Vehicle efficiency upgrades: 30+ MPG in 2.5ton commercial truck

Step 5 Major changes

-When I can afford it, I am going to lower the truck about 6 inches.  This will make it more aerodynamic, improve handling, and make it easier to load things onto the tailgate.  Sometimes I do need the extra weight capacity (or ground clearance) so I'll add in air suspension so I can raise it when I need to.

-When I can afford it, I will eventually replace the 3 speed (plus extra low) transmission with a 4 spd (plus low). Having an overdrive will allow lower RPMs at highway speeds, increasing optimal speed from the current 35 to around 50.

-I won't go through the trouble, but installing a turbo charger increases mileage (assuming you don't waste the extra power on accelerating faster)

-I have heard of people replacing the entire steel truck bed with aluminum to save weight. I am not going to go to that extent either.

-There is such a thing as low rolling resistance tires, but they don't make them for vehicles this big.

-Some people have made large extensions off the rear of their cars called "boat tails" which cause the rear to taper in at an aerodynamic angle.  There is a guy who gets 90mpg in his Honda Civic.
This would be impractical for me, because of how I use the truck, but it is still pretty impressive.
http://www.aerocivic.com/

-below are some random pictures of what this truck does.  They have nothing to do with this step.

Comments

[JustLuckey]

You mentioned that low rolling resistance (LRR) tires are not available for a truck that big. I'm not sure when you originally wrote this, but there are some available. I have a 3/4 ton Dodge Ram w/Cummins and I haven't made my mind up between the Michelin LTX M/S2 or the General Grabber HTS (both load rating of E). FYI - I'm squeezing ~28 mpg from my 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 (Short bed, single rear wheel 4x4). The OBC says I'm getting 30-32 mpg on the highway, but most people know the computer is very optimistic. My mods include solid tonnaeu cover, Banks High Ram Air elbow, Quadzilla Mileage Max module,K&N air filter, 5" Turbo-back exhaust. I'm looking at LRR Tires (skinnier, but same height and load rating as current), free'r flowing exhaust manifold. My goal is to make mods that don't alter the look of my truck. Nice work though.

[JacobAziza]

I guess I didn't do thorough enough research.

Thanks for sharing.

[luvit]

i am an awesome packer. however, sir, ..you are epic.

[JacobAziza]

Thanks guys. All those hours of Tetris ended up coming in handy afterall. The key is ratchet straps. They are very strong and secure, and keep the highest, most precarious looking loads steady enough for freeway travel. One part of efficiency is using the smallest possible vehicle for the job at hand. A 24ft box truck to do the same move would get far less than 24mpg. In a 3rd world country, where people don't have money to burn, people use available resources to maximum capacity all the time. This wouldn't look so impressive there.

[stencilgrafitti]

Very commendable packing job you've done there