LONGVIEW, Texas — Stemco has developed a datalogger that fleets can use to measure the fuel-saving performance of TrailerTails within just four hours.

The palm-sized device plugs into the truck’s J1939 diagnostic port to access engine data. A Stemco field technician conducts a controlled test with the fleet’s truck, trailer and driver and then analyzes the data to determine how much fuel can be saved using trailer tails.

“TrailerTail technology has proven in numerous standardized aerodynamic tests that it reduces fuel consumption by over 5% at highway speeds,” said Bob Montgomery, vice-president of the Innovative Tire & Mileage Solutions group at Stemco. “But many fleets really want to know that it will work for them in their specific operation, not just on a test track or in someone else’s fleet. The DataLogger provides a means to prove fuel savings in a matter of hours.”

So far, more than a dozen fleets have used the datalogger, Stemco says, with results showing approximately 4.5% in potential fuel savings. Stemco says this mirrors what the company is seeing in real-world deployments.

A Canadian fleet is among the early users.

“Historically, trying to find the ROI on an investment such as this has required an enormous financial expense, as well as an intense study of fuel purchases and mileage data over a long period of time,” said Trevor Kurtz of Brian Kurtz Trucking. “In just four hours on a rainy, cold day in December we were able to obtain real fuel savings numbers using the DataLogger test. With over 70 TrailerTails now installed, we are consistently achieving the test results or better.”