National Fleet Products’ FuelScoop has an aerodynamic design that reduces fuel consumption by more than 15 percent
National Fleet Products’ FuelScoop cab fairing immediately saves fuel, improves vehicle stability, enhances vehicle handling, reduces driveline wear, significantly decreases CO2 emissions, and requires no drilling to install.
National Fleet Products has announced that its FuelScoop aerodynamic rooftop and air-deflecting cab fairing will now be available for virtually all makes and models of medium-duty dry-freight box trucks. FuelScoop is lightweight yet strong uses factory mounting points when available, and is otherwise adhesively bonded, precisely matching a vehicle’s unique roof contours, so no drilling is required for installation. FuelScoop will be displayed to the industry during NTEA Work Truck Week 2024, March 5–8, 2024, in the National Fleet Products booth 6333.
Many OEM cab fairings for medium-duty dry-freight box trucks require drilling through roof skins and the application of welded brackets to secure metal frames for structural support. Putting holes in cab roofs frequently causes leaks and corrosion. While the more primitive fairings’ rudimentary shapes help direct air up and over the cab, they do little or nothing to prevent turbulence and aerodynamic drag on either side of the vehicle.
FuelScoop pairs with its intended roof contours exactly and is bonded with structural-grade adhesives often used in trailer body construction and in other heavy-duty applications worldwide. The design equally distributes FuelScoop’s weight across the entire roof surface, and the combination of precision fit and high-strength adhesion eliminates the need for drilling and is considered 100 percent reliable.
“FuelScoop’s aerodynamic profile is superior to other fairings and addresses the side turbulence and drag associated with other styles,” Steven Peterson, president of National Fleet Products, said. “Its design includes a unique, signature configuration that not only directs airflow over the vehicle, but outward and around both sides. The resulting smooth, streamlined laminar airflow minimizes turbulence and drag, reducing driveline stress, while allowing the vehicle to move far more fuel efficiently.”
Peterson said that FuelScoop can reduce a vehicle’s fuel consumption by more than 15 percent, while dramatically improving vehicle handling and stability. Users can typically expect to recoup the entire cost of the product within 12 months or less.
“We see tires that advertise a few percentage points of fuel savings, and aerodynamic mudflaps and other devices that save one percent,” said Peterson. “With its more than 15 percent average fuel savings, FuelScoop offers users instant value that is both significant and easily measurable.”
Peterson described what users can expect. “A vehicle driving 40,000 miles at 10 miles per gallon will use approximately 4,000 gallons of fuel. That 4,000 gallons will cost approximately $3.70 per gallon of diesel or roughly $14,800 of fuel per year,” he said, “With 15 percent savings from FuelScoop, users save $2,222 or 600 gallons of fuel per vehicle, so a fleet of 100 vehicles would save 60,000 gallons of fuel, netting it approximately $220,000 per year in savings. That’s $220,000 directly to a fleet’s bottom line,” said Peterson.
Peterson also suggested that in an increasingly environmentally conscious and greening commercial vehicle landscape, FuelScoop can make a vehicle and a fleet greener overnight. He explained that every saved gallon of fuel prevents 20 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. So the 600 gallons of fuel saved by just one vehicle means a reduction of 12,000 pounds of CO2 and an overall reduction of 600 tons of CO2 for a fleet of 100.
FuelScoop comes in a compact, palletized kit consisting of one base, one center panel, and two side panels. Assembling the lightweight FuelScoop takes just 30 minutes, and no special tools are required. Whether using factory roof mounts with Japanese model trucks, or an adhesive system for U.S. domestic model trucks, FuelScoop takes just 30 minutes to install.
For those with refrigerated box trucks, National Fleet Products also offers its FridgeScoop, an aerodynamic fairing designed exclusively to accommodate vehicles with refrigeration units that overhang their cabs. The smaller-profile FridgeScoop offers many of the same advantages of FuelScoop, while still enabling easy access to refrigeration units. It also deflects insects away from refrigeration unit air intake manifolds.
“With FuelScoop, we have had fuel reductions as high as 27 percent reported, so the opportunity for monumental savings is there for fleets and independent operators alike,” said Peterson. “FuelScoop is ideal for any vehicle that regularly travels at speeds over 30 to 35 mph, and as the speed increases so do the fuel savings, with trucks traveling at freeway speeds often saving more than 20 percent. It also provides a very large and visible surface for brand graphics.”
