Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird
Thanks Slowmover, I couldn't find a date on it and figured it might have been posted before. Watching commercial truckers seems to make me think they don't buy their gas. Then again with any car out there, the poor drivers always stand out in your mind. Like the Prius drivers are slow claim. There are probably 100 trucks you see that don't register in your brain, and it's not till you see that one you think all truck drivers are bad. If they don't already, companies should give bonuses to the drivers who save the most fuel. At least let them have the extra money from the fuel cost, but they are also saving wear and tear and probably much less likely to have an accident.
|
Most truck companies have some form of incentive as to fuel use. This is past the large number of trucks you'll encounter which are limited to 65-mph, sometimes less. (Not all of those do a good job with the drivetrain. Those that do have trucks that barely slow on most grades). Time is important. And the daily average miles needs to be high for a driver to earn much. The lower level life form truckers -- pulling vans -- waste ungodly amounts of time at shippers and receivers. Something the Feds should have into long ago. Same for drivers having to load or unload their trailers. IOW, truck travel speed isn't a determinant entirely, of daily pay.
The ones who run very fast --above seventy -- are likely owner-operators who've learned the intricacies of hoe not to go broke driving a truck. Unless you see the same truck passing you repeatedly, it may be he's trying to move along to get thru that major metro area ahead before evening rush hour. Or, deliver today versus tomorrow. The net difference comes directly out his pocket. And it's more than fuel. It's a truck that wears out faster.
The usual fuel incentive is to control idle hours. If the company has equipped the truck with an APU, then the savings on the big motor are substantial. Otherwise, (as with my Cummins powered Kenworth T660, a Webasto bunk heater is installed). Those of us from the southern terminals have a greater idle percent time in the heat. Those up north, in the winter.
My truck has used 172,000+ gls over its 790,000-mile life (2010 model, means it went into service late 2009). 5.555-mpg average according to the computer. But we also idle up to use a big-ass blower to either vacuum product aboard, or switch the plumbing around to power it off a 1600 c/f pneumatic aluminum trailer. 1.5-2.0 hours to load and a little less to unload. (With some freakish loads. Once spent 27-hours loading).
The ones to watch out for are the biggest firms (Schneider, Hunt and especially Swift) as the drivers are notoriously poor. Those boys get raped. Slow trucks and not enough miles to make any money. Werner can be another. Starter jobs. Slow trucks usually. The one I watch out for the most are the Fed-Ex contractors pulling doubles and running team for a small fleet owner. Same route over and over. Contempt, due to that familiarity (take chances they shouldn't).
Truck spec for the job is vital. Huge. Gigantic. Get that right and the FE numbers fall into place.
An example of a firm pushing FE is Mesilla Valley out of El Paso. First ones with skirts and tails. And an extensive fuel bonus program. Some one running super singles is trying for the same (hate those things. Bad traction and when they blow it's awesomely destructive. And then the rig is stranded.).
More than anything, stay the hell away from big trucks. It isn't hard to do. Most are at 65. They'll bunch up. A few others are faster, but not many.