GULFPORT, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Louis J. Normand, Jr. is the CEO of American Truck Group, LLC, (www.americantruckgroup.com) which sells late model Class 8 over the road tractors of makes such as Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo and Freightliner. Normand takes it a big step further by having American Truck Group’s affiliate company, **National Truck Funding, provide an innovative "Rent to Buy" program. With the "Rent to Buy" program, truckers are able to obtain a truck regardless of their credit. There are now approximately 500 trucks in the fleet and growth plans are well in place. (www.americantruckgroup.com)
Normand’s latest innovation is with Green Planet Trucking, LLC, of which he is also the CEO and founder. The company has produced a successful propane powered generator, called "The TriPack III," for an efficient and cost effective air conditioner/heating and battery charging system for the truck cab. In order to avoid the high cost of hotel rooms as they drive cross-country, truckers typically sleep in the cab of their truck, in the "Sleeper" section. A big problem that the truckers face though is that if they run the truck all night, the cost of fuel becomes staggering. It would normally cost them approximately $40 per night in diesel whereas with propane it’s greatly more cost effective. Propane is also extremely more efficient. One gallon of propane will last longer than one gallon of diesel. (www.americantruckgroup.com)
There are air-conditioning units on the market that are powered by generators, and the vast majority of these generators burn diesel themselves.
Normand (www.americantruckgroup.com) noticed there are many other vehicles using alternate fuels today, often because of being much cleaner than traditional fuels such as diesel. "The TriPack III" that he developed for Green Planet Trucking, LLC runs on propane and while propane has a lower cost than diesel, there are other advantages that are even more important. Propane is extremely clean burning and has much less odor in comparison with diesel. With the cleaner exhaust, the generator does not require the same level of maintenance and does not require a diesel particulate filter, which is costly and is a maintenance requirement of diesel generators. There is less engine wear, due to carbon deposits. The octane of propane is relatively high also at 110. (www.americantruckgroup.com)
The "The TriPack III" propane technology is in use with many school buses today that run on propane. Propane is a becoming a highly developed alternative fuel, being also used for locomotives, forklifts, taxis, and ice resurfacing, recreational vehicles and campers, as well as the barbecue grill that much of the population is familiar with.
Normand says that this is a win-win because there will be lower cost in running the air conditioning, it will be less expensive to maintain, and will help to make a cleaner environment. (www.americantruckgroup.com)
Mr. Normand has built an extremely "green" truck dealership for American Truck Group (www.americantruckgroup.com) as well, including a closed loop truck wash that goes against the normal practice of discharging the dirty wash water. Instead, he has the water filtered and cleaned and reused.
"It is the little things we all do that make the difference," Normand says. Certainly, with Green Planet Trucking he has allowed truckers all over the continent to join his campaign of being a part of the solution. (www.americantruckgroup.com)
**American Truck Group, LLC is an affiliate company of National Truck Funding, LLC; with American Truck Group, LLC being the dealership and National Truck Funding, LLC owning the fleet of trucks.