How many hours/miles can you go on full tanks

I run dual 150s and average about 5mpg pulling a cattle pot loaded both ways usually. About 1250 miles is usually it for me.

I'm going to add another 100 gallon tank at least in place of my Passenger side steps on my W9. I hate fueling. Waste of time and when your pulling a cattle pot especially if your loaded everyone wants to talk forever when you just wanna get em to the feedlot so you can go to bed lol.

 

I run 2 92 gallon tanks. I fuel once a day without fail. Distance depends on my wagon of choice that day, wind, and the velocity of my ol Pete

 

As a rule I fill at half tank always. Going into a NOAA warned winter storm or hurricane zone, I fill up day and night no matter how few gallons until Im out of there. If the company goes nuts and cut the card off, there is cash money to get it filled. Worst case scenario I mooch the reefer tank, there is a hundred gallons back there. Fuel is life.

As a team we fill 300 gallons or close to it every 1600 miles or 30 hours whichever is first. Sometimes heading east downgrade into Kansas we get 11 to 13 miles to gallon in the correct wind for very long periods of time. That really is a jackpot. Stick your hand out of window and if you are being pushed, check your fuel mileage. Otherwise we just snort the fuel and it's gone in a day. Sometimes less than a day. However as a team we can usually get somewhere and fuel. Usually but not always. Once or twice company lassos a single tells him to stay put somewhere and we siphon fuel out of him a little bit.

 

Hi Dennis, good to "see" you again.

All of the trucks I have driven with TransAm and my new company have had two 100 gal tanks. The trucks get around 6.25 mpg or better with a standard load. That puts your range at 1,250 miles or better, or a full two days of driving without the need to fuel.

However, I have never driven near the full range of the truck. Companies use a fuel program, they have it worked out so I fuel at the best prices along my route. This means I stop for fuel nearly every driving day. With TransAm I could often stop twice per day, 50 gallons just to keep me going to a lower fuel price state and then a top up.

Stopping for fuel does not really bother me, I need to schedule breaks for the bathroom, coffee, food, shower, nap, etc. anyway. It does however cost you clock as you have to log a minimum of 15 mins of on-duty time each time you fuel.

 

As a rule of thumb you can not access 20% of your fuel tanks capacity. 10% up top you can never fill up due to the angle of the filler tube and 10% at the bottom your fuel pick ups can't work.

The larger the tanks the bigger the unusable amount will be, but regardless under no circumstances will you be able to use the full capacity of your tanks ever...

 

When I was OTR I fueled at the end of each shift. Especially in the winter. Didn't want to be in a perdicamemt where I was sitting and low on fuel.

 

So many variables here, no one can give you a straight answer. My nephew drives a log truck with 150 gal total capacity. I drive with a 240 gal capacity, but my last job was 350 gal.

You'll figure it out very quickly. But never EVER be the guy who calls in because he ran out of fuel.

Personally, I fuel up before I load if at all possible, because lots of shippers will try to overload you if you're light on fuel. Other than that, I try to wait til I'm at 1/4 tank or so, but if I'm gonna take 10 at a truck stop for a bio-break anyway, I just take the extra 5 minutes or so and top off. What the heck? I'm already stopped. That's 10 minutes no matter what. Adding an extra 5 costs me nothing and gives me an excuse to clean the windshield.

 

Hey Passport , I wondered if you were still on here. Seems I remember you went to work for another company that let you take time off and travel overseas , hope that is working out for you.
In a few months Thailand & Philippines are going to be a warm hide out for the winter Lol
That's the type of job I need , winters suck haha

 

In a speed limited truck the most miles I can do in an 11 hour driving shift is 700-720. My tanks have a driving range of about 1200 miles so I would always have to stop before I got close to running out of fuel.

 

Thanks everyone for some good info ! Some different things to think about for sure.