Tips For Improving Performance & Reducing Running Costs For Your Truck

By now most people in the transport industry know that they can save money by having a regular truck wheel alignment and also trailer wheel alignment.  Truck wheel alignment will provide obvious savings by reducing fuel consumption and improving tyre wear, but what else can you do to reduce costs?  

The biggest cost each year to a transport operator is fuel.  So let's look at some simple ways to become more fuel efficient:

Slow Down
The speed at which your vehicle is travelling has a massive effect on fuel consumption, the faster you drive, the more wind/air resistance that you are pushing against.  Generally, each 10 km/h speed increase will also increase fuel consumption by 5-10%.  I don't need to bother giving you an example of this & crunching the numbers, just take a look at how much you spent on fuel for your truck or fleet last financial year & imagine taking 5-10% of that and putting it back in your pocket.

Skip A Few Gears
You can usually skip a few gears & get into top gear a bit quicker & use less fuel in the process.  Most engines today produce high torque at low revs, so in most situations this isn't a problem.

Adjust Air Deflectors
Why does your truck have air deflectors?  To reduce air resistance.  For every 10cm that your trailer sits above the air deflector, your fuel consumption increases by 1%.  If you're not sure if yours is set correctly, have a look at the headboard of your trailer after a trip.  If you can see insects & bugs splattered across the top of your headboard, your air deflector is too low & should be adjusted.

Tyre Pressure Tyre Pressure Tyre Pressure
Yeah, I said it three times on purpose.  It's so easy to check, yet so often neglected.  If your tyres are over inflated, they will wear out prematurely.  If they are under inflated you will have increased rolling resistance.  Increased rolling resistance means your engine has to work harder & rev harder to maintain speed.  

Don't Overload
Every tonne overweight will increase fuel consumption by 1-2%.  This could be costing more in fuel than what you're getting paid to transport the extra goods.

So there's a few tips for you, some you may already be aware of, some you may not.  I'll be sure to add more soon, in the meantime, if you or anyone else you know requires a truck wheel alignment or trailer wheel alignment, visit the Truckologist website by clicking here.