Now that the CARB extension period has come and gone, what will the rest of the truckers in California do that are still not compliant as of 2014? As I drive down the highways here in California, I conduct a sort of “survey” of my own every day. It is not the kind where I ask a driver face to face about a hot topic or put up an online poll. My survey instead is conducted from the air conditioned comfort of my cab and involves peering behind the cabs of other trucks as I pass them, or get passed by them, as I go along throughout my day. The tally I am taking involves whether or not the trucks I see have compliant exhausts or aftermarket DPF units installed, as to be compliant past the end of this year in California.
As stated in a previous blog of mine, one of the main reasons behind selling my old truck was the cost of compliance for that unit. When a single-truck owner-operator or small fleet owner stares at a total cost of nearly $30,000 for the install of a compliant DPF unit, it can be a sobering moment! This figure was based not only on the cost of the most proven DPF unit, but also on the downtime required in order to install it on the truck. When I looked at this figure and realized that it was nearly as much as the total price I had first purchased the truck for, it became clear that the right choice for me was to sell. As I conduct my on-highway investigation, it leads me to wonder what will become of the trucks and owners of the many non-compliant trucks that still remain on the California highways?
I tried to serve as a “beacon of light” to some of my friends in this whole CARB situation, warning them of the “impending doom” that awaited their single-truck operations. They insisted that a court injunction would save them at the last minute and their vehicles would continue to remain compliant until a later date. Now that the time for the last extension has expired with the passing of the month of August, the reality check has come full-circle for them. All of them now have to entertain the idea of selling their trucks in an already crowded market. Due to the scramble for many truck owners here in California to sell their non-compliant trucks to out-of-state and foreign buyers, California has become a flooded market in regards to trucks older than model year 2008.
I have had the opportunity to talk to many drivers at the various truck shows I have attended as a Team Run Smart Pro and have heard many plans on what people plan to do, or think might happen in some other cases. I have even heard that some have heard rumors of bigger fleets keeping a certain amount of CARB compliant trucks in California to act as a feeder network to non-compliant trucks sitting just beyond the state line for repowering loads the rest of the way. This seems to me like an extreme solution, but nonetheless seems to be less expensive than replacing a whole mega-fleet of trucks. With the rate of turn-in on fleet trucks though, I do not see them having to worry as much about older equipment as a small operation that squeezes the entire useful life out of their equipment. Other solutions that I hear on a regular basis involve not coming into California at all, buying new trucks, buying newer used trucks, and there are even those few who are still relying on a last minute “Hail Mary” on the last down of the game with three seconds left on the clock. I would like to engage you, the reader of this blog, to pick your brain for a moment. If you run, have run, or will run into California, please take a moment to indulge my curiosity in the following question:
What do you plan to do when the new wave of CARB regualtions takes effect on January 1, 2014?