AndrewG:
biggriffin:
peirre:
RTFM+1.
+2
[zb] fuel economy, time is more valuable…
RTFM…+3…
And Andrew`s Fuel/Time comment? Yep, it depends on the job, they both cost money, and which holds the upper hand depends on what is happening in any job at the instant.
And no trucks as yet, can make those calculations. One day they will. Sure they will.
But for now it takes a thinking, conscious, and conscientious, driver to make the choice of whether or not to put the boot down.
After having one of those T-Range things for 2 nights as my Actros is in for MOT, I can’t wait to get it back… in fact, I’m desperately hoping someone collected it Friday afternoon or they bought it back so I can have it Sunday!! I like a soft ride, which being poor mans spec, the Merc doesn’t give (steady on Dipper!) but I thought the bloody cab was gonna fall off at the first roundabout! And why 2 dials for the gears? And the position of the lecky window switch! And the massive window that rattles in that little metal 'runner/holder when the window is down half inch to um…let a small amount of fresh air in (cough)! And why do the the dials for the lights turn endlessly? And why a ■■■■ poor driving position? Sit a fair way back from the steering wheel and ya need arms like an Orangutan to reach any point past 5:35! Main beam headlamps were cracking though! Oh…and that electric handbrake…how many times did I check that before getting out the cab! It pulled well though, 460 over my 430 was a massive difference and the gear changes were slick
Got training on HJs DAFs when they renewed the fleet, when I started as a Linehaul driver for Geopost (now DPD) I was sent down to Smethwick for a week to do driver training on their Mercs which also included defensive and economical driving. The manufacturers do offer courses but companies won’t pay for them. If you have a DAF all their training videos for the new lorries are on Youtube.
biggriffin:
AndrewG:
[zb] fuel economy, time is more valuable…Speed is your friend, time is your enemy, hence keep it lit
Keeping it lit isn’t the fastest way. One of the exercises we did on our economical driver training course involved going around a route at the start which was a mix of Birmingham main roads, the M6 and country A roads. The time you took, the number of gearchanges you made and the amount of fuel you used was recorded. At the end of the course you redid the same route and you were expected to not only get a better MPG but also do it faster and do it with fewer gearchanges. You don’t do that by keeping it lit. I prove this every time I get to the roundabouts at Penrith on the A66. “Keep her lit blinged up Scania racing for the boat Irishman” comes steaming past me on that last dual carriageway and goes steaming up to the lights. I let off 300-400 yards away from them and roll up to them then go bombing past the Paddy as I arrive when they’re just turning to green and I’m still rolling whilst he’s starting from a standstill effin and jeffin as I disappear off ahead into the distance. I usually get caught up again but not until I’m on the M6 and only because his limiter is set higher than mine.
Conor:
Got training on HJs DAFs when they renewed the fleet, when I started as a Linehaul driver for Geopost (now DPD) I was sent down to Smethwick for a week to do driver training on their Mercs which also included defensive and economical driving. The manufacturers do offer courses but companies won’t pay for them. If you have a DAF all their training videos for the new lorries are on Youtube.
You just like Mandy the trainer 
Conor:
biggriffin:
AndrewG:
[zb] fuel economy, time is more valuable…Speed is your friend, time is your enemy, hence keep it lit
Keeping it lit isn’t the fastest way. One of the exercises we did on our economical driver training course involved going around a route at the start which was a mix of Birmingham main roads, the M6 and country A roads. The time you took, the number of gearchanges you made and the amount of fuel you used was recorded. At the end of the course you redid the same route and you were expected to not only get a better MPG but also do it faster and do it with fewer gearchanges. You don’t do that by keeping it lit. I prove this every time I get to the roundabouts at Penrith on the A66. “Keep her lit blinged up Scania racing for the boat Irishman” comes steaming past me on that last dual carriageway and goes steaming up to the lights. I let off 300-400 yards away from them and roll up to them then go bombing past the Paddy as I arrive when they’re just turning to green and I’m still rolling whilst he’s starting from a standstill effin and jeffin as I disappear off ahead into the distance. I usually get caught up again but not until I’m on the M6 and only because his limiter is set higher than mine.
Keeping it lit is always the fastest way. Fannying about worrying about optimal gearchanges looking at fuel figures is a slow and time consuming way to drive. Example, Malaga to Calais return in 5ish days in my previous FH500 (remapped to 570hp) was touch and go being off the limiter down to 85-90kph with downchanges on gradients. The current torque monster allows being on the limiter fully freighted on long gradients with no down changes saving minutes on some sections amounting to around an hour in total saving. The result of watching fuel consumption possibly with less power could equate to the particular job being a no go creeping into another whole day with a 24hr break thrown in putting a spanner in the works for the following weeks work…
A colleague of mine was bragging about the mileage he had done the month previous. We had the same work, same less than a year old R520 lorries, but he was always keeping it lit, to the point of applying full throttle when Scanias interactive cruise control let off before reaching the top of the hill, to coast over it etc. The difference was almost 4000 kilometres.
His 11 thousand to my 15.
There are a hundred variables when it comes to working out the trip ahead. Running full throttle surely is the answer sometimes, but definitely not always. But working smarter, not harder is an unfamiliar concept to many.
the maoster:
Our fleet is being replaced over the next month or so. Scania dropped the ball with epically atrocious dealer back up so apparently we’re going to be an all MAN fleet. The only driver training offered for them is how to securely place the bag over your head so that nobody recognises you driving it!
Our fleet is all artic MAN & they are always breaking & our dealer is useless
TheNewBoy:
the maoster:
Our fleet is being replaced over the next month or so. Scania dropped the ball with epically atrocious dealer back up so apparently we’re going to be an all MAN fleet. The only driver training offered for them is how to securely place the bag over your head so that nobody recognises you driving it!Our fleet is all artic MAN & they are always breaking & our dealer is useless
My understanding is that MAN were the only ones to offer a one year deal as opposed to a minimum 3 year deal, meaning that if the lorries turn out to be rubbish we can walk away 2 years earlier than with other marques.
