By Cheri Sicard
In the video below, we join Carol from Glorious Life on Wheels for tips on how to save money on fuel. To be sure, gas or diesel represent some of the biggest ongoing expenses facing today’s RVers, but Carol says you can save thousands of dollars by implementing these tips.
Carol begins the video by talking about how much fuel costs have gone up in the last few years and contrasts that against people’s cost-of-living adjustments. Spoiler alert, the news is not good, but it shows just how much and why the population is struggling with fuel costs. In a nutshell, gas prices increased 50% while the cost of living increases were only about 19%.
Carol’s strategies for how to save money on gas
#1 GasBuddy app:
This free app gives you the latest prices for gas in your area, along with driving directions on how to get to it. I concur with Carol: Using GasBuddy has saved me hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the last few years.
I have frequently encountered the scenario Carol describes in the video in which you are driving along the highway and all the gas stations are prohibitively expensive. But often, right out of sight and only a mile or so away, is a station with gas substantially cheaper, sometimes as much as a dollar a gallon cheaper! Were it not for GasBuddy, I would have never known about these hidden fuel stop gems. Learn more about GasBuddy here.
#2 Days of the week matter:
Carol cites a study that determined that Mondays are generally the least expensive days of the week to buy gas, while Fridays are the most expensive. This has to do with a market report that impacts the oil industry that comes out on Wednesdays.
#3 Reduce your speed:
We have all heard that you get better gas mileage at slower speeds, but you might not have realized how significant it is. If you reduce your speed by 5 to 10 miles per hour, you will reduce your gas consumption by 7 to 10%.
#4 Clear your roof:
Not having things on your roof contributing to wind drag can increase your gas mileage. While rooftop carriers are convenient for storage, Carol’s research found that placing things on your roof can reduce your mileage by around 7% in the city and up to 25% on the highway! Yowza!
#5 Lose weight:
The lighter your rig, the less fuel it will take to haul it. Eliminate extra weight you don’t need to be carrying around. For every extra 100 pounds you carry, you can expect your gas price to go up as much as three cents per gallon, probably more depending on where you drive and the fuel prices there.
#6 Don’t let your engine idle:
If you are going to be parked for more than 10 seconds, research shows you will save more by turning off the engine. Idling takes up to 1/4 gallon of fuel or more per hour. This will depend on if you are using amenities like air conditioning or heated seats in your vehicle.
#7 Warmer weather is best:
Vehicles perform as much as 15% lower when it comes to fuel consumption at 20 degrees F compared to 77 degrees F. Expect that number to go up on shorter trips. That’s because it takes longer for your engine to reach optimal temperature in cold weather.
#8 Cut your distances:
If you are living on the road, reducing the distances between stops and decreasing the amount of actual travel days will save you money. It’s only common sense. Carol is not advocating you stop traveling—just do it at a slower pace.
#9 Research before traveling: Check out the price of gas before you travel to a new area to make sure you can afford it. Carol cites cases of friends who went to California, completely unaware of the substantially higher fuel prices there. Within a couple of weeks, they had blown their budget. They could have avoided this by being prepared with proper budgeting and also by implementing some of the other tips in this list.
Do you have other tips to save money on fuel? Be sure to drop them in the comments below.
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RVT1223
BP has a great credit card that saves you 15¢ a gallon. While their prices may be 5-10¢ higher, it still saves you money!
Searching for less expensive fuel works to a point. Makes no sense to drive 10 miles out of your way to save 10¢ a gallon. And hope you can maneuver the pumps when you get there.
That and the fact that there may be barriers like low overhead obstructions.
I plan my fuel stops and use overhead views of the station and roads.
When I first got my GasBuddy card, I became that person that drove the extra ten miles to save a dime a gallon. You’d think when I did the math or looked over my meager annual savings, I’d do something different.
I didn’t.
Some of the money I “saved” going to the cheaper fuel stop probably indeed got consumed getting there but it forced me to go somewhere that I might not have gone. Said differently, if you got paid to go somewhere off the plan, why decline? You’re in an RV recreating and traveling so recreate and travel with that “dime off the gallon” paying for that part of the trip.
Now if you’re a trucker hauling freight, this might not be a good way to look at things…LOL
GasBuddy and Mudflap fuel discount cards.
While I do pay attention to my speedometer, it is my tachometer that has a greater influence on my driving. Our tow vehicle uses a continually variable transmission (CVT). You won’t feel it ‘shift gears’ as it optimizes power to the wheels. That is not the same as saving gas. The faster your engine turns, the more gas you burn. I save fuel by slowing down and reducing engine RPM; even if it means the engine is running longer to get to my destination.
Preplan gas stops to ensure you don’t have to fill up at the only gas station for 50 miles in any direction. They know it, and will price accordingly.
Import more oil from us here in Canada! We would like to sell it to you, tariff free of course would be nice. 🙂
We use Mudflaps and the Techno RV fuel saver cards (diesel only) and grocery store fuel saver points which give us the best prices.
Also, it’s not quite true that lower speed saves fuel. Neglecting aerodynamics, the most efficient speed is at the engine torque peak in top gear. Look in your manual/engine specifications for the torque peak rpm.
“Ventusky” weather app helped us take advantage, for 4 days, of a NW wind. Giving us a tailwind from Saskatchewan all the way to Florida last January. We left home a few days early to take advantage of it. Highly recommend this app.
We pull a heavy Cedar Creek and with a 70 gal tank in the box connected with a “gravity flow control valve” we buy fuel when it’s convenient or when we see a good price. Gas Buddy we use as well.
We have pulled from the Yuma north to Washington state with out buying a gal in California.
Might make a difference if you aren’t going with a 40 foot rolling apartment. Gas prices around here are higher at the coast because that’s where the most tourists congregate.
Don’t think so Lav. Use GasBuddy map and check out diesel prices in Bullhead City and then over the boundary into California. It’s the California taxes.
Don’t think so what Wayne. I don’t use diesel and don’t care about California nor Arizona, never go there. The places I go usually only have one gas station, in 50 miles or more, and I’m not into driving for miles to find a certain one. I go where behemoths cannot go. I imagine driving a smaller rig pulling a small trailer costs a lot less than a 40 footer. In fact, pulling my trailer uses no extra gas.
Gas isn’t as high as it was the first year Biden became president. I just drove to Erie, Pa Camping just like I did when Biden 1st became president. The gas and diesel is substantially cheaper now. Of course everything else is more expensive now.
Love’s app – $0.10 off per gal, plus no issues getting in and out and always close to the highway interchange.
I always planned fuel stops ahead of the trip. I also have a vacuum gauge which I use religiously to monitor engine condition as well as fuel consumption. (Think expensive computer installed in your new car to tell you the mileage etc!). Mine is a simple vacuum gauge. You can find your best speed vs Hp just by watching the pull on the gauge.
Thank you for noting the video, Cheri, and summarizing it. I have not run across Carol’s channel until now, so thank you for that, too! When home (metro-Chattanooga, Tennessee area), we use the fuel-saver programs available at stations branded Mapco or Circle K. When traveling we use the Open Roads fuel card to get discounted diesel at truck stops. Given our overall length of 56 feet when traveling, we only use truck stops in the lower-48. Have a great week and safe travels!