Tesla Semi Acceleration Smokes The On-ramp

[jerry33]

You can’t always strap every piece down, especially in a van trailer where you’re unable to get inside once it’s loaded, it’s just impossible.
Not every cargo is palletized
Slim and tall stuff would not slide around, they would tip over.

We had an incident like that where the boxes tipped over and leaned on each other. The middle stack was crushed
There was nothing our driver could do, it was the shippers fault for being too cheap to order a flat bed trailer where everything could be secured
Instead they ordered a van trailer where access to the front of middle is impossible once it’s loaded

Pallets shifting and compressing during hard acceleration is bad when hauling glass. That’s why when we load glass in a trailer we make sure to tag it on the outside to let the driver know to accelerate slowly, corner slowly and no hard braking.

Another thing to remember is we repack trailers and try and squeeze in as many packages as possible, and you can’t strap down every single box that’s stacked on each other.

I’m not saying the tesla semi is bad because it accelerates quickly, because you don’t have to floor it every single time. I was just commenting on people’s excitement over it’s acceleration capability when it’s actually not an important factor in this industry.

Agreed. Trucking isn't like many other industries where there is a commonality of actions. It's as varied as the industries trucking serves. An analogy would be to equate football with ping pong because they both use balls. If you haven't ever been involved with the trucking industry, it's unlikely that you've thought about how different the needs of hauling different products or materials can be.

 

[TYCharley]

I am looking at a 40' to 45' 5th wheeler toy-hauler and would love to have the Tesla Semi in front of that. Charging at camp grounds and at my house, might take a bit longer.
BUT if you got that much money, I would have time to wait.

 

[phillcom3]

You can’t always strap every piece down, especially in a van trailer where you’re unable to get inside once it’s loaded, it’s just impossible.
Not every cargo is palletized
Slim and tall stuff would not slide around, they would tip over.

We had an incident like that where the boxes tipped over and leaned on each other. The middle stack was crushed
There was nothing our driver could do, it was the shippers fault for being too cheap to order a flat bed trailer where everything could be secured
Instead they ordered a van trailer where access to the front of middle is impossible once it’s loaded

Pallets shifting and compressing during hard acceleration is bad when hauling glass. That’s why when we load glass in a trailer we make sure to tag it on the outside to let the driver know to accelerate slowly, corner slowly and no hard braking.

Another thing to remember is we repack trailers and try and squeeze in as many packages as possible, and you can’t strap down every single box that’s stacked on each other.

I’m not saying the tesla semi is bad because it accelerates quickly, because you don’t have to floor it every single time. I was just commenting on people’s excitement over it’s acceleration capability when it’s actually not an important factor in this industry.

this dos seam a logistics issue with any truck not one specific to tesla though right?

 

[AMPd]

this dos seam a logistics issue with any truck not one specific to tesla though right?

Yes it’s an issue regardless of what kind of truck is pulling the trailer.

I had to refresh my memory but what I was saying is the acceleration is great, it’s just rarely going to be utilized. You don’t want to be flooring the truck from every take off.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Yes it’s an issue regardless of what kind of truck is pulling the trailer.

I had to refresh my memory but what I was saying is the acceleration is great, it’s just rarely going to be utilized. You don’t want to be flooring the truck from every take off.

But it'll be easier to tell when trucks are running empty.

 

[Matt L]

Our current fleet of Volvo’s have enough torque to accelerate reasonably without shifting the cargo or holding up traffic
Obviously much slower than cars but again you can’t just go as fast as you want you must consider the cargo


So again this whole “acceleration” thing is impressive only to people not in the trucking industry.
And unfortunately for tesla, those people aren’t buying the semi.

Yeah, I’m sure truck drivers wouldn’t ever want a little more acceleration. Last I heard get drivers is a competitive endeavor these days...offering a Tesla may be a competitive edge.

 

[AMPd]

Yeah, I’m sure truck drivers wouldn’t ever want a little more acceleration. Last I heard get drivers is a competitive endeavor these days...offering a Tesla may be a competitive edge.

How would a tesla provide an edge? Acceleration alone will not do it, sure they can accelerate faster when the trailer is empty but most of the drivers have stuff in their trucks they wouldn’t want flying around.

So please list a few things the tesla does better than a current luxury truck like Volvo that would attract company drivers

 

[Matt L]

How would a tesla provide an edge? Acceleration alone will not do it, sure they can accelerate faster when the trailer is empty but most of the drivers have stuff in their trucks they wouldn’t want flying around.

So please list a few things the tesla does better than a current luxury truck like Volvo that would attract company drivers

Hmmm that’s a bit like asking what my 3 does better than other cars in its category. Seems like much of the same tech would be good.

 

[AMPd]

Hmmm that’s a bit like asking what my 3 does better than other cars in its category. Seems like much of the same tech would be good.

Yep. For company drivers the tesla truck isn’t much of an incentive.
Trust me, I’m in charge of our fleet and it’s my job to spec trucks that will attract and retain drivers.

Owners of the truck on the other hand have quite a few incentives, lower fuel costs, hopefully lower operating costs. And the biggest one is the environmental aspect, we burn millions of gallons of diesel per year, some nights I fall asleep wondering what it’s be like to completely replace our fleet with teslas. Glorious!

 

[DarthPierce]

How would a tesla provide an edge? Acceleration alone will not do it, sure they can accelerate faster when the trailer is empty but most of the drivers have stuff in their trucks they wouldn’t want flying around.

So please list a few things the tesla does better than a current luxury truck like Volvo that would attract company drivers

I am not a truck driver, and I don't know what's in a luxury truck like a Volvo, but off the top of my head, my list would be:

Sophisticated, traffic aware, cruise control/lane keeping (Autopilot)
No worries about overheated brakes in the mountains
Ability to do 55+mph in the mountains (paid by the mile, so going faster is more money, as I understand it)
Vastly superior traction control (going up a snowy pass for example)
Greatly reduced risk of jack-knife with 4 independent motors for stability control
Armored glass
No need to shift
No worries about noise control restrictions on engine braking
Lower center of gravity (for the truck anyway)
I'd be shocked if it cannot help plot/calculate an optimized back-up path and also self center to mate with a trailer
Potential to get paid for delivering more goods if leading a convoy (hypothetical future capability)??
Looking cool???
Central driving position???

 

[AMPd]

I am not a truck driver, and I don't know what's in a luxury truck like a Volvo, but off the top of my head, my list would be:

Sophisticated, traffic aware, cruise control/lane keeping (Autopilot)
No worries about overheated brakes in the mountains
Ability to do 55+mph in the mountains (paid by the mile, so going faster is more money, as I understand it)
Vastly superior traction control (going up a snowy pass for example)
Greatly reduced risk of jack-knife with 4 independent motors for stability control
Armored glass
No need to shift
No worries about noise control restrictions on engine braking
Lower center of gravity (for the truck anyway)
I'd be shocked if it cannot help plot/calculate an optimized back-up path and also self center to mate with a trailer
Potential to get paid for delivering more goods if leading a convoy (hypothetical future capability)??
Looking cool???
Central driving position???

Over heating the brakes is not an issue anymore, the only time that occurs is driver error which tesla can’t control. Our Volvo’s can hold back 80k pounds on 6% grades with no issue.

Our trucks are automatic so drivers don’t shift. The stick shift is a thing of the past. Fuel economy is king

Engine braking in the Volvo is very quiet. No issues there.

Central driving position would be annoying. Think pulling up to a security gate and communicating through the window. Central driving position is just another case of tesla reinventing the wheel.

As far as superior traction I don’t know, maybe, maybe not. No one knows yet.
Looking cool is subjective. The only trucks that are considered “cool” are the classic kenworth w900 and the classic Peterbilt.