Daughter needs Gas mileage from 273 commando

I hadn't seen the Mythbusters episode, so I looked up on YouTube.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lttgT1XZVvE"]Drafting Semi - YouTube[/ame]

Watch all of it. Besides getting closer, steady throttle work gets better mileage. In my experience, higher speeds gives better results against a same speed baseline. i.e. If I run at 75 mph without drafting I get 22 mpg, with a 75 foot lead at 75 mph behind a box trailer semi, I get a little over 30 mpg. I'm usually able to see a mirror from 75 feet back. How could I tell I was "in the draft"? Wind noise and pressure on the throttle needed to make speed drops dramatically the closer you get.

I do not make it a habit to draft semis. I have some CDL experience with busses and semi with a lowboy carrying 50t + dozers. It wasn't fun to know someone was riding my tail. Not really worried though, as lowboy trailers are very stout and with the load, 2 tons isn't going to hurt 75 tons very much. The guys that used to bother me were the kamikaze pilots that would come racing up the left lane, nail the brakes, and cut across the nose of the truck to make it into a rest area. 75 tons will go through 2 tons (most frequently, Honda Civics, so call it 1½ tons) like a hot knife through soft butter.