It's a Team's Life
Fuel Mileage
We fueled the truck for the first time on our way home from the dealership in Macon, Georgia and the cost was shocking. We were not making money with our truck and the first few fill-ups were straight from our savings account.
Those first costs were an eye opener and it did not take long before we started looking for ways to reduce our fuel costs. We knew we had a new motor that needed to break in, but we were determined to find our “sweet spot†with the combination we have.
We had a 5 speed Allison Transmission and the rear end ratio of 4.88 and to stay in our sweet spot we needed to run about 45 mph to obtain optimal fuel mileage. We talked with our dealer to get a letter from Freightliner saying the truck could be made into a 6-speed with no repercussions. This was a simple computer change and the transmission was now a 6-speed and we could run at 57 mph and not be tac’ed out. We still needed to run slow, but could at least be above 55 mph.
Our first month we average 8.2 mile per gallon and that was unacceptable to both of us. We started our quest of how to improve our truck and our driving style. First things first we experimenting with speed. Our truck performs best at a steady speed of 57.6 mph at 1550 rpm’s. We began paying attention to where we stopped and taking off from a stop.
Bob monitors our tires constantly and we added a Pressure Pro system to monitor our tires when we added the Michelin X-One XDA Energy wide base singles. We have added a FASS fuel system, Air Tabs, removed our visor, added toolboxes to fill the air gaps and not create a vacuum under the truck.
Through all of this our fuel mileage stay above ten with last months average a 10.2.
See you at the truck show!
Sign up for the MATS Health Awareness Walk April 2nd Louisville, KY
Trucking Solutions Group and The American Red Cross April 1st Booth #91470
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Bob & Linda Caffee
Leased to: FedEx Custom Critical 

TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters 6 years been out here on the road 11 years
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.