There are certain things in life that we get accustomed to seeing. Over time, those things may change, but we still identify them with the original. One example of that phenomenon is the iconic mail truck that we see delivering our mail in real life or in the media.
The mail truck, as most of us refer to it, is called the Grumman Long Life Vehicle. Although primarily used by the United States, it has served various other counties at different times during its use. These trucks are still widely used in many nations, but some areas have replaced the iconic truck with other options due to it having some design flaws, as well as it simply being an older vehicle.
We were a bit curious about the details regarding the history of the Grumman Long Life Vehicle, so we did some digging. Here is a brief history of one of the most iconic vehicles in history.
The Grumman LLV Was The Second US Mail Truck
One thing many people may not know is that the Grumman LLV is actually the second mail truck to be used by the postal service. The first was the Jeep DJ that was first employed in the 1950s. It was decommissioned in 1984, and the service decided to accept bids for which company would supply the next iteration of trucks to ensure people got their letters and deliveries on time. This process led to Grumman winning the contract to produce these vehicles. Some of the main competitors were Fruehauf and American Motors, which produced the previous mail truck.
The Grumman Long Life Vehicle is the first one to be manufactured specifically for this purpose. The previous vehicles were all based on production trucks and were modified to fit the needs of the postal service. Some of the specifics they wanted out of a vehicle were for it to be one that was cheap to run, reliable, that the vehicle would have a tight turning radius, and it had to have a minimum 500 lbs payload.
These trucks were produced from 1987 until 1994. The United States Postal Service bought more than 100,000 units of the Grumman Long Life Vehicle. Some were also sold to Canada, Mexico, and other parts of the world.
It was manufactured in Montgomery, Pennsylvania and the Grumman Long Life Vehicle actually shares some of its architecture with the Chevy Blazer. This was due to an agreement with General Motors.
This Mail Truck Is Fit For The Job
As everyone knows, the iconic mail truck many of us are accustomed to is essentially an aluminum-bodied van. It pretty much resembles a giant metal box. It is a right-hand orientated truck with a 1,000 lbs payload capacity as well as 121 cubic feet of cargo space, which means there's plenty of room for mail.
In terms of the engine, most Grumman Long Life Vehicles produced run on a 2.5-liter four-cylinder made by General Motors. It is commonly referred to as “Iron Duke”. This engine was made to work with a 3-speed automatic transmission because mail trucks operate at lower speeds than most vehicles.
Later models of this iconic truck changed the configuration of the engine. Instead of the 2.5-liter, they replaced it with a 2.2-liter powerhouse.
As you can imagine, the gas mileage these trucks get is not great. This is due to the nature of the job- there is a great deal of stopping and starting, which severely impacts fuel economy on any vehicle. The Grumman LLV has an EPA-rated 17 mpg; however, USPS reports that the real-world distance is more like 10 mpg.
A New Generation Of The Grumman LLV Will Make Life Easier For Employees
Although there are still many Grumman Long Life Vehicles on the road delivering mail on a daily basis, they are actually being phased out. With these vehicles having a life span of around 30 years, most of them are nearing the end of their ability to serve.
Also, the Grumman LLV has plenty of notable flaws. For one, the trucks do not come with A/C. Also, the heaters are known to malfunction, and there was an issue in many of them that caused windshield wiper fluid to leak into the fuse box, which resulted in fires breaking out under the hood. In fact, it impacted about 400 vehicles.
Many places now use vans or minivans for mail delivery. The most common ones used are the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Dodge Ram ProMaster. These are much more comfortable for the mail carriers than the older and more well-known trucks.
In 2015, the USPS announced that they were accepting bids for the next generation of mail delivery vehicles. Any potential bidders had until early March of the same year to submit responses. From there, the postal service picked six companies to submit prototypes. They were Am General, Karsan, Mahindra, Oshkosh, Utilimaster, and a joint bid from Workhorse and VT Hackney.
Finally, in 2021 it was announced that Oshkosh had been given the contract and would deliver over 160,000 units over ten years. The first offerings will use an internal combustion engine, but they will later, to some extent, use electric options.
The Grumman LLV has been used in mail delivery for many years now. As iconic as they are, they have served their purpose, and it is time for them to be replaced by a brand new fleet. For many people, they will go down in history as the standards for what mail trucks should look like.