Our family recently returned from a huge cross-country road trip in a RV. We thoroughly enjoyed traveling by RV (what other vehicle has enough room for 8 people to comfortably travel and sleep?), but the cost of fuel was a large portion of our budget. Here are 4 ways we worked to save money on fuel during our trip:
1. Drive slower than the speed limit. Many of our miles we clocked on freeways that offered maximum speed limits of up to 75 mph, but driving at that speed burns fuel at an incredible rate. We found the best mile per gallon rate was attained at traveling around 60 mph, even less if when there was crazy wind through Wyoming.
2. Accelerate slowly. Building speed is where you lose the most fuel per mile, so be patient and get to your desired speed slowly. The bigger your rig, the more important this principle.
3. Make your vehicle as light as possible, especially if you’re driving a RV.Drain your tanks frequently so you’re not hauling unnecessary waste water. Rent a car at your various destinations or pack bicycles instead of towing a car for day trips.
4. Know which gas stations sell fuel for less in different regions. Because we have lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of our lives, we didn’t even know that Murphy USA existed. Murphy USA offers 10-15¢ per gallon discounts with the Walmart Gas Rollback program. We were able to fill up on our way to Minnesota’s Mall of America for less by driving by familiar gas stations and stopping at a Murphy USA location.
What are ways you save money on fuel while on a road trip?
This post is sponsored by Murphy USA.
This post may contain affiliate links. See the disclosure policy for more information.
I put my car in neutral & coast whenever going downhill. I was able to get over 10 more MPGs than normal when going down from the Continental Divide…which helped offset the abysmal MPGs when going up !
That could damage your transmission. And, its a very dangerous practice in case you need to make a quick maneuver to avoid something.
Use Gas Buddy to find the cheapest gas in your area. It even gives you directions to the station with one click!
emptying tanks when only partially full costs more $$ than you will save in lowered gas costs.
another way to save is to not spend. how many of us know our own region well? staycations in the portland metro area have some pretty wonderful places to visit. for example, there are buses to tillamook and to mt. hood. the max train goes to the zoo, the forestry center, the japanese garden and forest park.
It is against the law to drive too slow. You will be pulled over and given a ticket. You will be impeding traffic.
The posted speed sign should show a minimum. On e-470 around Denver the 75 mph sign shows a minimum of 50 mph.
Correct, but driving 60-65 isn’t considered too slow according to any law as far as I know. You’re required to drive a safe speed, regardless of the posted limit, and driving 75 mph in a large RV is definitely NOT safe.
Drive like there’s a live bird on your gas pedal and you don’t want to crush it. Most anytime the brake is used, fuel has been wasted. Use lower gears in lower speed situations. Don’t use top gear unless you are going over 35 mph. That prevents the automatic transmission from shifting back and forth. Never buy a higher octane than the manual calls for. Safety first: driving slower than the traffic flow causes a phenomenon called speed disparity which causes crashes. In Oregon, if there are 5 or more vehicles behind you on a 2 lane road, you must pull over to let them go by.
Driving slower than the speed limit? That sounds dangerous. I sure wouldn’t drive an optimal 60 mph if the posted speed limit is 75, which means many are driving 85+. That’s an accident waiting to happen. Your lives aren’t worth an extra mpgs.
In an RV i believe the suggested speed limit is always 55 mph. And I know for a fact if your towing a uhaul they tell you not to drive faster than 60 mph. If you stay in the “slow” lane then you should be fine. I’ve moved back and forth from oklahoma to virginia 3 times now. two times I was towing something. I never went over 60 (and never over 50 when traveling through the mountains). Most people understand that there are different rules for larger vehicles and they respect that and are cautious around you. That’s not to say there aren’t some idiots out there. But you have to do whats best and most comfortable for you.
My scion has a gage that shows me how many miles per gallon I am getting so I can watch what happens when I speed up or slow down. The car does not get good mileage so I work real hard to take my food off the gas pedal if I am going down hill or am on a flat road in town.
Curiosity question> we do not have a safeway gas station near by but there is a Chevron that will take SW gas points. However, most of the time they are 30-40 cents higher per gallon than even Shell. Have other people found this too?
When we went on sabbatical, we saved over $200 using gasbuddy.com. It only took a few minutes and added up to big savings!
I’m not sure that renting a car for day trips would save money overall when hauling an RV. Hmm.
I know it sounds crazy but some studies have concluded that rapid acceleration to desired speed is more efficient provided you are not in a start-stop environment. The reason? More time at cruising speed in high gears which is where you gain the most efficiency. I know, I know, it sounds crazy, I’m not sure I even believe it myself…