Crown had AC technology in the early 90's. They found out that it wasnt measurably more effecient than a DC powered truck. There is NOTHING new about it. Simply put, only in certain sitations with short shuttling cycles will an AC truck provide you with more productivity- NOT longer run time. In the reach truck market, there is no truck (AC or DC) that has the effeciency of the RR5200 series Crowns.

Accellerations rates for an AC truck are quicker. This can be a big factor in product moved per hour IF you have short shuttle type cycles that dont require long runs.

Brush maintenance is minimal if you simply blow the truck out on a PM and make sure you blow the motors out. Brushes are cheap to boot.

Crown Reach trucks have one line contactor and if equipped, a 2nd speed lift contactor. Thats it. Same goes for the 3 wheel sit down SC4000, and now coming this fall, the stock pickers will have the same arrangement. No directional contacts, just line and pump.

Ac power is an option on the Crown Reach Trucks. AC doesnt help the lift systems as the advantage of quicker accelleration rates is not relavent to the lift. Crowns lift motors although DC are still more effecient. 2 Smaller motors, one for low speed and one for high speed, have proven to be more effecient than one AC motor.

If Crown had it in 1992, dont you think they would have put it in their trucks as standard by now if there was a distinct advantage? Perhaps it was folly not to considering how the competition has hyped it up. They couldnt beat the Crowns head to head so they went to the side.

That being said, AC will become the standard when (IF) it becomes measurably more effecient than DC in terms of run time. It has alot of potential.

Oil brakes were supposed to be the way of the future too. :)

Check the Crown web site for Austraila for their Gas/LP/Diesel trucks. They arent sold stateside.