Manatee County, Florida, a five-time Construction Equipment and AEMP Fleet Masters winner, has begun its EV journey with Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickups.
In this series, senior editor Frank Raczon explores the county's electric acquisitions, applications, measurement, maintenance, and more, with fleet manager Matt Case, CEM.
Part 4 covers the county's preparations in the event the grid goes down, and Case discusses electric earthmovers and heavier trucks.Truck editor Tom Berg evaluates the Lightning after his test drive.
In Part 3, Case revealed the county's PM strategy along with discussing findings on tire wear, a potential concern with EVs.
Part 2: Will the county order more electric pickups? What about the Tesla Cybertruck? Case also talked about what the public thinks.
Part 1 of the series talked about acquisition, acceptance, and the county's method for tracking performance.
About the Author
Frank Raczon
Frank Raczon has covered and influenced the equipment industry for 35 years, including 15 years as senior editor of Construction Equipment, and marketing, advertising, and public relations work with the industry's top manufacturers. In addition to authoring "Caterpillar: Modern Earthmoving Marvels" (Motorbooks, 2015), he has won numerous awards in his career, highlighted by nods from the Construction Writers Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Business Marketing Association, and BtoB magazine. Raczon has also won a number of awards from publishing peer groups such as ASBPE and TABPI.