[line_transporter]

I'm somewhat of a rookie and I have a question about how much fuel is used in trucks. Once when I was driving, I ran out of fuel, and at that time I actually thought I had a few more hours to go with the fuel in my tank, but it turns out I was wrong about that, so I wanted to use a some kind of a calcuation this time to avoid running out of fuel again. How can I figuer out how much I can drive with the fuel I have in my tanks? Also, if it's cold outside and I want to idle the truck, how much fuel does that roughly use?

thanks

[bikerboy]

usually most trucks get 5-8 mpg. just watch your fuel gauge and always fill up around half tank, then you never run out

[Rokk]

i always figure at worst 5.5 mpg. as for idling i figure 1.25 gallons per hour. as for a fuel guage, it doesnt work, i got a stick with a series of 1" notches on it. i figure at 8" i got about 150 miles left.

[century451]

When you make fuel stops, figure your fuel milage and note the conditions. When you have a full tank you know how many miles you can go on the fuel you have onboard. Remember about 10% or a little more in the tanks is non-usable. I get 6.2 with 37,000 or less on flat ground no wind. Same load in wind drops to 5.5 Real heavy wind about 4.7. With a heavy load I get 5.6 on Flat ground, With wind about 5 and real heavy wind sometimes as low as 3.8

Figure about a gallon of fuel burned per idle hour.

[line_transporter]

Thanks for the information guys.

[GMAN]

I use 5 mpg as a basis for running. You can count on using from 100-125 gallons per day with normal running. I also count on about 1 gallon of fuel per hour for idling. You don't EVER want your fuel to get so low as to run out. I usually try to fill up at around 1/2 tank. I don't like to get as low as 1/4 tank. Gauges can be off.

[BanditsCousin]

When my gauge says "E", I have 80 gallons left. I freaked out in the desert on my first ever trip in my T600!

[Colts Fan]

I've driven nothing but Freightliners and always noticed that there is always more fuel in the tanks than my gauges indicate. I usually fill up when my fuel gage indicates about 1/3 tank.