New L/P operator with questions about minimizing costs

Discussion in 'Lease Purchase Trucking Forum' started by dtj12231989, Dec 5, 2019.

  1. skellr

    skellr Road Train Member

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    I think driving the truck like you were riding a bicycle helps a lot. You want to keep your momentum steady.

    Try to read traffic around you so you are not always speeding up or slowing down, try to find a place in the flow where you can just cruise without needing to slow down, and then speed back up. Slow and steady, or just keep an even pace.

    Going slow isn't that great for fuel mileage unless you are in flatland. Rolling hills then you want to keep your momentum up for the next hill. It's cheaper to maintain your speed through a flat before a hill than it is to go slow and then power up a hill. Ease off the throttle when cresting a hill and then wait untill gravity starts pulling you back down the other side to speed back up.

    Starting and stopping uses a lof fuel. Try not to stop just for fuel. Cheaper in the morning or if you stop for a shower or something to eat. The fuel might not be as cheap someplace else, but if you stop only for fuel the cost to get going again will negate the price. When you do stop and need to get going again try not to baby the throttle and ease up to highway speed, that doesn't help. A good moderate throttle is better as it won't take as long and you can get to cruising speed faster. Similar to climbing a hill. You will notice how much turbo pressure you need to maintain your speed, you might even be able to back off a bit to hold speed. There is a point where you start burning more fuel and make more noise but hardly notice climbing the hill better.

    Places with the cheapest fuel usually have a long wait for fuel. Not much savings if it takes you 45 minutes to get fuel. Ouch. Lol, maybe you need a 30 min break?

    Running in side/cross winds sucks. Sometimes It's better to run faster in wind from the same the ruck makes. Well, Maybe Oklahoma wind as it isn't Gusty like Wyoming wind. Gusty winds will put you over and you don't want to go faster there...

    Just think of riding a bicycle or roller coaster for every hill or overpass you go over. It adds up over a long trip. Not to slow, doing "55" doesn't work everywhere. It will rape you in the rolling hills of Iowa but you might make it up in Nebraska. Maybe speed up through Iowa and chill in Nebraska, just enough that you don't need to keep slowing down and speeding up for traffic.

    Good luck.
     
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  3. Bay1099

    Bay1099 Bobtail Member

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    My company has Tripac and they do not stay running. If it were my money, I'd go with the harbor freight generator.
     
  4. MysticHZ

    MysticHZ Road Train Member

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    Haven't heard from our intrepid entrepreneur lately ...
     
  5. texasmorrell

    texasmorrell Medium Load Member

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    No you will not. I have been cruising at 55 for decades and never got a ticket. Usually under 45 is where you get in trouble. I mostly get flipped off by other drivers because they had to pass me. But I don’t care. I set my cruise control at 55 and I only go over 55 if I’m going downhill. I also never idle unless the temperature extremes are too much to handle. A good sleeping bag and some good fans will take care of you most nights. It really ticks me off when I pull into a truckstop on a beautiful 70° day and half the trucks are idling. That’s the difference between a steering wheel holder and a trucker.
     
  6. dtj12231989

    dtj12231989 Medium Load Member

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    I apologise for not getting back with y'all. I been busy up until Dec 23rd, at which point I took the week off for Christmas. Mainly for a high school reunion from Dec 26 to 28. Anyway, my last settlement was reflective of the week off. Which I did my paperwork in a way that would minimize being on a negative settlement. It worked well enough that I broke dead even. And my Christmas money will carry me through to my next settlement.
     
  7. Farmerbob1

    Farmerbob1 Road Train Member

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    I'm going to ask a question that truly is not flippant, even if it might appear to be on the surface.

    Why obsess over fuel economy? It is important, no doubt about it, but a lot of the tips and tricks you will be told about will improve your fuel economy, but reduce your INCOME.

    Let's say you cruise at 60 MPH instead of 68 MPH. That saves you .5 MPG. Wonderful!

    However look deeper:

    At highway speeds, 60 MPH, 7.5 MPG, 1.50 CPM, fuel at $3.00 per gallon
    Income: $90 per hour. Fuel cost $24 per hour (8 gallons for 60 miles)
    Net income = $66 per hour.

    At highway speeds, 68 MPH, 7 MPG, 1.50 CPM, fuel at 3.00 per gallon
    Income = $102 per hour. Fuel cost = $29.13 per hour (9.71 gallons for 68 miles)
    Net income = 72.87 per hour.

    Your fuel efficiency went up, but your rough net income to the truck went DOWN.

    So, my observation is this. Always look for ways to improve fuel economy, but be careful that they do not reduce your income to the truck.
     
    jsnell and p608 Thank this.
  8. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    I understand what you’re saying, but I’m going to disagree with you. Your theory would work if you’re on a drop and hook mileage contract with literally no waiting around and maxing our your hours every day. If you’re running 5-600 a day then why not slow down and take advantage of the gains? Increasing your mileage will lower your cost per mile, there’s no denying that. And if you’re on a mileage contract like yours changing your fuel cost by 3 or 4 cents a mile is a chunk of money to the bottom line. You’re likely getting paid zip to zip but your costs are actually based on what you run. So that $1.50 a mile will be lower also.
     
  9. Farmerbob1

    Farmerbob1 Road Train Member

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    I agree that there are situations, like a set mileage route, which could save you money running at low speed, and not cost you income. That's why I said at the end that they should be careful about the possibility (not certainty) of losing money to the truck.
     
  10. MysticHZ

    MysticHZ Road Train Member

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    How many paid miles are you averaging a week?
     
  11. Farmerbob1

    Farmerbob1 Road Train Member

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    I ran right at 130k miles in 2019, and that's with a week home time after every 6 weeks on the road, and an entire month off for a cracked cylinder head that turned into a full rebuild, with lots of extra crap thrown in dealing with an aftermarket warranty company.
     
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