Thunder Creek Equipment has added the Class 5 Isuzu NRR chassis to its truck upfit line of fuel service solutions.
The company offers solutions for a more mid-range fueling resource while avoiding the labor issues of finding drivers with CDLs and HazMat certifications or contracting with a larger fuel distribution operation.
“The addition of the Isuzu NRR truck chassis to the Thunder Creek family of upfits is engineered to meet customer demand around this very popular commercial truck platform, and to further improve maneuverability and visibility — both on- and off-road,” says Seth Schreur, vice president of engineering, Thunder Creek Equipment.
The Isuzu NRR truck chassis, unveiled at World of Asphalt 2024 in Nashville, features a GVWR of 19,500 pounds and is built to handle bulk fluid delivery to sites ranging from paved commercial and institutional sites to off-road construction sites.
According to Thunder Creek, the fuel & service upfit (MTU) features a total capacity of 920 gallons of diesel (eight 115-gallon tanks) along with options for DEF, grease, and power systems.
Also, the service and lube (SLU) upfit features 690 gallons of service fluids configured in 25-, 55-, and 115-gallon tanks and can include fresh oil, reclaimed oil, coolant, reclaimed coolant, and diesel. Select configurations can also be equipped with DEF and grease.
“The success of these truck upfits is built on the ability to deliver fluids to jobsites and customers in a truck that costs significantly less to own and operate than larger, higher-volume trucks,” Schreur said. “The Isuzu NRR chassis does that and more with best-in-class maneuverability, a heavy-duty six-speed automatic transmission, and the proven performance of a turbocharged Isuzu diesel engine.”
The different configurations can include containers for fresh oil, reclaimed oil, coolant, reclaimed coolant, and diesel. Select configurations can also be equipped with DEF and grease as well.Thunder Creek
Design engineers at Thunder Creek came up with what has been described by some as a Goldilocks solution of taking the HazMat requirements of limiting containers to 119 gallons and building trailers with 115-gallon individual compartments that are only connected when fueling.
When being transported there are baffles between the containers that comply with the HazMat limitations. The company worked in conjunction with state Department of Transportation offices to ensure the trailers were up to code.
The original Thunder Creek design was a trailer to be hauled by a pick-up truck or other Class 5 truck. Additional models such as the service and lube trailer (SLT) line and the multi-tank with oil (MTO) models were developed to offer more customizations with tanks for engine oil, grease, DEF, and a reclaim system for completing oil changes in the field.
From that concept, Thunder Creek's truck platforms were created, which took the basic ideas of the trailers and re-engineered them to fit on a class 5 chassis. The first truck-mounted upfits of the Thunder Creek system were unveiled on Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet chassis at ConExpo 2020.
According to Thunder Creek, the use of its platforms can lead to a lower total cost of ownership and enable an ability to get in and out of more compact or crowded jobsites with less disturbance and ground pressure without the requirement of a HazMat certification or CDL.
