truck speeds

I didn't know AL had a 80mph speed limit..
Sounds like one or both of you will end up on "ragbagtruckers" site.

 

One other reason companies set the speeds lower, or nearer the speed limit, is warranty coverage. If the truck has 50,000 miles on it and has engine problems, the manufacturer can tell by the computer if it has been abused, and deny a warranty claim.

I'd be interested to see our company's rationale for setting our new trucks to 100kph from the 110 the older ones did. I don't keep meticulous fuel mileage calculations, but I know I still put about 150 litres of fuel in a day for the same run I've done with the old truck to the new.

 

Keep in mind that most ruck tires are only speed rated to 75 mph, so exceeding that is going to cause your tires to heat up more than they should.

 

In the old Monfort days of yore,we used to run houston to banning at 90 plus,bullhaulers have bettered that,its different out west,long views of the road ahead,traffic stayed spread out and overall very little tailgating and passing, It seemed alot safer in those days ,you would see a truck wreck a day or two a week,now you see one or two a day in 600 miles. Be safer out there,please!

 

You got that right Buck+half, my first reefer run had me and co-driver going from Salinas,CA to Atlanta,GA. Luckily, we had an un governed truck, so out west (NV,NE,WY) we were running 80 mph (or more), and it was remarkable how empty the roads were (esp I 80 in NV).

 

My friend applied for a driving job at a small trucking company in El Paso and while he was filling out the application (I gave him a ride out there), I read some of the memmo's on the wall. One was related to speed, idle time and MPG. Apparently their trucks aren't governed. The company was enforcing a new speed policy that would give verbal warnings for sustained speeds above 78 mph, written warnings for speeds between 80 and 89 mph and termination for speeds above 90 mph. I guess too many drivers were coasting (they said the highest speed recorded was 96 mph).

 

IF u change the speed of a company truck, and then go for a PM. Ur company can FIRE you. If they see that u messed with the company settings.

Just aint worth it to me to get FIRED over :smt038

 

And that's just within the last decade that manufacturers uprated their tires to 75 mph. 10+ years ago all the 22.5 inch lo-profile tires were only speed rated to 65 mph and at the time, the only tire constructed to withstand 75 mph were tall 11R24.5 tires.

Your tires speed rating is what they will carry at their maximum load. If you're grossed out at 80,000 lbs, you're pretty much at that level and you'll be pushing your luck if you're doing consistent triple digits on those tires. If they don't outright fail on you, they'll definitely wear out much faster.

Couple that to the fact that far too many trucks run on underinflated tires and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

I can vouch for that. I destroyed one heckuva nice tractor when the steer tire blew at triple digit. That'll really ruin your day. Those COE's don't like a sudden starboard list and pull at that speed. The company that I was hauling the trailer for were irate too.
Paddy