When planning your travel budget, consider using a mileage and fuel trip calculator. Not only will it help you plan your route, but it will also help you estimate the expense. Do not be caught short on gas money far away from home since you don't have to.

Features

The mileage and fuel trip calculator will help you estimate your travel distances, fuel consumption, fuel cost, and travel times for a road trip. If you are considering a family vacation across the United States from Maine to California, knowing how long the drive will take can help you plan your stops for sightseeing, hotels, and restaurants. It will also help you prepare for the gas money you will need as well as toll fees.

Function

When using the mileage and fuel trip calculator you first must choose between miles and kilometers for calculating your distance. Click on your starting position on the map provided, such as Maine for the example of a cross-country trip. Then click on your destination, such as California in our example. The mileage and trip calculator will display the travel distance automatically, from Maine to Sacramento, California; in this case the distance is 4,337 miles. Enter your average travel speed and you will see your approximate travel time. If you plan to average 65 mph on your cross-country trip, your drive will take approximately 67 hours. (4337/65=67) Enter your vehicle's typical fuel mileage and the current price of fuel. The mileage and trip calculator displays your expected fuel cost for your road trip. According to the mileage and trip calculator, if your car gets 20 miles to a gallon, you will need about 217 gallons of gas (4337/20=217) to travel across the U.S. At $2 a gallon, you will need about $434 (217x$2=$434) for gas, at $4 a gallon; you would need about $868 (217x$4=$868) for gas.

Geography

Mileage calculations at the trip calculator website use Google Maps to estimate your travel mileage. Interactive maps are available at this site for calculating mileage in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.K. Links on the website allow users to rent motor homes and cars worldwide. The AAA fuel cost estimator uses AAA maps. Options are available to avoid toll roads, take the scenic route, or use quickest route on some calculators.

Identification

The AAA fuel cost calculator provides today's average gas prices divided by regions of the U.S.A. Because gas prices tend to vary by region, checking this site before entering average fuel prices can increase the accuracy of your road trip fuel cost estimate. A link is provided in the resource area of this article. Regions include New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Great Lakes, Midwest, Southwest, Mountain West, and Pacific Coast. There is about a 20-cent per gallon difference in gas prices across the United States with the Southwest being the lowest, and the Pacific Coast being the highest.

Types

The Trip Calculator allows the user to enter vehicle miles per gallon such as 20 MPG, and gas prices such as the $2 or $4 used in the example. Other types, such as AAA, calculate the information for you. The user enters the make, year, and model of the vehicle driven on the road trip and the beginning and ending destination. If you entered Miami, Florida to Colorado Springs, Colorado on the AAA website, and indicated you would drive a 2002 Ford Taurus, the website would tell you automatically that your mileage roundtrip is 4100 miles, you need 151.86 gallons of gas, and at less than $2 a gallon, you would need about $250 in gas money. The website is able to access information for your vehicle's average miles per gallon from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest highway fuel economy ratings as well as current gas prices for the regions you will be traveling through.

About the Author

Julia Fuller began her professional writing career eight years ago covering special-needs adoption. She holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Marywood College, is co-owner of GJF Rental Properties as well as a livestock and grain crop farm. She worked for the United States Postal Service and a national income tax service.

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