Improve Fuel Economy in a Truck

1. Stop Speeding

More than any other driving habit, excessive speeding burns the most fuel.

A truck driving 75 mph consumes 27% more fuel than one driving 65 mph, the ATA has found. According to their estimate, capping truck speed at 65 mph would net the trucking industry another 2.8 billion gallons of diesel fuel saved, over the course of a decade.

2. Reduce Aggressive Driving

The next biggest area to focus on after speeding. Harsh and frequent braking and accelerating. Think about the stop-start driving that vehicle suffer through when an overeager trucker speeds up, only to slow back down immediately, on busy roads.

3. Cut Down on Idling

Idling a heavy-duty truck burns around 0.8 gallons of fuel each hour. That's higher than the 0.25 to 0.5 gallons that a consumer car burns, since the larger engine size consumes more. Idling adds up fast, particularly when truckers idle at rest stops for hours on end — indeed, according to one estimate, rest stop idling burns 1.1 billion gallons of fuel every year.

Idling also increases total emissions, as well as engine wear — leading to extra maintenance costs down the line.

4. Stay Tuned Up

If your vehicle is out of tune or has failed an emissions test, getting the engine tuned up might boost your fuel economy.

5. Keep Tires Inflated

When a truck's tires are under-inflated, they don't do their job as well, and the vehicle burns more gas to compensate.

6. Get More Efficient Routes

Dan Lewis, CEO of digital freight matching company Convoy, thinks inefficiency is the biggest problem facing truckers today.

7. Cool It with the A/C

The fuel used by blasting a vehicle's air conditioning has been well studied in cars, though the literature is sparse for trucks. Consumer Reports has the definitive test for Honda Accords: they drove one at 65 mph while running the A/C and determined that the air conditioner cut into fuel mileage by 3%. Interestingly, they also tried running the Honda at 65 mph with the windows rolled down and found the effect on fuel usage was “not measurable.”

 8. Ditch Extra Weight

A full truckload burns more fuel than an empty truck. One Canadian report estimates that a truck that reduces its weight by 110 pounds would save $490 in fuel across 124,274 miles.

 9. Turn Down the Heat

Will running a fuel-powered heating system for a truck burn enough fuel to put a dent in your bottom line? Not really. But you can try, if you must.