MPG Harrasment

What if you run the tach up over a grand every so often while sitting. will it still start measuring idle? never messed with a qualcom.

 

schneider is not very anal with the mpg unless its under 6 however they only allow 5% idle so any thing to keep the qualcom idle monitor from kicking in would be very help full

of course you could just pull the fuse from the qualcomm and that would keep the idle monitor from kicking in but they kind of frown on that since then the qualcom dont run.

 

I was getting 7mpg or better on a 6 year old FLD with 1.3 million miles on it.

 

To answer this question....

It does not matter is you press the throttle every once in a while or not.. The qual comm is plugged into the trucks computers and reads all data.. It knows if the truck is moving or not do to the transmission sensors.. So, if you are sitting still the truck will register it as Idle even if you throttle up..
Now when sitting I would bump the truck forward a little and it would stop it for a few sec.. (can't remember how long but I do remember it wasn't really worth bumping the truck forward).. This was one of the first things I tried.. I chalked the wheels, idled the truck up a little (not going to tell you how I idled it up, don't want people to mess things up) hoping it would not come on.. Well it did and that test was shot down...

There is a way to get it not to register but it would be tampering with the companies equipment.. Nobody should do this.. All my test where done without unplugging anything and I don't recommend doing it..

 

Getting back to the original question, the frequency of how often you stop will play a part. As will the way you shift though the gears. Of course the amount of weight you pull will play the biggest part, if you always pull 5,000 pound loads your gonna get great fuel mileage. But on the flip side that run between Denver and Vail hauling beer to the snow Bunny's will make you popular with the jet set but you are going to get about 3 MPG.
The last thing to look for is routing; hills, stops, scales, and bad weather will all reduce your economy, try to stay on the interstate.

 

I hate to break the bad news to you, but 62 MPH is the most efficient speed you should drive. (according to an old U. of Michigan study - a very respected transportation institute).

I used to drive a 455 cat and regularly got over 6.5 mpg. And I ran mostly in the mountain states with heavy loads (80,000 lbs).

It was governed at 68 but I rarely drove it up against the governor. My average speed was about 62 mph.

You should also accelerate very slowly (relative to other traffic) since that is where a lot of your fuel mileage goes.

You'll get there regardless how fast you drive and 3 or 4 mph is not going to make much difference in your arrival time.

And, probably most importantly, keep the left door closed.

 

Daytona is talking about maverick. Their goal is 6.7 mpg. I have never had them say anything to me about by my fuel mileage. I try to keep an eye on my OOR miles and I seldom idle. Most of the time I run 60 empty and up to 65 loaded, depends on my time frame. I have had some OOR lately due to traffic or road conditions. I did not cut thru the woods to pick this last load up due to my appt deadline. Good planning is the key to keeping a low profile.

 

I drive a 2004 model Freightliner Columbia Daycab with a Merceces Benz 410 HP and 10 speed manual.

It hauls bulk cement at 84,000 lbs usually. My idle time is way up there. >30%. If the truck isn't running down the highway...it's idling to run the blower for unloading the cement. My truck works HARD to do it's job.

I run the speed limit...whatever that is at the time. Usually 60 or 65.

My recent MPG numbers were 6.78 mpg. I was impressed, likewise, I have no idea where or how I was able to get that kind of fuel economy. My guess is the lower HP Mercedes as opposed to the Cats other trucks in our fleet have. Another would be the manual trans as opposed to the autos a lot of our drivers have in their trucks.

It was also mentioned that the "Bulk Trucks" were going to have to be separated from the end dumps because of high idle times so as to not skew the companys target with respect to idle times. At least somebody in our management realizes that we (Bulk haulers) do have to idle our trucks to unload.

As far as fuel economy is concerned, I haven't really ever been too concerned with what my numbers were or could be with respect to how I drive the truck. I drive sensibly and don't abuse equipment, but I know that schedules have to be kept and running slower won't keep you on schedule. I also know that my truck IS my office as well as my workspace...

When management or dispatch willingly agrees to shut off the air-conditioning in the summer or heat in the winter in the office building...I'll agree to do the same in my workspace/office.

Until then......

 

How you drive the truck is the biggest determiner in MPG. Drive it like an old lady, it is not a race car.

Mark

 

My company recently sent out a notice that they wanted to average 6.3 mpg and that the mpg reading on the qualcomm was'nt accurate and that we should do the math ourselves.They were right my q/c stated I was getting 7.1 and was actually getting 6.39.Right now it show's 8.1.My thinking is that if the mpg reading is wrong could the idle% reading also be inaccurate?Also they will pull you in for fuel economy lecture if idle time stay's over 25% but awhile back my idle time stayed around 7% for a month and a half and did'nt get so much as a "good job"message from them.