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Electric Trucks Plugged In

Facilities Management and Services (FMS) has just added eight new Ford Ranger trucks to its fleet of fourteen electric vehicles. The eight trucks include four standard beds and four utility beds with ladder racks, each with a 1200-pound payload. The utility bed version is a prototype designed specifically for CSU, Chico by Neil Nunn, chief engineer in FMS.

Unlike earlier models of electric trucks that located the batteries in the bed, sacrificing valuable space, the new models locate the batteries underneath the bed. The nickel-metal hydride advanced batteries give the trucks a sixty-mile range at normal speeds with a six-hour charge. The trucks also have a safety setting for campus operation that does not allow them to creep forward unless the pedal is pushed.

Ford Motor Company is leasing the trucks to the campus for three years with a $7,000 grant per vehicle to help defray costs. Bill McGinnis, director of FMS, said, "This alternative fuel technology will be less invasive to the faculty, staff, and students walking on campus with its lack of emissions and quiet efficiency." Several new charging stations have been added to fully recharge the trucks.

I recently had the opportunity to drive one of the trucks with Yvonne Diehm, director's assistant in FMS, who facilitated the lease agreement. The Rangers have a comfortable interior with air conditioning, heat, stereo, and dual airbags. I was impressed with the quiet engine, acceleration capabilities, and the smooth ride. -- JL