We just got back from our round trip from Laredo to Charlotte. The trip was fairly uneventful, and Celeste, our new 2022 Freightliner Cascadia, started demonstrating some fantastic fuel mileage. Yes, we were light with a GCVW of 48,000 lbs on the Northbound leg, and approximately 43,500 lbs on the return trip. The way that the load on the Northbound trip balanced out, allowed us to have a trailer axle lifted off the ground. This meant that we were traveling on four axles, instead of five. The result was a fill-up at 9.998 mpg. Cruise speeds for this segment of the trip were up to 75 miles per hour, where safe, and posted legally. This was not quite a double-digit fuel mileage run, but it was really close.
On the return trip, our trailer was full again, but with only about 10,000 lbs of freight, which brought our GCVW to 43,500. On this leg of the trip, we encountered multiple traffic jams and cruised at a slower 65 to 70 mph when the highway was clear. The other nice thing about this part of the trip was that we were able to take advantage of the Hendrickson OPTIMAAX liftable pusher axle on our 2022 Freightliner Cascadia, along with one axle lifted on the trailer as well.
All was going well until we were a little bit past Baton Rouge, Louisianna. A piece of road debris hit the sidewall of the wide base single tire on the trailer. My Tire View TPMS by PSI monitor started beeping at the same time that we heard the audible “thump” of the tire going down. I was able to safely bring us to a controlled stop on the shoulder of the highway, put out my triangles, and call Michelin emergency road service for the repair.
This was where it turned out to be really nice having a light load, along with a liftable axle on the truck and on the trailer. Of course, my first reaction was that I would have to buy a new tire while out on the road. But then, it occurred to me that I am only running on three axles! This meant that I effectively had, at my disposal, four mounted spare tire and wheel assemblies. Very simply, all that needed to happen was for the tire repair truck to have a jack and an impact wrench to move a good tire and wheel from the lifted axle, over to the axle in use.
We continued on our way after the tire swap was done, and we refueled in Pearsall, Texas approximately 100 miles from our destination. Cruise speeds remained in the 65 to 70 mph range for the most part, and occasionally cruising as high as 75 mph on the open roads of Texas where posted legally. The fuel mileage for the return trip from Duncan, South Carolina to my refueling stop in Pearsall, yielded 10.846 mpg as figured out on paper.
It looks like my project of trying to achieve double-digit fuel economy, at cruise speeds up to 75 mph, is finally starting to produce some results. I’m pleased to report that the fuel mileage is steadily improving as our ‘22 Cascadia breaks in. Yes, it was a light load. However, as I see it, the results will come with light loads before it is achieved with heavier loads. One step at a time. The project goes on.