Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Drag per aft-body length/roof angle

slowmover · 01-22-2014, 01:22 PM

" . . I take dinner near the interstate each week and can tell you that a lot of the Mesilla Valley Trucking Co. rigs are going by with the Trailer-Tails folded and stowed.I don't know why this is so".

MVT may be an LTL line (less than truckload), and, if there are several customers and consignees in the D/FW metro area then aero aid deployment would be a time-waster; 3-stops to unload, and two more to re-load, for instance.

If a TL line, then there may be a dedicated customer near to Sanger where they are headed. Maybe they have a yard in that area. If they do, then local drivers loading trailers to enable the long-haul crew to drop and hook would also make sense. Etc.

I see them coming out of Laredo, frequently, and all is deployed. The firm does have driver FE incentives in place.

I am a bit surprised not to see more "aero" rigs coming out of Laredo as much of this is dedicated service (fewest changes in conditions for equipment [all Interstate]; long distances travelled; full truckloads), instead what I see more of is maybe an undertrailer diverter and drive axle full covers. Todays conventional tractors are already pretty aero, overall.

Of course what I cannot see is what is under the hood and the drivetrain management system. Electronic logs play a part in this as they constitute a barrier to driver income hours and miles/fuel is more easily predicted.

Many of these trucks will not idle more than 5-minutes within "comfortable" temp ranges for the drivers trying to sleep (the range is too short), and that many rigs now have APU's onboard (CA bans them [a-holes]) which is a better solution. Idle restrictions and E-logs makes fuel cost predictions far easier (dispatch thinks in terms of distance between zip codes at a known total time; if fuel burn differences between drivers is narrowed, then it is an economy).

Even loaded (usually at 74-77k gross) I can easily out-accelerate these "econo trucks' whether they are loaded or empty. But what I do (oilfield service) is drastically different than what they do. Etc.

.

01-22-2014, 01:22 PM	#37 (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	" . . I take dinner near the interstate each week and can tell you that a lot of the Mesilla Valley Trucking Co. rigs are going by with the Trailer-Tails folded and stowed.I don't know why this is so". MVT may be an LTL line (less than truckload), and, if there are several customers and consignees in the D/FW metro area then aero aid deployment would be a time-waster; 3-stops to unload, and two more to re-load, for instance. If a TL line, then there may be a dedicated customer near to Sanger where they are headed. Maybe they have a yard in that area. If they do, then local drivers loading trailers to enable the long-haul crew to drop and hook would also make sense. Etc. I see them coming out of Laredo, frequently, and all is deployed. The firm does have driver FE incentives in place. I am a bit surprised not to see more "aero" rigs coming out of Laredo as much of this is dedicated service (fewest changes in conditions for equipment [all Interstate]; long distances travelled; full truckloads), instead what I see more of is maybe an undertrailer diverter and drive axle full covers. Todays conventional tractors are already pretty aero, overall. Of course what I cannot see is what is under the hood and the drivetrain management system. Electronic logs play a part in this as they constitute a barrier to driver income hours and miles/fuel is more easily predicted. Many of these trucks will not idle more than 5-minutes within "comfortable" temp ranges for the drivers trying to sleep (the range is too short), and that many rigs now have APU's onboard (CA bans them [a-holes]) which is a better solution. Idle restrictions and E-logs makes fuel cost predictions far easier (dispatch thinks in terms of distance between zip codes at a known total time; if fuel burn differences between drivers is narrowed, then it is an economy). Even loaded (usually at 74-77k gross) I can easily out-accelerate these "econo trucks' whether they are loaded or empty. But what I do (oilfield service) is drastically different than what they do. Etc. .