2015 Cascadia OTR Performance

Hey; Thanks for taking the time and paying close enough attention to call me by my proper handle there you ole Cranky Yankee. It's Aminal; not Animal. Most don't catch it. You did. Thanks.

 

I agree. We have no hillstart. I prolly wouldn't use it if we did. Trick is ALWAYS to know your Mule and YOURSELF and what each of you is capable of - and not capable of. That is why I post what I do. I have a particular Mule. She has particular traits. Others might have her sister and know, in advance, what to expect. Advance knowledge always makes current decision making a little easier. Yes?

 

I moved my fifth wheel up. I've been running all the way back because . . . well, that's where it was when I got it and just haven't bothered to move it. I was scaling my loads just fine. Laziness I guess. Plus, I'm still fairly new to sliding fifth wheels. Only been in slider trucks about a year and a half. Prior to that I pulled 10' spread axels with Pete 379's that had the fifth wheel fixed in center position. Axeled by moving the load. When I back got into vans and now reefers the fifth wheels were set where the front of the trailer was just a couple inches, like 1 or 2, behind the top of the plastic wind thingy on the quarter faring. Scaled heavy and full of fuel with around 11, 080-11,120 on the steers. I left it there. Didn't think about this one but I was scaling about 10,300 on the steers. Thought about moving it on one heavy load that I couldn't axel full tanks on the drives, but honestly, it turned out my fuel plan was splash and dash due to prices on that route anyway - and it was cold and nasty and I just didn't feel like messing w/ the sticky gear on that trailer. To be fair to JCT, there's nothing wrong with the gear. It's just cold, thick grease and some tightish gearing; not bent legs from hard or off set hook-ups. What's the shop gonna do?


Anyway, I had to drop the trailer at Wally World for the u/l yesterday and I thought about the fifth wheel and went ahead and moved it. I over moved it all the way forward and rather than spend a bunch of time messing with it then; I left it where it was and went and checked in. I figured I'd mess w/ it when I had time on my side; on the MT side. Well, not enough weight and all I was doing was starting to scoot the trailer and since I am very cognizant of landing gear abuse I just left it there and put a big red note on my dashboard dry erase: WATCH TURNS-5TH WHEEL FORWARD!! Don't wanna buy no cab fins. Well, she's been loosening up a tad and had been getting high 9's MT MPG. Danged it she got low 10's on this real light leg. Might as well be MT. Only thing different in all the variables in MPG was where the fifth wheel was set. I think I'm gonna top off the tanks on this load going out to CA and see how she scales and mess around w/ running it as forward as I can and see how that does my MPG. Before I do I'm gonna record the tread depth on my steers and check them for what I've run off so far, then keep an eye on them to see if I'm shooting myself in the foot by running more rubber off the heavier steers than I'm saving on fuel. Don't know, but I'll give the math a whirl once I have sufficient data to get a descent read. I suspect I haven't put enough miles on the steers to have run enough off yet to be able to tell how much I have run off so far, but I'll see when I depth gauge 'em.

 

Well, running the fifth wheel forward is apparently outta the picture. Either that or these loads have all been loaded nose heavy and tail light and I know that's not the case as I've looked at them. I have to run the fifth wheel all the way back to scale my steers under 12K w/ 37K+ in the box and full tanks. Musta' had light fuel and load (I don't remember) when I got the 10K and change steer weights. Got it set w/ full fuel all the way back and I'm at 11,620; 34k and change (I moved the trailer tandems after and evened the tandems and drives up) and 32K and change on almost 79k gross. Rolling 12,060 32,340, 34,300 and 78,700 I got no joy on PrePass but they let it ride when they platformed me. Oh well. Guess slid back it is. I'm OK w/ that. I could certainly have worse complaints. I'm at 7.6 mpg overall for the first 20K.

Merry Christmas everyone.

 

I'm down to 7.4 overall due to some very heavy Appalachian runs. I'm (Good Lord) 79,720 running VA and TN today and 6.1. Thank God fuel was only $2.75 (no lie - Exxon branded too) but the helluvit was I could only scale 75 gallons but could hold 150. Actually I couldn't scale the whole 75 and ran 320 over on my steers but I was gonna miss the Roanoke, VA scales and would burn close enough to pass before Bristol so I ran w/ it. Trying to slide the 5th wheel "just a tad" w/ this auto shift is a BEEYATCH. Either not enough throttle to get it to slide (w/ the weight off) or too much and she wants to slam and I'm jamming brakes. It's because SHE'S slipping the clutch - not me. She don't know what I'm trying to do so she just slipping in creep mode like I'm docking, but since I'm NOT, I'm pulling against my 5th wheel she overtemps and scrams "creep mode" pronto and the throttle position sensor (pedal) is at that fine setting for creep but now on regular and it's too MUCH throttle. BAM! It wasn't so bad learning it docking and sliding tandems cause I was dealing with feet, not inches. Once I got it "broke free" on a tandem I could slack the throttle and move smoothly. Same w/ docking. Once I got the swing of which mode she was in (a LIGHT would have been nice!) no problem to finesse some smoothness. Fifth wheel sliding? Not so much so. I just want one single notch back. That's it. I about made up my mind to drop the trailer entirely and break out my ratchet and cheater bars and try to move it myself prying it. Yeah, I know I drag a reefer but I was a flatbedder for 15 years and it just ain't in me to not have my ratchet and cheater bar w/ me. Hell, that's probably part of my weight conundrum. I can't let go some of my flatbed stuff. I mean do I really need a 3/8", grade 8 (US steel - not Japanese!) 20' tie down chain? NO! But I just can't roll w/o a chain. It's like walking around outside barefoot or in flip flops: something you will NEVER catch me wearing in anything but a public shower. We called them SHOWER SHOES - and they were to keep you from getting athlete's feet - not a fashion statement! Hell, it's a new world all around. New trucks, technology and everything. Maybe I need to re-think that too.

I mean rolling w/ so much flatbedder stuff draggin' a reefer wagon to shed some weight - NOT wearin' shower shoes like regular shoes. Pajama bottoms neither! THEY ARE PAJAMAS - NOT PANTS!! I ain't NEVER goin' out in public in my bed or shower clothes! Though I must admit; it is rather fetching on some of the females. Not me, though! Not happening!!

When and IF I ever get this weight thing solved, I'll be back to share the settings and how to get an Autobot to move just an inch with some resistance on her. Happy New Year to y'all!