A new oil filter being tested in Iowa may help truckers recover some of the money they’ve lost to record high fuel prices. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is bankrolling a test of the new, longer-lasting filters. Roya Stanley is the administrator of the D-N-R’s Waste Management Assistance Division.She says the filter lets trucks go 60-thousand or more miles before a filter change — that compares to current filters which must be changed every 20-thousand miles. Stanley says there are conservation benefits, too, as some oil is lost with every filter change. And the new filter has some reuseable parts.The Iowa Motor Truck Association and several independant trucking firms in Iowa are trying out the new filter. Stanley says the Iowa Department of Transportation is also going to take part in the project.The state is giving the Nebraska company that makes the filters a 75-thousand dollar forgivable loan to pay for the pilot project. Stanley says they’ll monitor the effectiveness of the filters for a year.The D-N-R estimates truckers who double their mileage before a filter change will save 160 dollars a year in filter and oil costs. The D-O-T says there are over 53-thousand registered 18-wheelers in the state. That doesn’t include other smaller trucks that could also use the filter.
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