In the article, Mr. Mustache says to draft behind a truck, with the caveat of staying two seconds behind them.
As a truck driver, I can tell you, for your safety, it's not worth it!!! We cannot see you unless you can easily see both our mirrors. If you are changing lanes, and there is a reason I have to get over, I won't see you.
As a driver, cars following close, comes just behind cars without lights in winter, cars getting onto highway too slow, and drivers not giving us enough space before cutting in front, as our biggest hazard/pet peeve.
I've seen big trucks fling debris like rocks and retreads behinds them. Don't ever follow too closely. Especially on a motorcycle. What do you save? Five gallons of gas on a long trip? That's what - $10 worth of gasoline right now? A windshield costs $200+. A trip to the hospital costs $X,XXX+.
Yeah it was neat when I was a 20-something and immortal to see how the drop in wind resistance allowed me to back off the throttle. Want to save on gas? Just drive less or drive slower. Same result. ;)
Fuel going bad: friend put a fuel stabilizer in his motorcycle tank and a year or so later I bought the motorcycle. Carbs all had stuck parts inside and I had to take them all apart and massage them back to life. They really needed to be rebuilt but another guy wanted the bike and I wanted an air compressor so we made a deal. I broke even but lost my time. ;)
Hopped in my third car over the weekend. 9 months sitting outside. Battery was dead again (store your car with the battery disconnected is my recommendation). Last time the battery died AutoZone replaced it under warranty. Bad cell. This time I need to pull it and go see what is wrong this time. Acts like a bad cell again. Still under warranty I hope.
Anyhow - jump started it and it started after 10 secs of cranking. Ran great. Drove it around the neighborhood.
Started pressure washer after being stored for 6 months. No fuel stabilizer. Started on first pull. Basic push mower - first pull. 6 months. Stored under the shed. No stabilizer.
My point being that ethanol is suspect. Avoid it. Lots of gas stations still offer ethanol free fuel if you look around. A country store near me has it. I'm a bit wary of the fuel stabilizer hype.
For 6 months or a year - just park your vehicle or engine if the tank has good fuel in it. Anything longer I think you ought to drain the fuel system - including the carb bowl if your vehicle has a carburetor. Store the vehicle somewhere out of the weather.
FWIW - if your car is anything modern - the gas pump is in the top of the tank. Even many of the 1980s cars had the pump in the top of the tank. Go back into the 70s and there were still cars with the gas flowing out of the bottom of the tank to an external pump and filter. I think it as a NHTSA safety mandate.
A broken fuel line on an old car means the whole tank of fuel potentially leaks onto the ground or into a vehicle fire.
A broken fuel line on an in-tank fuel pump means there is a leak until the pump is switched off. No fuel gravity feeding into a fire after a collision. Can interrupt fuel pump power with oil pressure switches (engine stops, fuel pump stops), inertia switches (car suffers impact, switch cuts power), and/or computer.
I think light trucks have adopted all the same standards now but suspect that in the 80s or 90s they were a few years behind the cars.