Question for OTR Drivers, you guys with your CDL

[ThomWV]

On average what is the milage and range of a typical loaded and unloaded rig?

[catnhatnh]

1. No current CDL...but have worked trucking....

back in '78 the Ryder system leased tractor fleets with an all up guarantee of 5mpg...that was considered good....

[ThomWV]

2. Thanks - now, how many gallons does a typical truck hold?

Actually I had that number in mind. I used to spend a good bit of time on the road (personal travel) and on the radio so I was pretty sure, from conversations, that the milage was right around what you said.

[catnhatnh]

4. Tanks vary a lot....

but usually not less than twin 50 gal, with long haulers up to twin 150's...

[Arger68]

5. I would say most semis get between 5-7 mpg

and hold 250-300 gallons of fuel. I am in the trucking business and used to drive, but that's almost 15 years ago now.

[Debau2005]

3. My fiance is a truck driver

and currently on the road, I'll text him and ask him to call me when he makes a stop.

[ThomWV]

6. Let me tell you why I ask

I just looked up the cost of diesel fuel in Mexico, its right at $2.00 US a gallon right now. That's roughly half of what we pay. So if a mexican truck can fill up on their side of the border and has a range of 2,000 miles, it means that the truck can deliver its payload 1,000 miles into the US, turn around and deadhead it back home or load up and return and do the whole trip at half the cost in fuel that one of our independents would have to pay. And with that you have to ask, how can we possibly compete?

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. Most OTR tractors have at least 200 gallons capacity...

and as the poster above mentioned, there are trucks with 2 150 gallon tanks, but they are not the norm. Extra fuel means extra weight, too so you usually only find such large tanks on trucks where weight is not a major concern, such as Household Goods movers.

I drove OTR for 20 years and the largest tanks I've ever had were 135's of which about 90% was "usable" meaning if you ran it down to the point where there was only 15 gallons in each side you were likely to start sucking air. The best mileage I ever achieved was about 8 MPG.