Fuel Mileage Bonus Round

[Camstyn]

I drive a 2020 389 specced out for hauling 140,000lbs in the mountains, big power, 260wb, winter tires all year round, and I pull very light van loads. My average is 6.3, I can do as well as 6.8 in the summer. Based on the performance of my past trucks which have included lighter spec, aero, etc I thought this was pretty good.

Last winter I had a DEF related derate and had to rent a truck for a trip, it was a IHL LT daycab with cab/roof fairings, exact same engine/running gear as my Pete. I drove it hard and went through some of the worst driving conditions that I’ve ever experienced in my 15 years of trucking that night. My Pete seriously would have been down around 5mpg, and I finished the trip at 6.5.

Now I don’t know if International and Peterbilt might different tuning for their engines or if it was all aerodynamics, but it really made a believer out of me that I was throwing a lot of money out the window every month by running my square truck.

When I bought my 389 the main reason for it was resale value, the used market has always been strong around here for them and lighter spec aero trucks just seem to be considered disposable after a few years, nobody wants them. I went in with the plan of keeping this truck no longer than 400,000 miles and then replacing it, and I’ve followed through with that plan. Now with the truck shortage that is not the case, Volvos and Cascadias are commanding a premium but normally it that has never been the case. That being said, over the 32 weeks I’ve owned my Pete I’ve made $2000/month equity in it as I have now sold it, and under normal market conditions a 680 or 579 type truck would probably be worth less than I owe on it at this point, so that would have normally offset the extra fuel.

The next chapter is starting with a low mile used aero LT625 with a more efficient spec. I want more profits and less elbow grease required to keep it looking clean and shiny. I may order a new 680/579, we’ll see how much I like this LT but this truck will at least tie me over until then, as new trucks take a long time to get right now and I’m not going to overpay out of desperation like many seem to be doing to get one immediately.

[Rawze]

It is all in the aerodynamics, how it is driven, and the gearing vs. the application. Aside from one being allowed to make more HP than another one, as it takes more fuel to actually produce more horsepower, It is not engine programming differences from one brand of truck to another.

-- THE BIGGEST fuel efficient trucks on the roads today, hands down, are a tie between a Prostar and a Cascaia. But those trucks are not a rough and tumble type of off-road truck. They are highway vehicles. Your application sounds more like it would require something like a T680.. it is a compromise of the "tougher" and the "aero" .. and is in the middle of the ball-park on that. It is also vastly more efficient than a square-nose. I know of people getting low 8's with them without too many issues when hauling dry-box/reefer 80k loads when driven and geared right.

As far as a Prostar or cascadia ... If you care for them, the profits far outweigh the fact that they are not made for off-road applications. They are not "tough" trucks.. I tell people that they are a "cavileer" not a "commaro".. but they will also make you the biggest long term profits, far above any kind of resale value that you can even begin to consider after owning one for a few years. It is day and night differences if driven and cared for properly.. but you neglect them and wait till the check engine lights go flashing ... and don't bother to keep after a modern truck, then it will eat your arsse fasst!. This is where the biggest complaints come from. Those people who do not properly maintain their equipment and ignore all its systems, and then blame it all on the equipment when it eats their arsse up in costs.

As a Prostar owner, now with 1.4 million miles on it (owned since new).. i can very easily say that I have saved in FUEL ALONE vs. a square "tougher truck" in that same time frame. It is at least $150,000 DOLLARS ALONE in ONLY fuel saving!.. and I have not had any real "higher than usual" maintenance costs on it vs. say, a newer style Pete or KW, as I have taken really good care of it. - It can be done, it can be VERY VERY profitable.. but is must be done correctly, and a person CANNOT BE LAZY about it, not even a little bit.. because it will bite you real fast if something is neglected!. - Such is modern trucking. Long gone are the days of drive it and forget about it .. those days are long over. that was trucks of the 80's and 90's.. and they were also all horrible fuel pigs w very inefficient engines compared to now. This dictates that most freight rates will not even pay for the fuel in one half of the time... and it rightfully should be this way.. Someone can try to live in that past all they want to but they are just getting left behind, as time moves forward and so does technology, engine efficiency, and aerodynamics, so that a truck owner can stay competitive in today's markets.

To be really successful in today's industry you need to be willing to turn a wrench on it and keep after all the minor to medium maintenance items .. you need the engine software so that you can keep it away from the greedy repair shops and especially the horrible OEM stealer#shits.. and the warranty is not worth the paper it is written on because every "free" repair costs you weeks of down time and you have to go behind them and do the job over again because it was done so poorly.. this is the state of trucking and repairs these days.. it is the reality we live in.. So to be really successful, you need to learn to keep after it yourself .. properly.. and all of it, not just changing the damned oil... all of what is required.. when it is supposed to be done, and not after things fall apart.

You also need a good understanding on how to properly drive it too.. These ISX engine HATE anything below 1500 rpm when your heavy on the fuel pedal.. and the industry is he$ll bent on selling trucks that lug these engines to an agonizing early death by making them run below 1500 rpm all the time, and gearing them way too tall for the application any more. That is another problem all in itself here lately.

There is a maintenance schedule for these trucks and their engine.. and if it is not followed to the letter.. it will cost you big-time and that is where everyone seems to fail (or at least throw all their profits out the window) these days in trucking with regards to trucking and repairs, and complaint of it "eating them up" and "always breaking down".. it is the truck owners lack of education that is mostly to blame and the industry as a whole/ the manufacturers themselves is the underlying culprit for not providing this education about them at all any more.

[hhow55]

   

[Rawze]

Thats the way its done.

[Camstyn]

Time for an update. 120,000 mile average of my LT since buying it in December 2021 is 8.1mpg, consistently getting 8.5-8.9 on summer fuel. Finally was able to reach 9.0 last week which I’ve been striving for.

My 389 used approximately 30% more fuel doing the same job and being driven the same way.