Dot Transportation added a lone Orange EV electric terminal truck to its fleet in 2018. Some six years later, the yard dog, as terminal trucks are affectionately called, is still going strong after accumulating 30,000 hours on the clock, and it now has several additional Orange EV yard dogs to keep it company.

“DTI has seen substantial operational and environmental benefits, reducing its carbon footprint while enhancing efficiency and reducing costs at its distribution centers,” the company said.

DTI’s own calculations show that the single truck eliminated the need for approximately 45,000 gallons (170,000 liters) of diesel fuel while reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 500 tons. It has also lowered the firm’s operating costs by reducing maintenance and repair costs and energy usage.

The company has strategically placed charging stations to ensure that the trucks can maintain high uptime and can operate continuously across multiple shifts without interruption. Management considers the electric fleet to be “more dependable” than its former diesel fleet, and it aligns with DTI’s efficiency and environmental objectives.

Orange EV’s president, Kurt Neutgens, was proud to point out that “DTI’s 30,000-hour truck is operating on its original battery pack,” adding that “all of the more than 1,300 trucks in Orange EV’s commercially deployed fleet” also continue to operate on their original battery packs.

Based in Riverside, Missouri, Orange EV has been producing Class 8 all-electric terminal trucks since 2012. The company has the most deployed all-electric terminal trucks in the United States of any manufacturer, according to a February 2022 study by Calstart, a nonprofit consortium focused on increasing clean transportation.

Terminal trucks, which are also referred to as terminal tractors—as well as by several more colorful names including yard goats, yard dogs, yard mules and, in the UK, terminal lorries—are semi-tractor vehicles designed to move semi-trailers within a warehouse facility, cargo yard or intermodal facility.

Source: Orange EV