My feeling about fuel economy is that a safe driver is using the proper amount of fuel. And further, that safety is more important than chipping pennies.
I drive a bus about 20K a year, perhaps more. Using the old-fashioned 5 alert system of managing a bus in traffic seems to work.
Here's how it goes:
You have 5 things to be concerned about: The people ahead, the people behind, those on either side and yourself. If you keep a zone of safety in all those 5 areas, you will avoid problems.
That being said, my take is the primary concern is that buses do not stop as well as other critters on the roads, and also we don't corner like the semis do (time delay valves and the like). Furthermore, every bus seems to brake differently than another.
The XLV with disc brakes stops faster than previous year coaches; being mindful that with air brakes, you put your foot on the brake and stay with it.
We've all seen coaches slamming it down the hammer lane, probably because they can; and lots of complaints from other rvs about that, "Yeah, I've seen those Prevosts going by me at 80 mph."
Latest trip was an H3-45 with a big trailer who had to be in the 80-85 mph. Willing to bet his/her stopping distance was a whole lot more than my portly 68 mph, which was the flow of traffic in the center lane on flat level surface on I-95 for the big boys.
The idea is that one should probably be more concerned with what is going on outside the windshield than inside, but I watch the turbo boost. Using the motorcycle mentality of the 3-second rule, "Three seconds ahead, 3 seconds nearby," I try to watch the boost. If I am consistently at say, 20 pounds, that's not going to be good mileage as the engine is creating more power/using more fuel.
With the advantage of height over 4-wheelers, we can see down the road a bit farther. If you see a slow down in traffic ahead, it's a public service to hit the 4-way flashers to warn at least the commercial drivers that there's trouble up ahead. Those behind you will usually put theirs on as well and avoid an, "Oh-oh," situation. Maintaining a longer than usual interval ahead is a really good idea.
For those who may be newer to driving a 25-ton vehicle down the road: When you see a Weigh Station that's open, time to get to the middle lane if you are in the right lane, as there will likely be slow moving truck traffic coming out into traffic.
Generally speaking, I figure if, in moderate to heavy traffic, if you can keep in the center lane with the flow of bg-guy traffic with the 5 alert system, you'll get to where you need to go, safely; with the fuel mileage that follows safe driving.
Lastly, don't worry about the drivers of charter buses whipping down the road. Driving your coach is not supposed to be a competitive sport. Bob-OO sells stuff for the Kart people, now that's competitive. Our deal is enjoying the ride, taking in this beautiful country in comfort and safety.
There are probably a bunch of things wrong with this approach, but for an old geezer it seems to work.
Reply With Quote
Oh well, maybe my wife is right.. "this is not your Peterbilt dahling, slow down."
You should be more worried about that 18 wheeler thats closing on you and half asleep that has to make a quick move before hitting your toad in the ass.
