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A contractor friend asked me about lowering his fuel costs. He has a 1-ton 4x4 crew cab long-bed monster diesel pickup. Needs the truck for heavy hauls to job sites, sometimes off-pavement in the mud.

He admits that most days he could use a small SUV, say Ford Escape, or the like, for tools and supplies. Yet he needs the truck too often to rent it. [I'd favor going all the way to a car here, but he is coming a long way in his thinking already, so I didn't push.]

I've suggested he look at an older truck with low value for the heavy needs and just park it on most days. I know some you wags are thinking "Well the FSP he drives now already has a very low value." And that really is the problem, isn't it?

Those that do NOT have a true need for the FSP just take their trade-in lumps upon seeing the light. I'm looking for ideas for those who need to keep the FSP capability. The Prius doesn't handle the loaded 32-ft gooseneck very well, at least in the mud.

I know other contractors with this problem, as well as farmers, so it is a very common problem.

Any constructive thoughts?

I'd tell him to hunker down and try to be as fuel efficient as possible with the truck he has. If he has and older model Dodge 12-valve instead of 24-valve, he could try to convert his truck to bio-fuel if you have alot of restaurants using vegetable oil (not shortening) and go from there. My grandparents are farmers and they have 2 diesel duallys and even running tax free farm diesel, it's starting to get to them.

Well, if he were willing to be objective then the best option would be to keep the FSP he has and buy a cheap, used fuel saver to drive most days. He might even learn to like it once he experiences driving for 1/3 the fuel cost.

Hmmm, his current vehicle cost maybe $40,000 and gets 9-10 mpg city and maybe 14 mpg hy when not towing-and this is $4.80 fuel. He probably has heavily lugged tires for his job sites and they kill mpg-he might not get 9 mpg city or 14 hy with those tires.

The main problem is that midsized SUVs just don't really do a lot better. They would get about 15 mpg city and maybe 22 mpg hy-Trailblazer,Explorer,etc-cheaper fuel , but it would take forever to break even if he paid $5000 for one.

Some Small SUVs -CRV,RAV 4 do much better , but cost too much used. A 4 cyl Vue or a 4 cyl Escape might be cheap enough to make sense.

A cheapo Taurus stationwagon would be cheap and big enough to haul many tools ?

The Focus -used 2000 or so -are still pretty cheap-under $3000 easy and get decent economy.

I'm with the car - plan B a 4 cyl MT VUE or Escape.

A used gasoline Suburban could be very cheap-$2500 or less -it would get better FE than his diesel(11-16 in 4 wd) , it could tow up to 6000 lbs , but even at $2500 the breakeven would take forever.The FE would be maybe 30%-40% better .

The car makes sense , driving better -motor on P&G,shut down at lights etc, makes sense. Buying anything other than a small car will mean a very slow payback breakeven.

Charlie

Thanks to all for your timely and thoughtful replies. A lot to think about.

If he could find one, it sounds like Chevy's HHR panel van might fit his needs well.

a beater ford wagon is a good choice - he can pick one up for nothing and it can be filled with tools, etc. - not the best in fuel but the cheap entry cost outweighs

What about an old Ford Bronco? I just saw one for 700$ at a gas station. Not too sure the MPG would be any better than his truck though.

he can buy my 2000 ford focus this fall. not quite 85k on the clock, although i need to change a PS hose(leaking slightly). everything is running great, and as u can see, im gettin pretty decent mileage. im not kidding, if he can stick it oout for awhile longer, we could meet halfway or something. course i dunno all the bureaucratic BS u need to do to sell a car, so maybe its not a meet halfway type deal. if i can get my GF down for it, then we could drive up n back. i''d want closer to 4gs tho. looks great, cept for a dented hood n the PS hose, and 4 cig burns in the carpet.

selling a car has to go through dmv, there's a form online you can print that the seller needs to fill out and sign, also the title is needed.

It depends somewhat on what he drives and how he drives it. As I putter down the hwy at 65 mph, I am amazed at contractor trucks wizzing by me at 70+. The only thing I can guess is the drivers of these trucks aren't paying for the fuel - their employer is. I wonder how long it will be before fleet vehicle owners start looking for mph governors in an effort to slow their drivers down to save fuel.

About a year and a half ago, I bought a '95 Dodge Cummins 5spd 4x4 club cab to serve as a secondary dirty-project hauler and "toy." I really haven't driven the truck much and when I do, it's to haul big, heavy and/or dirty things I'd rather not put in my car. Being a diesel and having a manual transmission, it gets pretty decent milage for its 6000 lb size and brick-like aerodynamics... about 20 mpg in normal driving with little thought towards economy. However, for my last fill-up, I really drive the truck for mileage - keeping revs under 2K and rarely exceeding 60 mph. The results were impressive: 22.8 mpg.

I have thoughts and ideas to increase the mileage, but they would require no small amount of money: convert the power-sapping axle-disconnect front axle to old-school manual hubs. Replace the 5 spd transmission with a 6 spd. Install a Banks Powerpack (increases power when needed, but will improve MPG if driven conservatively). Rebuild the engine which has over 250K miles.

Regardless, I don't drive the truck very much and even less so with diesel at $4.60/gal. My last fill-up cost me $110. That was two months ago.

For you friend, he needs to go back to the basics:

1. make sure the truck is properly serviced and all of the tires are properly inflated.
2. reduce weight: try to go through the cab/cargo area and clean out parts/tools/etc that are either duplicates or not required for the job. Leave as much as possible in a job box at the site
3. if possible, find secure overnight parking closer to the job site and drive a car t othe truck each morning.

just picked up a 2008 tundra 2wheel drive the wife and daughter have high-r mileage cars.

Got the V6 instead of the eight. Wanter for towing a smallish camper. Now looking to find some answer if possible.

I am getting nearly 25 mpg on a full tank, and I am getting at, or sometimes over 30, on the highway with my mid size gmc suv. 270 h.p. straight six. I picked up 1 or 2 mpg by removing the sliding cross bars on the roof rack.

26 MPG ?


that is great

are you keeping a log on this site ?

A C Talley,
You have a Trailblazer or Envoy? My buddy has a Trailblazer and he says he gets ~26 mpg on long trips when he keeps his speed about 65 mph or so. I used to kid him that my 98 Suburban-5.7 V-8 (which gets 21 mpg on long trips) - did as well as his Trailblazer. He used to drive faster- 75 mph or so - and didn't really keep a record of his mpg so he couldn't really "put me in my place". Now, of course , he can. I always figured that that straight six with the 4 valve heads should be a good, efficient motor, but I never saw any figures showing that.

Charlie
.

My Envoy is a 2002. Filled up on the way to work this morning.
313.3 miles on 13.2 gallons. 23.7 mpg. I keep it under 65 on the highway.
My readout shows 30 mpg quite a bit. The city driving drags my ave. down a lot.

What about an old Ford Bronco? I just saw one for 700$ at a gas station. Not too sure the MPG would be any better than his truck though.

I have a 89 and 90 Full Size Bronco. Each are rated around 12 and 13 combined fuel economy. I have been able to get a bit more from hypermiling.

I have found that the fastest vehicles on the road are the one's with some kind of writing on the doors - contractors. I always figured they had unlimited funds for fuel, and besides, the customer would pay for it anyway. The best way to save fuel costs on those big diesels is to slow down to 55 mph max, and coast A LOT. Keep the RPMs below 2000, preferably keep it at about 1750.

It's refreshing to see a contractor interested in cutting fuel costs...

I have a 89 and 90 Full Size Bronco. Each are rated around 12 and 13 combined fuel economy. I have been able to get a bit more from hypermiling.

I have found that the fastest vehicles on the road are the one's with some kind of writing on the doors - contractors. I always figured they had unlimited funds for fuel, and besides, the customer would pay for it anyway. The best way to save fuel costs on those big diesels is to slow down to 55 mph max, and coast A LOT. Keep the RPMs below 2000, preferably keep it at about 1750.

It's refreshing to see a contractor interested in cutting fuel costs...

I figured they would get better than that... What kinda engines are in those things? V8?

Lots of variables here that we don't know about.

If he can leave all tools, etc at the site in a trailer and safely secure it then I would vote for a small car or motorcycle. The motorcycle would be best because he might be able to put it into the trailer and haul it with him when he needs to (rainy day, etc) A good ride after a hard days work is a pretty good feeling too. Dual sport enduro's are pretty cool and can go anywhere.

Leave the truck (perhaps an older one if the new one is too nice) attached to the trailer at the site and only drive it when you need supplies, etc. Drive the cycle when you can and you will pay for it pretty quickly. Might even pay for a good enclosed trailer. I know contractors are guys that want to have the biggest and brightest stuff that looks good but sometimes you can swallow your pride and show your real worth by your great work and forget the shiney new truck.

I think the best solution would be somewhat non-automotive. By improving overall project planning and management, he could find ways to cut fuel costs, but also gain an edge against his competitors. Anything that helps get a project completed in a timely manner would benefit. Not a very specific answer, but it seems like the same things in personal life would carry over to business. PLAN trips, combine trips, cut down on unnecessary running around, have stuff delivered to the site. Focus less on MPG and more on miles driven and aim for reductions there.