• Reducing the overall use of fuel should be of utmost importance when spec’ing new equipment.

Fuel is normally the second largest operating cost for any motor carrier (just behind wages when measured as a cost-per-mile factor). When spec’ing company equipment, fuel economy should be a major consideration for a motor carrier.

An aerodynamic vehicle design, combined with a productive and efficient gear ratio and the right engine, can make a tremendous difference in fuel costs. However, when it comes to spec’ing for fuel economy, some specs or equipment modifications make more sense than others.

Spec’ing equipment that will maximize fuel economy efforts is the best approach. In general, today’s vehicles are far more fuel-efficient than in the past, but motor carriers still need to choose equipment that is appropriate for the job it is expected to do.

Specification questions

Equipment specification is a key area in improving fuel mileage. There are questions the maintenance manager should bring to the vehicle manufacturers when spec’ing equipment:

• Are the engines properly sized and set for the workload being placed on them?
• Does the engine have a programmable system that allows the maintenance manager to set the performance parameters and download performance data?
• Are the transmission and axle gearing keeping the engine in the correct RPM range for maximum fuel mileage?
• Are there intake gauges or warning devices available that can alert the driver or maintenance department of an air intake restriction?
• Are there backpressure monitoring devices available to make sure that the diesel particulate filter (DPF) or selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system is not restricting exhaust flow?
• Are the tires and bearings reducing or increasing rolling resistance?
• Is there a cost-effective tire monitoring system available to keep tires at the proper inflation?
• Are there more effective aerodynamic vehicles or option packages available?
• Is there a vehicle package that can significantly reduce the vehicle weight?

While each of these improvements only accounts for a small gain in fuel mileage (one to four percent), the accumulated saving is where big gains in fuel mileage can be seen.