What has six wheels and flies? Garbage trucks, yuk. With levity out of the way, we present the 2021 Mack all-electric LR. Trash pickup in your neighborhood won’t ever be the same. No pollution, noise, or blowing coal to wake you from your slumber come trash day. With refuse and recycling at the forefront of trash collecting companies a zero-polluting truck fleet ties right in. 

Especially those cities that allow collecting trash at night, this should cut down on the noise pollution. In an urban setting in the middle of the night, this could be affecting hundreds of thousands of slumbering dwellers. With that in mind, you have to wonder why this didn’t happen years ago? 

The Mack LR has two electric motors and four NMC lithium-ion batteries in the system

Mack’s LR Electric was first shown as a prototype back in 2018. It features a fully integrated electric powertrain. There are two electric motors and four NMC lithium-ion batteries in the system. This system can also power whatever onboard accessories are on the truck. As trash trucks make a lot of stops there is a lot of braking. A three-mode regenerative braking system recaptures the energy from all of those stops to extend the range. 

“Mack’s leadership in the refuse segment goes back more than a century, and we’re pleased to build on that heritage today by announcing the commercialization of the LR Electric model,” said Martin Weissburg, president, Mack Trucks. “This clean, quiet, and powerful truck demonstrate the very best of Mack innovation and our people, and I couldn’t be more proud to announce our plans to build it.”

These forward-control trucks are used for more than picking up trash

These forward-control trucks are used for more than picking up trash. They accept a wide range of bodies from different manufacturers for specific applications. The forward control trucks can be configured for either driver or passenger side driving. A variety of seats and door options allow the end-users to tailor their trucks to specific needs. 

“The LR Electric is paving the way toward widespread acceptance of zero-emissions refuse trucks,” Weissburg said. “As we begin delivering them to customers in the coming year, we remain committed to ensuring these trucks are built to meet the unique needs of the refuse industry.”

There is a big expectation that fleets will switch to electric trucks over the next decade

Mack has what is called Mack GuardDog connect. It is a telematics program monitoring truck on hand to support EV fleets. Since there is a big expectation that a lot of fleets will switch to electric trucks over the next decade dealers will need to be manned with technicians. 

The US Army wants to convert its lighter combat vehicles to all-electric over the next several years so the green electric zeitgeist is happening on many levels. To differentiate these LR Electric trucks the fabled bulldog hood ornament mounted on every Mack truck will be copper-plated. However, no sound or diesel fumes as it passes by should be enough of a differentiation in the wild.