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This was done on Mythbusters this past week.........
Does following a big semi really save you fuel?
According to their results it does.
Depending on how close you follow him, it can boost MPG's by as much as 40%. But don't try this at home, it's dangerous to tailgate.
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Reverend Matthew Koscielski
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I know it does save them fuel, but I wonder did Mythbusters test what happens to your head when a tire blows or the driver decides to STOP? I've hated drafters since my first day driving and still do to this day. It's not a pretty site to see whats left of that car when the wrecker drags it out from under the ICC bumper.
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Here and Gone like the Wind
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Funny you should mention that NW. They did do a test of a tire blowing and it wasn't pretty.
They could not simulate a real world test, but they did manage to blow and shred a tire at highway speed. They then took a large piece of rubber and determined it came off the tire at about 40 mph. In mythbuster fashion they set up a rig to shoot the piece of rubber at 40 mph towards a car door and a dummy head made with ballistics gel and the spine of a pig or some other animal.
And the result was......
DECAPITATION!
I didn't catch the beginning of it so I don't know if they were virgins or retreads, but we all know how well those retreads hold up. HA HA!!
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Quit your WHINING, Truckin' ain't for sissies
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I saw that one. At least they warned over and over that drafting a big rig was dangerous at best and plain stupid. Save a little fuel or risk killing yourself and your family. Gas has to get a lot higher before that decision leave the no brainer catagory
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Watched (WATCHED!) a woman die drafting, just a plain stupid, poorly trained, self serving 4 wheeler. The driver did everything he could to get this idiot off of him, even stopped at a rest area. (She waited!) He was pulling a container on a chassis, one of those crappy tires let go... left outside...100% of the cap went through the windshield...65MPH... SPLAT Wish they could show that one to "drafters"
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The World of Night
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| POSTED BY: hotshoe on 07/30/2008 11:08:57 |
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Centex147 wrote:
Being drafted, or even passed also hurts the trucks fuel economy. This I have easy proof of, for us that drive Freightshakers with the little meter in the dash watch it when someone passes you.
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Nope, sorry, can't see that one. Years ago in the days of 300-odd horsepower on deserted stretches of northern Canadian highway we were in the habit of drafting when running with drivers known to us, and in constant radio contact. All the trucks - including the lead unit, experienced enhanced fuel economy. When followed closely, a semi does not have to pull the low pressure area immediately behind it. A high-powered conventional belonged at the lead position of this "road train", and low-powered trucks took middle positions. A deck with a low load was best as back door. This required close choreography between drivers, and slowing for dinner took about 2 miles, as I recall. This practice is in no way condoned by me today. Conditions have changed, and so have drivers. |
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Back in the good old days LOL we used to have trains. The front truck kept all the lights on and the rest of them had nothing but marker light on. We'd run less than 15 feet a part. Yes stupid I know but we did get 1-2 MPG better fuel mileage that way and it was a sight to behold.
Not to mention it was fun and the camaraderie was something that we don't have today in the industry and we're the poorer for it.
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Here and Gone like the Wind
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| POSTED BY: hotshoe on 04/28/2009 09:49:35 |
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NightWind wrote:
...it was a sight to behold.
Not to mention it was fun and the camaraderie was something that we don't have today in the industry and we're the poorer for it.
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True, that. There's a lot to miss about the bad old days, not including those awful green things the companies wanted us to run. I'm still 30% deaf in my left ear from those rotten things.
I only come close these days to that trust and camaraderie when I run in close formation with other bikers. But I did have the pleasure, recently, of running all the way home from Calgary - about 600 miles - with the one guy who taught me about drafting, and occasionally practiced a hopelessly more dangerous variation on the theme back then, which I won't share with you all.
What a gift that trip was. I had not run with Cam Sirdar for over 20 years. We didn't shut up the whole way, I think. |
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We used to run a purple light in the left top corner of the driver's side windshield that way we knew who was who. Used to be called the WBO, I think most of us are retired or dead who knows I lost track of most of them years ago.
Now days I wouldn't even think about running in a train simply because there aren't as many experienced drivers out there, plus the cops would eat our lunches. But I do miss the good clean fun we had.
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Here and Gone like the Wind
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