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slowmover · 12-09-2017, 11:41 AM

Part Three:

Now we’re back at the beginning.

I already know how to have done the above. My income depends on it. Don’t ever assume you can walk into a man’s place of work and proceed to tell him how to better do the job. Non-professional drivers fool themselves all the time with this. They’ve been holding the steering wheel and jamming the go pedal for X years, and hey, they know what they’re doing.

Ha!

It’s a really bad assumption. Know how often I see a guy doing a good job? Maybe every other month. About 20,000 miles or tens of thousands of cars to have to have observed.

So why do I bring it up? Because we all start from ignorance. Driving for economy is driving for safety in my view. Almost identical. Safety trumps economy, and they rarely collide. But economy wont ever happen at speeds much above sixty. That’s demonstrable. (It’s not just fuel).

For a given vehicle under given conditions.

Aero alone isn’t enough of a marginal change. The proof is in the annual average mpg. Not a trip or two. So, how to reconcile economy and the desire to “make good time”?

What is “good time”. For the 99% it’s obviously emotional. It’s a sensation, and nothing more. Can you grow out of that? Apply reason? There must be a test, right? Right! That test is:

Average MPH

Take it as a given that on trips of 300-miles or less there isn’t an appreciable difference between 62 and 68-mph. A calculator is no help. Tells us nothing. The only thing that does is

Engine Hours

From Point A to Point B is the length of the trip. From engine start to engine kill is the time (where the master clock is recording all minutes). Average MPH is the actual trip speed. Not my cruise control set speed.

Here’s an example: I left Ft Worth late one day at the usual 67-mph governed speed and by accident covered the same distance each day to journeys end. IH-20. Cities, traffic, construction. About 425-miles each day and within five minutes. Time mattered and nothing else. But my average mph for both days was 56-mph. I didn’t leave the engine idling for any reason. I wasn’t backed off. I wanted to be at delivery ASAP. I couldn’t have done it faster given constraints.

So, how could I have done it faster? Easy. Traffic volume. An earlier start to day, thus an earlier finish (I couldn’t as loading was a clock time constraint). But if I could have, what would have been the difference?

As theese ees mi yob, I’ve had plenty of occasion to test: as much as five mph to this average. A quite high one for a 79,000-lb big truck. Only happens under certain conditions.

One condition as mentioned is always the safety of not driving at night. Not always possible with a big truck.

But for a civilian it amounts to an early daily departure and an early arrival. Gets the most available from that margin. Test it!!

And with it plan every stop in advance. ON the road, not three blocks away. EVERY two hours a 10-15” break. AT the midday point, an hour fir a meal after re-fueling. Etc.

Do some research. I really don’t care how many times one has covered a route. I looked up fuel stops past Portland on the way to Spokane and had to bypass both the Pilot and Loves truckstops in favor of an independent just a little farther east based on nothing more than reviews on Truckers Path. Not just big truck problems, but delays for diesel pickups as well. (The Western Express at Hermiston, OR was the choice).

The exception to

1) Leave early (time the metros)
2) Drive 58-62 steadily on cruise
3) Choose efficient stops

Is,

4) Meals

Make the old lady (and yourself) happy by picking a place to eat at www.roadfood.com (or similar) even if it involves OOR. Otherwise, what’s the point of taking ones own vehicle?

Maybe she’d rather pack y’all a nice lunch. Got it. But if there’s a place that intrigues you, go try it out one day. Not years from now.

A man with control over average mph — with trade offs understood — will make time more easily than the guy who passes him three times in one day. Without the wear and tear. Preserving the vehicle he owns. Not burning more fuel than is necessary. And not get there any later.

1). Run this trip at 68. Leave late. Make no stop plans. Both directions.

2). Another time run it another at 62. Plan it. Leave and stop early.

There won’t be an appreciable difference on that 1,700-mile round-trip.

Or, you run it as in One, and I’ll run it as in Two. You do up the aero. Remove it before my trip. Think you’ll beat me in mpg? You know you won’t, even though I’ve never been dumb enough to own a Ford pickup, AND, I don’t know the PNW for squat. Three part handicap before managing overtaking traffic.

So it’ll come down to how much faster were you?

Get “average mph” and the rest falls into place on how to plan. The industry standard is a 50-mph average for all miles & total time. That includes breaks. The online mapping services show an average. Only engine time. So, must include stop time. (And compromising safety by tempting fatigue thus avoiding a rest stop is verboten).

Best of luck. As the drivers say, Be careful.

.

12-09-2017, 11:41 AM	#33 (permalink)
slowmover Banned Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 2,442 2004 CTD - '04 DODGE RAM 2500 SLT Team Cummins 90 day: 19.36 mpg (US) Thanks: 1,422 Thanked 737 Times in 557 Posts	Part Three: Now we’re back at the beginning. I already know how to have done the above. My income depends on it. Don’t ever assume you can walk into a man’s place of work and proceed to tell him how to better do the job. Non-professional drivers fool themselves all the time with this. They’ve been holding the steering wheel and jamming the go pedal for X years, and hey, they know what they’re doing. Ha! It’s a really bad assumption. Know how often I see a guy doing a good job? Maybe every other month. About 20,000 miles or tens of thousands of cars to have to have observed. So why do I bring it up? Because we all start from ignorance. Driving for economy is driving for safety in my view. Almost identical. Safety trumps economy, and they rarely collide. But economy wont ever happen at speeds much above sixty. That’s demonstrable. (It’s not just fuel). For a given vehicle under given conditions. Aero alone isn’t enough of a marginal change. The proof is in the annual average mpg. Not a trip or two. So, how to reconcile economy and the desire to “make good time”? What is “good time”. For the 99% it’s obviously emotional. It’s a sensation, and nothing more. Can you grow out of that? Apply reason? There must be a test, right? Right! That test is: Average MPH Take it as a given that on trips of 300-miles or less there isn’t an appreciable difference between 62 and 68-mph. A calculator is no help. Tells us nothing. The only thing that does is Engine Hours From Point A to Point B is the length of the trip. From engine start to engine kill is the time (where the master clock is recording all minutes). Average MPH is the actual trip speed. Not my cruise control set speed. Here’s an example: I left Ft Worth late one day at the usual 67-mph governed speed and by accident covered the same distance each day to journeys end. IH-20. Cities, traffic, construction. About 425-miles each day and within five minutes. Time mattered and nothing else. But my average mph for both days was 56-mph. I didn’t leave the engine idling for any reason. I wasn’t backed off. I wanted to be at delivery ASAP. I couldn’t have done it faster given constraints. So, how could I have done it faster? Easy. Traffic volume. An earlier start to day, thus an earlier finish (I couldn’t as loading was a clock time constraint). But if I could have, what would have been the difference? As theese ees mi yob, I’ve had plenty of occasion to test: as much as five mph to this average. A quite high one for a 79,000-lb big truck. Only happens under certain conditions. One condition as mentioned is always the safety of not driving at night. Not always possible with a big truck. But for a civilian it amounts to an early daily departure and an early arrival. Gets the most available from that margin. Test it!! And with it plan every stop in advance. ON the road, not three blocks away. EVERY two hours a 10-15” break. AT the midday point, an hour fir a meal after re-fueling. Etc. Do some research. I really don’t care how many times one has covered a route. I looked up fuel stops past Portland on the way to Spokane and had to bypass both the Pilot and Loves truckstops in favor of an independent just a little farther east based on nothing more than reviews on Truckers Path. Not just big truck problems, but delays for diesel pickups as well. (The Western Express at Hermiston, OR was the choice). The exception to 1) Leave early (time the metros) 2) Drive 58-62 steadily on cruise 3) Choose efficient stops Is, 4) Meals Make the old lady (and yourself) happy by picking a place to eat at www.roadfood.com (or similar) even if it involves OOR. Otherwise, what’s the point of taking ones own vehicle? Maybe she’d rather pack y’all a nice lunch. Got it. But if there’s a place that intrigues you, go try it out one day. Not years from now. A man with control over average mph — with trade offs understood — will make time more easily than the guy who passes him three times in one day. Without the wear and tear. Preserving the vehicle he owns. Not burning more fuel than is necessary. And not get there any later. 1). Run this trip at 68. Leave late. Make no stop plans. Both directions. 2). Another time run it another at 62. Plan it. Leave and stop early. There won’t be an appreciable difference on that 1,700-mile round-trip. Or, you run it as in One, and I’ll run it as in Two. You do up the aero. Remove it before my trip. Think you’ll beat me in mpg? You know you won’t, even though I’ve never been dumb enough to own a Ford pickup, AND, I don’t know the PNW for squat. Three part handicap before managing overtaking traffic. So it’ll come down to how much faster were you? Get “average mph” and the rest falls into place on how to plan. The industry standard is a 50-mph average for all miles & total time. That includes breaks. The online mapping services show an average. Only engine time. So, must include stop time. (And compromising safety by tempting fatigue thus avoiding a rest stop is verboten). Best of luck. As the drivers say, Be careful. . Last edited by slowmover; 12-09-2017 at 12:06 PM..