driving back from college today to see my mother, i was cruising behind a semi and was thinking about drafting as in a race but since my truck or the semi are race cars how drafting would benefit mpg. i know it wouldn't be much but just curious if anyone of you do this.

 

yea i do it some and it does help alot they did a thing on mythbusters about it and at like 5 ft from the truck the drag was reduced like 200% and was like pulling you along or some crazy thing

 

I draft whenever I can. At 15-20' I get an extra 4MPG if there's no cross wind.

 

wow didn't know it was that much of a difference.

 

yea it can really help

 

the fine for tail gating is not worth the savings in fuel..and lets not forget how un safe it is..I hate it when I drive the big truck (tractor trailer) people ride tight behind me..I cant see them in my mirror...if I missed my turn or I have to stop quick I look in the mirror.. if no ones there I make the choice to slow suddenly and or turn..if I see a car behind me ill just ride to the next place I can safely turn around at....them trucks are hard enough to drive with out someone hiding behind you or just riding on the passenger side..there is a lot of blind spots in a big rig that people just don't know about..some times when ill see some thing laying in the road just as i get to it..i will avoid it by going around it or i center it up and run over it..the car behind me has no clew as to why i swerved and could hit what ever it was i avoided and cause a lot of damage to there car or truck..also have you ever see a tractor trailer tire blow apart??? not a good sight to see come at your windshield at 70 MPH...when your that close its too late to avoid it...i am not telling any one how to drive..just letting you know how it feels when your in the lead truck..

 

Nope, never draft.......I like to leave a nice gap between me and the other vehicles....and I'm normally cruising with the faster cars in traffic.

 

Unless you have permission from the truck driver, don't do it, for all the reasons that Ron said, and how would you react to somebody tailgating you for 1 or 2 hours?

 

I never do that. I like living.

 

It's just a bad idea all the way around ...

 

Think why you get better mpg while drafting. You are not pushing all that air in front of your truck, also you are not getting that flow through your rad. Truck will heat up if you do it long enough. .02

 

I have to say that I'm 100% with Ron, DC, Sam, Scott, and Dave. The few dollars you would otherwise save by drafting should be considered well-spent insurance moeny in terms of minimizing your potential death or maiming (and/or that of your passengers). Simply not worth the risk.

 

Ten years of long-haul experience...This is a bad idea from a couple of perspectives (one bad, the other worse). The worse first... have you ever seen what a vehicle looks like that has gone under an ICC bar on the back of a trailer ? I have, a number of times...very little chance of survival for the people in the drafting vehicle. Decapitation...head trauma...ugly! Secondly, it drives the trucker nuts ...he will do a number of nasty things if you bother him enough. He may let the trailer drift into the "gutter" (that is the edge of the road where all the debris ends up) and kick up all the road debris onto the annoying vehicle. Another trick is BB's out the window of the truck (ball-bearings if you have a really loco trucker ). Now, if you ask nicely on the CB and the trucker agrees, then fine...you only risk rear-ending the trucker...he'll be inconvenienced with the accident report - you'll probably be assuming room temperature.

 

Says it best , that's why I never do it.

 

Now there's a mental picture for you to think about.