Next door neighbor just had two deliveries.
One by a large Ryder truck, the other a brown UPS.
While the Ryder was being unloaded, the engine was left running.
While the UPS truck was being unloaded, the engine was turned off.
The Ryder had what sounded like a diesel engine (based on my years around Army deuce and a halfs).
The UPS had “natural gas vehicle” painted on the side.
Can someone break this down for me.
What are the technical reasons diesel engines stay running when parked for as long as 15 minutes?
Why are natural gas engines turned off for as little as 5 minutes?
Thanks.
(I turn off my engine waiting for the train to pass the railroad crossing, and always wonder why the guy ahead of me doesn’t.)
Most delivery trucks in my area turn their engine off when driver exits to make the delivery. hmmm … for why the Ryder truck driver didn’t … can only offer up some guesses
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That particular Ryder truck had proved unreliable in past, so lower risk to delivery schedule to just keep it running.
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Ryder truck equipped with refrigeration unit for delivering stuff that must be kept cold, and engine must be running to keep it working.
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Ryder truck driver a little lazy or decided that keeping engine running was more efficient, less wear and tear on engine and starter.
.
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UPS requires that their engines be turned off when the driver is making a delivery, and that is true for their gasoline-fueled trucks, as well as their newer natural gas fueled trucks. I suppose that they are doing this in order to be a good neighbor, even though emissions from natural gas-fueled engines are truly minimal.
Did you know that, whenever possible, UPS drivers are supposed to make right turns, rather than turning left? (A right, another right, and then a third right will put the truck on the same course as if it turned left.) That is in the interest of accident reduction.
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This became an issue some years ago because building air intakes were often above where the trucks would be left idling. For up’s though I think it is more of a company policy thing now. Diesels have to operate at a particular temperature and doesn’t help shutting them off all the time. Plus a lot of major metro cities passed ordinances against running an engine for more than ten minutes.
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USPS mail carriers have to turn off the vehicle anytime they leave the vehicle for safety reasons.
years ago, when I worked as a carrier, we had a few runaway vehicles. some drivers were not putting the truck totally in park. the PRNDL selector needle would go out of adjustment easily. I guess some drivers needed the needle to find park. when I became in charge of the vehicles in our office, I would have to adjust them all the time, or replace them when the cable broke. There was a problem with some of the vehicles popping into gear when left running. but that was rare. And there is the issue of a vehicle could get stolen if left running and the driver leaving the vehicle to deliver the mail.
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Diesel’s use very little fuel idling. Les costly to leave them running.
Gas or nat gas engines use more fuel to idle so shut 'em off.
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A UPS driver told me they’re supposed to lock the bulkhead door in some situations when leaving the truck. And they can’t leave the keys in it as someone may steal it.
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A neighbor owns an F250 diesel work truck. I’ve passed by on walks and noticed the truck idling in the driveway. He might be home for lunch, but it seems to me that idling for at least that long must use more fuel than restarting.
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Takes them awhile to get to operating temperature, especially in wintertime.
Friend of mine at work has a diesel truck and when it got really cold out he had to use his Suburban to get to work as the diesel fuel in his truck had gelled too much to even be able to start the truck.
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I always added fuel treatment in the winter plus where I bought fuel was pretty good at blending #1 and #2 to avoid gelling. It was about 20 below out and had been out all day. About 5 miles from home the car started bucking a little from gelling. Learned my lesson after that.
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Not what’s happening here. First, they were delivery trucks, already warmed up.
Second, I’m in San Antonio, where we’re having southern California weather a couple weeks now.
Me too. Whether I am driving a personal vehicle, or work truck, if I think I will be standing still for at least two minutes, I always turn it off. And I would never leave the engine running while loading/unloading stuff.
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+1
Similarly, I always wonder why people sit in their parked cars for 20 minutes–or more–with the engine idling even during weather conditions that don’t make heat or A/C necessary. I tend to think that a lot of these people are simply brain-dead because most of those folks also keep their foot on the brake the entire time that they are idling their car.
Are they sitting “in gear”, or do they not realize that when they engage “park” they can take their foot off the brake?
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Having driven high mileage cars a lot, I am reluctant to shut them off unless in a convenient location.
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