Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/99982
By Lucas Deal, Associate Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com Cover Story How to modify your facility for natural gas service JX Truck Center���s newest facility (above) opened last month in Wisconsin and is equipped with six natural gas service bays. The location is the ���rst natural gas capable facility in the JX business. T he biggest step in preparing your business to service natural gas trucks is updating your facilities. Because of the different physical properties of natural gas (detailed on page 20), you cannot service a natural gas engine in the same facility as a diesel engine without implementing safety upgrades. While these upgrades can be costly up front ��� ranging from $40,000 to $70,000 ��� they can quickly provide payback once you start servicing natural gas trucks. The ���rst step is investigating your current setup and deciding what is your best course of action, says Rick Mendoza, facility design manager at Clean Energy. ���The structure and characteristics of every service facility are different. Each one needs to be modi���ed in a different way,��� he says. ���What we do [at Clean Energy] is bring 18 our knowledge of natural gas to a [service provider], then we assess their facilities and let them know what it is going to take��� for them to service natural gas trucks. There are four ways a service provider can modify its business to provide natural gas service, says Nadine Haupt, director ��� alternative fuels at Navistar: Retro���t an existing location, add a secluded natural gas workspace to an existing diesel facility, build a separate facility at a current location or start a natural gas capable service facility at a new location. Retro���tting an existing location is the most affordable and common approach, but the principles remain the same no matter which option you choose. The ���rst step is to contact your local government to see if there are any safety regulations for how your building should be modi���ed, says T R U C K PA R T S & S E R V I C E | January 2013 The structure and characteristics of every service facility are different. Each one needs to be modi���ed in a different way. ��� Rick Mendoza, facility design manager at Clean Energy Sarah Carlson, truck customer service manager at GE Capital Fleet Services. Most of these regulations will come from your local ���re marshal. There are currently no of���cial national regulations or guidelines on how to update your facility to maintain natural gas trucks, Carlson says. Some parts of North America ��� Southern California, for example ��� have more experience and thus stronger guidelines for dealing with natural gas truck repair, but ultimately every facility modi���ed or built for natural gas will do so under different regulations, Mendoza says. Douglas Horne, president of the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation, says his group, and organizations like Clean Energy, the Natural Gas Vehicle Institute and Natural Gas Vehicles for America, are working to change that. ���We want to provide some basic guidelines for everyone, and I think people want that,��� he says. ���Things like, ���This is how you need to work with your people to provide a safe facility.��� It���s just part of being a more mature industry.��� Once you���ve uncovered your local governmental requirements, it is time to look into retro���tting your location.