Fuel mileage?

Drive like you have eggs under the pedals, get a glass of water and put it in the cup holder holding almost to the brim and drive without spilling it.

 

Hundreds . . .

 

Stay home.

 

Call Kevin Rutherford.

All you need is his Scan Guage, a turbo 3000d, air tabs, a volvo, 2.00 gears, and the rest of his products.

 

Set the cruise to 62-63, use fuel additive, use additive to clean out your dpf or exhaust system if you have thatttyoe of truck, wash your truck regularly, wash your motor regularly, keep your tires properly inflated, regular oil changes, reduce idle, I probably missed a bunch more but I can think as much when I'm hungry

 

I tried a variety of searches to find my very first thread I posted on this forum. @pmdriver nailed it.

IF you are MOST CONCERNED about fuel economy, then the most important thing is to be as light on the throttle as possible. When I drive for economy when climbing a grade and getting ready to top out on a hill, I am actually easing off on the accelerator, getting ready to allow the upcoming down grade to increase my speed for me.

IIRC while I was teaming with my brother back in '13 we ran from OKC to St. Louis often, and I did an experiment. Running the way my brother wanted to run, with cruise control set at the speed limit, we averaged a true 5.3 mpg in his truck. I was able to get 6.895 mpg by "free footing" it, easing off on the throttle on those long rolling hills as I topped out the grades, trying to find the gear where you aren't having to floor it uphill, and being patient.

All THAT being said, much of what was posted in that thread of mine back in '13 went over my head. The bottom line is this, IF you are stuck in a situation where fuel economy is going to make or break you, then by all means drive for economy. BUT, as many a wise forum member noted in that thread, fuel economy is a small part of the equation IF you are hauling freight that pays a LOT more to the truck than many large carriers will pay.

Now I haul freight that pays well north of $2/mile. Fuel economy isn't as important. What's important to me now is getting more loads (revenue) per week. I am happy if I am averaging north of 5 mpg.

THAT being said, my experience with going "eggshells on the throttle" also taught me how to really drive in slippery conditions. It's a good thing to have in my tool box.

Edited to add: if you are pulling steep grades or loaded really heavy and the thing that governs your speed is coolant and oil temperature, the "eggshells" technique is ESSENTIAL to making sure you don't over heat the engine!

 

Good advice. Only thing is..cruise is nice. But in hilly areas or mountains drive with your foot. You can see approaching hills you cruise can't. Cruise lays into your fuel after the fact.

 

That's good advice about the mountains...I drive on foot myself. I don't take it past 1500 rpms. I never understand drivers that go up steep grades with heavy loads and are standing on the throttle as if it will it go faster, running it 1600-1700 rpms. May as well take it easy on your motor, don't want to blow a head gasket

 

My old, crappy truck has a thingy that tells me how I'm staying in the "sweet spot". This is keeping the RPM's within the 1400-1500 as much as possible. Here are the pics, judge for yourself. I was pulling a 20K lbs load from Upstate NY, to Central VA, on I-99 / US15 in PA / I-81.