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Many years ago I had the pleasure of meeting David W. Frey at the NASTC convention in Nashville TN. Below is the story in David’s own words over a decade later.
The Big Switch
By: David W. Frey
As a self-proclaimed efficiency connoisseur and life-long student of the business of trucking, life has taken an interesting turn for me on April 04, 2020. A little background about myself, I’ve been trucking for 33 years, 30 of those years as a truck and trailer owner, and 28 years as a micro carrier. All this time I’ve focused on the long haul refrigerated market, running primarily from California back to the northeast. My tractor of choice has always been a Peterbilt 379 (3), 377 (1), 386 (1), and 579 (1) until recently.
It all started reading a press release from Freightliner in 2004. They were telling us how they built the first full-scale wind tunnel dedicated to testing full size commercial vehicles. I said to myself “things are going to get serious.” In 2007 Freightliner introduced the Cascadia, coincidentally I was introduced to Kenton Good and he personally went over the finer points of development with the Cascadia. In 2007 is when I started taking Freightliner seriously. In 2013 I had the privilege of meeting Henry Albert and was able to spend some quality time with him. During that time he insisted on taking me on a test drive boasting about how awesome the DT12 transmission is. From 2014 thru 2019 Freightliner has done some impressive things aerodynamically with the Cascadia. Watching fleets big and small migrate over to the Cascadia more and more, and then you watch customers like Henry Albert and Nussbaum take efficiency to a whole new level, I figured it was time for me to have a serious conversation with my local dealer in Lancaster PA, Transteck.
April 04, 2020 my seventh truck arrives at the dealership, a Cascadia AeroX. This truck is a 126 with the drivers lounge option in the sleeper. I’ve really come to appreciate this functional option. Factory installed refrigerator, power inverter, electric APU with a solar panel, and two folding beds. Up front the Detroit Assurance 5.0 was spec’d. This is a very impressive package, it really either forces you to be a better driver or it compliments your good driving habits. This has the forward facing and full blind side radar, Adaptive Cruise Control, and Automatic Braking Assist. Under the hood power is coming from the DD13 400 HP 1750 Torque down-sped thru the DT12 Direct AMT, turning the Detroit 6X2 tandem with 2.28 gear ratio and Automatic Lube Management system, spinning the Michelin X-One wide single tires. I’ve been using the X-One’s for eleven years. The wide singles just complement all the light-weighting options and adds very nicely to the overall efficiency of this tractor.
Speaking of efficiency, yes maximum fuel economy is my primary focus. This Cascadia has blown me away with efficiency; we’re currently sitting at 9.60 lifetime paper calculation MPG. This is being accomplished by running with an average GVW of 77,380 LBS, set speeds between 60-65 MPH, and running the interstate 81/ 40 lane. Overall the truck is a pleasure to drive. The ride is very good, maybe because of the air-ride steer axle. I’m amazed at all the options you can still spec with the Cascadia, Freightliner is way more of a custom truck builder than I ever gave them credit for. With the light-weighting options I was able to lose 500 LBS adding to the efficiency of my operation. The longer maintenance intervals allowed with the Detroit components is another plus for the efficiency of the Cascadia. In closing, despite all the crazy things going on in the world today I’m really excited about owning a Freightliner Cascadia, and for those that know me… that is crazy. It’s like they say “The Efficient Machine”, “Work Smarter”, and Team Run Smart, Freightliner is not just fancy marketing getting the most out of their brand, they’re still building the brand.
Keep on Truckin’