Truck King Fuel Study

Story and photos by Howard J Elmer

Each year the Canadian Truck King Challenge does what we call “real-world” fuel economy testing. But, what does that really mean? And how does it differ from what the government does?

Well, for starters, the government tests in a laboratory. New vehicles are mounted on a two-wheel chassis dynamometer which simulates on-road driving to measure fuel consumption. The computer that controls the test is pre-programmed to take into account the particular characteristics of the test vehicle.

Each vehicle is then taken for a “simulated” drive. Once the trip is complete, it is repeated after the vehicle has been shut-off for eight minutes and both results are recorded.

The Truck King “real-world” method is the polar opposite of this. Each one of our trucks is driven empty on-road, is expected to tow a trailer, and haul payload; in other words, they are treated exactly how an owner treats them.

We repeat a set loop over and over – but changing up drivers each time, which adds another point to this real-world operation. The numbers we produce are then a result of these tests. All results are measured using a FleetCarma C5 logger. These units plug into the OBD port of the vehicles and obtain both standard and proprietary signals required for energy analysis.

This is the fifth year we have produced the real-world fuel report. Previous year’s results can be found at our website www.truckking.ca