The American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) has conducted a survey on behalf of its S.1 Electrical Study Group to assess fleet preferences regarding performance and characteristics for the next generation (NextGen) of tractor-trailer electrical and data connector(s) to be recommended as the successor to the current industry standard SAE J560 connector.
The results of the survey were collected from a representative cross section of fleet operations. The fleets responding to the survey indicated a high-priority need for development of a NextGen connector that maintains backward compatibility with existing SAE J560-equipped vehicles, as well as a need in the short-to-medium time frame for new features and technologies that would be enabled by whatever is ultimately selected as the NextGen connector.