Fuel Tips

The fuel saving on an auto is marginal at best. You can actualy shift a manual and get better mileage than the auto but in the long run the auto is more consistant and will slightly edge out the manual. I don't have the exact figure though. I do know that the saving grace for the automatic is in maintenance costs for the fleet due to less stress and shock on the drive train from rough drivers

 

Drafting not Freewheeling was my point.The NASCAR drivers admitt to freewheelig when running low on fumes.B4 I was of age,road shotgun and one clown put it in georgia O/D top hill on wheeling bypass.Could not tell fencepost from telephone poles,and coasted 3/4 up the other(eastbound) side.Drafting(tailgating another18 expically when bucking a strong headwind will increase MPG.And is also dangerous.

 

Even I am not a trucker, I often see T6's and T2000 w/o full fairings. Add them to improve aerodynamics and if you own a new truck, use synthetic oil.

Regarding the auto, some Volvo o/o's report that they save almost 500.00 in fuel cost alone. I do not know about the Freightliner, but maybe someone could provide some figures.

Kinghunter

 

you will spend more replacing windshields than you will save in fuel!!

 

these are the type of side skirting I'm talking about
I have read elsewhere though that in order to take full advantage of them you need a similar skirt around the rear of the trailer behind the tandems to take full advantage of the smother airflow. There is some good writeups about what walmart has been experimenting with in order to hit there fuel mileage goals

 

Oh, Ok..Well Im going to say fuel isnt worth saveing to do that..That scares me to death to think I dont know whats going on up ahead of me like that..Thats to close to a big truck and is super extremely Dangerous..And I know your surely not talking right on their bumper, but even 1 sec. behind him at high speed makes me uneasy.. Drafting, does work! But I sure dont advise it at all...Coasting or freewheeling, works too, but remember it Dangerous as well if you dont know your terrain. Even that can cost you your life...

 

Oh Ok..Yea I can see where theyd work...Anything that reduces air lag is an advantage.. Aerodynamics has deffinately a long way to go even now I believe...My trucks were Cabovers, Id avg 7 t om 8. Applying the same tech. to a Kenworth T600, I avg. 8 to 9. It deffinately pays to try and purchase a unit that is loaded with aerodynamic features...

 

The enemy of aerodynamics is frontal surface area. Wether that surface area is flat or sloped doesn't matter a whole lot. An aerodynamic looking truck with a bunch of junk on it like mirrior brackets, bug deflectors, lights etc can be almost as bad as a cabover.
I'm looking for that walmart link

 

What about the Wal-Mart link?? For buying trucks???? The reason Im asking is because they have good well maintained trucks....I bought 3 of them in 2000 and had very little problems with them...I owned them for almost 6 yrs then sold them for 5000.00 a piece, I gave 16000.00 a peice for them..So for almost 6 yrs each truck cost me 152.78 a month.. 3 trucks for 458.33 a month avg... I had them payed for in 2 years though..that was just to break it down and show the actual cost for 6 years..

 

no it's a link I have somewhere to a page that goes over everythig they have been experimnting with. Walmart has pledged to get to a certain mpg by like 2010 or something like that. I think it is 10mpg. They have been wrking with manufacturers to get to that point.
I think I saw a thread on here somewhere to that ws talking about the walmart thing too if anyone remembers it