Your cruise setting

Make every effort to balance your loads between axles within legal tandem pin settings. There is a simple formula that will put you in the ballpark.

Active control of the cruise control. Cruise control is not perfect, if it was it wouldn't mash the gas automatically at the top of hill to race down the other side to get back to the set speed. Learn to smoothly take throttle control away from cruise and gently use your foot to accelerate back to the set speed and the re-engage the cruise. Gravity helps too... Same goes for overpasses.

Use gravity as an advantage. By no means do you ignore the safe navigation techniques of steep and lengthy grades. But you can run your truck above the governed speed if you are not using any fuel. Within speed limits. Also note that Overspeed alarms are noted, but
Prime really only takes notice and has a problem with anything above 70 MPH. Again safely, in gear, and Jake where applicable.

Progressive shifting. I can go all day about this one. However I'm only familiar with my truck's operating RPMs and optimal shift points. Maybe the Cascadias are the same, or all the trucks are the same. I've never compared notes so I won't try to teach them here.

Climbing techniques help too. You are gonna burn a lot of fuel climbing a steep hill. There is no avoiding it, however good gear selection and good RPM thru throttle control will get you up that hill without burning more fuel than you have to.

If you are still having problems, get with your FM. Our trucks generate a lot of data on speed, RPMs, etc. It can all be broken down and shown to you over any particular time frame. If your driving/engine data looks good over a month time frame, then they will start looking at possible mechanical problems. However the majority of such cases are discivered to be the result of the driver not operating the truck in optimal RPMs and poor shifting techniques.

 

Thanks for the tips, I'm sure it is me, I've never had to drive with mpg in mind before. I try to shift low rpm when I can, sometimes you need thsoe rpms to get moving.

The big hills are what kills me. I spend alot of time inthe mountains, and I know other drivers do to and still make decent mpg. I'm averaging 6.5 to 6.8 most weeks. I really need to get this up.

 

They changed mine last time thru the terminal up on the pedal to 62 from 58. Thank God!

 

Underinflated tires will kill your mileage. I like a little more weight on my drives than the tandems... a tail-heavy trailer will kill your mileage. Stay off the throttle... don't try to accelerate up a hill, easy on how much you use otherwise. So what if it takes a mile to accelerate to your desired speed? Progressive shifting when you can, and slow down. Make sure you get your fuel filters changed regularily.

I'm high 7's and low 8's... I set my speed depending on what it takes to get to the destination on time. If I have time... 54.

 

According to the computer, my truck is set at 62.88 and thats where I run it. I'm interested in maximizing the hours I have available which means concentrating on mph, not mpg.

 

On the lease side its about the bottom line. It's a lot nicer when your dead presidents make it across that bottom line, and not into the dividend check of some jerk with oil company stocks.

 

I'm in an early '10 Pete w/duals (late '10s have Super Singles) & I'm consistantly over 7 unless I'm REAL heavy & running into a 50MPH headwind (like last week across SD).

If like me, you got used to a Detroit & then got into a Cummins, you just got a whole new learning curve... I struggled to make 7 at first... but once I got used to how to do it, I'm mid to high 7s usually.

If you're driving a Cummins the 1st thing I learned is to ignore all the "tips" you get from Prime about how to drive for fuel mileage... they work great for a DD15 though... here's a tip for figuring it out... the version of the dash "info" screen I have has one setting that gives you both an "average" fuel economy for the trip plus an "current" fuel economy... which is an instant fuel economy for what you are getting right then at that very moment under those conditions... that's an excellent tool for experimenting & will teach you how to drive it if you pay attention.

Here's what I've figured out to this point...

Progressive shifting is HUGE w/ the Cummins... even more important than with the Detroit... get out of the bottom of the box fast... if I'm making a left turn at an intersection I'll be in 6th gear by the time in finish the turn... even if I'm pushing the 80K mark on the scales.

Then, once you flip the switch start shifting later & later... especially into 9th & 10th... the Cummins does not tolerate being lugged down in the upper gears like the Detroit can... if I'm climbing a hill once that tach hits 1200 I'm shifting... unlike the DD15 that doesn't mind getting down to as low as a grand... do that with the Cummins & you might as well skip a gear.

If I'm on a dead flat stretch of road and the speed limit doesn't get above 50 MPH I never go higher than 9th... you'll actually get better fuel economy in 9th at 45MPH than you will in 10th... that was a HUGE key in my learning curve... when I figured THAT one out then everything else started to make more sense.

As for the cruise setting... here's the big key... STAY OFF THE LIMITER... when I set my cruise, if I have to run it fast, I'll get up to 10th, get flat out & set the cruise at 65... then I'll kick it down 1 notch... which on my truck is 64.6... believe it or not that's worth about a half a mile per gallon right there.

Now, if I CAN run slower I do... but then you start seeing gains of MPGs measured only in tenths rather than a full half... unlike the DD15 in which the gain in miles per gallon is d*mn near linear as you reduce your speed... this is why the DD15 kicks *ss in MPGs... & why my next truck will be a DD15 Cascadia even if I have to hold out for one.

You can get decent mileage with a Cummins... it just takes a little more work & staying on top of how you drive it to get there.

 

58 all day everyday!! I run N.E. allot I was going to post this question in another thread but here it goes:

As I stated I run N.E. allot and I am near Lewiston D.C allot. Why are all these Prime drivers up here blowing my doors off?? Is that account making you run that hard?? I mean I cruise along at 58 on the toll mans road and ya'll are passing me like there's no tomorrow. Do they pay so well on that account ya'll just don't care about your MPG? Heck Monday I had a 387 blast past me do'in well over 62mph. he even had enough pedal to get around a chip hauler and that says allot if ya know how fast them chip haulers up here run .

Just a question, please answer if you have any one has incite on this. Thanks!!

 

I find it sad your doors are bein blown off by a Prime truck lol Were usually the ones bein passed lol The lease trucks can do 65. Rumor has it that a few trucks are not goverened at all.

 

My truck will run 76, but I don't run no where near that fast. Some of the ungoverned ones must be running the Walmart D.C. here. I just don't see the point running that fast. I have never run dedicated for Walmart, I was wondering if they are pushin ya'll to drive like that to make DEL time. I know the Walmart fleet trucks up here run pretty good to.