These systems provide two advantages.
1) They aid to get the truck moving where city fuel economy can be improved to help the combined fuel economy numbers
2) They provide smooth and quiet operation for stop start systems over a conventional starter. By the way, the Ram still has a conventional starter for winter starts.

The eTorgue is not in the transmission but is a starter/generator belt driven unit.

Jim

The new F150 with HDPP is auto start / stop engine. Drove one of those in a car while doing job walk in CA. Not a fan of it.

Stop Start or Start Stop depending on how the company names it, is coming to everyone. Currently I believe its not on the HD diesels from manufacturers. Nice thing for current applications that have this feature is the button to deactivate it. It will not latch however so this would have to be done at each drive cycle. This feature is worth billions to manufacturers in carbon credits so it will not go away, but will gain traction unfortunately.

Jim

We have auto start/stop in our '17 F150 and Toyota Highlander, works flawlessly. It drives my parents absolutely nuts and they always want to turn it off. They seem to get anxiety about when the engine is going to stop and quickly have to release the brake to start back up. If you relax and drive normal it works and saves money, why the heck not.

In terms of battery fires it's not likely in a vehicle. Batteries and EV's have been around for quite a long time and it's pretty tried and true technology. Look at Le Mans cars that are using battery and hybrid technology and that's the peak of performance. The Audi R18 diesel hybrid was impressive technology I'd be interested to see used in future trucks. It was a 3.7L V-6 diesel w/ a 300kw (limited) electric motor that put out 1,000 HP. No way could I afford a Le Man vehicle but hope to see the hybrid technology combined with a smaller diesel for my 2800BH Long Haul needs.

There are many good examples in the start/stop technology. And many that are not so good. Port fueled engines with start/stop by some makers do nothing for fuel economy where its out there to show they can be technical but in reality have no advantage. Vehicles with start/stop technology will have starters and batteries designed for the additional usage so there should be no concern about wear. Also, turbo engines tend to be smoother with this technology due to their lower compression ratio.
Change can be difficult for some where golf cart mode can irritate older folks that would rather keep their vehicle running for a drive cycle. For my mostly Country/Expressway driving, I am in that camp.

Jim

Salty_NewEnglander , fwiw I run severe service Timbrens on my 15 GM 3500 truck pulling a 390 solitude. The standard service units were not quite enough. I sit level while hooked up (click on my profile pic). What I like is a 10 minute DIY install and no maintenance. I've had air bags before, and seemed to always be chasing a leak. Since you are contemplating up-trucking, it might make sense to try the less expensive route. I got these not for a squat issue, but rather as a means to control the bounce issue I had with my previous fifth wheel. They work great. As for squat, I am 300 pounds shy of my trucks rear axle weight limit. Even so, the Timbrens keep the factory overload springs from contacting their stops at rest. Unloaded ride is absolutely not affected either, as their is a gap of about 3/4 inch when the truck is unladen. If anything, the jolt from certain speed bumps seems a little softer.

I'm looking forward to that, the 2023 Electric F-150, and the Cybertruck. (I'm a reservation holder for a tri-motor, Payload 3500lbs)

Things are going to get WAY more interesting (or complicated) in the next 3 years.

Its going to be interesting to see the towing range of any EV truck until battery technology moves to the next stage. It would be nice if RV manufactures got on board with aero inspired RVs with their own battery and with regenerative braking and launch aid functions. This would need to be integrated to the TV to operate in unison.
Towing range with current technology and our rigs that have the aerodynamics of an apartment building will be dismal unfortunately. With today's battery technology, you cannot just add more battery since eventually you will be using most of the available energy to haul the battery pack, so there are limits. Not to be a downer but today's battery energy density is not capable of competing with diesels (or gas for that matter) on range for towing. Charge times are getting much better but it cannot compete with IC trucks in time to refuel versus increased range as well.
The new GMC Hummer EV at approx 800 Hp, 0ver 11000 lb-ft and a range over 300 miles as an example would pull a house but not for long.

For a plug in hybrid application, towing would be great until the battery is depleted but the truck would carry on with mostly engine power. So range anxiety would not be an issue.
Jim

Guest Jim, I think I saw an article the other day where they have come up with a capacitor instead of a battery with similar or better energy density than current battery storage density. Advantage is the capacitor will charge much faster than batteries.

I also read that they now have a new solar panel technology out where the panel is actually multi layered (currently 2) that generate energy from sun light. Does not double the output of the panel, but does help increase the available energy output per panel. https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0830180056.htm

Technology will advance where the high output solar panels would be great. Especially in states like Michigan where the sun rarely shines in the winter.
For Capacitors, are your referring to caps used for stop start? If so, there are caps, or aux batteries or DCDC converters that are used by various manufacturers for that feature. The DCDC option is the cheapest. These auxiliary devices do not aid in cranking the engine but rather keep the multiple controllers alive while in crank. I doubt a capacitor will replace a battery since they tend to be rapid charge/discharge and do not carry the energy density of a battery.

Jim

Guest Jim, this is what i was briefly scanning a while back.

https://escholarship.org/uc/item/23w1m5bb

https://www.skeletontech.com/skeleto...rogen-vehicles

they are working on ultracapacitors. When tech catches up, it will be that the caps can hold as much energy as a fuel cell but charge almost instantly.

Nice articles. Thank you for sharing. I drove GM Hydrogen vehicles long ago and they were amazing. I've not worked on them where the article describes load sharing so its possible the ultracap may be used for instances such as getting the vehicle moving or for hard accelerations. Similar to a hybrid vehicle using stored energy from regenerative braking. The issue with hydrogen is infrastructure in supply and demand where the most efficient method in producing it is with nuclear power. And nobody wants that. Currently EV's are powered by coal and natural gas with a very small input from wind and solar. We have a way to go.

Jim

I have been running Timbrens on my last two F150's. Love them. They do not come into play when not hooked up and keep the truck level when hooked to my 5th wheel.

I've wondered about the use of Timbrens on the RV where they would help with body roll for sure. Sorry this keeps going off in the weeds even though the subject matter is great.

Yoda Put Timbren's on his RV and I have been waiting on the maiden voyage but there has not been any report yet. I my be interested in installing these on my truck.

Brian