FUTURE OF TRUCKING: Autonomous Trucks And Electric Trucks! 

I don’t see autonomous trucks taking over anytime soon, but driver assist technologies can definitely be helpful. Trucking is a mentally draining job, always being on constant alert when driving. Self driving technology can definitely help, especially during long trips, to assist (or even fully drive) the truck down the highway, taking away some of the stress. Autonomous trucks are definitely better as a tool for truck drivers, and not replacements.

I drive a truck in northern Sweden. And all the modern trucks are filled with various cameras and sensors. Problem is that it doesn't take a lot of snow or even just rain for all the warnings to start popping up that this or that camera/sensor is not working and they need to be cleaned. So I just don't see it happening. They will probably start using them more and more where there is no public traffic though, like in major ports and in some of the bigger mines.

Edison Motors has touched on a stepping stone between where we are at now and full electric. Weight is an issue but the diesel engine doesn't need the displacement that conventional trucks do (maybe weight savings there). The diesel generator is running at peak efficiency as it only runs at one RPM. I'm intrigued about what Edison motors is doing. I have heard they are going to offer a conversion for pickup trucks too!

no way to replace professionals like yourself ... can't be done

Hi Matt, they are hitting problems already with electric cars in the UK. They talk of banning EVs from using multi-storey car parks because of the weight of electric cars. Plus the (extra) damage to the roads because of the extra weight. We can only guess at the damage electric trucks would do. You are right about adapting, like you say in the video you just buy an e-truck and stay home while it does the work. That's a win in my book. Don't rush to get your clay pipe and rocking chair for the front porch yet though Matt, I think you're going to be driving for quite a while yet. Take care buddy, stay safe and well.

In Europe they have already made an autonomous way for trucks in the port of Rotterdam in Holland, in the space between the ships and the warehouses, with designated lanes, autonomous cranes and so on. In Germany, I saw a new sign on the side of the highway, the A5 or A8 highway if I remember correctly, which stands for ”ongoing autonomous vehicles” although I have not seen one yet. Maybe they are reffering to the semi autonomous driving settings that are put on the cars nowadays, and still in Germany, they have built a special lane for electric trucks on a specific highway, with power lines, for electric trucks built by Scania which have that recharging system that trams usually use, although they do not always stay connected to the lines, only when the battery reaches a certain percentage, still an aspect I have not yet witnessed

They can't provide enough parking now, could you imagine the cluster of all these trucks trying to charge up.

Eddison motors has it down pretty well. Instead of depending on grid to supply power because it's not reliable they want to use diesel generators to power the batteries when there's no power avaliable.

I hope the team at Edison will hook you up. Deboss garage out of the Niagara region will be a dealer and installer for the rebuild kits for both pickups and heavy trucks. Your also one of the people on this platform that seems to be a no BS person. So who knows matt shoot them an email see if chase will hook you up with an early kit. This would give all three parties involved you will get content a good real world test of how the equipment will fair in the on highway market and also the potential for loads with Edison and Flodraulic. This could become a good partnership who knows shoot the puck and see what happens.

I am not a professional driver. BUT anyone who thinks that driving a truck is just a mindless job must live in a dream world! The amount of responsibility to drive a truck would be enormous. A computer powered truck could never make the split second decisions needed to keep everyone safe and complete the task! A computer driven truck would be a fast recipe for disaster. Some people need to wake up to the real world!

Thanks for the info! Nice to hear from an experienced and highly skilled driver like you. Your input is always well taken.

HVAC contactor, I am. I use a crane rental company to replace rooftop units. People need us 😊

What's up Matt, very very good video. I am with you 100 percent, there is no way a driverless truck can move the freight your transporting or any equipment in the construction industry. They are set up to run over the road starting at one location and going to the drop off point, non-stop, and no worries. Well so they say, they need us more than we will ever need them. Keep on trucking and keep on doing what you do to earn a living. Stay safe out there my friend and keep the videos coming and always travel safely catch you on the next one.

Considering self driving cars are still crashing and killing people in tech centric cities - the tech is not there yet and probably wont be there for quite a lot longer than anticipated. For big rigs - the only way autonomous will take over is if the govt decides to make a full set of highways specifically for it and then have a driver take over for inner cities. The mining industry has autonomous haulers but not in the places with adverse conditions and the sites are very specifically made.

Things will definitely change, Matt. But I can't see a driverless truck backing up a b-train very successfully! In fact, it's debatable whether an autonomous single trailer truck is at the moment very safe.

Hi Matt. Interesting topic. Autonomous trucks will come, the only question is "when?" While it may be hard to imagine now, just remember that technology is only moving forwards. Transport 50 years from now will be unrecognisable. The thing that occurs to me, is that when people a few generations from now look back in time, they will see that for only a brief period in human history (maybe 150 years or so), people actually sat at the controls of vehicles and drove themselves around. We are, in fact, quite privileged to be living in such a unique era like none before and, perhaps, never again. As for electric vehicles, there are so many hurdles still to be overcome, like the high carbon footprint they have before they even hit the road, but in my mind, the real challenge is how to generate enough electricity to replace the amount of fossil fuel energy consumed by vehicles every day, especially if you want it produced in a "green" manner. I think hybrid vehicles are a more sensible next step.

Hi there, you remind me of me back in the 80s & 90s, I drove Michigan gravel trains and Red River Live Bottoms for 20 years. I had the long hair like you. I love it, keep on truck'en. I just subscribed.

Let’s list all the crap the robo-truck can’t do: Can’t charge/refill itself Can’t divert itself Can’t evade a reckless four-wheeler Can’t hand over its paperwork Can’t fix itself Can’t maintain itself Can’t load itself Can’t unload itself Can’t detach its trailer Can’t slide its tandems Can’t contact the shipper Can’t contact the receiver Can’t park itself Can’t put itself out when its lithium ion batteries spontaneously combust Feel free to add onto the list if you think of anything else dear reader.

At about 3:17 you made a noise reminding me of Mr. Bean, which made me laugh and imagine a movie where Mr. Bean plays a truck driver in some capacity.

These are all theories that are plausible, however you dont know the future just yet. For myself growing up in the 80s and 90s, there are so many that blew my mind away (internet, communication, flight, internet, shopping, RU-vid millionaires, etc.). We're just scratching the surface of what were actually finding in this world. Who knows what else we'll find, but scientist/engineers are pushing phenomenal boundaries, its still mind blowing. I still can not believe we can pay a bill or communicate on your watch. I saw it on the Jetson's cartoon for crying out loud. I didnt think it would be reality. 😧😧

Oh, we haven't had a forward-facing video in a while! I hope the new year is treating you well so far, be safe!

I don't see it happening except for a very tiny segment of the industry where everything can be predicted, planned and accounted for. Adaptation and being able to correct for unforeseen problems and variables will always be present and that's where the driver will need to be present at the scene.

Companies and governments are pushing too hard for everything to be all electric right now. We can't feasibly jump from fossil fuels to electric overnight. I completely agree with you regarding the Diesel Hybrid trucks. The big downside I could see would be battery replacement costs. If we start shifting away from batteries and use capacitors instead, that'd be awesome! I don't have any research regarding capacitor discharge regulation, but that seems to be the main road block (pun intended) right now. Capacitors discharge more or less instantaneously instead of a slow discharge like regular batteries. That being said, capacitors are extremely efficient with charging and take wayyyyyy less time than batteries to fill up. Eliminating the transmission would dramatically reduce engine complexity as well. You could build an engine that was specifically designed to run at a certain RPM all of the time. Fuel consumption would drop considerably. Another thing! With batteries designed to feed electric motors pulling 140k+ lbs, you could easily make those your APU for air conditioning and other cabin power items while sleeping overnight somewhere. So many possibilities. Always enjoy watching the videos! Take care man!

Regarding the electric trucks things... I always think, we've been making diesel engines for heavy trucks for more than a hundred years, while we've been doing electric motors for also heavy trucks for like 15 years. Diesels have a big advantage and we have optimized them a lot over the years to increase power while using less fuel.

Agree 100% and the heat is just as bad for batteries as the cold is. Love the Chanel, keep up the amazing work/ content 👏 👍😎

They can't even get normal autonomous cars to use stoplights effectively. I can't imagine them getting trucks to be able to back up in any environment anytime soon.

keep on smilin’ n keep on truckin’….❤ n peace from Tennessee !

i just watched your day that never ends vid , fella , i could see that that was hard work just by watching it ,you had to do it yourself ,fantastic driving and attitude ,you just got on and did what you had to do , i dont see autonomous trucks getting anywhare close to your skills ,

I fell the same way as you do about everything you said I too agree with the Edison motors concept and all ready told the family that is something I would consider

Great topic! Even if they come up with something who's going to repair them and where? What about cost? Many unanswered questions.. but great idea!

Loving the roadkill muscle truck shirt.

I appreciate your skill as a truck driver and I think regardless of what happens in the future with trucking, you'll become skillful at whatever you put your mind to. Plus, I don't think trucking will go away in your lifetime. But I want to play devils advocate. what if all the vehicles were fully self driving? the truck could "talk" to the other vehicles approaching the intersection and negotiate a way through. Or maybe a system where old school meat driven vehicles require a device that can alert the meat to stop short of the intersection. edit: oh man, I just saw you already said what I just asked. I could also imagine lots of smaller fully self driving trucks being used to move a load rather than one big rig, assuming the load can be split. Love your work man, appreciate what you do.

Im a linehaul driver and I cant see this happening. Lawyers will always want to hold someone accountable and an autonomous trucks cant handle what I do at the terminals.

I just passed you on the highway! Love the truck🤝

Autonomous driving is very slow and very cautious when it's not screwing up. Most companies will have to choose to accept late loads as a compromise for cheaper delivery. (How much cheaper? How available will it be? etc.)There are too many variables for autonomous machines to do the driving anywhere near as efficient as truckers. I can definitely see an AI learning to drive a yard dog truck, just hustling all day and night moving trailers around. That's a perfect scenario for AI because it stays off the road and there are fewer variables, and lower liability. The clip at 2:53 is an example of how autonomous driving wouldn't work, they are programmed to obey laws and to be deathly afraid of on-coming traffic, double lines, wrong-way driving, curbs, etc. And those types of obstacles are something truckers have already learned to deal with. They're programmed to be so extremely cautious because Joe Shmoe and his tech startup company doesn't want to get sued into oblivion when his truck squashes some helpless pedestrian in modern society where cameras are EVERYWHERE. Even dashcams are becoming much more common in commuter cars.

Im with you. I run flatbed delivery. But its always offroad jobsite deliveries and i drop my trailer and unload myself. Truck converts if you will, into a forklift. No need for a moffett unless its a small site. I would love to see an autonomous truck do my job. Theres noooooooo way. Entirely too many variables in what we do

I would like to see them go up that hill you had trouble climbing or that tight spot where you thoght you might hit your stack in the trees

I love your videos you will probably be retired by then before that happens have a great weekend Matt see you on next one here from Ontario Canada be safe out there ❤️❤️❤️❤️🇨🇦🇨🇦😎

It would be awesome to see you work with @Edison Motors as a guinea pig/pilot driver.

Hell, we dont even have a lot of autonomous trains!

Another great video mate. Really interesting stuff.

If I understood correctly, on Jay Leno RU-vid channel about a month ago, BMW is coming out with a 2024 car that runs off a battery, and it has a gas engine in it that generates the electricity to charge the batteries (if I am explaining this correctly).

Well spoken bud. Adapting is the key to all in life. If those trucks come into the field it will start with runs from depots along the 401. The delivery will still have to be done by humans. You would just have to grab said trailers at the depots.

An all electric semi just doesn't make much sense, especially with long haul. The only electric semi that makes sense would be the Edison hybrid semi. Disc brakes on semi and trailers should have been mandated long ago.

Real heavy man,your bringing me down. But other wise on a positive note if you don't have to steer on your long hauls "we can watch you jam on your base guitar to Aerowsmith"😊

In this video you said something that seriously made me doubt my ability to do your job. Notwithstanding the usual tough stuff. But negotiating in tight spaces with a bunch of possible idiots and if anything goes wrong it's your fault. Damn.

I’d like to see a computer back a B-train into a tight spot in the pouring rain at night…😮

Plus an interesting point is that China gained a stranglehold on raw minerals such as lithium, cobalt and manganese, leveraging that into a battery industry that has latecomers have no chance to replicate, 90 percent of the EV battery supply chain relies on China.

Governments around the world have set all these ridiculous dates for going green. But the technology and infrastructure aren't there. And won't be, for a long time. American trucks are dinosaurs anyway. But even the modern trucks are way off. In Oz they have a few companies running electric trucks. Two big problems. Range and fire. An electric semi in Melbourne caught fire the other week. Total thermal runaway. Caused major chaos. And burnt for many hours. Pumping killer pollution all over Melbourne. The way of the future. Probably. Give it another 50 years.

2:14 I just wanted to say that overload a tesla truck by 1lbs its not gonna go anywhere, whilst a trucker will compensate the load with speed driven.

There will always be trucking jobs in our lifetime, would be very hard for autonomous trucks to manage in a winter whiteout, especially in small/forest roads. Timber trucking and I guess flatbed etc. are pretty well protected in that respect. Most people hyping the technology don't know a thing about trucking. That said, semi autonomous driving sounds good possibility for owner operators, you could do all the office shit while truck drives itself on the highway :D

I support you🤝 Keep on truckin! 🤙

Loving your content Matt

Yeah they tried self steering trailers and used them on the Dalton, that stuff got people killed, and that was way out in the boonies as far as most people are concerned, so imagine when self steering trailers on autonomous trucks start swiping whole school classes.. Yeah, no lol. Another issue with autonomous is load control underway too. You dont just strap on tons and tons of stuff to a trailer and let'er rip, you have to check for loose straps, brakes working, etc, as you go. NO autononmous truck building company, even if they built a system that can do that, is EVER going to sign off on that, and I guarantee it, then there's failing sensors too, and it doesn't take much. Another thing too is our roads just arent built for the extra weight of EV's, I see it on our roads already, they get fixed then instantly develop cracks, potholes and faults within just a few years, simply because of the heavier vehicles used today. And finally like you said, if autonomous trucks DO come out, you buy one and sit on the porch lol

I'm not arguing against new technology, just asking questions; back a number of years ago, GMC-Euclid rock haulers (250-300 tn) (diesel/electric-planetary drives) trucks were quite commend in hard rock mining. All of sudden I noticed that the mines switched to Cat diesel-straight drive shaft, single axle trucks. What I was told the cost of maintenance was too much. Maybe now the technology has improved enough to make it viable - just asking?

Very good video

It’s going to be a while before autonomous vehicle sensors work reliably in Canadian winter.

Great

How would a auto truck know how to deliver to a job site, let loan like you said how to navigate the streets and everything else. It will never work . The only thing it probably would work would be from storage facility to facility. It's still a joke. Good videos 💯 stay safe.

It's all iterative. Even now, fully electric vans are being used more and more often for inter-city transport and deliveries, and I see that only growing. Once that technology builds and the infrastructure builds with it, it'll allow for larger and larger applications. People that cling to old technology either don't recognize the benefits and efficiencies of new stuff, or don't like change. I saw those Edison trucks and they're pretty cool, with the single seat in the middle, and lots of windows in the cab, for forestry hauling. That sort of thing would be great for intercity deliveries, where a bunk wasn't needed.

Trying doing you hauling in Winnipeg right now at -25-30, absolutely no thought

If it's going to happen, not in our lifetime.

Great attitude.👍

As often as our ELDs glitch, scary to imagine what would happen with Silicone Valley tech controlling the brakes, acceleration, and steering. With the recent developments in large language models, it seems that white collar workers may be replaced sooner than truck drivers. Since "muh autonomous trucks" has been used by white collar types to sneer at the perceived obsolescence of blue collar workers, I can't help but to feel some smug satisfaction in this myself.

You could be hauling parts for these autonomous and electric trucks! Be cool Be safe👍👍

It's so funny everybody thinks that AI will replace everything. I am a farmer and a lot of people seeing the first autonomous tractors said - oh you are getting replaced real soon sir. And I laugh and laugh, because people just do not seem to understand the ins and outs of HUMAN involvement in any of these situations. So yea, not worried about my seat getting cold anytime soon.

People need something to do that is productive. That means a job. People with nothing to do have no self-worth and soon get into trouble.

53 footers were introduced in the late 80's Maybe 89 Thanks. the old school guy.

What do you think of the advancements that Edison Motors is making in the industry. In making hybrid electric trucks? nvm you mentioned it lol

I work for Pepsi. Our truck fleet has to be 90% electric within 6 years.

Your job is the load too. The load isn't easy for a robot truck to manage the load. The load is about a million factors not just the driving.

Nice Muscle Truck shirt!

You are so right 💯💯💯

Thank you for your interesting videos with great comment. Acceleration in electric driving is awsome and very smooth, but charging is still a problem. Mind you at the and of the day lots of people coming home from work, charging their cars, induction cooking etc all at the same time. There will be a problem both in the supply and in the infrastructure of power. We still have a long way to go. This goes for plug in hybrid driving as well. If you think of autonomous driving, think of aviation. When conditions are good, a plane flies on automatic pilot, but when the conditions are tough the pilot takes over.

Greetings. I know this is out of context but what watch make and model are you wearing?

drivers have nothing to worry about when it comes to this industry going autonomous because the electric trucks that are going down the road cannot make it from one side of a state to the other without having to recharge for 15 plus trailers good by shipping rates if they do go this way. trucks with 300 gallon saddle tanks can run 1200 miles without having to think about fuel and an electric truck cant make it 400.

👍👍👍👍👍👍

Good Rant.

The problem with electric trucks and car is that theyre not eco friendly where do the batteries go once theyre dead? In a yard polluting the earth and they need to get the ressources for it wich pollutes a-lot

I know the new freighters have disc brakes, so I would assume they’re maybe switching to disc brakes? I have no idea why they haven’t changed them in the past, but maybe it’s for a reason they haven’t changed them yet.

In our specific fields (you flat bed with a moffett, me in dumpers) I don't see it happening anytime soon. There is too much human input involved. No AI is going to navigate down into a hole on a construction site. Just not gonna happen. Dry vans though? Probably.

HAH....I would like to see an Auto truck drive Hwy 17 from Sudbury to Thunder bay, via lake superior. Not..a...chance.

hi from mark i only just found your chanel enjoying your content but im interested to know how you come up with the name of your chanel

No dude it’ll all be to take us out of the truck.

I don’t ever for see electric trucks taking over , maybe I the inner city but not for distance. Battery technology just isn’t there, the power grid infrastructure isn’t there ( just the amount of power that would need to be generated just to charge one truck is enormous) the amount of time it would take to charge 1 truck , it takes 40 to 50 minutes to charge a EV car every 200 or so miles and that’s to charge a car on a fast charger. How long do you think the it’ll take to charge a semi. Not only that but most of the charging stations don’t work and are constantly down. I watch a few RU-vid channels that are from the UK and that’s one of the biggest problems , you pull up to a charging station and 4 of the 6 chargers are outta order. What do you do when your battery is low during the winter and you need heat to sit in the truck to wait 3-4 hours for the truck in front of you to charge , what if you have 2 or 3 trucks in front of you. Then there’s the weight , from what I understand the weight of these truck batteries is pretty hefty , that means less payload plus more road damage due to weight and like electric cars you’ll need more expensive electric truck tires because you can’t use the same tire as a conventional diesel powered semi does due to added weight of the batteries. Then there’s distance due to battery limitations. I could go on & on. IMHO the future is in hybrid power , diesel electric engines or hydrogen powered vehicles or man made clean burning fuels.

😊 hair looks great Yes hybrid truck. 1electric is low speed traffic n steep hill 2deisel 🛣 highway road. Frilo lays only goes a 2 b same business different location Adapt Is the most important 👾word 🙌 Conquer all with adapt. T-shirt +Canada 🇨🇦 in January = climate changed 😊🌠🔆

The day they have those big rigs on the roads without a driver….i’ll be staying home never to drive again period. Could you see a rig getting a blowout without a driver to know how to handle it? Gives me the chills just to think about it. I can tell you the government official that says he’s going to back such a thing will lose my vote.

Good day/evening, callthemall! Thanks for this video & hope you are keeping well! Am not a truck driver nor a male, but hopefully, the future does not do away with great gals/guys like you driving transport trucks, love watching your videos! Don't think the canadian government would buy into autonomous trucks, otherwise, all roads/trucks would have to be redesigned, wouldn't you say, which governments cannot afford, besides what human truck drivers do on the spur of the moment to avoid an accident, or whatever. What about unloading/loading, are computers going to that, esp, moving a family from one end of the country to the other end. This means all companies transporting goods would have to redesign the way they do business & that would cost a lot, lot, of money-& would government pay for that, etc... Hopefully, all truck drivers are manned by humans forever, esp., callthemall!! That's just my thoughts..

Will never happen, there will always be a need for human drivers.

Awesome analyses, I agree we're pretty far from autonomous trucking. Just to add, I think this may be the future of electric trucking, hot swappable batteries: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9eYLtPSf7PY.html Instead of charging, you pull up to a station and a machine swaps out your batteries. Also, I only just got your "jobsssss" joke. :)

🤯 Lol

Those flat nosed trucks are ugly n hope they never take over. You know a lot about this stuff. I learn a lot from U 😅 still hope they can keep the current pig nosed front end model. Conversion kits sound gr8 tho😊 ..

Trains aren't even autonomous and you dont even have to steer them

with the extra complexaty what do you think will be the cost of the maintenance?

Automous trucks are such a joke of an idea, just one word makes the idea of long haul autonomous trucks pointless: Trains. I suppose certain jobs that are dry van could be if they are always the same roads, and same pickup and dropoffs, but even then I can't see companies spending a realistic enough amount of money on them for it to work. As an assist, of course, great.

You will retired before things change hydrogen

its ok dude,,, if they get the stuff to the store cheaper it will be cheaper to buy,, i am ok with truckers needing new jobs if it lowers my cost of living. you can always drive a logging truck or a tow truck ore a city bus

Worrying is a woman's job, we got work and a life to provide for as a man, if things change, we adapt. I'd love to see AI deal with B Train deliveries in construction sites after hours with equipment in the way 🤟🖤

A locomotive pulls its load, and the heavier it is, the more tractive effort it can develop to move that load, and the heavier that load can be. Trucks , on the other hand carry their load over public roads and are weight limited. So the addition of tons of heavy, low power density batteries, generators, or electric motors subtract from the paying freight that truck can carry. So would a trucking company want to haul paying freight or tons of low energy density batteries? Electric semis are an unworkable, brain dead idea that is only in play to satisfy idiot politicians who know absolutely nothing about what they are talking about, they simply want more power and control over everything and everyone. And think before you jump on the climate change bandwagon. If you were a little older, you would remember in the 1970’s It was unusually cold for several years. So the crooked politicians and their lackeys in university came up with the theory that the soot from coal power plants was blotting out the sun and we would soon enter an ice age! Then, as we have now experienced some warmer than usual years, and since anti pollution regulations had already reduced automotive pollution by over ninety percent, they had to invent a new crisis. So they came out with the theory that CO2 emissions, the product of perfect combustion was trapping heat in the atmosphere, causing warming. The moral of the story is, don’t necessarily believe what politicians and their paid off university professors in academia are pushing unless you have independent proof.

ELECTRIC JUNK