I think it looks futuristic and pretty cool, sure it’s a utility vehicle, but it would look totally fine in a movie set in 2041, maybe I am weird.
Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
281–290 of 398 posts
Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#282Earlier quoted context omitted.
from the other linked article: > While some will be EVs, some of the NGDVs will come with modern, fuel-efficient internal combustion engines. As electric vehicle infrastructure improves, these NGDVs will be able to be retrofitted with the battery-electric powertrain later on.
That doesn't make any sense. All the "electrical infrastructure" needed to drive the typical 45 mile route is a regular old 120V exterior outlet. The retrofit cost is going to probably be double the marginal cost it would've been to just make it electric in the first place. Whoever is making these decisions either wasn't given competitive bids or they're poorly informed about electric vehicles.
You're assuming that vehicles are charged disparately, rather than having several vehicles charging in tandem in the lot behind the post office.
Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#283It's interesting that "cost" is the reason given for why these vehicles aren't electric, but... how could that be? Batteries for electric carmakers are not that expensive any more, maybe $150/kWh. LLVs are currently horrendously inefficient (fleet average of about 9mpg). They have a ~13 gallon tank for a range of about 120 miles. They drive about 18 miles a day on average (total fleet average, so some are idle and pr…
It seems to me that a parcel-laden EV that starts and stops repeatedly will still be pretty lossy -- ie, the effective fuel efficiency will be quite low compared to typical EV city driving because regen doesn't work quite so well for precise stops. You're still going to engage the brake pads for a full stop in front of every mailbox.
Also, maintenance would probably be more expensive if you have to train people to work on the electric powertrain.
But presumably they could always modify the powertrain in a future iteration.
Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#284Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#285Earlier quoted context omitted.
That doesn't make any sense. All the "electrical infrastructure" needed to drive the typical 45 mile route is a regular old 120V exterior outlet. The retrofit cost is going to probably be double the marginal cost it would've been to just make it electric in the first place. Whoever is making these decisions either wasn't given competitive bids or they're poorly informed about electric vehicles.
I suspect there is a high level of variance in both the length of different routes and the availability of power in parking areas for mail trucks.
As I pointed out in another thread about these vehicals, the USPS still operates mule trains, hovercraft and helicopters for some deliveries. That's the most extreme examples, and I imagine there are many journeys that are somewhere between in terms of range and difficulty. People have a very narrow view of the world and forget that not everywhere is urban or suburban, or even just farming country levels of density. The USPS has to service them all.
Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#286Earlier quoted context omitted.
One requirement seems to be that the driver can access the mailbox without leaving the vehicle. So the equivalent in Europe would be the bikes (or, nowadays, electric scooters) that are used to deliver mail. They are typically specifically designed for the postal service. So it might be less different than it seems at first.
Same thing with the Swedish cars. That's why they're right hand drive unlike other cars. https://cdn.arbetet.se/app/uploads/2016/04/09235113/01-Brevb...
I'm wondering- Sweden drove on the left until relatively recently (they switched in 1967), even though most cars were left-hand drive. Did this mean that the Swedish postal service was more likely to be set up for mail to be delivered without the carrier having to get out of their car- as they would probably be driving an LHD car on the left anyway?
Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#287Why have a specific design anyways? In both Sweden and Spain, the cars carrying mail is typically just a normal half-truck (not sure about the correct name) with the post office branding. Here are two examples: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/DA5TW8/yellow-correos-spanish-post... - https://st2.depositphotos.com/3982569/5739/i/950/depositphot... Seems to work fine. Packages gets carried in bigger trucks, but still just busi…
While using a regular truck is likely much more cost effective than having a specific one (less investment, easier repairs, ...), each design may be optimal for some situations: some trucks have the size to load pallets, some are equipped to load big/heavy stuff, ...
Most regular vehicles are not optimised for many/small/various packages and are not optimised for high frequency in/out and searching/unloading as mail trucks would need. You'll easily see how the package/postal delivery drivers loose time searching the packages through the back and energy bending, opening/closing doors when they use such regular trucks.
One of the great things here is how they seem to look for best posture and efficiency for the driver: it's not only about speed of delivery, but likely to also prevent accidents during the trip, injuries from the work, ...
Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#288Earlier quoted context omitted.
“Over the past decade, automotive safety regulators in Europe have made pedestrian safety a priority. But their American counterparts have not adopted the same rules to protect people outside of vehicles. As pedestrian deaths rise alarmingly fast in the U.S., with nearly 6,000 lives lost last year, the difference between the American and European approaches to the regulation of car design stands out strongly.” Source…
Ironically pedestrian safety standards have generally raised hoods. The idea being that’s it better to not fling them up and over like a shovel
Plus wanting clearance between the hood and the engine block.
Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#289Earlier quoted context omitted.
I sometimes try to find an article I’m sure I read here at hacker news. It said something to the effect that the top ten wearables on a ICE car, measured by revenue in the auto shop market, don’t even exist on an electrical vehicle.
Well that’s hard to believe, unless you pedantically itemize every tiny little thing. For example, a single oil change typically requires a new oil filter, a new crush washer on the drain plug, oil, possible additives, and sometimes an air filter swap. So that’s five items right there, but we’re still talking only 20 minutes of work and $50 of maintenance.
Ye ... my experience with old cars is that the ICE is not the main time or money sink.
Thinks like drive axis, suspension parts, wheel bearings, brakes etc is common with EVs - and those fall apart.
The timing and generator belt headache is replaced by two selfdriven motors/pumps on EVs for the oil or water cooling system and servo. Hardly less mentainance and more expensive parts.
The main thing is that most EVs are new so most have not had their exposed systems beaten out of spec and turned into rust yet, I assume.
Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
#290Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even a 75kWh battery would be expensive and heavy, and probably overkill in this case. If 100 miles of range is more than enough for most routes for the day, then something like 30kWh might be more reasonable. Also one might be able to keep costs down by optimizing for cost rather than energy density. LiFeP04 cells have been comparatively expensive, but it seems price has been dropping lately. It's also a good choice…
I think it’s more about timing. Rfp in 2015, the ev landscape was different, and not super clear battery technology would be where it is now.
To some people it was. I have wondered then and I wonder now how it wasn't clear.