If our recent polling is correct, not a huge number of you have crossed over into 9+ average mpg territory. Most owner-operators fall in that 5-7 mpg range, as the poll results below show. Polling was conducted this fall here at OverdriveOnline.com, with more than 1,000 respondents.
Distribution of owner-operator fuel mileage
Even with the late fall-off in crude prices and continuing diesel price decline, it’s still well above $3/gal., and any owner-operator’s interested in getting more per gallon out their fuel purchases. So I figure it was only a matter of time before a Facebook group built specifically for owner-operators to share drivetrain and otherwise mechanical or aero tips toward busting the 9 mpg mark sprung up.
And sure enough, Tim Hepler alerted us to a group where he serves as admin — the 9+ MPG Club, which you can request to join via this link. (Note the Walmart/Peterbilt prototype shot that’s the cover image: we wrote about that truck when it debuted at MATS 2014 here.)
What’s the single biggest thing you’ve done to affect your fuel mileage to the positive in recent years? If you’re using a mobile device, tap the image to call Overdrive and tell us. If you’re on a desktop, call 530-408-6423. Make sure to tell us your name and state of residence, and we’ll put a podcast rounding up the responses.I notice some familiar faces already there, from Jackie Wormley and Rico Muhammad to Michael Gully, Maggie Stone and Chad Boblett. If you’re not there already, give the group a look here.
