When it takes five Franklins -- that's $500 -- to fill your 18-wheeler's sidesaddle diesel fuel tanks, a professional truck driver tends to pay close attention to fuel costs and to efficient driving practices.

It's getting to be a similar state of affairs for "4-wheelers," too, as the cost of a fill-up continues to climb upward, says the American Trucking Assns. (ATA).
To ease the pain at the pump, America's professional truck drivers are offering their few cents worth of efficient driving tips and advice for those motorists traveling out on the road alongside their big rigs.
First on their list: Do what they and their dispatchers do -- plan direct routes, try to curtail unnecessary side trips, reduce the number of stops and starts, keep a steady touch on the accelerator pedal as traffic conditions allow.
Equipment-wise, the truckers urge motorists to keep their car engines well tuned, with clean air and oil filters, and to be sure to use the proper thickness of oil in the engine, transmission, and axles. Otherwise, an engine has to work too hard and unnecessarily consumes more fuel.
Big fuel savings can also be made where the rubber hits the road. Trucking industry tire experts say that tire-rolling resistance causes 20% of fuel consumption, but if a tire is properly inflated, a reduction in resistance of just 1% can increase fuel savings by up to 5%.