Truck Tractor Trailer Drivers Save - Fuel Costs

Professional tractor trailer drivers how do you make and continue to make those savings as you drive down and plan your routes across the USA and Canada? Remember that saving continue to grow. A penny saved is more than a penny saved in this day and age. They all add up- and even more so today in 2009.

In today's trucking environment it is worth more than considering because those who succeed take tight control of all their expenses and factor in every single penny into their profit and loss equations. They use fuel efficiency tactics and take smart fuel purchasing measures,

What are some of these fuel efficiency tactics that you can easily employ? First of all stands "idle reduction". It is said that an idling truck burns nearly one gallon of diesel fuel per hour. Reduce unnecessary idling and it is generally estimated that you can save $ 3,000 in fuel costs per trailer a year.

Next in line comes the science and art of improved aerodynamics. Improve the aerodynamics of a typical line haul trailer by 15 percent and you can could cut out your annual fuel use each and every year by more than 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

Improved freight logistics can also come into play. The use of "improved logististics" can reduce the miles that a truck drives empty. Eliminating the 15 % of a line haul truck's empty miles and you can save an additional thousand of dollars annually. Along with this saving add in automatic tire inflation systems and single wide tires and you are really on a roll. In calculating the benefits of automatic tire inflation systems retrofitting a line haul truck with such an automatic tire inflation system can save you more than considerable gallons of fuel each and every year as well as save expensive tire wear and maintenance. Similarly by specifying single wide base tires when purchasing and ordering a new combination truck from a truck dealer can well save $ 1,000 immediately and reap annual savings each and every year of two percent or even more.

It can be said that even highly experienced drivers can boost their skills with driver training aimed at raising fuel economy by 5 percent or even more. Continual and ongoing training is always a good thing. You never can stop learning new tips and tactics when it comes to being fresh on the road. Cutting that fuel use by 5 percent further can save hundreds of dollars in fuel costs as well as cutting eight metric tons on carbon dioxide spewed into the atmosphere each and every year. Along with training using low viscosity lubricants can be a most wise choice when it comes to fuel economies. When used in a long haul truck, synthetic engine and drive train lubricants can improve fuel economy by three percent, again saving more than 500 gallons a year.

Consider and think of the benefits of intermodal shipping. Intermodal freight transport can be said to combine the best attributes of both truck and rail shipping. Over long distances using intermodal shipping can cut fuel use by as much as 65 % that is compared to truck only moves.

Lastly two most basic and standard means of saving fuel and driving costs known well to every trucker on the road - although not always employed 100 percent of the time. These of course are firstly reducing highway speeds and weight reduction. It has been well proven that a line haul truck with 90 % highway miles that reduces its top speed from 70 to 65 miles per hour cuts its fuel bill and costs substantially. By reducing only 3,000 pounds from a line haul truck, simply by using and employing lighter weight components that smart trucker can well save fuel and costs of up to 500 gallons of diesel fuel a year.

When driving in today's tight, if not difficult trucking business environment keeping costs in line is key. Fuel costs may go up. They may go down. Just as cost control is important to your driving success you can always count that a penny saved in the trucking and transport industry is more than a penny earned.