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Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

thedrive.com

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Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#291

Post by stefan_ »

TylerE wrote: post #241
lemoncucumber wrote: post #138

Earlier 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

"Raised hoods" does not mean american truck hoods that hit you center mass, then throw you under.

Unless you are a kid of course, then not only will the driver never see you, trucks positively decapitate you.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#292

Post by ironmagma »

Larrikin wrote: post #146
kumarvvr wrote: post #89

Why are looks so important anyways? Clearly USPS is trying to look after its employees, trying to ensure they have the best vehicle, suited for their work with minimal hassle.

HN is usually pretty utilitarian, I'm sure there are a lot of people on here that admire Mark Zuckerburgs "style" and seek to emulate it by not caring at all about how they dress and simply optimizing for clothes that will last the longest. But there are also people out there who are influenced by wanting to look in a way they perceive as nice or cool and still have a satisfying life. I appreciate the tech culture th…

What looks ‘ugly’ today could very well look great in five years. The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco debuted to reception as an eyesore, but now it’s one of the main icons if the city. Weird is almost always good in my opinion. If it looks weird, that indicates it challenges assumptions and pushes the envelope forward.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#293

Post by rightbyte »

BoorishBears wrote: post #249
gibolt wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Repair and maintenance are probably far more expensive than the gas costs, especially as a government contract. Gas prices will also increase as demand falls of a cliff over the coming decade. Electric wins on all fronts in cost, simplicity, and city health

There is no reason an efficient ICE can't have cheaper maintenance than an EV. In this day and age, reliable ICE drivetrains are pretty much a solved issue if you're not trying to make tons of horsepower (which they're not) Most of the maintenance with a modern ICE has nothing to do with the drivetrain. Tires, brakes, suspension components, filters, all things that EVs still have (brakes get a respite from regen, but…

> brakes get a respite from regen

The brake cylinders might seize instead. The pads and disks are quite cheap to replace.

How many private cars actually change brake systems because of braking too much and not environment attrition.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#294

Post by solarkraft »

totalZero wrote: post #283
Robotbeat wrote: post #132

It'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 wo…

And somebody think about the extra load on the power grid!

It's not that these aren't valid concerns, they have to be addressed, they're just so minute they don't change the calculation even slightly.

EVs at that speed may lose a bit more (already more efficiently generated and used) power in regen - vs. a guaranteed 100% loss on a gas vehicle.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#295

Post by Theodores »

cialowicz wrote: post #139
specialist wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ya, this new design isn't nearly 'weird" enough. Why have a nose at all? Put driver's seat over the front wheels. Like the VW Vanagon (Eurovans). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_2_(T3) These are gonna be EVs, right? Might as well do it right.

Having a nose that crumples is helpful in case of accidents. Turns out that VW Vanagons are deathtraps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmixmEkfLu0

Steel has improved since then. Measures such as airbags have been introduced.

Why having a red hot engine land on your lap is considered a safety bonus I will never know.

Visibility is also better in the cabover design.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#296

Post by globular-toast »

specialist wrote: post #133
Groxx wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a stupendously low step-in height. Probably makes a huge impact in reducing RSI and other repeated-motion injuries. More weirdness please. Looks great to me.

Ya, this new design isn't nearly 'weird" enough. Why have a nose at all? Put driver's seat over the front wheels. Like the VW Vanagon (Eurovans). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_2_(T3) These are gonna be EVs, right? Might as well do it right.

The nose is just somewhere for the front wheel to go. Otherwise the driver has to step over it to mount the vehicle. The VW looks like it's considerably higher off the ground which means more stepping up and stepping down, hundreds of times a day. You could put the wheel behind the cab, but that's terrible for manoeuvrability. It's better to have the wheels at the corners of the vehicle as much as possible.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#297

Post by totalZero »

solarkraft wrote: post #294
totalZero wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 wo…

And somebody think about the extra load on the power grid! It's not that these aren't valid concerns, they have to be addressed, they're just so minute they don't change the calculation even slightly. EVs at that speed may lose a bit more (already more efficiently generated and used) power in regen - vs. a guaranteed 100% loss on a gas vehicle.

We already know there's a guaranteed loss on ICE braking. If that were the only difference between ICE and EV then I would totally agree with you...BUT

Cost/benefit analysis comparing ICE and EV changes wildly if the effective range of the vehicle is lower and the comparable fuel efficiency is not enough to justify the additional costs of EV.

These are fleet vehicles that get deployed all across the country, and they have to be serviced, moved, etc...I doubt the choice not to go EV was an oversight, considering that fleet has been one of the beachhead markets for alternative-energy vehicles.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#298

Post by buran77 »

solarkraft wrote: post #290
jfoutz wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Between all the people looking at a problem you'll probably get every possible solution and one (or more) of them could be correct. Hindsight reinforces that opinion and makes it look more certain than it was at the time. But would you have bet the farm for your assumption then? It's easy to "see the future" when you have no risks to consider.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#299

Post by twic »

tduberne wrote: post #79
diggan wrote: post #10

Why 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…

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.

I believe that this is the only correct response to this question.

In the UK, we have letterboxes in our front doors. Nobody can drive up to them (mine is up two flights of steps!). So, last-yard post delivery is done on foot, and vehicles are used to deliver the postmen (and in urban areas, postmen will travel from the delivery office by foot or bicycle). The vehicles can thus be normal vans.

In the US, they have mailboxes on posts by the kerb. Postmen can drive right up to them to deliver the post. There, it makes sense to have specialist vehicles.

I suspect Sweden and Spain are like the UK, and not the US, in this respect.

Re: Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird

#300

Post by twic »

teruakohatu wrote: post #3

"Oddly-shaped mail trucks seem to be a staple of Americana." As a non-American I have always found this amusing. Here in New Zealand Post was until a few years ago delivered by bicycle in cities (SUVs or vans in rural areas). They have since moved towards small electric vehicles called Paxster. Basically large four wheel scooters that can ride on both the road and pavement. https://jobs.nzpost.co.nz/paxster

See also school buses. In the UK we just use normal coaches.
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