Q-1 IFTA shocker!

Just finished my Q-1 ifta, hit calculate button and almost stroked out!

Jurisdiction miles between Elog report and Garmin gps report are within a 100 miles of each other so no problem there.

Fuel report is accurate also. No cash fuel purchases this quarter. After double checking everything, my numbers are accurate.

I was expecting a decrease in mpg from my last filing due to idling a lot. Stuck in SD for 3 days during -20 to -40 degree arctic blast for example.
Was expecting a 0.20 to 0.25 decrease which would be a lot still but not alarming.

Typically my reports are all about the same and only off by very little. Now I’m off by almost 0.75 mpg which is very significant.

Looks like if I put my suspicions together I come up with a reasonable explanation of what caused it.

Been noticing really bad mpg last couple months right about the time I suspected that my trailer alignment was off. Tires were just replaced on the trailer so I got a pretty good picture of what’s going on now with tire wear.

Seems like I’ve been having to press harder on the throttle to a point where it gets uncomfortable after awhile and releasing pressure mph drops rapidly. Been thinking maybe it’s just time for the valves to be adjusted but Cummins recommends at 500k so I got another 200k to go. Another thought was the breather filters may be getting dirty and put that on my list. Popped the covers off the filters and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary but still going to replace them at some point.

The trailer alignment is what I believe is causing the awful mpg.
Forward axle I believe is shifted because the two right side tires are wearing on the outer edge. Both left side tires are wearing on the inner edge.

Still can it really cause a 10% loss in fuel mileage?
Incidentally I bobtailed on a part’s run last month and got really great mileage so that’s why I’m going to rule out a problem with my tractor.

Normal ifta reports are 5.25 mpg
Q-1 2025 4.48 mpg

 

I just don’t know because I’ve never seen such a big difference in my reports. The SD arctic blast had me idling for 3 days at 850 rpm’s and even then it wouldn’t keep the cab warm enough. That’s the only thing out of the ordinary for me.
Spring and fall I get good mpg because I idle less than summer and winter but the difference really isn’t that much.
I know I didn’t have any fuel stolen because I kept the tanks locked all the time.

If anything I did different this past quarter was drive slower but that would have helped.

I’m stumped other than suspect the trailer is causing it. I’m going to try getting it aligned this week and see if there’s a difference .

You know, the real reason I went and got one of those Milwaukee tire inflators was due to the crap mpg I was seeing. Unfortunately none of the tires were off by very much.

 

I’ll check that fuel gauges out. I think I have something similar with my elog telematics but I don’t use it.
Assuming my rear trailer axle is fine I should be able to get an idea of how bad the front axle is with just a tape measure.

I do know one thing, 4.48 mpg isn’t going to cut it. Got to get this figured out ASAP!

 

Still home sitting by the pool.

The boss asked me to stay home the first two weeks in May and hang out with the cats. Was hard keeping a straight face and not giving up my excitement.

Pool 90 degrees and the beer 37.
Rates are trash so here I sit!