Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co. announced that San Juan, Texas-based Spirit Truck Lines will be the first to install the new Utility side skirts on its 2011 trailers. “We are extremely pleased with the level of quality and efficiency that Utility has demonstrated, and as a result, we have equipped our fleet with 100 percent of their dry vans and reefers,” says Raul Garza, president of Spirit Truck Lines. “Additionally, we are proud to be the first to equip our trailers with the new Utility side skirts.”
For almost two decades, the Garza family has been purchasing dry vans and reefers from Utility’s dealer in Southeast Texas. Spirit now has more than 800 Utility trailers. “We value Spirit’s loyalty to our products, and we are honored that they are the first fleet to have the new Utility side skirts,” says David Escobar, sales associate for Utility Trailer Sales Southeast Texas Inc.
Spirit’s continuing efforts to reduce emissions earned them the highest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay score truck carriers can receive. “Besides using wide-base single tires and wide track suspension systems, we have added Utility’s new side skirt to the already lightweight 4000D-X Composite,” Garza says. “This will allow Spirit to improve the efficiency of our fleet as well as help the environment.”
Spirit placed orders for the Utility Side Skirt 160 (USS-160) to be installed on 300 new 4000D-X Composite dry vans manufactured at the plant in Paragould, Ark. The USS-160 is SmartWay-verified to achieve greater than 5 percent fuel savings (actual fuel economy gains may vary) and can be used without any other aerodynamic device on dry vans. In addition to fuel efficiency gains, the new Utility side skirt is designed with a bracing system that allows it to flex both inward and outward, providing optimal performance.
The USS-160 is available as a factory installed option for new Utility trailers. Retrofitting for existing trailers is available through Utility’s Aftermarket Department. “We were happy to hear that Utility has stepped up to design a side skirt that upholds the same quality, strength and durability that their trailers have for so many years,” Garza says.
