“The truck I drive now is set at 75. A Cat C15, 6NZ version (probably the best combination of power, fuel economy, and reliability that Cat ever made, and is turning close to 600hp as set.)”
HAHAHA!
That made me flash back to the first truck I drove.
A cabover Jimmy with a 120 hp engine and 13 speed tranny.
It got all of 3 mpg.
Ain’t those Nebraska headwinds a hoot?
The worst continuous headwind I had to deal with was going from Davenport, IA, to Worthington, MN, back in January 2004. It was strong out of the NW. The gusts were really buffeting the rig, even though I was pulling a feed hopper, and grossing over 79k#. I actually preferred the direct headwinds. It was the times it was hitting me at an angle that made it job to drive. Horrible mileage on that trip.
What made that run even more memorable was the fact that after I unloaded at Worthington, I was turning into the Pilot at Sioux Fall, when the engine ran out of fuel. I coasted to fuel island. Yanked the old filter off. Filled the spare, and put it on. The engine started right up, thank God.