Hi
Just spent 4days away on the agency in a Volvo FH12, tramping from Skelmersdale, Essex, Kent, London, Devon and South Wales and back to Skem. The thing is, want ever I tried I could only get an average 7.9 mpg. It was an I shift vehicle, any tips on improving this if I get any other work. 
mp1dean:
HiJust spent 4days away on the agency in a Volvo FH12, tramping from Skelmersdale, Essex, Kent, London, Devon and South Wales and back to Skem. The thing is, want ever I tried I could only get an average 7.9 mpg. It was an I shift vehicle, any tips on improving this if I get any other work.
Why? do you have to pay for it yourself 
Sorry only takin the pi55
Our 460 Merc`s show on the computer around 8.5 average and thats only running with 2.5t of empty drinks cans on them but with a 15" high trailer.
Welcome mp1dean, if its a new truck youll need to wait for about 50,000 ks to clock up then it will give much better figures. You may want to check that you have the top button on the i-shift block set to E not Pā¦not wishing to teach you to ā ā ā ā eggs but am assuming ( never do that ) you`ve been shown how to drive it to get the best out of it 
Itās on an 04 reg, with about 680000 on the clock. True enough the only introduction to the vehicle was āhereās the keysā , To be honest, being on the agency Iāve never had training on any vehicle Iāve driven 
mp1dean:
Itās on an 04 reg, with about 680000 on the clock.
Itās only just run in.Whatās up with you?
Ken.
last time i looked on our board the average was 9.71 m.p.g , i think theres about 40 trucks in the yard , volvo 480,s , 08, 57,s,
lowest m.p.g,s were the jocks , in the 7,s , think thats down to the fact theyve only just proggresed from horse and carts to trucks and itll take a while for them to get the hang of driving trucks 
mp1dean:
True enough the only introduction to the vehicle was āhereās the keysā
There`s a surpriseā¦I was the same when i started 5 yrs ago 
Mp1 Dean.
Driver training is part of my job as a salesman, and before you all start, Iāve done my time on the road aswell.
The easiest way to get any vehicle to perform well is to let the vehicle do the work, keep it in the green band, as this is where you get the best torque out of the engine, cut down on braking and set the cruise control 2 mph below the limiter, it wonāt make a vast difference on long journey times but will up you mpg vastly, it will also give you better pulling power on the hills, as you wonāt have to wait for the limiter to back off.
After saying that, MPG all depends on what weight your carrying, what the weather is like, tyre ware and pressures, drag factors, operating terrain etc. etc , I could go on forever. What I am trying to say is that there are many factors to achieving good fuel figures, you can only go against your own fleet average, so find out what that is 1st before you beat yourself up, thinking it is low.
As an example, I sell Iveco and I have just had a Stralis 450 6x2 tractor into a customer for fuel trials, which on average, is performimg very well (average 9.2mpg over 96,000kms) however, it only achieved 8.1mpg when on trial with this customer, when I collected the vehicle and downloaded the information, the 1st question I asked the operator was, what is your fleet average ā ā , his reply was 7.5 mpg, on the initial reading of the vehicle, it appeared to be down on itās own average, but 0.6 mpg better than the customers fleet average, with a driver that was not used to a different vehicle, once the driver was comfortable with the vehicle, I would probably be able to help him (with training) to get another 0.5 mpg out of the vehicle.
Unfortunately, back to your comment on training, there is a great lack of training for drivers in this country, I never had any formal training when I was driving, drivers are just expected to know how to operate every truck on the road and then get moaned at by the operators when things are not going right, all operators should now be looking at driver trianing to improve fuel econonomy and road safety, it is probably one of the biggest ways to cut operating costs.
Hope this as helped
Regards
Ant
Willie Roadstar:
I sell Iveco and ā¦
Shame on you ā¦self-flagellation with a damp copy of the Sentinel for you my man 
Willie Roadstar:
Unfortunatelyā¦ there is a great lack of training for drivers in this countryā¦ drivers are just expected to know how to operate every truck on the road and then get moaned at by the operators when things are not going right, all operators should now be looking at driver trianing to improve fuel econonomy and road safety, it is probably one of the biggest ways to cut operating costsā¦
Yep, spose its all down to money as usual with the smaller firms, shame, they just don`t get it when it comes to looking after their most prized assets ( the drivers ) spend a little on proper training ā¦stop yawning at the back there ā¦and the fuel economy will follow
SAFED course has been the best driving based course i`ve ever done www.safed.org.uk
mp1dean:
True enough the only introduction to the vehicle was āhereās the keysā
In over 30 years of vocational driving Iāve never had any training whatsoever other than for my HGV test. Itās was always a case of āhereās the keysā. In respect of 7.9 mpg for your Volvo I would say thats about right. I had an 06 FH12 (i-shift) running at max weight most of the time and never had more than 8 mpg.
Tiger
Fastrantiger:
In respect of 7.9 mpg for your Volvo I would say thats about right. I had an 06 FH12 (i-shift) running at max weight most of the time and never had more than 8 mpg.
As a comparison, after completing a course at Volvo at Warwick, I was, according to Dynafleet, getting an average of about 10.2 mpg at between 38-44 tonnes on a ā57ā plate Volvo FH13 440 on UK general.
This thread highlights the need for type training, and how most firms arenāt interested in providing it. Yet they are the first to shout if a driver puts in poor fuel performance.
Iāve done an M-B Actros course and an FH13 course (thatās all we run) over the last year or so and theyāve been brilliant - helped me no end. These two trucks are totally different animals. Drive them the same and you will get crap fuel figures on one or the other. Or both.
Not easy for agency drivers, I know, but no employed driver should worry about fuel economy if the employer doesnāt give some form of guidance on how to get the best from specific vehicle types.
You havent mentioned what type of trailer you were pulling, that can make a load of difference, but I just did a conversion from my days on a FH12 420 i shift running with a road tanker at between 40 & 42 tonne.
Our fleet returned 33 L / per 100 km which equates to 8.560 Miles per Gallon.
This figure includes using pto driven pumps and compressors for up to 5 hours.
the computer on my VolvoFH12-460 (04 plate with 490000 on the clock) shows an average of 7.7 mpg
This is with manual 12 speed gearbox
Normally running between 42 and 44 tonnes gross with bulk tipper
Is this about right or do i need to wear slippers instead of heavy boots when driving.
I try to keep it āin the greenā but with a bulker delivering to farms and all over the uk including the welsh hills and scottish highlands its sometimes difficult to do.
Iāll try the tip of setting the cruise control low and see if it makes a difference.
At the end of the day i dont pay for the fuel but if everyone thought āsod it, its not my moneyā a few more firms would be against the wall.
Going slower is better as i get paid by the hour anyway
7.9mpgā ā ? Crikey, If I turned something as high as that in, the Old Man would think Iād not moved out of the yard all week.
The best Iāve turned out lately is 7.5mpg over the course of a week. Thatās running at full weight (44 tonnes), with some empty mileage, in a 500 Stralis.
Our kid has a 55 plate 480 Stralis with just over 200,000km on it and itās only average 7.3mpg over the course of itās life. Again it runs at full weight for the majority of the time.
My poorly sick TGA (07 plate) was turning in around 6mpg at best, before it went for a long holiday,
Whatever it is youāre doing to return 7.9mpg, please can you share your secretā¦
7.9mpg isānt too bad.
It can depend on what trailer you are pulling, How it is loaded makes a big difference. How far do your revs drop on a hill before it drops down a gear?
surely with all auto boxes,if left to their own devices,the only thing to alter fuel efficiency is weight,driving conditions n weather?the revs are out of the drivers hands?
the out fit i work for used to buy scanias,with our low weight,we were getting 11mpg!..opted to save cash n buy nasty axors,now down to 9ish.we have fuel monitors that constantly check revs,idling,lettin it go down hill etc,and are pulled in for any "misdemeanours"so basically have to drive like miss marple!
i look forward to auto boxes,then the fuel loss is their own fault for buying cheap n nasty units! 
whooshwhoosh:
surely with all auto boxes,if left to their own devices,the only thing to alter fuel efficiency is weight,driving conditions n weather?the revs are out of the drivers hands?
the out fit i work for used to buy scanias,with our low weight,we were getting 11mpg!..opted to save cash n buy nasty axors,now down to 9ish.we have fuel monitors that constantly check revs,idling,lettin it go down hill etc,and are pulled in for any "misdemeanours"so basically have to drive like miss marple!
i look forward to auto boxes,then the fuel loss is their own fault for buying cheap n nasty units!
There was a very good reason i mentioned about the revs dropping down too far on hills. I took a volvo out with an auto box. It clearly had a fault. It dropped to 1000 rpm before dropping down a gear. The best thing to do was drive it like a semi automatic. If you didnāt it would take a long time to get up a hill. You might as well of tipped the fuel on the floor.
could be how manufacturers project such high fuel figures from their wagons?
program the wizardry to be as eco as poss?ie,not droppin a cog until last breath?the man in charge of our fleet reckons we dont need to drop gears with our loads being so light???one bloke tried itā¦until unit finally stalled!
to be honest ive only had 1 fully auto wagon,a tga,n found it brilliant
whooshwhoosh:
could be how manufacturers project such high fuel figures from their wagons?
program the wizardry to be as eco as poss?ie,not droppin a cog until last breath?the man in charge of our fleet reckons we dont need to drop gears with our loads being so light???one bloke tried itā¦until unit finally stalled!
to be honest ive only had 1 fully auto wagon,a tga,n found it brilliant
That bloke must get a back hander from his clutch supplier , Or heās a complete ā ā ā .
no and yes,just felt he had to prove a pointā¦tho videoin it on his phone while he did it seemed more a case for prosecution to me!..[zb] funny to watch tho!
Censor dodge removed. Yawn.