Fuel efficiency is very important to budget-savvy fleet managers. Most fleet managers calculate mileage to determine how fuel-efficient their fleet is, but idling is often overlooked as a contributing factor. Not only does idling reduce your miles per gallon, it contributes to the wear and tear of an engine and costs fleet managers money.
According to one study, an American truck driver will idle for personal comfort an average of 1,500 hours yearly, which adds up to around $6,000 for a single vehicle. In addition, idling is now illegal in many states.
Considering this winter’s arctic chill that affected most of the nation, there’s no doubt that fleet drivers, especially those who sleep in their cabs, idled their vehicles longer than usual to defrost windows or keep the inside comfortable. You may not know it, but there are alternatives to idling to keep cabs warm and engines running: bunk heaters and engine pre-heaters.
Bunk heaters keep truck cabs warm without requiring running the engine. Most operate on very small amounts of the truck’s diesel fuel, often just one gallon of fuel for 10 hours, and are designed for inside-the-cab mounting. A bunk heater is a great way to keep your drivers safe in sleep-in cabs during extremely cold temperatures and will quickly pay for itself with fuel savings.
Engine pre-heaters are a great way to avoid the wear on engines that comes from cold weather starts and ensure that a vehicle will start in the coldest temperatures. An engine pre-heater warms the engine to a safe, fuel-saving temperature before starting. Much like the bunk heaters, most models are very fuel-efficient.
After a warm, comfortable night’s rest and a quick engine start, drivers can continue to be fuel-efficient while on the road with Cenex RoadMaster XL Premium Highway Diesel Fuel. The fuel, which meets 2014 Tier 4 EPA emissions standards, features injection stabilizing qualities, clean running detergents, and friction-reducing agents that reduce wear on the fuel pump. RoadMaster XL increases fuel lubricity by 10 to 15% and improves fuel economy by up to 5%.
To learn more about the benefits of Cenex RoadMaster XL premium fuel, visit www.cenex.com. For more fuel-saving tips for your fleet, reference this helpful Cenexperts blog post.
