Knight Idle Cutoff

My Volvo will only go 63 if I idle to much. but as I drive the idle % goes down and then I can go 65 on the pedal. This doesn't bother me I use the cruse most of the time anyways.

 

It's a $10,000 add option at the factory ( per Walmarts fleet director ) plus the extra maintinence overall raises the cap cost of the unit and lowers profitability.......and is generally discounted at the wholesale level on trade.

is why....

 

Swift & Knight did there homework years ago, and both enjoyed the 55 mph speed limit when in effect. When it was raised, Swift kept theirs gov'd at 55 mph, but Knight went up to 60 mph....then it became a race to attract experienced drivers and both started raising in 2 mph increments to compete with other trucking outfits that jumped back up to 65-70 mph!! Knight whose main competition was Swift always kept ahead of Swift in the race up ...

Here's a link: http://www.maplesoft.com/applications/view.aspx?SID=6573&view=html


According to the Goodyear report:

The optimal fuel economy of an 18-wheeler is achieved at a speed of 55 mph.

At 55 mph, a 25,000-lb truck on a flat road gets about 5.7 mpg.

For every 1000-lb increase in load, fuel efficiency drops by about 1/60 mpg.

Aerodynamic drag on the truck increases exponentially with its speed. As a result, for every 5 mph increase in speed above 55 mph, fuel economy drops by about 8%.


** Guress 'all' drivers are lucky that all trucking co.s dont all revert back to 55 mph!!

 

My Volvo gets about 8.7 to 9.2 MPG at 55 MPH. and 6.8 to 7.4 at 65... Seems about right at that 8% rate...

 

Methinks the absolute mpg's given in this link are probably several years old as well as per the more 'classic' style trucks; and as just as you have shown, the latest efficient engines and modern aerodynamics give much better numbers..but as you affirmed, the % changes seem to agree.

What Knight has always done as they've gotten bigger (have what 4000+ trucks now?), is multiply small savings by 4000 trucks...and so, the bean counters win out as long as they can populate their trucks with drivers..

 

I love apu units. You are always covered! Don't freeze your butt off or roast to death. Untill the apu breaks down. lol

 

I agree. My Celadon truck with the electric APU was the best truck I have ever had. No, I am not with them anymore. Looooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg story.

 

I tell my dispatcher, I cannot idle if I am driving. you want low idle time? keep the truck rolling. I idle the truck to encourage the company to keep the miles up. If I am stopped, the truck idles

 

Hay overdrive you the man anyone who works for Knight more than 2 months you all deserve a medal all of you!!

 

Heck that's all you got to do see that light hit brakes or clutch or better yet I would not do is chalk wheels and throttle down a bit with a stick or a rock and your set. Like I said that's a stupied way of doing it...