According to the federal energy commission, long-haul trucking and diesel vehicles are full of common problems that cause inefficiencies. If you're worried about how to increase fuel economy for your diesel engine, you need to think about all the ways that you drive and maintain your vehicle. All of these factors play into how your vehicle consumes fuel.

Here are five important tips to keep your vehicle moving smoothly.

1. Start Outside The Vehicle

Before you start worrying about how your fuel economy could be improved by looking at the engine, start with the exterior of the vehicle. The tires on your vehicle could be the main culprit in dragging down your MPG. While your engine uses the fuel, if the power transferred to your tires isn't used efficiently, you'll waste more fuel.

Grab a pressure gauge to check your tires before you hit the road. Each tire needs to be at optimum pressure for you to get the most out of your gas. If you're wondering what the optimal pressure is for tires on your vehicle, you can find out online or you can take a look at your vehicle's manual.

Consider narrower tires to get the most of your fuel consumption. Narrow tires ensure that you're hitting less friction where the rubber meets the road. If you also take fewer hauls with your vehicle, you'll save on diesel fuel.

Your tires help to optimize fuel economy with the right tread, width, and tire pressure. Check online to see what other drivers of vehicles like yours are buying when it comes to tires.

2. Optimize Loads

As you fill your vehicle with heavier loads, you'll use more fuel. In order to use less fuel, keep your vehicle as light as possible. If you've got a few things in the back that you don't need while you're hauling a heavier load, leave those extra bags and objects in your garage.

Keep your vehicle light when you're traveling long distances or especially when climbing up hills or driving through difficult terrain. Anything you don't need is going to drag down your fuel economy and cause you to spend more on fuel.

Even a child seat and a bag of golf clubs can add up to over 50 lbs of weight you don't need to be hauling around as you drive from one place to the next.

Just like how you need to eat a big breakfast before you hike a steep mountain versus walking down the street, your vehicle needs fuel to climb. City drivers beware because even though fuel economy isn't as big of an issue, it's common for us all to keep things we don't need in our vehicles.

3. Stop Idling Today

While there are lots of cities and townships that have outlawed idling, it's still a common practice. If it's still legal in your region, it's possible that you're doing this unnecessarily all the time.

If you're a trucker or you drive a vehicle that stops and starts as you make deliveries, idling might be a way of life. Some idling is acceptable but most of it isn't necessary. Instructing drivers to stop idling immediately isn't always possible.

Some analysts claim that drivers of trucks throw away thousands of dollars every year from idling. If you find other ways to do what you need to do, like run electrical equipment, charge phones, or keep the air on, find alternatives to save money.

When you're talking about fuel economy, thousands of dollars is an entire year of fuel for some drivers.

4. Drive Better

Better driving habits influence your fuel economy. Not only how much you drive, but how you drive makes an impact on the amount of fuel that you use. Changing your driving style improves your fuel economy.

There's a sweet spot for every engine. If you're regularly changing your oil and taking care of your filters, all you need is to pick the right speed to keep your engine running right.

Driving way too slowly or way too fast either cause too much fuel to be injected into your engine as you engine tries to make the most out of it.

Every engine is a little different but the optimal use of fuel typically comes between 30 and 48 MPH. For some vehicles, the ideal speed is higher, around 60 MPH. No matter what it is, know that driving at the right speed has the potential to improve your fuel economy by a third or more.

5. Listen to Your Engine

There are lots of hidden signs in your engine, letting you know what's going on at any given time. Those signs from your engine come to you audibly through what you hear s the engine works.

An engine that's well oiled, well organized, and working smoothly, has the potential to boost your fuel economy by more than a third. You'll save the most money on fuel costs when you organize and keep your engine moving smoothly.

Listen to sounds that your engine shouldn't be making. If you haven't changed the oil in a while and hear grinding, clicking, or aggressive sounds, it's time to change things. The condition of your engine, the cleanliness of your filters, and how much dirt your engine has collected makes a difference.

Keep an ear to your engine and keep it clear of debris to get the most out of it.

Learning How To Increase Fuel Economy is Easy

When you're trying to determine how to increase fuel economy, it takes just a little bit of effort to make big changes. Fuel economy is determined by how new, clean, and efficient your engine is. It's also up to you as the driver to keep things running smoothly.

If you're wondering why filter maintenance is important, check out our latest guide.