It's a Team's Life
Is Aerodynamics worth it?
When we decided to buy an ARI Legacy sleeper we knew that it was not aerodynamic and we would pay the price in our fuel costs. The 2019 Freightliner Cascadia is very aerodynamic and we knew the truck would make up for some of the deficiencies of the sleeper. Now at a year later of driving the truck full time we have our fuel mileage numbers.
Before adding any aero devices to the freight box:
Total Miles before: 39879
Fuel Mileage: 10.83
In January we add a Nose Cone https://www.nosecone.com/
Total miles with Nose Cone alone: 22040
Fuel Mileage: 11.45
In March we added a Rocket Tail https://rocketail.com/
Total Miles with Rocket Tail: 76712
Fuel Mileage: 11.42
Combination of Rocket Tail and Nose Cone
Total Miles: 98752
Fuel Mileage: 11.43
Total miles on the truck: 140736
Lifetime Fuel Mileage: 11.31
For the past several months we have done a lot of city driving and that has hurt our overall fuel mileage. Bob’s next project will be to skirt the truck and that should help our fuel mileage even more. With the price of fuel low, these numbers might not mean much but every penny counts, and fuel prices will not remain low. It looks as if the Nose Cone made the biggest difference to our fuel economy but the combination of the two has been great.
Rumor has it that ARI is working on improving the aerodynamics of their sleeper for the straight trucks and I hope that is a good rumor. We lost about a mile to the gallon when we bought the ARI sleeper but the trade-off has been worth it for us. This year, 2020, has been a rough year in trucking, and having the ARI tiny home we have not missed being able to go inside and eat at the restaurants. Between the Freightliner Cascadia and the ARI Sleeper, we have been able to keep to ourselves very easily and be comfortable.
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee
Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.