Tips For Better Fuel Efficiency?

Pack Rat

Our Prime trailers have the automatic tire pressure maintenance systems to keep 100 psi. We also have a TPMS system.

That helps quite a bit and is a solid investment with a definite return on the dollars spent. I think with any large fleet, having this is a No Brainer.

For every 10 mph over the speed of 55 mph, you will lose 1 mpg MINIMUM, and that's on the flat.

I hear you, I use cruise control in a car and pickup a lot and love it and Michael does understand how his works. He used CC at CR England a lot as there he could drive faster with it than without. He just finds that he spends more time anticipating a hill or traffic way up ahead more to plan his speed. He is not regulated on speed but does not typically drive fast since he usually has plenty of time to make an appointment and rarely has problems with his 70 hour clock. I think using CC can make some drivers not watch way down the road. I see this myself on long trips in a car or pickup - I always anticipate traffic and get into another lane before I must while many do not (more common in cars than trucks). Michael is mostly driving on the same roads between northern California and Utah or Southern California and Utah and he should have ever mountain memorized by now.

Before I reply...in moderate to heavy traffic , I do not use CruiseControl.

CruseControl (like DriveWyze) on the newer trucks (when functioning properly) will not allow him to get that close to anything in front of him. I suggest he read the manual so he understands the system in his truck and how it functions when set. It’s quite sophisticated and perfectly safe in light traffic.

Diminished focus with cruise control set? That doesn’t resonate with me. However if he’s more comfortable on the pedal, then that’s the right decision.

Additionally, Michael says he almost never uses cruise control. For one, it usually keeps him at 64.5 instead of 65 but he said he also finds himself not paying as close attention to traffic flow if he uses cruise control and gets stuck behind a slow car, etc. He doesn't know what his average MPG is and doesn't know if his truck even shows something besides the instant reading. I guess he just doesn't care, lol.

Harvey his truck has adaptive CC, nothing like a car or light truck.

I hear you, I use cruise control in a car and pickup a lot and love it and Michael does understand how his works. He used CC at CR England a lot as there he could drive faster with it than without. He just finds that he spends more time anticipating a hill or traffic way up ahead more to plan his speed. He is not regulated on speed but does not typically drive fast since he usually has plenty of time to make an appointment and rarely has problems with his 70 hour clock. I think using CC can make some drivers not watch way down the road. I see this myself on long trips in a car or pickup - I always anticipate traffic and get into another lane before I must while many do not (more common in cars than trucks). Michael is mostly driving on the same roads between northern California and Utah or Southern California and Utah and he should have ever mountain memorized by now.

Before I reply...in moderate to heavy traffic , I do not use CruiseControl.

CruseControl (like DriveWyze) on the newer trucks (when functioning properly) will not allow him to get that close to anything in front of him. I suggest he read the manual so he understands the system in his truck and how it functions when set. It’s quite sophisticated and perfectly safe in light traffic.

Diminished focus with cruise control set? That doesn’t resonate with me. However if he’s more comfortable on the pedal, then that’s the right decision.

Additionally, Michael says he almost never uses cruise control. For one, it usually keeps him at 64.5 instead of 65 but he said he also finds himself not paying as close attention to traffic flow if he uses cruise control and gets stuck behind a slow car, etc. He doesn't know what his average MPG is and doesn't know if his truck even shows something besides the instant reading. I guess he just doesn't care, lol.

I didn't mean to say that my personal vehicles were the same, but the relief from fatigue is similar. As an example, I find myself getting sleepier when driving without cruise control than with it. But Michael is not like me other than taking things seriously and thinking about them a lot. Our car actually has adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance systems and works pretty well. I don't drive enough miles on my pickup to justify buying something newer with the latest technology. I control speed in our car with my right hand quite a bit when on a long trip (I do not get in the back seat and it is not a Tesla.)

Harvey his truck has adaptive CC, nothing like a car or light truck.

I hear you, I use cruise control in a car and pickup a lot and love it and Michael does understand how his works. He used CC at CR England a lot as there he could drive faster with it than without. He just finds that he spends more time anticipating a hill or traffic way up ahead more to plan his speed. He is not regulated on speed but does not typically drive fast since he usually has plenty of time to make an appointment and rarely has problems with his 70 hour clock. I think using CC can make some drivers not watch way down the road. I see this myself on long trips in a car or pickup - I always anticipate traffic and get into another lane before I must while many do not (more common in cars than trucks). Michael is mostly driving on the same roads between northern California and Utah or Southern California and Utah and he should have ever mountain memorized by now.

Before I reply...in moderate to heavy traffic , I do not use CruiseControl.

CruseControl (like DriveWyze) on the newer trucks (when functioning properly) will not allow him to get that close to anything in front of him. I suggest he read the manual so he understands the system in his truck and how it functions when set. It’s quite sophisticated and perfectly safe in light traffic.

Diminished focus with cruise control set? That doesn’t resonate with me. However if he’s more comfortable on the pedal, then that’s the right decision.

Additionally, Michael says he almost never uses cruise control. For one, it usually keeps him at 64.5 instead of 65 but he said he also finds himself not paying as close attention to traffic flow if he uses cruise control and gets stuck behind a slow car, etc. He doesn't know what his average MPG is and doesn't know if his truck even shows something besides the instant reading. I guess he just doesn't care, lol.

Harvey, tell Michael I said hi. You have a fig farm, is that right? Tell us about it. I’m curious.

Thanks, he says "hi", packing up to leave early tomorrow. We enjoy having him and his dog Ginger home for 2-3 days.

I was raised nearby on a farm, dad grew primarily corn (grain) and loved it and was very successful at it. He was illiterate but a smart guy in most ways that are important and worked hard. He had much larger acreage than what my wife and I bought. We had careers in banking/finance and the farm was bought to get back out to the country. Although successful in my off-farm job, it became something that bored me after many years and it's not a good idea to keep doing a job if you don't enjoy it. My dad was glad I used my brains and didn't come back to the farm but eventually enjoyed seeing us succeed with our small specialty crop farm. His father died before I was born but I heard many stories that we were alike, both loving propagating and caring for fruit trees. We grow figs both for fruit and for nursery stock. The nursery stock is the major part of our farm income at the present time. We grow over 350 varieties and collectors of figs is quite an amazing thing. Our annual sale is online and most of our income is received in an hour or less when we launch, very crazy. We also grow chestnuts and a few years ago started an experimental berry crop that I won't get into detail because of privacy concerns and a non-disclosure agreement, etc. This is an exciting venture that we are working very hard on and it appears it will be very successful. My wife and I are both 64 and could already be retired but walking away from what we've built is something we just can't bring ourselves to. I suppose I somewhat wished Michael would have wanted to farm and carry on but this is not something that is of interest to him, though he enjoys living in the country. He thought we were going to be disappointed in his decision to go into trucking instead but that is far from it. He loves it and he is doing well with it and we are proud of it. My dad's two younger brothers were also farmers and they said that they had both said that they would have been truckers if they didn't farm. We have quite a few family friends that are truckers.

This is off-topic, but you asked, lol. I honestly think the only concern I have about Michael's career choice is how the heck can a young guy start a romance when he's on the road. He broke off a 4 year relationship at the same time he decided to start trucking and he is interested in starting something new. Maybe he can stay at this for a few more years and take a local driving job. He wants to save up enough to pay for a house outright. He's doing very well but that is probably a bit unrealistic.

Harvey, tell Michael I said hi. You have a fig farm, is that right? Tell us about it. I’m curious.

Harvey wrote:

I think using CC can make some drivers not watch way down the road.

How can you “think” something like that? Sorry Harvey not buying into your theory. If a driver loses focus with CC set, same driver will lose focus on the pedal. Not looking ahead is a bad habit, a dangerous one that has nothing todo with CC.

Even if CC is set, pushing on the throttle when approaching a grade is all that needs to happen to gain a lower gear. Ultimately if you allow CC to adapt to the grade, it will downshift (in an auto shift truck only) automatically. Michael does not completely understand how this technology works.

Same thing when approaching heavier traffic...touch the brake and CC is disengaged. Reset and speed setting is resumed. Like previously stated by Reahl Deal, on the Highway he drives with the buttons on the steering wheel. Once in an autoshift truck, I did the exact same thing for many years.

Like I said, if Michael is more comfortable not using it, that’s fine, none the wiser. However CC is an effective tool that for some, reduces overall fatigue. He is missing out...

Not that this can ever happen, but if Michael spent one day with me on the truck, his perspective on CC will likely change.

I observed what G-Town is saying about CC on an automatic yesterday.

I’m driving a 2021 Freightliner with a 12 speed automatic. When on CC, I’m also using the +/- thumb buttons to regulate my speed.

The transmission is typically cruising in 12th gear on the flats at about 1,100 RPM.

When on a slight upgrade, the CC will downshift to 10th gear. The RPM jumps to about 2,000. As the crest is reached the CC shifts back to 12th. Sometimes it went into 11th briefly.

This CC has a +5 mph feature. On a downgrade the truck will roll up speed to +5 mph above the CC set point. Then the CC starts down shifting typically to 10th gear and the Jake brake kicks in to hold the speed. At the bottom of the grade the CC will shift back to 12th.

Usually I try to anticipate the downgrade approaching and will reduce my CC set speed by -5 mph using thumb button. This has the effect of holding my actual speed constant by not allowing the truck speed to roll up by 5 mph. The CC will downshift, etc. to hold the speed.

I'm not asking you to buy my theory but I see drivers (all types) frequently not paying attention and controlling speeds well enough in anticipation of what is happening a mile down the road. This is a big issue in some areas of California since speed limits for trucks is 55 and this causes even more crazy traffic congestion in many areas (I think it's a law that makes things more dangerous much of the time).

Why do you say Michael does not understand this technology? To me, nothing I've reported that he said indicates that. He used it quite a bit while at CR England in his Freightliner but rarely now in his KW. Do you think PackRat doesn't understand the technology? He said he doesn't use CC. The fatigue apparently isn't an issue for him. Michael's #1 reason he stated for now using it is because he can drive a bit faster without it. That is a company specific programming option.

Harvey wrote:

I think using CC can make some drivers not watch way down the road.

How can you “think” something like that? Sorry Harvey not buying into your theory. If a driver loses focus with CC set, same driver will lose focus on the pedal. Not looking ahead is a bad habit, a dangerous one that has nothing todo with CC.

Even if CC is set, pushing on the throttle when approaching a grade is all that needs to happen to gain a lower gear. Ultimately if you allow CC to adapt to the grade, it will downshift (in an auto shift truck only) automatically. Michael does not completely understand how this technology works.

Same thing when approaching heavier traffic...touch the brake and CC is disengaged. Reset and speed setting is resumed. Like previously stated by Reahl Deal, on the Highway he drives with the buttons on the steering wheel. Once in an autoshift truck, I did the exact same thing for many years.

Like I said, if Michael is more comfortable not using it, that’s fine, none the wiser. However CC is an effective tool that for some, reduces overall fatigue. He is missing out...

Not that this can ever happen, but if Michael spent one day with me on the truck, his perspective on CC will likely change.

I don't even bother with all that. I run between 58 to 60mph. I can't control if the freight is 10k pounds or 44k pounds. I can't determine if I am delivering through the mountains. So I fuel where the company tells me and that's about it.