63mph vs 65 mph

jesus your complaining about 8.6mpgs i get a whopping 3.78 average. lol but i get paid by the load and my truck is governed out at 73-74mph so its gotta go gotta go and not to mention we pull 100,000lbs + is if DOT aint poking around gross daily

truck specs

06 peterbilt 379 exhd 63 inch high rise bunk cat 475hp 18spd

 

Just keep going 63mph. The bump up to 65mph will net you 0 gain in time, unlike what others have stated. In a perfect world, going 65mph and driving 11 hours non-stop with absolutely NO traffic and noboady at the truckstops getting fuel then I'd say it might be worth the chance to get the extra time. But in reality, all it takes is 1 crowded truckstop fuel island and that extra 20 min you had made up with goiong 65mph just went out the window.... and many other things will affect this all.

And to be honest, I go 60mph and I get passed all day long. But at the end of the day I usually see a few of those trucks that passed me at 70mph at the same truckstop, they just got there 20 min before i did....whoopity doo!!!

 

Did they start at the same truck stop?

 

I don't know, I just used to leave Chicago in the AM and would usually get passed by a few trucks that I would wind up seeing at the same truckstop as me at the end of the night. We can argue all day long weither it is better or not to drive faster. It is up to the driver to decide for themselves if it is or not.... I think it is just a waste of fuel to go faster than 60mph, but my situation does not require me to have a time constaint as some others do. If you run a dedicated lane and per-say can squeeze in 1 extra load on the day by going 70mph, then go for it, I might too. But the casual OTR driver won't see much of a gain. And one that has a COMPANY dispatching them on where to go and how many miles they can drive in a day, then 65mph isn't going to make 1 iota of dfference in his day.

 

...not once would you hear me complain about getting 8.6-8.9......I just can't wrap my head around that possibility given all the forces of nature against you...2k+ shy of max weight, hills vs flats, headwinds, crosswinds, etc...I dunno, just a wee bit skeptical on them numbers...lol...

 

My truck isn't governed. I drive a 2004 Freightliner Columbia with a 12.7 Detroit 375/430 hp, Eaton Lightning 10 speed Top 2 and 3.58 rear end and 22.5LP tires. I usually operate at 68 mph which has me turning at 1500 rpm. Depending on my idle time (which this last week in South Texas.....yeah), my MPG runs around 5.5-6.5 mpg. For the most part that's enough to get down the road in a reasonable time.

 

And in TX you are the slow truck with everyone going 70-80mph LOL

 

LOL That's true. If I'm light or have a good tailwind, I might run 75 on my last leg home just to shave some time off but not every day. Even at 75 I feel like the slow truck!

 

I80 you'd be getting passed like a turtle too.

 

That's me... 60mph everywhere I go. It nice not having to pass anyone, i hardly ever have to change lanes. I was running 63-65 but then all the major carriers bumped up their trucks and I was tired of having a JB/SWIFT/WERNER truck driving along my left side for 15 miles cuz his truck went 63.1mph LOL