A mid-size integrated sleeper for regional haulers and the first public appearance of the Detroit Diesel DD13 engine topped new product announcements at a Sterling Truck Corp. press conference. The work-truck subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) also introduced the first OEM-built natural gas heavy truck, the Sterling Set-Back 113, powered by the Cummins Westport ISL G.

Marking Sterling’s first sleeper after discontinuing the SilverStar in 2002, the new 60-in. NightShift is aimed squarely at regional LTL and distribution applications, according to Richard Shearing, manager of product strategy for Sterling. The integrated mid-roof design is a true “vocational sleeper,” combining driver comfort and convenience with the price and light weight required by fleet applications that need drivers to spend two or three nights a week in a bunk, he said.

Features include walk-thru clearance, a flat floor, maximized cabinet storage capacity, an 8-in. coil spring mattress, centralized controls over the bunk, side and rear panel windows for natural light, TV and microwave connections, 12V and 120V shore power connections and an optional under-bunk 32-liter coolbox that can be used as a refrigerator or freezer. The NightShift also comes standard with Sterling’s noise control package said to reduce interior noise by 25%.

The DD13 will be available in 2009 Sterling and Freightliner models, and in Western Star trucks in 2010.

Sterling has already committed to delivering 400 SB113 natural gas tractors this year to carriers serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to Shearing. Both the ports and the Federal government are providing substantial incentives to buy the natural gas tractors, he said, but Sterling also expects the LNG -fueled truck to prove popular with utility and municipal fleets, as well as distribution fleets looking to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and diesel fuel costs.