That's only "theoretically", except few specific areas. Actually, it's more like an hour, or less difference, may be practically nothing. But one thing for sure;-It's gonna cost you more. So unless it's really every minute counts, it's ain't worth it....

 

Ok, try to figure this "theory" out then.....

Say you run 600 miles for the day with a buddy, exact same spec truck and loads,

He goes 60 and you go 70.

After 6hours you stop for food, so you arrive 1hour ahead of him.
You both eat your meals and hit the road
Now 2.5hrs later, you arrive at the customer and check in.
He arrives 1/2hr later as your walking out of the office to back into your door

Now remember, this is factoring in that you didn't stop for coffee or a bathroom break either and that said customer is going to get you right in and your not sitting around waiting.....

After you back uinto your door, he does the same 10min later.

Now you just averaged 1mpg less than he did getting there 30min earlier.
Do this same run for 5 days
3000 miles a week
you get 5mpg, he gets 6mpg
Fuel is $3.00 gallon

you used 600 gallons of fuel
He used 500 gallons.

He just saved $300 in his pocket compared to you

You O/O really need to do just the simple things to figure this stuff out. No wonder so many of us are failing.

And I know your going to say "but what if you dont stop"
Seriously, how many of you have never stopped on a 600 mile trip???
I can say I've done it once or twice, but this day and age, how often are we going to even get a 600 mile NON-STOP load and not go thru a single area where the speed limit goes to 55mph, or traffic???

Speed is your worse enemy from a business perspective.
I cruise at 60mph everywhere I go, and I'll have Billy BigRigger pass me on I-57 at 70mph. Guess what, I usually catch right up byh the time we hit Chicago, or Memphis, or where ever your going.

It's just plain stupidity.

 

From SoCal to Memphis, I'll see the same trucks blow me off the road literally ten times (maybe more) in a day and a half. I set my cruise around 61 mph and don't stop the truck for much of anything except traffic and fuel and I still get to my destination faster than these guys running 80mph.

Now, you CAN make better time running faster… IF you keep the left door closed. I once (in a Frito-Lay day cab) averaged 71 mph from Orlando, FL to Pulaski TN and back to Orlando. But I ran as fast as I could get away with, hit little traffic and only stopped once and that was for fuel. That was Frito-Lay’s fuel though and I’d certainly never do that with my own fuel. I also used to average 64 mph in a 70 MPH truck from Orlando to Detroit. So it can be done. The real problem is that many of these high-rollers you see flying down the highway lack the self discipline to keep the left door closed and the truck rolling, so they lose much of the time gained from hauling ass to all the unnecessary stops they make.

 

That was my point. I wasn't advocating going faster, I said if time matters. If time matters, going faster will get you there faster. If you stop 30 times, sure you're going to lose that time, but why would you stop more when going faster? Would you not stop the same amount of times, in which case going faster would still get you there an hour and a half earlier. I definitely believe in sticking around 60 to conserve fuel. I did, however, say if time matters and fuel economy doesn't, go faster. If your 11 hours ends in 45 minutes and you're 2 hours from your destination with the delivery time in 4 hours, guess what. You are going to miss your delivery time because you went 60. However, if you were rolling at 70 you would have made it 15 minutes prior to shutting down and you would make your delivery on time. That was my point.

 

Fueling twice as much, for one.


I was agreeing with you, but I was also agreeing with Olddog. The other part of the equation is that you will never be able maintain a steady 70 or 80 mph. Try to drive that fast and you are constantly braking and accelerating because you are constantly catching up to slower traffic that is in the left lane. Not only are you wearing out your brakes much faster and increasing other mechanical costs (negating much of the financial benefit from driving more miles in a day), but you are most likely looking like a jackass and braking the law by constantly running up the butt of slower traffic. My point was to give first hand examples since I was a pretty bad lead-foot when it wasn’t my fuel I was burning, and now I drive much more slowly. I can honestly say that over the long long-haul (pun fully intended) driving like a bat out of hell is more detrimental than beneficial to the owner operator. It’s also a lot less stressful to just keep it nice and slow in the right lane. The ONLY negative thing about driving slower is that you only get a glimpse of the short skirts as hey speed by, but there are more important things in life. These days if you have a burning desire to see naked flesh all you have to do is go on-line.

 

I'm going to be a dick here and honestly say "you should have planned better"

In the 7years I have been driving OTR, I have NEVER missed an appointment. NEVER!!!!!!!

Plan your trip, make sure you got the time, and I know, I know, "well sometimes the loads delayed (which then makes a late delivery not your problem) or MY dispatcher gave it to me late" Again, none of these are your problem.

If the load can't be completed by going 60mph across the board NON-STOP, then it just can't be done. I dont care of your truck goes 80mph the whole way, any stop for fuel or to pee will knock your average to 65-70 easily. It's simple math.

And if you are going to hop in and go balls out to the destination w/o stopping or anything then please let me know where your going, I dont need my driving record fudged up by your rushing or hurry......... thats when big mistakes happen.

I could never live my life running that way. Then your just work and not really having a career.,

 

Steel Horse, you got it all right. Most going 60 will in fact "average" closer to 60 mph than those that run 70 can average 70. I have found that, in most cases, If I run 60 I may average actually a real 58-59 mph over the run, but if I run 70, I may only average 66. The spread between running speed and average speed increases as you go faster. Mostly because if you run faster, you still have to deal with getting slowed down by slower vehicles before being able to pass. Running a little slower, I can moderate my speed better so that I catch more of the gaps in traffic and am able to pass easier. Also, if the trips are planned right, there is no need to race around the countryside. I will not race my truck around just to make up for someone else's mistakes.

And since I am not doing the speeding up, slowing down game in heavy traffic as much, I get better mpgs in the deal.

I have never seen, in almost 30 years, anyone running 10 mph faster than I am, on the same run with the same loads going to the same customer, ever really get there that much before me. Meanwhile my tires last longer and my equipment isn't being beaten up as much. And I just plain don't feel so worn out after the run.

And of course the net profit in the end is the desired result. That being said, If I am saving more in fuel, maintenance, tires, etc by running at a more moderate pace, then in the end I will make as much as the other guy did running like his hair was on fire. If I get 1 mpg better average than the other guy running hard, that is over $9000 in savings on 135,000 miles in a year with fuel at $3 a gallon. Factor in less costs for tires and maintenance. If all things were equal, I would be willing to bet that I could almost take a month off and make the close to the same net profit in a year that the other guy who is racing around.

It isn't just about how much you can make..... it is also about how much you keep in the end.

 

Yep! It is that simple. Funny, but only about one out of ten, will get it. Even funnier, that it's about equals survival rate in this business....

 

If your getting 6mpg out of a Cat I wouldn't complain.