Trucking companies have to keep costs as low as possible to ensure you make a profit. Proper maintenance of your vehicles helps you save on fuel. Your tires are a simple but important factor affecting fuel efficiency.
Tires and Fuel Efficiency
Tires are crucial for several reasons. The number one reason to make sure your trucks have good tires of the right size is safety. Drivers and vehicles need quality tires to get them through all kinds of weather and road conditions. There’s also the fact that flat tires or blowouts cause delays, which hurts your business.
Fuel efficiency depends on several elements, such as how well a vehicle’s engine is performing, maintaining proper fluid levels such as oil and drivers practicing good habits such as maintaining proper speeds and not idling unnecessarily. Some factors, such as heavy traffic, are beyond your control. Tires are one factor that you can manage, however.
The quality of your tires has an impact on rolling resistance, which refers to the pressure of moving tires on the road. According to estimates from the U.S. Department of Energy, as much as 15 percent of fuel efficiency can be attributed to rolling resistance. You can improve your tires’ fuel efficiency in several ways.
- Make sure tires are properly sized for each vehicle.
- Inspect tires daily to make sure they are sufficiently inflated. Make sure tire inflation is even on all tires.
- Use tires that are designed with efficiency in mind. Tires with deep treads tend to lower fuel efficiency. Today’s fuel efficient tires are safe even with less traction.
- Don’t replace tires more often than necessary. Older tires often provide greater fuel efficiency as their treads aren’t as deep.
- Use lighter parts. The weight of all truck parts creates more work for tires. Aluminum axle hubs, for example, are much lighter than iron or steel ones. Using lighter parts throughout the truck and trailer improves fuel efficiency.
Research the Most Fuel Efficient Practices
Fuel efficiency is the result of many factors. The more research you do, the more you can improve mileage. Look for tires and parts proven to provide better mileage. Technology is rapidly advancing, so there may be new products on the market worth trying.
Transportation Factoring: Another Way to Improve Your Finances
There are many ways trucking companies can reduce costs and increase profits. In addition to using the right tires and fuel efficient parts, you have to pay attention to your business’s cash flow. One of the best ways to improve cash flow for your trucking company is to use transportation factoring.
Invoice factoring is a type of financing that lets you get cash for your invoices without having to wait for clients to pay. Riviera Finance has been providing creative financing to all types of businesses for 50 years. They offer flexible invoice factoring, or freight bill factoring for trucking companies. To learn more, contact Riviera Finance today.
