2016\2017 Freightliner Vs Kenworth MPG Average, Please Help

Something I have noticed about the KWs (680 and 700) is they seem to go through a lot of DEF. I always have to put in at least a quarter tank at every fuel stop, sometimes more. Anybody know if this is normal?

I had a T780 for several months. I'd often skip filling the DEF for 2-3 fuel stops to save a bit of time. Never got lower than half tank on the DEF.

Something I have noticed about the KWs (680 and 700) is they seem to go through a lot of DEF. I always have to put in at least a quarter tank at every fuel stop, sometimes more. Anybody know if this is normal?

I had a T780 for several months. I'd often skip filling the DEF for 2-3 fuel stops to save a bit of time. Never got lower than half tank on the DEF.

I do that too, typically, but recently I had a load going into California that was 79,900 lbs, 33950 on my drives and 11980 on my steers, with half a tank of diesel. I was down to half a tank of DEF when I got the load, and let it keep dropping for 1500 miles until I dropped that load, ending up at around a quarter tank. I was sweating bullets every time I passed a scale. Even a tiny shift of the load could have made me illegal in CA. Filling up with fifteen gallons of DEF would probably have made me illegal on both steers and drives in CA.

So Errol if I'm putting in at least a quarter tank of DEF at every fuel stop, usually closer to a half tank, it might be something to worry about? (Did that sentence make any sense?)

So Errol if I'm putting in at least a quarter tank of DEF at every fuel stop, usually closer to a half tank, it might be something to worry about? (Did that sentence make any sense?)

Don't worry about it, your truck shouldn't go up in a ball of flame.

But record the fuel vs DEF for a few fill-ups on a piece of paper, then talk to the shop about it. I'm no expert on the stuff, but I add 1-2 gallons DEF for a 120 gallon diesel full-up.

I am averaging 8.6 in my pro star so I am hoping to get simular. I am hoping also to stay out of the shop because my pro star goes in about once a month lately. I hear freightliners are cheaper to fix but go in the shop quite often while kenworths are expensive to fix but are more reliable and they have a good 750k warrenty on the engine which it will be paid off by then. Any thoughts on the maintenance side between the two. Thanks again

I was looking at Glider kits from Fitxgerald the other day and they have 3 different engines you can get. A Cat that comes with a 4year unlimited milage warranty, Cummins that comes with 3 year 300K warranty and Detroit thats about the same. The only thing about Gliders is that you can't take them into Cali unless it has a DPF fiter setupo on it. If I was to buy my own truck I'd get a glider and say to hell with going to Cali!!!!

Chickie Wrote:

So Errol if I'm putting in at least a quarter tank of DEF at every fuel stop, usually closer to a half tank, it might be something to worry about? (Did that sentence make any sense?)

Errol responded:

But record the fuel vs DEF for a few fill-ups on a piece of paper, then talk to the shop about it. I'm no expert on the stuff, but I add 1-2 gallons DEF for a 120 gallon diesel full-up.

Chickie, I agree with Errol, keep an eye on your consumption, let your shop know. Depending on your engine and other factors; average burn-rate for DEF is about 2% for every gallon of diesel consumed.

G-town says, Errol tags back:

Chickie, I agree with Errol, keep an eye on your consumption, let your shop know.

I mentioned documenting your usage. The shop won't go with "it's using to much DEF!" I tried that with oil usage. I had to document a month of oil before the service writer would think about doing anything.

G-town says, Errol tags back:

Chickie, I agree with Errol, keep an eye on your consumption, let your shop know.

I mentioned documenting your usage. The shop won't go with "it's using to much DEF!" I tried that with oil usage. I had to document a month of oil before the service writer would think about doing anything.

Yes, absolutely agreed. My omission. Your serve...

Based on what y'all have said, I'm of the opinion that Teddy is drinking the stuff like coffee!

At every fuel stop I'm putting in a minimum of 3 gallons. Usually between 4-6 gallons.

So I've started a log in my little notepad that I keep my trip info in for fuel stops.

Thanks for the info!

I've been driving a 2013 Freightliner for 2 months and I'm getting 7.2 mpg. I pretty much run maxed at 65 mph, and I idle more than I like, because of Buster. When I idle I crank the a/c to max and run until it gets cold in the truck, then turn it off until it gets hot. That might be tough for some people to take, but we've lived in places with no climate control so it's not so bad. I'm 7/26 on the mileage board for XPO for 2013 Freightliners. #1,2, and 3 are getting 12.4, 8.0, and 7.8 mpg.

I drove 2 T680s in training, an automatic and a 13 speed. I didn't pay any attention to mileage. I like the Cascadia better.

As we were heading back to Joplin for my upgrade testing I was debating between asking for a T680 or a Freightliner. What decided me was breaking down on a Friday evening. Road Service didn't call for a tow right away, so by the time we got to the KW dealer just past noon on Saturday they were closed. They didn't look at the truck until Monday, and fixed it Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Freighliner dealer was open all weekend. I was told by my trainer many are open 24/7. I'm one of those people with a special relationship with entropy so I plan on machines breaking more than average. I figured with a Freightliner I'm more likely to get back on the road faster.

I guess we'll see how my theory pans out.