Equipment Report

First Mack Trucks LR Electric model begins service with DSNY

Mack Trucks, Greensboro, North Carolina, says it has turned over the keys to its Mack LR Electric demonstration model to New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) officials, who will put it through real-world trials.

“Mack Trucks is proud to deliver to DSNY their first fully electric refuse vehicle, the Mack LR Electric, so it can begin its in-service trial in their demanding application,” says Jonathan Randall, who serves as senior vice president of North American sales and commercial operations at Mack Trucks.

DSNY is the world’s largest municipal sanitation department, with roughly 12,000 tons of refuse and recyclables collected each day by more than 6,000 vehicles. The department’s collection fleet features mostly Mack vehicles. DSNY will base the Mack LR Electric demonstration model at its Brooklyn North 1 garage and conduct an in-service trial on local collection routes, evaluating operating range, payload capacity, regenerative braking and overall functionality of the electric refuse vehicle in its operations.

“Electric trucks will be a key component to helping New York City meet its ambitious goal of reducing [greenhouse gas] emissions by 80 percent by the year 2035,” says Rocco DiRico, deputy commissioner for support services at DSNY.

Mack announced earlier this month its plans to commercialize the LR Electric model in 2021, enabling customers to collect refuse in a more environmentally friendly way.

Featuring a copper-colored Bulldog hood ornament to represent the fully electric drivetrain, DSNY’s Mack LR Electric demonstrator features two 167-kilowatt motors, offering a combined 536 peak horsepower and 4,051 pounds per foot of torque available from zero rpm.

The vehicle is equipped with a two-speed Mack Powershift transmission and Mack proprietary S522R 52,000-pound rear axles. The truck features four nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide lithium-ion batteries that are charged via a 150-kilowatt, SAE J1772-compliant system.

All accessories on the Mack LR Electric model, including the hydraulic system for the Heil Durapack 5000 refuse body, are electrically driven through 12-, 24- and 600-volt circuits.