9 Fuel Saving Techniques that Every Fleet Business should Follow

Summary

This blog discusses 9 fuel-saving techniques that every fleet business should follow to improve cost-effectiveness. These techniques include driver training, using a fuel monitoring system, adhering to size and weight limits, checking tire pressure, avoiding long idling, filling up with the right fuel, reducing wind resistance, maintaining the vehicle’s aerodynamics, and using technology to track fuel usage. By following these techniques, fleet owners and managers can save money and increase their fuel efficiency.

Whether you drive a car or a truck, you always try to push a little bit to get an extra mile. This article especially focuses on cost-effectiveness. Everyone who uses vehicles has a million-dollar question how to save fuel? Mainly this question revolves around the fleet industry soo much. 

Some people may think, what is the use of squeezing an extra distance from your fuel tank? But logistics owners and fleet managers know the value and seriousness of saving fuel. Improving fuel efficiency by 1% in your business may help you save thousands of dollars in a year. 

Then what are all the 9 fuel-saving techniques that every fleet business should follow?

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1. Driver Training

You may think driver training is just a waste of time, which doesn’t impact fuel economy. But, the truth is driver training is known to be a highly cost-effective strategy with low investment to improve fuel efficiency. 

Explain & educate your drivers about policies, operational practices, and improve their driving skills. Set a proper driver training program in your business, which makes a huge difference in your fuel economy and increases cost-effectiveness. 

How to build a proper driver training program? Making a successful driver training program isn’t just an easy thing; it needs a lot of dedication and analyzing ability. Define what your business needs and then build a proper program according to your business requirements. 

2. Fuel Monitoring System

Fuel Monitoring System; the most spoken and highly demanded topic in the fleet industry. The fuel monitoring system is designed to monitor and manage the total fuel activities in the vehicles and stationary fuel tanks.  

Why do you want to use a fuel monitoring system in your business? How does the fuel monitoring system help you? Use a fuel monitoring system if you wish to,

  1. To prevent Diesel theft
  2. To monitor and manage fuel consumption
  3. To know, every activity occurs in the fuel tank 
  4. To avoid fuel contamination 
  5. To gain more fuel efficiency
  6. To prevent long hour vehicle idling 
  7. To reduce the operational cost
  8. To get instant alert notifications with the location. 

It is proved that by installing fuel sensors from Vamosys our customers can save more than 30% of their expenditure on fuel economy. 

3. Size and weight limits

Every vehicle has certain weight limits More the weight in your trucks, the more the working engine does. Adding unnecessary weight to the trucks, which in turn increases the fuel consumption in the trucks. 

8 Tips to reduce excess weight in the trucks? 

  1. Remove wind resistance if not in use.
  2. Replace window glasses with weight-less fiberglass or polycarbonate sheets.
  3. Use weightless fiber body panels. 
  4. Remove any extra or swap engine in the trucks.
  5. Keep your interior light
  6. Maintain less fuel in the vehicle 
  7. Lighter wheels with correct tire pressure
  8. Remove external attachments in your trucks

Distributed weight in the trucks helps you to save fuel. Every vehicle has a certain capacity so load goods according to it.  

4. Check your tire pressure

What is the connection between tires and fuel consumption? You may see the changes in fuel consumption after changing new tires to your trucks. 

Low pressured or damaged tires may cause a big impact on decreasing your fuel economy. Every 1 PSI (pound-force per square inch) drop in your single tire will affect the fuel mileage by 0.3%. Extreme soft tires reduce your mileage by 10%.  

Though tires play an important role in fuel consumption, next time be careful while choosing a tire for your trucks. How to choose perfect tires for your trucks?

  1. You need to understand the simple physics of tires (Rolling-resistance).
  2. Identify for what type of truck you want to choose a tire?
  3. Identify the weight and capacity of the truck
  4. While choosing a tire consider tread and tire casing. 
  5. Choose the light, strong and perfect fit.

5. Avoid Long Idling

Idling becomes a big headache to the fleet owners because they don’t know the vehicle idling hour once the trucks get out of the shed. Idle trucks whenever it is necessary. 

Approximately one-hour idling diesel truck burns a gallon (3.7 liters) of diesel; 30 sec of vehicle idling burns an amount of fuel required to restart a vehicle.  

Tips to solve vehicle idling issue: 1. Train your drivers by educating them about fuel loss and fuel consumption. 2. Use a fuel monitoring system to avoid engine idling, it helps to record the vehicle idling time with location. 

6. Make your Fuel Fill in the Right Place

Many people are misguided with this statement “easy way to save fuel is to fill fuel at low-cost fuel stations”. Yes! You are misguided by this statement. 

Filling at low-cost stations doesn’t matter, filling the right quality of fuel matters. Your truck engine might get fault due to poor quality fuel, which leads to engine replacements or more than a thousand dollars worth of maintenance. 

Also, keep in mind, good quality of fuel doesn’t refer to “premium or speed or fast” fuel. Premium fuels consist of a higher amount of octane compared with regular fuel, which burns with the engine even faster. The high-rated engine or some special engine might require these premium fuels. 

Before coming to a conclusion of fuel, consider your vehicle and engine type to make a proper decision. Fuel costs could be cut down as much as possible when you use regular fuel instead of using premium fuel.

Don’t ever mix your fuel” One way or another way, your vehicle will make you pay for the maintenance; fuel contaminations escort you to high maintenance costs. To avoid such a situation in your business make use of fuel cards. 

You can manage every fuel fill data by using fuel cards; in which station fuel has been filled, how much fuel has filled. Fuel cards help you to make your work simple and more efficient. 

7. Preventive Maintenance

Maintaining your vehicle increases fuel economy. Keep the vehicle’s air filter clean, change your engine oil regularly, etc. If you back off from today’s maintenance to pay hundreds of dollars tomorrow your vehicle will make you pay thousands of dollars. 

Not only fuel efficiency, but vehicle maintenance also has a lot of benefits

  1. Preventive maintenance save tomorrows huge maintenance costs
  2. It saves unwanted and unexpected operational costs
  3. Preventive maintenance saves you from vehicle downtime
  4. Maintenance is good to improve your vehicles fuel economy
  5. It also improves driver safety

8. Select a Fuel-Efficient Vehicle

Purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles are one of the great ways to increase fuel efficiency. Choosing trucks according to usage is one of the important and complex jobs. 

Tip: Low-weight vehicles are more fuel-efficient than heavy-weight vehicles. 

What are some of the important factors to consider before purchasing a vehicle for your business? make sure your low-weight vehicle is suitable 

  1. For the goods, you are going to load? 
  2. Does it suit the road type? 
  3. Does it suit the climatic condition? 
  4. Does it provide a good mileage? 
  5. What is the best engine type? 

9. Avoid Aggressive Driving

“Aggressive driving” an uncontrolled issue by fleet owners. Often aggressive driving leads to accidents, vehicle damage, or even many fatalities. 2018 Global Status report says the major cause of fatalities and injuries on the road is more than 1.35 million. 

Heavy accelerations and fast braking decrease your fuel efficiency of the vehicle. The better solution to avoid aggressive driving is to train your drivers in a proper way (Driving Techniques to save fuel) and using a fleet management system, which helps you to monitor the driver behavior and you can control the vehicle’s ignition status. 

Try to follow these 9 fuel-saving techniques in your fleet business and make success over it.  

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