8.9 MPG in a moving truck

[BrianAbington]

My wife and I moved yesterday. I'm glad we have great friends because I was to sick to unload the truck.

However thats not the point. We rented a 15' truck but the company said that they wanted to give us the 24'truck for the same price because they were out of the 15's.

This truck is based on an international chassi, and it was a diesel! Huge truck but it was really easy to drive.

The move was a one way trip that was just shy of 30 miles.

The only problem was that once you got up above 45mph the front left wheel made this howling noise and started to shimmy a bit.

So I could only drive about 40mph.

I'm sure this helped abit because the engine was running at about 1,500 rpms in 3rd gear. I wonder if I had been able to get up to 5th gear if the rpms would of dropped more.

I filled it up when I took it back and it took 3.37 gallons. Which works out to about 8.9 MPG.

Any one have a better or worse experience with one of these huge trucks?

[trikkonceptz]

You sad sad little man .... I only say that because I too check mpgs no matter what I'm driving now a days ... Had the trip been any longer I would have messed with the tire pressure and started neutral coasting .. LOL

[greenitup]

^
i would have done what trik suggested if it was a long trip, but since it was only 30 miles it isn't a big deal for you but you should have told them about the problem when it came back, other people will rent it and their mileage may go down too.

[Bicycle Bob]

Rental truck maintenance is spotty. I used to live on an island with increasing population and a large supply of U-Haul trucks. They were only available for local use. I had to go fetch a reliable one before loading, but at least they told me why. Crossing mountains and half a continent, on gasoline with an auto trans, with a 26' box, @55 MPH, I think I got about 8 MPG US.

[achang1]

rental truck maintenance is horrible!
i drove a 15footer from Uhaul and it would indicate a faster speed than i went.
I suspect foul play, so they earn more money per mile.

[BrianAbington]

I have never rented a good uhaul. Even the brand new ones feel like they need to be recycled.
I told the lady at the return location about the issues and she took notes but I doubt any thing will ever be done.
As expensive as those trucks are to buy and to maintain its probably cheaper to just let them go untill they are undriveable.

When I was a kid my family had a long move and my parents rented a uhaul, and were going to do most of the driving at night. My dad said he hit a bump and the lights shut off.

[bhazard]

My dad rented one recently and had a simple round trip. The mileage on the return was nearly double the miles going. He called them out on it and they paid the difference immediately. Pretty much proves they rig that stuff up.

[slowmover]

The trucks are likely not filled all the way when you drive off. It's childs play to make them read full but to be short 2-4 gallons. First stop is to top-off fuel if you want an accurate read. Before that, insist that tire pressures be checked. Inspect tire casings as you go: weird treadwear, bubbles, bad cracks, etc. I've had good/bad PENSKE trucks, good/bad UHAUL. For the size you need check out the competition. Worn-out seats are an automatic decline for me.

On the diesels:

Obviously, run 5-mph slow in town (and only accelerate up to five below that, glide up afterwards); on the big road run 55-58 or so --always use the cruise control (except in hilliest terrain) -- plan rest/fuel breaks every two hours, etc., keeping glass clean (inside/out) is high priority at stops. Same for mirrors (and start inspection of interior controls with wipers/washer; insist on zero-smear). Insist that agent help you get pass. side mirror perfect (move eyes, not neck, once proper seat posture established to baseline; all mirrors should split horizon 50/50; with eyes forward get mirrors to show barest amount of truck walls. After that it's a trade-off between adjusting high for truck roof or low for tires depending on mirror type).

[SentraSE-R]

Good advice, Slowmover.

I rented an Isuzu diesel 16 ft truck last month. Drove it 30 miles, and I put in 3 gallons to refill it. I stopped at 3 gal, figuring that was fair, and not knowing if the tank could have taken a couple more gallons. When I returned it, I asked the dealer what kind of mileage those trucks get, and he said 6-10 mpg.

[suspectnumber961]

I once traveled in a full sized gas engine school bus...best on the highway was about 9 mpg at 50 mph....typically maybe 7-8 mpg.

At one point I had an mpg meter installed and once saw 2 mpg going up a long hill in 2nd gear.