How To Save on Fuel Costs While Driving Your Rental Truck

If you’ve rented a commercial truck, you’ve already made a smart financial choice by avoiding the costs and overhead of buying a vehicle. Yet the savings don’t end there. You can get even more for your money by following a few best practices for fuel efficiency.

Ready to spend more time on the road and less time at the pump? Here’s everything you need to know about how to save gas while driving your rental truck.

Why Is Fuel Efficiency Important for Commercial Trucks?

Fuel is one of the biggest variable costs for commercial fleets of all sizes. Yet many businesses don’t realize that a few eco-friendly habits and a little preventive maintenance can save significant money.

You can conserve fuel in your rental truck by focusing on these four areas:

Vehicle weight and payload

Heavier loads consume more fuel. Data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics show that trucks with higher operating weights burn more fuel than those carrying lighter loads.

Tires and alignment

When your truck’s tires aren’t aligned properly, they wear unevenly, reducing fuel efficiency. Air pressure matters, too. Properly inflating your tires can save you up to 11 cents per gallon, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Idling

Keeping your truck idling burns fuel faster than most people realize, consuming about 0.8 gallons of fuel every hour, per U.S. Department of Energy stats.

Driver behavior

Habits like speeding, accelerating and gear shifting all impact your truck’s miles per gallon (mpg). How much? One estimate says a truck traveling at 75 MPH uses 27% more fuel than one running at 65 MPH.

Tips and Tricks To Manage Your Truck Fuel Spend

Small changes in how you maintain and drive your commercial rental truck can make a big difference. These tips and tricks will help you stretch every gallon further and keep your fuel spend under control.

Choose the Right Rental Vehicle

Fuel efficiency starts before you drive off the rental lot. If you choose a truck that is too large, you will haul extra weight and push more air than you need while driving, which will burn more fuel. If you rent a truck that is too small, you may need to make multiple trips or overload it, which wastes fuel and can stress the vehicle.

This is one area where the right commercial rental company can help. When you rent from Penske, you can choose from more than 100,000 CDL and non-CDL commercial rental vehicles, including cargo vans, light-duty trucks, heavy-duty tractors and everything in between. Our commercial rental specialists can help you choose the right-sized truck for the job so you’ll boost mpg and improve fuel efficiency.

Perform Regular Preventive Maintenance

Start by checking your rental truck’s tire pressure and alignment, the two biggest fuel-saving areas. Look for signs of uneven tire wear, such as bald spots.

Two other areas to check prior to each run:

• Brake components and lines. Badly worn or out-of-adjustment brakes can cause drag, reducing fuel efficiency. Leaks in air brake lines or hoses can cause the air compressor to cycle constantly, wasting fuel and compromising braking performance.
• Exhaust system. Check for any leaks in the muffler, exhaust manifold or exhaust pipes. Leaks in these areas can reduce the engine’s ability to reuse heat and make it harder for the emissions system to clean itself properly.

Reduce Idling Time

It’s common for drivers to leave their trucks running when taking breaks or talking with customers, but doing so is a bad idea. The longer a truck engine idles, the more heat it creates, wearing out engine parts and consuming fuel. In most states, truck idling is restricted to 3 to 5 minutes, with some local exceptions.

Plan Your Route

When you map out the route to your destination, you’ll reduce fuel consumption in two ways. For one, you can eliminate unnecessary miles by choosing the most direct, fuel-efficient roads possible. Secondly, you can review your route ahead of time and locate fuel stations with the lowest price per gallon. Tools like the Penske Driver™ app help you find the best truck stops and fueling stations on your route.

Drive Fuel-Smart

A driver’s behavior behind the wheel is one of the biggest influences on saving gas in a commercial rental truck. Drivers can boost their vehicle’s fuel economy by driving posted speed limits, using cruise control on flat roads and monitoring their engine’s RPMs. In general, the lower your RPMs, the less fuel you’ll burn on your drive.

Other tips and tricks:

• Use your truck’s momentum when rolling down hills instead of standing on the accelerator.
• Avoid rapid acceleration and deceleration, both of which waste gas.
• Drive during off-peak hours, if possible, to reduce the risk of getting stuck in a fuel-draining traffic jam.

Fuel-Saving Tips by Industry

Fuel economy can vary based on your industry and the type of goods you haul. A few important eco-friendly steps to take in specific industries include:

Grocery and beverage – Load pallets efficiently to reduce empty space and distribute weight effectively.

Healthcare and pharmaceutical – Plan routes to minimize stop-and-go traffic and limit idling while making deliveries.

Retail and hospitality – Consolidate smaller shipments to make fewer runs.

Agriculture and farming – Remove unneeded tools or attachments to reduce excess weight.

If your company makes multiple local deliveries daily, renting an electric high-roof cargo van is an efficient and eco-friendly choice. Light-duty electric vehicles from Penske carry an estimated range of 100+ miles and include a dedicated Charge Assist app so you can find free charging stations along your route.

How Can I Find the Best Price on Fuel for a Commercial Rental Truck?

Fuel cards offer discounts at the pump for commercial rental truck drivers, allowing you to find the cheapest price on fuel. Penske offers membership in the Shell Fuel Rewards® card program to select customers. Gold Status members save at least 5 cents a gallon off every fill-up at participating Shell stations.

Save Fuel and Costs With a Penske Commercial Rental

Newer trucks are generally more efficient than older models, and that’s why renting from Penske can help you save money at the pump. Our extensive fleet includes some of the newest and best-maintained vehicles on the road. Ready to begin? Reserve a truck today.

Frequently Asked Questions