With oil prices on the rise and sustainability on everyone’s mind, now is the time to look closely at how much fuel your fleet uses. Because when it comes to heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles, there are many factors at play. Yet some are more obvious than others, such as engine efficiency and aerodynamics. But others are more nuanced, such as oil viscosity and tire style and usage.
Fuel use also relies a lot on decisions you are in direct control of, such as truck driver behavior and routing decisions. In the end, you have more power than you probably realize when it comes to fuel usage across your fleet. That’s why we wanted to provide you with a comprehensive insider’s guide to ultimate fuel savings. What’s the first and most obvious factor to cover? Driving habits.
Focus on Efficient Truck Driving
Bad driving habits are the bane of all trucking companies. Even worse, they are hard to break. Yet, it is vitally important that trucking companies break them. Not only do bad driving habits cause more fuel usage across the fleet, but they are unsafe and could result in collisions.
The best way to reduce fuel usage is to lower your overall engine RPMs. You will get the most out of a gallon of fuel when you are running at high torques and lower RPMs. Driving this way also translates into smoother acceleration and less abrupt braking. But the question is: How does that translate into a real-life example?
Try this on for size. Instead of quickly accelerating to reach a red light or line in traffic, safe and effective truck drivers will see the red light in advance and reduce speed gradually. That way if the light turns green, the driver won’t have to come to a complete stop. In the end, this translates into less acceleration and greater fuel savings.
Practice Effective Route Planning
Routing is another area where you have direct control over the outcome. With all the advanced fleet management platforms in use today, there really is no reason why fleets should get routing wrong. When you look at routing from a fuel efficiency perspective, you need to focus on avoiding areas with lots of hills our mountains. When you strain the engine, you burn more fuel.
Try looking for third-party software vendors that provide GPS routing services. Fleet dispatch offices can only know so much. By relying on a technology company to provide efficient routing, fleet managers take the stress out of route planning.
In lieu of investing in new systems or technologies, plan routes that contain long, straight stretches of road, flat terrain, and fewer stoplights, and stop signs. The less your trucks need to stop and go, the less fuel you will use. And the more cruising you can do in between stops, the greater your overall fuel efficiency will be.
Eliminate Unnecessary Idling
Eliminating wasteful ide time is a safe and effective way to conserve fuel. And if you run a long-haul operation where you or your truck drivers run using sleeper hauls, idle management is even more important. A lot of fuel is used when a truck is sitting idle without a generator or some other way to generate power.
To put the numbers into perspective, something as small as a 10% reduction in idling saves up to an additional 1% in fuel economy. So, if you run a single truck operating at around 100,000 annual miles, you would be looking at a fuel savings of up to $800 per year. Now multiply that across an entire fleet of trucks and you can see how the savings compounds over time.
Some of the technologies you can use to eliminate idle time in individual trucks includes:
- Engine-off HVAC Systems
- Auxiliary Power Units
- Solar Panels
- Power Inverters
- Engine Pre-Heaters
Focus on Telematics and Incentives
Truck driver training and incentives represent additional arrows in your quiver of fuel savings. Effective trucking companies use incentives to get truck drivers in the habit of cooling the cabin before stopping for breaks. Even something as small as remembering to park with the windshield facing away from the sun can make a difference when it comes to using less fuel.
We mentioned technology and fleet management systems briefly above. Telematics are also a part of your technology toolkit. Onboard sensors and telematics are key tools to reducing excessive idling if for no other reason than that it gives fleet managers a way to monitor truck driver behavior.
Telematics help fleets get a handle on work idle versus waste idle. Because not all idle time is wasteful and unproductive. When you can monitor when a truck is on, not moving, or not powering devices, you can determine whether idle time is wasteful or needed. The key is to eliminate as much of non-work idle time as you can.
Invest in Aerodynamics
Truck and trailer aerodynamic accessories can make a huge difference in how much fuel your fleet uses. And since these products have been around for such a long time, they have dramatically dropped in price over the past decade. But not all aerodynamic accessories are right for your business. It is important you conduct your due diligence to make sure you are not investing in upgrades simply to do so. Have a targeted reason.
One of the first places you can look to find a wealth of accessory options is the tractor-trailer gap. Not only are there plenty of solutions on the market, but this is one area where you can make a big difference in fuel usage. Remember, the longer the gap between your tractor and your trailer, the more fuel you use.
Another area where you can make big gains in aerodynamic add-ons is on the underbody of your vehicle. And then finally, have a look at the rear of the trailer. These are the areas on the vehicle and trailer where you can get the most out of aerodynamics. Here is a comprehensive aerodynamic add-on list you can use to make purchasing decisions:
- Roof extenders
- Wheel covers
- Vented mud flaps
- Cameras (instead of mirrors)
- Boat tails
- Trailer wake devices
- Bogie fairings
- Trailer skirts
- Chassis fairings
Expand Your Lightweighting Efforts
Have you heard of lightweighting? It is essentially the practice of using lighter-weight materials wherever you can. Whether it be on the tractor, trailer, powertrain, axle, suspension, cab, frame, fifth wheel, or otherwise – finding ways to cut weight out of these components will reduce your fuel consumptions and emissions footprint. Now that’s a win-win! But her ow does it work?
Well, put simply, lighter trucks and trailers can pick up speed faster, stop shorter, and cover the same distance with less torque. Some fleets look at lightweighting as an essential challenge. Taken to the extreme, fleets can shave up to 5,000 additional pounds simply by focusing on components.
As with everything else, you do not want to go overboard. Some safety technologies may be essential. Generally, you can cut weight from using components with different materials and designs. Think outside the box when it comes to eliminating excess vehicle weight
Optimize Tires and Oil
Your tires have a lot to do with how much fuel you use. With the sheer number of wheels on a tractor and trailer, tires present great potential for fuel economy gains. The key factors are the type of tires and the pressure at which they are inflated. You can also look to use different tire classes, such as low rolling resistance tires, which are designed specifically to decrease energy use as the tires roll along on the road.
Of course, specialty tires like these do cost more to purchase and maintain, but research shows that you gain up to 4 mpg simply by using LRR tires. While that doesn’t sound like much, when you add it up over the course of a year, it can help make up for the higher initial purchasing price.
Finally, engine oil selection plays an important role in fuel economy. Testing has shown that low-viscosity oils can boost engine efficiency while still meeting performance and protection goals. You may also want to investigate engine oils with a comprehensive additive package. Many oil OEMs include additives with their high-quality base oils.
Over time, engine oil that lacks the proper additives can cause increased wear on your engine. It may result in poor fuel economy, rust and corrosion, oil sludge, overheating, and possibly engine failure, which is the last thing you need.
Do you or your fleet suffer from excessive fuel usage? If so, keep these helpful tips at front of mind and you’ll be sure to save money on fuel over the – pun intended – long haul.