As a truck driver, your job is to get your goods from point A to point B as quickly and safely as possible. To do this, you need a vehicle with excellent fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, many trucks are built with poor fuel economy in mind. This means that drivers are forced to pay more at the pump than they should. Luckily, there are ways for anyone looking to improve fuel efficiency in a semi-truck. With these tips, you can make your ride more efficient and save money at the pump too. If you drive for a company, you can even implement these tips from home!
Make sure your truck is in good repair
Your truck’s engine will work harder if it is not in good repair. Make sure all of your tires are in good condition, there is no fluid build-up in your cooling system, and the brakes are in good working order. If there is any kind of fluid leaking from your truck, get it fixed. You don’t want to risk your engine overheating and shutting down. You also don’t want to put unnecessary wear and tear on your brakes.
Don’t idle
When you are stopped on the road, your engine is idling. The more time your engine is idling, the more fuel you are using. That’s because idling heats up your engine, which burns fuel to cool it off again. If you need to stop for a long period of time, make sure you turn off the truck and let the engine cool down.
Use cruise control and ECO mode
Cruise control can help you keep your speed consistent, which in turn, helps you use less fuel. When you let the cruise control do the work for you, you can save yourself the trouble of having to hit your desired speed and can allow your truck to run at a lower RPM. Additionally, you can set your cruise control to use the least amount of fuel possible. ECO mode is another feature that can help you save fuel.
Don’t accelerate and de-accelerate too quickly
If you need to accelerate or de-accelerate quickly, you should do this as slowly as possible. If your truck is not in good working order, you may not have enough horsepower to reach your desired speed. To counteract this, you can use one of the many cruise control boost features available. If you must accelerate, try to use the “E” or “Engine” button on your cruise control. This feature lets you accelerate without any input from the driver.
Go Slow to Go Fast
Like we mentioned above, accelerating quickly uses more fuel than accelerating slowly. To save fuel, you should try to keep your speed steady. Accelerating and decelerating quickly can also cause wear and tear on your drivetrain. So, when you are going downhill, try to go slow to go fast.
Don’t dawdle on the highway
When you are on the highway, you should try to keep a steady speed. If you are going slower than the speed limit, you are using more fuel. Driving at the speed limit will allow you to save fuel and get where you need to go faster.
Bottom line
There are many ways to increase fuel efficiency in a semi-truck. With these tips, you can make your ride more efficient and save money at the pump too!