Why don't trucks go 55 for fuel efficiency?

I don't know that everyone is concerned about fuel mileage that way.

Like for me I seem to spend a lot of time off of Highways meaning I have some stops and starts and 45 and 50 mile per hour road so my mileage is not that great to begin with.

And when I do travel the highways here in Pennsylvania the speed limits all change. So either it's 55 or 65 or 70. That's how I roll... with whatever the speed limit is.

And also it can create a dangerous condition if you have a truck doing 55 in a 70 mile an hour Zone. It's always best if you keep up with the flow of traffic in general.

 

Might also get better mpg by maintaining high enough speed that you don't need to downshift on the hills.

 

Cause fuel mileage don't mean #### in some segments of the industry. Save a nickle in fuel and lose a dollar in revenue kinda thing.

 

When I'm pushing, I go max speed. If I'm not, I do 65. IDGAF about fuel mileage. I go slower when I can because it's easier on tires and the truck. I also get a lot less irritated at 65, because trucks pass me, and if I want to pass, I just punch it. But at max speed, it's always a F'n snail race. I hate having to push, but my boss is an ### hole, and wants everything done yesterday.

 

I'd rather get somewhere in 9 hrs vs 10 hrs and spend an extra hour of my life resting vs driving.
Also, everyone hauls different freight. I like to book last minute need to go now loads. That extra pay is more than enough to cover loss in mpg

 

Not too many flat spots where we run anyways. Up down, up down Lol.

Rather chase a good paying load than chase a few tenths.

Not worth my aggravation hanging with the middle lane container haulers. If im worried about mpg (to an extent which I am) then the load ain't paying enough to begin with. Stepping over dollars to save pennies don't make much sense. Only run 350mi or so a day

 

This video is 43 years old. Its been a argument for years. My dad competed in this. You must remember this video is GOV propaganda. It does not show score board, its edited the drivers that proved them wrong. There is only a couple of quick shots of his truck. You see a blue flat bed with a white tarp, and its his K100 next to score boards. I posted the overdrive article on here years ago. There was some beer drinking and fighting that went down. My only point, is there is no good blanket answer for everyone. Different things work for different operations.

They wanted everyone to allow them to do a free tune up before competition. To cleanly quote the oldman. "He would break every knuckle of any person whe tried to touch his engine".


Aerodynamics, unless your run over 60 mph consistently its useless and not cost effective. That is another proven fact.

 

Why 55?
Think of how much fuel we’d save if we only went 25 mph.

 

Id drive 3mph if they paid me for it.

 

Low end of top gear is the most fuel efficient.

Now, if they geared them to do 25 in top gear, that might work. I had a '76 Chevelle that could eventually get itself up to top gear without touching the accelerator, and be able to hold about 25-28 mph on flat ground in top gear, just idling. Unfortunately I never measured the mpg though, lol.