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Hybrid Trucks - New Generation

July 18th, 2008 by shenron

You probably already know that over the last few years the price of gasoline has skyrocketed. In the US, most Americans are paying twice as much for gas than they did just two or three years ago. While gas prices aren’t expected to come down that much in the near future, technology for better gas mileage is growing in demand. One type of technology is hybrid vehicles. Hybrid technology is mostly found in cars, but more and more light trucks (SUV’s and even pick up trucks) are being developed with this technology.

 

Hybrid Truck

Today’s hybrid trucks for consumers generally are gasoline–electric hybrids. This means that these vehicles are a cross between both a gasoline truck and an electric truck. The advantages of a hybrid truck are more efficient gas mileage and usually better emissions. In a typical gasoline powered truck, the truck has a fuel tank filled with gas which is used to power the engine. The engine then in turn powers the transmissions which turns the wheels and moves the vehicle. However, electric vehicles are much different. Instead of having a fuel tank, they have batteries which hold electricity. Electricity is sent to an electric motor which then turns a transmission which turns the wheels and moves the vehicle forward.

Both types of trucks, gasoline and electric have pros and cons. For instance, a gasoline engine is very inefficient and environmentally unfriendly due to the many pollutants it releases. However, gasoline engines have an enormous range (usually 300 miles) and they are easy to refuel (taking only a couple of minutes).

Chevy Silverado Hybrid

Electric engines on the other hand have very low range (currently about 30 miles to 50 miles) and can take hours to recharge using conventional methods. The upside is that they are much more environmentally friendly and do not pollute. Hybrid trucks are built with both a gas engine and electric motor and try to reap the benefits of having the advantages of both technologies.

The typical hybrid truck has the following components: a gasoline engine, an electric motor, a fuel tank, battery and transmission.

 

Fuel Tank

Obviously used for gasoline engines, the fuel tank holds the gas that powers the engine. However, it should be noted that gasoline is a better way to store energy. For instance, it can take up to 1,000 pounds of batteries to store the same amount of energy found in one gallon of gasoline.

 

Gasoline Engine

Gas engines found in hybrid trucks are usually smaller in size than normal since they are made for fuel economy and have a secondary motor (electric) to power these vehicles.

 

Batteries

Batteries hold electricity; however unlike gasoline which is only used to power the engine, batteries can not only power the electric motor, but receive and store a charge.

 

Electric Motor

Electric motors found in a hybrid truck are very complex and sophisticated. They not only include the motor to power the vehicle, but a generator as well. Having a generator within the motor it can both take energy from the batteries and charge the batteries extending the distance the hybrid truck’s range. With a hybrid truck you do not need to plug your vehicle into an electric outlet to charge the batteries, the gas engine helps to charge the batteries. In addition, the electric motor’s generator helps to charge the batteries- such as when the vehicle brakes.

 

Transmission

For the most part, many hybrid trucks have transmissions which are the same as their non-hybrid counterparts. The transmission receives power from the engine or motor and turns the wheels.

 

Hybrid Truck Performance

There are two main goals that a hybrid truck tries to achieve. The first is better fuel efficiency and the second is less pollution. Hybrid trucks usually offer 20 to 30 miles per gallon more than their non-hybrid counterparts and as far pollution is concerned- while each vehicle is different, generally speaking pollution is considerably lower with hybrid trucks.

Hybrid trucks usually offer similar performance to non-hybrids. When a truck needs to accelerate from a stopped position, the hybrid uses the gasoline engine which offers the most torque and power to accelerate the vehicle; however when your vehicle is driving on the highway and no longer needs lots of power, the hybrid switches to the electric motor which not only saves fuel, but lowers pollution. On board are sophisticated computers and sensors that make the change-over from gasoline engine to electric motor extremely smooth and seamless.

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