While many truck owners (43% according to recent Overdrive polling) would like to see a rollback of heavy-duty engine emissions regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, there are still a number of owners out there who would just like to see a better balance between environmental benefits and the cost and reliability of equipment.
This series follows our recent polling and aims to voice readers' opinions around the EPA's proposed changes to the 2027 Heavy-Duty NOx rule. For the prior part, in which many truckers lambasted EPA for pulling back on extended emissions-warranty requirements in its proposal, follow this link.
For some owners, the right moves are somewhere in between.
“EPA standards should balance environmental goals with practical ownership realities,” one poll respondent said. “Longer warranties are one way to ensure environmental compliance remains economically sustainable.”
“Nobody objects to practical solutions. What people object to is carrying all the financial risk while someone else writes the rules.”
“The frustration isn't with clean air. It's with policies that many truckers believe hit independent operators far harder than corporations with deep pockets.”
“You know, people can support cleaner technology and still think the costs are falling too heavily on smaller operators.”
One reader called for a “cash-for-clunkers”-type program to incentivize owners to get into newer, cleaner equipment. “Lets get more people into our current emission trucks and out of dirty old diesels. The lower NOx emission engines will not solve any new problems, [they] will keep more older trucks on the road” as owners delay buying them in fear of maintenance issues or over the added cost.
Another commenter encouraged EPA to “reevaluate current diesel emissions regulations using a full lifecycle environmental assessment rather than focusing almost exclusively on tailpipe emissions.” The owner said EPA’s “policies should encourage cleaner technology that is also durable, affordable, and reliable.”
Further, the owner said “engineers should be allowed to pursue emissions reductions without sacrificing engine longevity or dramatically increasing ownership costs." The owner continued this way:
"Protecting the environment and building long-lasting, dependable engines do not have to be competing goals. Regulations should reflect the total environmental impact of a vehicle -- from manufacturing to disposal -- as well as the economic realities faced by the Americans who depend on diesel-powered equipment every day. A balanced approach would reduce pollution while also promoting sustainability through longer-lasting vehicles, fewer replacements, lower repair costs, and less waste. Ultimately, no matter what argument the EPA uses to justify these regulations, keeping vehicles reliable, durable, and affordable should outweigh environmental concerns.”
Ultimately, the reader said the government’s “primary responsibility … should be to ensure that citizens have access to dependable, affordable transportation -- not to mandate technology that reduces reliability while driving up costs.”
[Related: 'Not gonna be a guinea pig': Owner-ops wary of maintenance unknowns with EPA 2027 regs]
Truckers advocate for bringing back gliders
A handful of commenters with Overdrive’s recent polling said EPA should consider allowing glider kit production again at higher levels. EPA's Phase II Greenhouse Gas emissions rule that took effect with model year 2018 engines limited glider vehicle manufacturers to building 300 trucks a year that don’t meet Phase II standards for emissions of greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide and particulate matter. The nation's leading glider kit builder prior to the restriction, Fitzgerald Glider Kits, was producing between 5,000 and 10,000 gliders per year.
“If you are going to continue with EPA regulations, then bring back gliders and roll back the restrictions on them. Any emissions added to a truck is a burden on the owner. Trucking is already a slim margin business, release the burden of high operating costs on the small business owner!”
“Allow manufacturers to resume building glider kits again. That would solve the problem of dealing with emissions requirements.”
“Make glider kits legal. Emission issue is 90% of all repairs.”
“Allow glider trucks to be manufactured again. They can’t make a good new motor anymore because of this garbage.”
“Bring back glider kit trucks. DEF is NOT needed.”
If you missed the first two parts of this series voicing truckers’ opinions on EPA’s proposal to alter its 2027 Heavy-Duty NOx emissions regs, find part one with calls to get rid of emissions regs here, and part two decrying EPA’s move toward removing extended warranty requirements here.
