New L/P operator with questions about minimizing costs

Discussion in 'Lease Purchase Trucking Forum' started by dtj12231989, Dec 5, 2019.

  1. Cat sdp

    Cat sdp . .

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    Stay parked in your driveway and you won’t burn any fuel........
     
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  3. Cat sdp

    Cat sdp . .

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    Especially in the winter ..... you never know what might happen.
     
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  4. dtj12231989

    dtj12231989 Medium Load Member

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    Well, that will definitely work but I won't make any money. :D:p
     
  5. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    You can’t use the computer for an accurate mpg. You need to calculate it miles driven by gallons used every time your tanks are full. Your fuel mileage should be one number, not a range.
     
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  6. dtj12231989

    dtj12231989 Medium Load Member

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    I'm starting something new to see how it works out. I filled up my tanks full yesterday. Since I did that, I'm gonna use the let's truck app along with hand calculations to see how my mpg does. I'm gonna run the tanks down to about 3/4 full and fill back up. I have two 100 gallons tanks which gives me a 190 gallon capacity, including the 95% thing for the tanks. I will keep y'all posted on this.
     
  7. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    You’re not even giving it enough time to check your mileage burning only 1/4 tank. Fuel mileage is long term. You need about 30 days to see how your changes affect mileage. Too many variable to do things for a day and expect to see changes.
     
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  8. dtj12231989

    dtj12231989 Medium Load Member

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    Ok. I just thought it might would be a good idea. Besides, doing that would keep me from having to pay so much every time I do fill up.
     
  9. Mike250rs

    Mike250rs Heavy Load Member

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    You can do short term (load) MPG, but to get a better picture you need to do a monthly MPG and get the average for several months.

    If your running the same lanes & freight, then the short term MPG will give you a quick snapshot of driving behaviors. Compare the same load on different runs and see what behaviors helped best.

    Skip the APU. after year 2 they are a money pit. A bunk heater is worth the investment.
     
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  10. dtj12231989

    dtj12231989 Medium Load Member

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    Thanks. I don't run the same lanes all the time. However, I kinda think short term mpg figures would help me figure out the best driving behavior and then use the long term mpg to improve that best driving behavior even further. What do you think?

    As for the bunk heater, the truck already has one from the factory. However, I done found out that hard way that sometimes it don't work well enough. I was up in NH around Thanksgiving and it got cold enough that the bunk heater wasnt able to keep up well. I woke up in the middle of the night and the sleeper was colder than the North Atlantic was when the Titanic sank. So, it might have kept the sleeper warm for a while but it probably ran at full blast and running the batteries down to where truck did a level 2 load shed. That's one reason why I am considering an Apu.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2019
  11. gregbo

    gregbo Light Load Member

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    Yeah and if you're getting paid on the k weight you don't wanna turn down that fat money cause you put too much fuel on. It's something flatbedders have to figure out every day. My rig scales at right around 30k at half tanks 30.8k full. I load at shippers that will put 50k on me if I'll take it. If I'm full I'll lose an 8k bundle of bar costing me serious money. At 2.00/kwt that bundle is worth 160.00 gross plus fuel. .40/gal discount on 100 gallons is worth 40.00. The choice is clear if you know in advance where the next load is coming out of and where the discounts are and how much fuel you can burn off before you hit the next scale.
     
  12. MysticHZ

    MysticHZ Road Train Member

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    Is that truck new or just new to you? If you did a load shed, check your batteries. Also make sure your heater filter is clean and nothing is blocking the intake.

    The temp hasyo get down single digits before I have to tuny the heater all night. And then the blower is on low.
     
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