At the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., Thermo King showcased its new SLX trailer refrigeration unit. Marketing Manager Craig Fisher said the SLX was introduced recently in Europe, but was being displayed at MATS to gauge customer interest and gather feedback. Fisher said the unit is designed for performance, reliability, low lifecycle costs and environmental impact improvements.
Fisher reported that the unit attains 20 percent lower fuel consumption, 40 percent less particulate emissions and 60 percent less noise than earlier designs; it also is thinner, taking up less space on the front of the trailer.
The emissions reduction is the result of the Tier II design of the engine. The fuel economy and noise improvements are largely a result of designing the engine to turn 300 rpm slower than earlier powerplants, the company said.
