Moving Forward

This month’s cool “creation” was built for a previous customer named Dusty Dockstader (and his wife Gina) from Calipatria, California.  Normally, we try not to duplicate the customers Clint features, but in this case, we thought the truck – which is one of the new Urea-equipped Peterbilts – was worth another article.  Many of you out there are not feeling very confident about ordering one of these new trucks with a newly-designed emission system, and the rest of you just don’t like the way they make the truck look.  Well, Clint and his team worked hard to make this rig as cool-looking and functional as possible, partly to show that it could be done, and partly because that is what Dusty wanted.

Most of the cosmetic concerns center on the ugly plastic Urea tank mounted next to the fuel tank on the passenger side of the Peterbilt, as well as the obviously-Kenworth step box that houses the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and other parts of the emission system.  On Dusty’s truck, Clint addressed these issues by ordering a stainless steel cover for the plastic tank and by having Brunner’s Fabrication make a polished stainless steel cover for the box.  Clint is currently designing a fuel tank with an integrated bladder inside to hold the Urea (it can’t be stored in an aluminum tank).  And for those who are worried about the hassles of using Urea and the quality of the technology, don’t be.  Buying Urea may add some additional costs to your operation, but it works so well, these newer engines are running better than they have for years.

For those of you not familiar with the new Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology, here is a quick lesson.  After the exhaust leaves the engine, it not only travels through a DPF to reduce particulate matter, but it also goes through a process that injects small amounts of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) into the exhaust which causes a chemical reaction that turns most of the harmful emissions into harmless nitrogen gas and water vapor.  The result is a near-zero level of pollutants coming out of the stacks!

DEF is a non-toxic solution of purified water (67%) and Urea (33%).  Urea is a non-hazardous, natural compound produced from natural gas and commonly used in everyday products such as fertilizer.  This Urea fluid can now be readily found at truck dealers and service centers, as well as most fuel stops.  DEF (Urea) consumption is about 2% of fuel consumption, so for every 100 gallons of diesel fuel you burn, you will use about 2 gallons of DEF.

Another benefit to Urea-equipped trucks is the fact that because the Urea is so efficient at cleaning the exhaust, some manufacturers have been able to revert their engines back to 1993 emissions and dramatically reduce the amount of exhaust being recirculated back through their engine (EGR technology).  This reduction in EGR makes the engines more efficient and powerful, with better throttle response and more reliability.  Cummins is only recirculating about 10% of the exhaust through their EGR system now – before this new SCR technology was introduced, they were recirculating about 30-35%.  Clint calls this system an “extremely good smoke-stack cleaner” that won’t be going away any time soon.

When Dusty first called Clint, he wanted to avoid a Urea truck and buy something “on the ground” at the dealership and then modify it to what he wanted, but after a lengthy discussion with Clint, Dusty decided to “go forward and not backwards” in regards to his new ride.  Clint ordered him a 2011 Peterbilt 388 single-axle with a Urea-equipped ISX 500 Cummins, a 13-speed transmission, and Reyco low air-ride suspension.  The front axle also rides on air and has a dump valve.  The truck was ordered with a Platinum interior, loaded with gauges and switches, but no navigation (Dusty knows where he’s been and where he’s going).  While waiting for his new truck, Dusty had his pair of 28’ Utility hay trailers painted Burnt Orange to match the truck.

Clint loves it when a sexy little single-axle shows up at the dealership, so when Dusty’s rig arrived, Clint got excited.  They started out by fabricating some custom body drop panels, and then Gary at Shiney Car Care painted them.  Then, with help from Leonard and Jesus, they installed nine LED cab lights, painted the fuel tank and air cleaner straps, popped the hood emblems and added a painted aluminum visor made by Clint.  RoadWorks built a cool light kit to mount under the sleeper, which was fitted with 26 small LEDs.  Sean at Hogebuilt sent over a set of extra long quarter fenders, and Jim Crain installed a custom rear light bar.  Clint’s dad chopped the breather lids and helped install a set of light panels, and George at Crosslink Powder Coating sandblasted and powder coated the flush deck plate.

Last but not least, this truck had to have a horn.  Dusty said that Tanner, his six-year-old son, needed that.  Dusty, who never put a horn on his last truck, said, “When you see a kid giving you the arm pull motion and you honk the city horn, it just doesn’t fly!”  Dusty has had the truck for about a month now, and recently told Clint that the horn had more mileage on it than the truck (thanks to Tanner).  Clint was very pleased with the end result of this truck, and wanted to show that even Urea trucks could be cool.  Now is the time to embrace change and move forward.  Call Clint at (913) 484-7768 to order yours!

~ If you would like Clint Moore to order and/or build you a new custom truck, contact him at Kansas City Peterbilt via e-mail at clintmoore@kcpete.com or call him at (913) 484-7768.  You can also visit his website at www.custombilt4.com and check out pictures of other custom trucks he has built.