[shadowdrak]

I'm a company driver and just recently I got out of a 8000 series Volvo into a 2006 KW T-2000. It used to be an O/O truck, and their able to do 65mph, but company trucks only go 62mph. After doing 62 for awhile, and then getting a taste of the 65, I fell in love with it. That few more mph helps to get past a lot of trucks and makes the time, and miles, go by faster. Had to take the truck in the other day and for some reason they must have hooked the computer up to it and saw a company truck set at 65. So they knocked it down to 62.

I was told a few tricks about raising the Volvo (crossing some wires), but I'm not familiar with a way on the T-2000s. If anybody can help make this driver's life go a little easier and faster again, it would be appreciated. I thought of the diesel doctor thing, but I'm told the computer records when changes are made to it and I don't think the company would really be happy with that. Thanks for any help.

[Flatbed]

The company would be just as unhappy about you crossing wires or finding some other way around their set speed.

You would be fired on the spot when (not if) they find out with a note in your file that you tampered with the equipment. Kiss any driving job whatsoever goodbye.

Is your job and career really worth that extra 3 mph?

[shadowdrak]

I'm sorry. I was trying to see if there was a way, without tampering with any wires or equipment.

I know my company doesn't register over speed until it goes over 67 mph. I love my job, and no wouldn't want to risk it. It just seems alot of the times I'm getting slowed down on the roads because I can't get past a truck that seems to be going 61 1/2 mph. The 65 mph also greating increase my mpg (from around 6.2 up to 7.5 mpg).

Then at times at night, going 62 made the trip more tiring and slow, where at 65 the trip wasn't as wearing and tiring and everything seemed to go smoother.

[Flatbed]

The difference between 62 and 65 is 33 miles over a full 11 hours, a whopping half hour. By the time you stop for fuel and rest areas, not to mention construction slowdowns or city traffic, you aren't going to see any benefit at all from that extra 3 mph other than the psychological 'trick' you have already noticed.

Don't risk your job.

[ssoutlaw]

Originally Posted by Flatbed

The difference between 62 and 65 is 33 miles over a full 11 hours, a whopping half hour. By the time you stop for fuel and rest areas, not to mention construction slowdowns or city traffic, you aren't going to see any benefit at all from that extra 3 mph other than the psychological 'trick' you have already noticed.

Don't risk your job.

Unless you really needed that half hr to get you to where you had to go!!! Now that half hr X 7 days is 3 1/2 hrs less a week you have to work!!! 3.5 x 65 is 227.5 miles less a week you have to drive. Now lets say .40 cpm x 227.5 is $91.00 a week you could be loosing, hell thats $364.00 a month you could loose. Notice I said "COULD"
Think about it!!! Slowing you down even 3 mph is costing you money, all this is saying you USE the time correctly!!! I bet most here would care less if they lost as much as $364.00 a month!! Notice I said "as much as"...... Think about it when you say its not worth it, and look at the whole picture!!! Ok last one here, hell this would be as much as a whopping $4368.00 to your over all pay for the year, not shabby for just 3 mph?????
I too would not mess with another mans equip. Just think about the 3 mph and work some figures out....lol

[Malaki86]

Those figures would work if you drove the full 11 hours each and every day. Most days I drive maybe 8-9 hours. Most weeks I have 2.5 days off. Most days I run through the mountains and in the east where I'm lucky to bump my governor that's set at 64mph. That 3mph wouldn't mean jack to me.

[matcat]

There is a device called Safety Pass Pro, there is already a discussion about it http://www.classadrivers.com/forum/t...-pass-pro.html

However it's not hard to figure out by the company that your truck is going faster then it is supposed to be going .

[shadowdrak]

Originally Posted by ssoutlaw

Unless you really needed that half hr to get you to where you had to go!!! Now that half hr X 7 days is 3 1/2 hrs less a week you have to work!!! 3.5 x 65 is 227.5 miles less a week you have to drive. Now lets say .40 cpm x 227.5 is $91.00 a week you could be loosing, hell thats $364.00 a month you could loose. Notice I said "COULD"
Think about it!!! Slowing you down even 3 mph is costing you money, all this is saying you USE the time correctly!!! I bet most here would care less if they lost as much as $364.00 a month!! Notice I said "as much as"...... Think about it when you say its not worth it, and look at the whole picture!!! Ok last one here, hell this would be as much as a whopping $4368.00 to your over all pay for the year, not shabby for just 3 mph?????
I too would not mess with another mans equip. Just think about the 3 mph and work some figures out....lol

That's exactly how I feel about it. In the short term, there really is no big measurable difference. But, in the long term, there is a huge difference. Besides a slight advantage, there is also that pychocological affect that made a difference to me as well (my co-driver felt the same way about it as well). Just a little more productivity can make a big difference.

I'm hoping to talk with someone at the company when I can. I heard, and read on Schneider's website, that they let there team trucks go 65, while there solo trucks go slightly slower. There must be a reason that they allowed this I would think. Alot of times we do get hot loads, with proper trip planning, etc., to where we get to the shipper in time you don't have much slack time. If it took us two days to get there and we were to drive 10 hour shifts to get there, that would be a 120 mile advantage we would have on that trip going 65. That's about 2 hours worth of driving that we would save.

[matcat]

I came up with an idea not that long ago, GPS Assisted Governor. The concept is the truck can be governed at different speeds depending on what state you are in, and the computer could self adjust the governor to the max truck speed limit for the state you are in. For these larger companies that use qualcomm, the technology itself is already there on the truck, it is just a matter of programming it to do it.

I am actually half tempted to program it myself, but I don't have the money needed to go buying all of the computer hookup equipment and technical specs for my volvo, let alone every other truck out there if I wanted to market the concept.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by shadowdrak

If it took us two days to get there and we were to drive 10 hour shifts to get there, that would be a 120 mile advantage we would have on that trip going 65. That's about 2 hours worth of driving that we would save.

You are assuming that the truck will go above 62 mph for the entire trip, which it will not. At best, you are going to see an increase of 1 - 1.5 mph more than likely. Want that extra speed? Buy your own truck and take the governor off it and pay for the extra fuel out of your own pocket. You don't own the equipment; the company does. Their equipment = their rules.

As far as bypassing it, whoever told you it was a matter of crossing some wires was blowing smoke up your butt. It requires the truck to get plugged into the service computer, and the settings in the truck's computer to be changed. This is done at a repair shop for about 1 hour's labor.

If you truly want to see what that extra 3 mph will do for you, I'd suggest you run an entire day without going over 59 mph, and see how much less you drove as opposed to 62 mph. I think you'll find that the difference is negligible. It is purely psychological.

On a side note, why is it that so many drivers base their productivity on how many trucks they can pass? This is not only a company driver phenomenon, but also an owner operator one. Entire engine product lines are designed, built, and advertised on the premise that it will allow you to "be the king of the road" or some other garbage like that. I mean, who really cares if someone passes you?