Straight Truck ALERT -





We have finally started hauling freight with our Cascadia and deadheaded to pick up the first load on September 14th.  The odometer reading for our mile per gallon read out has us very excited about our new 2015 Freightliner Cascadia with a DD13 with a DT12 tranmission.   This straight truck is not to be taken lightly as the empty weight is an impressive 30,800 lbs. 
 
Our average load has been a light 1,387 pounds and we have traveled 11,771 since the 14th of September.  On paper our high mile per gallon has been 14.021 and our worst fuel mileage has been 11.25 coming out to a very nice average of 12.13 MPG. Our average miles that we travel before we fill is 905 and we have one 120 gallon tank for the DD13 and we have an 80 gallon tank dedicated to our ONAN generator.
 
With the price of fuel for September our fuel cost per mile is .31 cents and this is figured on all of the miles the truck has traveled since leaving home.   Our average fuel discount for those diesel fills was .49 cents from cash price through our companies discount program.
 
The new DT-12 transmission and OnGuard are still teaching us what works well and what does not.  It is still a little frightening when the truck goes into coast mode, but it sure is fun watching the fuel mileage climb.  We have the CC Band switch and the cruise has been set to unlimited so it will roll out till we touch the foot brake or the compression brake.  When we are in a 75 to 80 mph state the rolling hills do not get us to that speed. 
 
Winter fuel will be on us before we know it and that will rein in our exceptional fuel mileage for a few months but there is no doubt in our mind we will still have good fuel mileage.

Comments (8)

Linda Caffee

Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.

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James everything was right to get the 14.2 but I do believe this truck is going to be a solid 12 MPG truck at the rate it is going. Everything has been spec'd for fuel mileage and I cannot wait to get the skirts put back on in December.

October 12, 2014 13:53:01 PM

Wow. My 2014 Cascadia never got above 8 miles per gallon. It was a Semi, but that is unbelievable.

October 10, 2014 14:44:46 PM

Kurt I compare on every load. What I have found is the better our fuel mileage on the odometer the bigger the spread with the ECM. If we are in the 11's or the 12's it is right on or a tenth off but when we go 13 and higher the ECM says we are doing 5 to 6 tenth better then we actually did.

October 10, 2014 4:42:41 AM

Have you compared your actual fuel pumped vs. the ECM fuel mileage?

October 09, 2014 19:56:31 PM

We have had to step up our normal speed a couple of times and the truck still is outperforming what we ever dreamed it would do. It was spec'd for fuel mileage and I believe she is showing off.

October 09, 2014 14:51:50 PM

Great job! This proves (as Henry has also proved) that great mileage can be obtained when the truck is spec'd properly. If I'm not mistaken you spec'd the truck with your primary goal being fuel mileage and it is already paying off. Just think how much you will save over the life of the truck as opposed to a truck that isn't spec'd with fuel mileage being a top priority. Straight truck or not, improved mileage is possible and it's been said on this website several times, every penny saved goes directly into your pocket as profit.

October 09, 2014 8:35:23 AM

Those numbers are hard to come by. I can see you grinning all the way to the bank. I can only hope to average out close enough not to be embarrassed. Great Job to you both.

October 09, 2014 8:20:38 AM

Most semi trucks can't do that without a trailer.

October 09, 2014 7:33:52 AM