Can you imagine being happy with getting only six to eight miles per gallon from your personal vehicle? Most of us would not be impressed at all with such low mileage. Yet for professional semi truck drivers, striving for increased fuel mileage is very important. Getting six to eight miles per gallon means the semi truck is operating efficiently. (Some semis only get four miles per gallon.)

Those who drive for a company don’t worry too much about the cost of fuel or how many gallons they get per mile because they get paid based on the number of miles they drive. However, owner-operators pay very close attention to these figures because they have to cover the costs of their own fuel. In some instances, the cost can be as much as 40% of their gross earnings per month!

Factors that Affect Fuel Efficiency

There are some factors that will affect your fuel mileage in a semi truck that you can’t really control. For example, wind resistance forces you to increase your speed which uses up more fuel. Also, truckers have no control over the cost of fuel per gallon. That said, there are some ways you can increase your fuel mileage that won’t cost you very much to implement.

• The first thing you can do to increase fuel is to purchase an auxiliary power unit. APUs reduce idling time which is a fuel glut.
• Next, reduce the amount of added chrome and accessories on your semi truck. Too much of it – especially those pieces that are quite heavy- will add weight and increase the amount of fuel your truck consumes.
• Also, the amount of air in your tires will affect fuel mileage as well. You should check your tires routinely to ensure that you have just the right amount of air in them at all times. The amount of air moving underneath the semi truck is important as well. Too much air means you will be struggling as you drive down the road.
• Finally, there are special designed pieces you can place under your truck as well as on the roof of it in order to reduce the amount of drag your rig produces.

Incorporating these ways to increase your fuel mileage in a semi truck can greatly improve your efficiency in the end. Knowing how to make your rig fuel efficient can be your hedge against the fluctuating cost of gas as can auxiliary power maintenance.