Soon all new trucks set for 68 mph max

You can do it in the mountains as well, I run a 650 Cat with 336 rears and an 18 speed, grossing 105,500# and I still average 5.8 to 6.3 miles to a gallon on a steady basis. I only run in the Northwest( 8 states) and there is very little flat ground around here.

 

But there is no denying the physical fact that at 75 mph, your truck has to expend more energy (fuel) to move air aside than it does at a slower speed. The higher the speed, the greater the wind resistance. And wind resistance makes up well over 40% of the resistance that a vehicle encounters as it movess along. The faster you go, the more wind resistance there is. Physics 101, and no legislation I know of will change the laws of physics.

 

Granted that the laws of physics do apply. My problem is to get from point A to point B in the least amount of time and still conserve as much fuel as possible.The longer it takes from one point to another will have a dramatic effect on fuel consumption. The longer you spend climbing a hill, the more fuel you use in the process. If you have a "leadfoot" none of this applies. If you use common sense and a lot of knowhow, you can make better time and still conserve fuel.
Sorry to be getting a little off topic....
The day the government tells me that I have to govern my truck to their specifications is the day I park it and throw rocks at it from my front porch..

 

Actually, going back to the beginning of this post, it isn't the government that is pushing for the 68 mph limiters. It is an industry organization (ATA) and it's members. Which solidly reinforces the often made point that the ATA is not in the business of supporting truckers. They are in the business of supporting major trucking companies.

 

I agree there, the ATA is not an organization that favors the truckers. They are totally in the pockets of the big companies.
The big companies do not want drivers that can think for themselves, they want "steering wheel" holders at best.

 

Amen.

So how do we vote these clowns off the island anyway?

(Odd fact, I was getting 7.12mpg at 72mph with 20,000# in the box with a 2007 Centry, and getting 7.05mpg at 68mph, that Detroit in that truck liked to sing!)