Schneider Lease-Purchase..

I get .3 mpg better pulling a trailer w/o skirts.

Could probably get .5 - .8 mpg better w/o dpf, and def, which is a whole additional expense itself.

And at least .5 mpg for the egr.

Good job libtarded, egg headed, grass licking, tree screwing, coke smoking "engineers".

 

Tails and skirts not required. Just some type of aerodynamics . There are a number of options. Most all trailers now comply. No matter what the age.

 

I can tell a little difference in stability not so much in mpg. The only time the skirts are effective is when the wheels are sucked up right behind the skirt. Otherwise they are useless for any mpg increase.

 

I've found a pretty reliable .5 mpg loss when hauling a trailer without skirts. Look at a company like MVT - fleet avg of almost 9mpg. It comes with its own costs, and they run different freight than us but some of the environmental regs do make sense. Just look at pictures of the NYC skyline from.the late 70s and compare them to now.

 

These companies spend so much money on those things. You don't think they've checked to make sure they work? I'm sure there's been a wind tunnel study on the effectiveness. Almost all the megas are using them now. Can't be a fluke.

 

Yes , there has been tests and the manufacturers state that the farther back that the wheels are the less effective the skirts are. Companies are using the cheapest technology available just to satisfy California requirements. The underbelly air deflectors are actually better but cost a little more.

 

MVT trucks are a whole different animal. The way they are spec'd, am surprised SNI hasn't tried it. The tractor tandem is not connected. Meaning the rear axle is a tag axle. Only one drive axle. Now, if SNI was really serious about fuel mileage, there is a lot they could do.

 

They tried the dead Axle thing... They decided after so many trucks getting stuck on minimal surfaces due to snow and such they decided the heck with that and going back to Tandem axle with the differentials

 

MVT has their trucks spec'd for high fuel mileage for optimal running south of I-40. They acknowledge they do not run as well in winter weather events. Their fuel mileage is insane with a fleet average of 9 and many trucks getting 10 on open flats even fully loaded.

They are an example to every company what can be done if you spend the money to make money, however most companies are looking to save a dime any way they can, they just can't figure out like every other business out there you have to spend money to save it.

 

I said I'd come back to this thread to give updates on how I'm doing as a new IC so here goes.

I couldn't bid on loads till the Friday after orientation because Schneider had me do a sleep study in Charlotte and they wouldn't let me have my truck or book freight till they had the results. I now have a cpap, owe them $2500 for it, and sleep half as much as I used to. I bobtailed home, loaded up the truck with my stuff and took the highest paying leftovers into my home market. Made $2700 from 4 loads and found a load that dropped 100 miles from home so I could see the family for Easter. BUT the first load delivered on a Monday so I only made $2100 for the rest of the week. The work is easy, putting loads together is easy, but having a load confirm and disappear while you're dropping a trailer and grabbing an empty is devastating. I spend hours on the load board everyday refreshing loads that could make or break me just to have them never confirm. I've already jumped the gun and booked stuff just out of fear it would vanish and I'd be left with nothing. I spent 4 hours chasing my first empty and getting back to where I park, they sent me to three different places before they got it right. Every time I booked a load this week that was a drop at the delivery they told me I couldn't have an empty, they wanted me to bobtail 143 miles for an empty when I was standing there with 6 in front of me and a yard jockey begging me to take one...
God knows how long it'll take to find my empty for Monday.

My hats off to those of you who've been doing this for years and made it work well for you, it's not easy by any means. If it weren't for my IC friends pushing me and giving me advice, I'd be completely discouraged.