Up-N-Atom Launches No Idle System, New Lo-Rider Deck

Heavy equipment transporters can help meet government no-idle regulations and save money with Up-N-Atom, Inc.'s Retriever truck bed, which can load and unload 30,000-pound payloads with the truck's engine turned off. Retriever's No Idle System is made possible by its exclusive use of the truck's air system • not hydraulics • for truck-bed power. In rental equipment deliveries, for example, the No Idle System can reduce idling time by as much as 95 percent and produce substantially lower emissions, extend engine life and maintenance intervals on the truck's 2008 emissions system, and generate significant fuel savings.

“Improving the environment rarely includes the opportunity to build the bottom line,” says Joe Simons, president of Up-N-Atom, Inc., Waukesha, Wis. “With the No Idle System, that's exactly what happens: environmentalism with profit.”

The No Idle System works in conjunction with the truck air system. Once the compressor has filled the truck's tanks, it continues pumping until the 60-gallon No Idle System tank is filled to 120 psi. Under normal driving operation, it takes between four and six minutes to bring the No Idle System up to full pressure.

When making pickups and deliveries, the truck's engine can be shut off while the No Idle System tank powers the deck and ramp. The tank's capacity can handle both the loading and unloading of a 30,000-pound payload. Given a normal driving schedule, there should never be a time when the tank can't power a full load/unload cycle.

The EPA estimates the typical equipment transport truck idles an average of 15 minutes per stop and makes between four and five pickups and deliveries per day. Therefore, the No Idle System can save the atmosphere two hours of engine fumes per truck per day. A similar study conducted by Argonne National Laboratories showed a two-hour per day idle reduction can save truck operators an average of $1,200 per year in fuel, maintenance and repair costs.

The company also has a new Lo-Rider Deck, designed to transport large equipment easily, safely and under most 13' 6” overpasses. A full-width well at the front of the Lo-Rider sits 10 inches below Retriever's standard deck height, allowing much larger equipment to clear bridges and overpasses than is possible with rollbacks or flatbed trucks. Its gentle 15-percent grade permits easy tractor access to the forward well. By lowering the load's center of gravity, Lo-Rider also increases over-the-road stability and safety.

The Lo-Rider allows equipment haulers to substitute a more maneuverable straight truck for semi-trailers, increasing overall versatility and productivity, while lowering operating costs.

Lo-Rider is an option to the patented Retriever truck bed. The forward deck remains in a fixed, horizontal position while equipment up to 30,000 pounds is driven up the curved, hinged ramp at an industry-low approach angle of 10 to 14 degrees. The deck's curved shape eliminates breakover damage when loading tracked equipment.

The 15T model can carry payloads up to 30,000 pounds on 20- to 28-foot beds. In addition, the main ramp section can be locked in a horizontal transport position, adding 4 feet of deck length when needed. Trailer hitches to 20-tons capacity and offset hitches for towing equipment are both available.

For more information, visit www.upnatom.com.

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