

The proposed new trucks look pretty wonky, like a cartoon: https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images...

Isn't the driver seat on the wrong side?

US should be on the left side right? The figure shows right side...

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