Truck Topics

How to Boost your MPG for Free

By rethinking our habits and changing our behavior, we improved those numbers. The best part is the improvements were gained for free. We did not purchase a new fuel-saving device, start using a fuel additive, change our maintenance practices or spend money on any of the dubious fuel economy enhancers that are widely pitched when fuel prices rise. Listed below are the changes we made that helped boost our mpg for free.

Give Up Some of the Fun

With our little truck, we used to have great fun passing the slow-moving big-rigs as they chug up hills, like on I-5 northbound coming out of Los Angeles. On that road, trucks work their way up from near sea level to an elevation over 4,000 feet. With our truck's power and weight, we can set the cruise control at the 55 mph speed limit and enjoy the ride. With our new focus on fuel economy, we gave up some of that fun. Now we will set the cruise control at 45 mph and save some fuel instead.

Slow Down on the Open Road

Being fuel-efficient drivers, we usually limited our top speed to 65 mph. Now where time permits and it is safe to do so, our top speed is 60 mpg. Slowing down on the open road is something thousands of truckers now do. Some do it by choice. Others do it because their companies have governed the trucks to go only so fast. Either way, with thousands of trucks now slowing down, maintaining a top speed of 60 mpg is not as uncomfortable as one might think.

Slow Down in Town

On urban roads where the speed limit is 45 mph for several miles, we now drive 40 mph. At 40 mph, more space opens in front of the truck. When cars slow or stop to make turns, more time and space is available to make lane changes and go around them. That means we slow and stop the truck less often, accelerate less to get back up to speed and burning less fuel.

Do That Egg Thing

Most drivers are familiar with the advice to drive your truck like you have an egg between your foot and the pedal. We were but did not take it to heart. Now we do. When coming off a stop sign or red light, we go light on the pedal, take more time to get up to speed, and burn less fuel.

Time the Lights

When driving on a stretch where one traffic light appears after another, we used to go with the flow; stopping on the reds and starting on the greens. Now we look ahead and try to time the lights.

The idea is to keep the truck rolling. It takes more fuel to get a truck moving from zero to 40 mph than it does from 10 to 40 mph. Traffic lights can often be seen from a half or quarter-mile away. If the light is red or about to become red, we slow down well ahead of the intersection and try to roll through on the green.

Idle Less

Having a generator-equipped truck, we thought we already kept idling to a minimum. But looking anew at our habits, we found there was more we could do.

An example is waking up at a rest area, starting the truck to warm it up, and then deciding to take out the trash before we leave. It might take an extra minute to tie off the bag, walk it to the trash can and return to the truck. That is a minute of idling that can be cut. Now, when we are ready to leave an overnight parking place, we take care of everything else first and then start the truck. We let it warm up just enough and then head out.

Another opportunity to idle less can be found when waiting two or three deep in line for fuel. Depending on how slow the drivers ahead may be, 15 to 30 minutes of idling can be eliminated by turning the truck off and running it only to move ahead. The same applies when waiting in line for a truck wash.

Finesse the Engine Brake

On the open road, we used to turn on the engine brake, set the cruise control and enjoy miles uninterrupted driving. Now we are more aware of hill driving techniques. Coming down a big hill, the engine brake will kick in and out several times; including a time near the bottom when engine braking is not really needed.

We used to let that last engine brake event occur without thinking much about it. Now we turn the engine brake off as we near the bottom of a hill to preserve the momentum that would otherwise be lost. Instead of using fuel to propel the truck along that stretch, we use gravity and inertia instead.

Be Patient

In Pennsylvania, on eastbound I-80, Exit 260B leads to northbound I-81. It is a left-hand exit with a ramp speed of 45 mph. The ramp makes a long left curve and joins a slow-trucks lane on I-81. The truck lane is there because what comes next is a long climb up a big hill.

When you join I-81, the speed limit is 55 mph. The temptation is to put the pedal to the metal to get up to speed. Before we re-thought our driving techniques, that is just what we would have done. Now coming off the ramp at 45 mph, we maintain that speed until we crest the hill. Doing so saves fuel. It also takes patience. Driving this stretch at 45 mph adds a couple minutes to the journey to the top.

Patience provides numerous opportunities to save fuel. New Mexico is an example. There, construction-zone speed limits are 45 mph. It seems to happen more often than not that those long single-lane freeway construction zones end just before a big uphill climb.

After being pinned between concrete barriers, orange barrels and bunched up vehicles for miles of slow driving, most truckers hammer down in the hammer lane the minute they break free. A patient driver will run 45 mph in the grandma lane to the top of the hill, trading time for fuel savings and letting the left lane gang roar by.

Choose Fuel Efficient Routes

We no longer automatically follow the quickest route from pickup to delivery. Now we consider the time available to complete the run and alternate routes that might burn less fuel.

For example, on a run from New York City to Chicago, we used to take I-80 out of New York and drive straight-through to the Chicago area. Now because the lower speed limits make it more comfortable and fuel-efficient to drive, we will come off I-80 at Youngstown and take non-turnpike roads through Iowa and Indiana. This adds just six miles to the route, it improves our mpg. The toll savings are an added bonus.

Summary

There are many ways a truck driver can improve one's mpg. Cost-free ways include giving up some of the fun, slowing down on the open road, slowing down in town, doing the egg thing, timing the lights, idling less, finessing the engine brake, being patient and choosing fuel efficient routes.

If you are not doing these things but want to boost your fuel economy without spending a dime, the only thing you need to change is the way you drive.