fuel mileage (company drivers)

Those are two tires you should never blow... If your about safety the steer tires should be your biggest concern of all tires.....

 

i did it a year ago in Oklahoma,nothing happens.

 

What chopov said. Lost a front tire several years ago. It was a mess(Lost 1/2 of front fender etc. but that happens with any tire). Want to be hanging onto the wheel, but otherwise, just another blown tire...

 

Its a lot different than when we had manual steer trucks. I still drive with my thumbs along the rim instead of inside it. A blown tire or even a large pothole would spin the rim and break your thumbs if you "wrapped" the wheel. I saw many an upside down truck caused by a blown steer in those days.

 

guys how long tires can last at those speeds ?

for me that your speeds sounds like very unsafe

i can understand that you have smaller legal weight on front axle and on all axle

my truck can have 20000lbs on each front axle

here we drive mostly 50-55mph sometimes slower if you are overloaded

i was once at 85mph and few times driven 75mph for 30mille and i think it is craziness steering wheels starts to be very light and truck generally starting to be very unsafe

 

I feel it's a double edged sword on this topic. In states like Az, Nm, western Tx where the speeds are 75+ governed trucks present a hazard because they can't keep pace. There is virtually no traffic and is completely wide open yet we have trucks teetering around at 62 just to save fuel. Companies circumvent paying fuel bonuses by governing the trucks and then try to convince you to drive slower to line their pockets, really? The challenge would be to have the trucks being able to run the legal speed limit and allow the drivers to "attain the fuel goal" as opposed to having it predetermined. If any real emergency came about where speed became a issue what would you do slowdown and hope to slowly pass the hazard. The other side is the accidents at high speeds, disregard for the legal speed limits, and all the other driver inconsistencies plus adding in speed. Recipe for diaster for some drivers. If I had my choice I'd still prefer to be able to do at least 70 minimum and set my own metrics. What do y'all think??? By the way remember to be safe and stay hydrated!!!

 

Tires are only rated for 121 kmh continuous so I dont really recommend speeds over that for other than short burst. Some of our western states have truck speed limits of 121 kmh. But their are places out their where you can drive for 300 km and not even be able to pick up a radio station. Ive driven for hours without meeting another vehicle on some roads at some times.

Our trucks feel pretty much the same at higher speeds as lower speeds. I suspect the shorter wheelbase COE that is common in Europe has more front aero lift and less stability than the longer wheelbase conventionals common here at higher speeds. Different designs for different environments.

My truck hits the rpm governor in high at 157 kmh. I dont get speeding tickets. Its not about the speed limiter its about using that mass of soft tissue between your ears. We had a company driver (105 kmh limiter) get fired for getting caught at over 160 kmh at the bottom of Mount Eagle (A long 6% Downgrade in SW Tennessee). I generally drive conservatively since the fuel comes out of my bottom line but in most parts of America 105 kmh is plenty safe and in some parts its hard not to fall asleep at 120 kmh because you have been staring at the same mountain for the last 2 hours and thats the only thing out their to look at.

 

I'm not worried about mileage either, some days I'm happy if I can get 3.3 mpg with a load of drill rod. My company knows that heavy loads and hills aren't good for mileage. The worst day I had was around 2.2 mpg, I don't try to get poor mileage though.

 

What a bunch of BS. My company has us governed at 62. We are among the safest companies out there.

If you wanna be a fool and drive 70 plus. More power to ya. Looks like your an O/O. You buy your fuel. If your happy getting the 5.5mpg. Great! But other O/O would rather drive 55 or 60, get 7 plus mpg, make an extra $20,000 or so.
But don't say slower trucks are the hazard. If you wanna drive that fast, it's your responsibility not to run into the back of someone eles.

 

I run 65 mph and get 7.5 mpg. Ive found its the speed that makes the most sense between time and fuel usage for me.

That is 65 mph according to GPS and 67 mph by speedometer so 5 mph under the 70 mph speed limit where I run. i believe thats reasonable and safe.

I do think the speed differential between cars and trucks can be an issue. I believe the 62 mph trucks and 85 mph car limit in West Texas will be a bad combo for rear end collisions.