august2021 - 20

developed a Volvo EV Certified Dealer program
for dealers to ensure the safety of everyone working
around a Volvo VNR Electric. It will ensure
the understanding of the charging infrastructure
needed to charge heavy-duty EVs, shop requirements,
and EV training tailored to the service,
parts, and sales departments. This provides the
basis for a blueprint that can be used for other
dealership locations. "
Looking at the medium-duty side of the equation,
Jim Groat, Ford customer service engineering
manager, said most repairs to Ford electric vehicles
can be completed with standard shop equipment
within existing shop layouts. High-voltage
battery repair requires unique tools, equipment,
and training.
" Removing high-voltage batteries will require
a two-post surface lift or an inground lift with
at least 80 inches between the posts, " Groat said.
" High-voltage batteries are very large, covering
almost the full width of the vehicle and extending
from front to rear axle-and this entire area needs
to be clear to remove the battery. While performing
routine maintenance on an electric vehicle
will not require any more bay space than doing
the same work on a similar vehicle with an internal
combustion engine, replacing a high-voltage
battery is space-intensive. Shops planning to do
this work will need to allow for an area of approximately
8 ft by 6 ft for moving the battery off the
lifting table, storing the dunnage with the new
battery, and swapping the new battery with the old
one in the dunnage. Shops will also need to consider
where they will store the large battery lifting
table. Ford's required table is approximately 100
inches by 40 inches. We also recommend 240V
14-50 NEMA outlets to charge the vehicles and
to facilitate using the vehicle charging cable for
diagnostics. EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment)
wall chargers are also recommended for
charging the vehicles. "
Depending on the type of BEV and OEM, shop
layouts may need to be altered, said Todd Michalski,
vice president of sales and marketing for Gray
Manufacturing Co. " For example, some EV transit
buses have large battery packs on the side and roof
of the vehicle. These packs are behind side panels
that need to be removed and then the packs are
taken out by forklift. Shops will need ample space
between bays for the removal of these packs from
the side of buses. Shops will also need ceiling height
to allow for the removal of the packs from the roof. "
Still, much will remain the same as it is today.
Scott Bolt, vice president of product management
at Noregon, said that a lot of the new equipment
shops will invest in will just be voltage-proof
versions of the tools they use currently.
" Technicians will still rely on the screwdrivers,
wrenches, and ratchets they do today, but each
will include an insulated barrier. High-voltage
gloves will be a requirement for working on electric
vehicles, " Bolt said. " Gloves and other PPE
(personal protective equipment) will undergo
routine testing to ensure it meets current standards
or be immediately replaced if it is no longer
deemed a safe option. "
Additionally, remaking the shops may provide
new revenue streams or business opportunities for
fleets willing to think about the changes EVs will
20 Fleet Maintenance | August 2021
» While electric trucks and vans will have more
in common with diesel- and gasoline-powered
vehicles, they will have some new, and unique,
service requirements that will dictate changes
in shop layouts and standard equipment.
Photo courtesy of Volvo Trucks North America
bring to the current transportation system and associated
infrastructure, said Jeff Hudnut, EV product
manager, Bosch Automotive Service Solutions.
" Installing EV chargers and cables serves as
one major opportunity for workshops today, " he
explained. " As the EV population continues to
grow, new customers will likely be drawn in by
shops offering EV charging services. A quick, safe,
and convenient way to charge EVs can encourage
new customers to visit and take advantage of the
services your shop offers. Once public EV charging
stations have been installed in your shop, it's easy
for shop owners to then upload that information
to community maps-allowing these chargers to
act as a beacon for drivers who may be searching
for EV charging stations nearby. "
Modular vehicle designs
and new ways to lift
With the growing use of electric vehicles, several
service and maintenance considerations must be
addressed, noted Peter Bowers, technical sales
support manager at Stertil-Koni. These include
removal of wheel drive motors and removal of
battery packs. In addition, EVs will likely require
fewer fluid changes and brake replacements. At
the same time, they will also necessitate new
repair tasks, such as inspecting and/or removing
batteries, programming, software upgrades,
battery coolant maintenance, and more.
" Thanks to federal regulations, commercial
EV dimensions will not vary much, if at all, from
the current range of petrol-based OTR (over the
road) vehicles, " Bowers added. " This is good news
for shop owners seeking to service EVs, as garage
entries and bay dimensions are unlikely to require
modification to accommodate EVs versus their
petrol-powered counterparts. "
While the dimensions remain largely
unchanged, Bowers said the new generation of EVs
will bring their own unique servicing challenges.
" The advent of the EV drivetrains brings with
them a host of new drivetrain components, requiring
special consideration as it relates to vehicle lifting
for maintenance, " he explained. " Shops utilizing
wheel-engaging vehicle lifts, such as mobile column
lifts and platform lifts, will not see a change in their
safe lifting practices. That said, raising heavy-duty
electric-powered vehicles with inground lifts may
require alternate contact point adapters. The enormous
and relatively sensitive batteries that power
commercial vehicles are typically located on the
undercarriages of these trucks and buses. And once
raised, the next challenge becomes servicing these
new drivetrain components. Battery packs, thermal
management systems, and drive motors must be
accessible at both the wheel-end and undercarriage
frame, requiring a new age of equipment designed
exclusively to handle these unique EV sub-assemblies. "
Bowers confirmed shops will need to continually
evaluate tool and specialty equipment needs
as EV technology progresses.
Jeff Kritzer, executive vice president, BendPak,
believes that most North American fleets will
gradually add electric vehicles while continuing to
run internal combustion vehicles for many years.
And with that reality in mind, he said Bendpak
engineers are designing the company's SL2EVT
electric-hydraulic lift table to not only be perfectly
suited for EV battery pack replacement but to
serve as a multi-functional scissor lift that can
handle a wide range of jobs on any vehicle in the
fleet, regardless of powertrain.
And they're not alone. Mohawk Lifts has also
» Getting access underneath EVs to change
out modular battery packs and other
components is a chief design priority for
a new generation of shop vehicle lifts.
Photo courtesy of BYD
designed its ST 2000 scissor lifting table in a way
that allows technicians to remove and install
conventional powertrain components such as
engines, transmissions, transaxle assemblies, and
rear ends, as well as large electric vehicle batteries.
august2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of august2021
