Just ran to Flippin, Arkansas - Yep, they actually named a town Flippin in more than one state... Anyway, to continue my posting... I ran this load in 2 parts. The first part I started from Ridgeville Corners, OH to Rochester Hills, MI Nd back (Leg 1). Then, the rest of the trip to Arkansas and back to home as the second part (Leg 2). I had a 1 day stay over at the house, hence the division of the load/run.
Both parts were driven at 55mph as the constant speed, and every now and then I adjusted for traffic, etc. I had plenty of time, so there was no rush...
At this point I'm back home and haven't made the final fill for the whole trip. When I go and get the next load, I'll have the final fill up, but if I drive in the same manner, it can be assumed that I will achieve 20+ mpg consistently.
I truly never thought I would ever figure out how to achieve this, but I have. The magic, so to speak, (and for those of you who already now, may now roll your eyes into the back of your head)
, was holding the speed at 55mph. I used to run at 60 and had a hard time maintaining 18 mpg's with celebrations over 19+. Apparently, some where in my life I was smacked in the head with the stupid bat, and the long lasting effects are hard to shake off.
Thanks to all who have shared there successes and failures on this site, I was able to open my mind to other ways of driving and thinking. Thank you!!!!
Here's my reason for sharing my excitement:
The trip I took was longer than the next info, but I had needless to say, plenty of road time to think on this.
500 miles at 70 mph yields an mpg of 14+, approximately. SOA, maybe 55.
500 miles at 55 mph yields an mpg of 20+, approximately. SOA, 48 - 50.
It is the speed of advance that truly determines when you will arrive at your destination, but it's the mpg's that determine how much it will cost to complete the same trip/load.
Most of us will do the math this way...500/70 = 7.14...hours or basically, 7 hours.
500/55 = 9.09 or basically, 9 hours. The reality is that - due to traffic, construction and other delays, getting fuel, restroom stops, etc., you live in the SOA (Speed of advance) with regards to the true amount of time it takes to complete the trip. After long hours on the road driving as a professional, I admit that there are those loads that do require the higher speeds and control of stops and stop time to make it work out so the line doesn't shut down, but in those circumstances, the rate paid to make this happen is negotiated to cover the higher cost and risk Blah, Blah, Blah... you get the picture. Most of the time, there is plenty of time, which leaves room for making adjustments in your favor.
If gas costs 3.50/gal US, then we can do the fuel cost math.
Since this is a business, I get gas at about 1/2 tank, just in case!
1000 mile round trip
28 gallon tank:
70MPH:
14 mpg = 1/2 tank at 196 miles (200 for easy math) using 14 gallons of fuel.
Starting with a full tank of gas - At 70, we would need to stop 2 times to fill up on the way there, drive the last 100 miles there, turn around and repeat the 2 stops to make it back. Each fuel stop will cost 14 x $3.50 = $49 bucks to fill up. $49 x 4 = $196 plus a final 1/4 fill to top off the tank at $24.50 for a grand total of $220.50 for 1000 miles.
SOA accounting for stops - highest ~ 55, time to destination about 9 hours.
Round trip driving time 18 hours.
55MPH:
20 mpg = 1/2 tank as 280 miles, using 200 miles as the fill up point, here is where we get the advantage. 200 miles at (20 mpg) 55, allows us to only need 10 gallons of gas.
Starting with a full tank of gas - At 55, we are going to make the same 2 stops to fill up on the way there, drive the last 100 miles there, turn around and repeat the 2 stops to make it back, to make a fair comparison. Now, each fuel stop will cost 10 x 3.50 = $35 bucks to fill up. $35 x 4 = $140 plus a final 1/4 fill to top off the tank at $17.5 for a grand total of $157.5 for the same 1000 miles.
SOA accounting for stops - highest ~ 50, time to destination about 10 hours.
Round trip driving time 20 hours.
Not that big of a difference to me!
$220.5 - $157.50 = $63.00 more in my pocket per 1000 miles (a 29-30% reduction in cost).
At ~50K miles per year, that's $63 x 50 = $3150.00/year in my pocket and not anyone else's. Gas prices are all over the place and will continue to rise in general over time, so in order to stay in business, I have to find ways to cut cost and increase my vans performance. Again, adjusting the nut behind the wheel has proven to be the biggest savings.
Hmmm....What to spend $3000 on during the holidays!