How To Lower Your Truck Fleet’s Fuel Consumption

One of the biggest expenditures when running a fleet of trucks is fuel. Operating vehicles that consume a lot of petrol or diesel mean the costs can become quite high. This means it’s important to try to keep these costs as low as possible by taking measures to lower your fuel consumption. As fuel prices continue to rise, how can you lower your fleet’s fuel consumption?

Read on to find out our tips.

Driving behaviour

Certain driving behaviour or driving habits can increase fuel consumption, so make sure you and other drivers in your fleet understand the best practices to improve fuel economy. This includes slowing down and not accelerating excessively, idling and harsh braking. The better control drivers have over the truck, the easier it will be to drive in an economical way.

Lighten your load

While most of the load on your trucks is important, there could be excess items that aren’t needed. Sort through all the items stored in your trucks and consider if they really need to be there. Removing extra weight can considerably lower your fuel efficiency. Remove things that aren’t needed for each trip and only load them back on when they need to be used again.

Fill up halfway

Similarly, fuel is an added weight that you may not need for the whole journey. If you can fill up the truck halfway or three-quarters of the way, you’ll be carrying a lot less weight than you would be otherwise. It’s also important to make sure you don’t let the fuel run too low as this can damage the catalytic converter.

Maintain tyre pressure

Damaged tyres or poorly inflated tyres can lead to an increase in fuel consumption. A 20% under-inflation increases rolling resistance enough to translate into a 2.5% increase in fuel consumption. Therefore, it’s vital you are making regular checks on your fleet’s tyres, not just for fuel economy, but also for safety and durability.

You should also try to stay on top of other maintenance jobs such as replacing a clogged air filter, worn spark plugs or old engine oil, as these will all help to improve your MPG.

Route planning

If your journeys aren’t planned out properly, you’ll probably end up driving extra miles that are costing you extra fuel. Make sure each journey is planned out so that you and your driver are using the most efficient route – to help you save money.

Transcare is a fleet management provider here to help you keep your fleet running smoothly. Whether you need truck repair or truck diagnostics, we’re here to help. If you’re hoping to lower your fleet’s fuel consumption, we can provide you with maintenance services to ensure your trucks are in great condition. To learn more about our services, visit our website or call us on 01773 832697. We can offer truck maintenance in Derby, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire.