Is Fleet Fueling Pressure Driving Your Fleet Management Crazy?

Is it costing you more in diesel fuel prices?

According to the TMC of the American Truck Association only 43.6% of all tires are inflated within five PSI of proper air pressure by fleet management. In the same study 21.6% of all fleet companies had on tires under-inflated by 20 PSI or more. How much more in fleet fueling is that costing you in diesel fuel prices running you’re trucks on flats. And you thought your fleet management was on top of this? Another recent industry study from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that 30% of all vehicles including fleet management cars had at least one tire that was 8 PSI or more under-inflated. As we all know this is not going to help any fuel management systems in getting better mileage.

Does this cost your company money? You bet it does. A lot of money in fuel savings and spending more on diesel fuel prices. Tires that contain too little air can lower your fuel management economy by about .4% for every one PSI drop in pressure. Low tire pressure affects fleet companies economy by increasing the tires’ rolling resistance, which makes the engine work harder to move the vehicle. It doesn’t matter what kind of fuel card, mobile fueling, fleet card or fuel companies you have in place, if your fleet management on tires isn’t up to par you’re in the mud. Proper tire inflation can help increase fleet fuel efficiency by up to 3.3%. You may ask yourself so how do I get there? Well it depends on what type of fleet analysis you have, but here are some tips from several leading fleet companies use besides trying having lower diesel fuel prices, fuel cards, fleet card or better diesel fuel additives.

• Use a good quality digital tire pressure gauge. Have your driver check the pressure daily as they go through their pre-trip on a truck. Since your diesel fuel prices are more expense than labor, its better to be safe than sorry. On smaller vehicles or cars have them check it once per week.
• FMCSA strongly suggests tire pressure monitoring and automatic inflation systems. The ROI on these devices for an average fleet management was between one and two years but that was when diesel fuel prices were $3.25.
• Alignment- have it checked make sure everything is rolling in the same direction.
• Tread -low tread will not help your fleet fueling economy or your operation. Also, check for uneven wear, cuts, gouges or bulges in the sidewall.
• Load carrying capacity-make sure the tire matches the job.
• Tire Replacement- when needed, try to replace a pair if possible. Clearly, on bigger trucks and trailers, that is not always practical.
• Educate Drivers about tire pressure diesel fuel additives, accurate fuel card – fleet card – mobile fueling information and fuel savings that can occur
• Invest in Technology for your tires, fleet management, fuel management systems will all lead to great fuel savings with your fleet companies
• Buy everyone a digital pressure gauge it shows you really care the same way you should care that a driver enters his miles when using his fuel card – fleet card while helping lower your diesel fuel prices
• Fleet managers you might want to visit Pressure Pro at http://www.advantagepressurepro.com.
• Drive Safely

Always visit us for advice on lower diesel fuel prices, diesel fuel additives, mobile fueling, fuel cards, fleet cards, fleet fueling or anything else that involves your fuel management systems or fleet management solutions.