How to Plan Road Trip Fuel Costs

If you are planning a road trip for a family vacation or even a weekend trip with friends to Vegas, most likely fuel costs will be one of the largest expenses to consider. Here are three ways you can calculate gas costs for your next trip.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet
• Trip Destination

1. You can get an estimate of your expenses for gas using the old-fashioned pen and paper method. You'll need the number of miles to your destination, the average price of gas per gallon along the way, and the MPG of your vehicle. Divide the number of miles by the MPG, then multiply that amount by the average price for a gallon of gas.
   
   Miles to be traveled: 250
   Miles per gallon(MPG): 25
   Equals: 10 gallons
   Avg. fuel price: $2.50
   Cost of your trip: $25.00

2. Calculate your gas costs using the online calculator at www.Moblu.ca. Put in your address (you can use zip code only or even city/state) and the area you are driving to. Now select the year/model/make of your vehicle. Click on 'Get directions and calculate my impact'.
   
   You'll get a trip summary which includes: fuel cost, fuel used, distance traveled, and even the amount of carbon impact your trip will produce. Also shown is the Google map highlighting your destination, and turn-by-turn directions.
   
   Note: While this is a Canadian website, costs are available in U.S. are Canadian dollars.

3. Try the Auto Club Association's (AAA) fuel calculator at www.fuelcostcalculator.com. Select the city/state from their drop-down list that is closest to both your starting and ending points within the U.S. Then select the year/make/model of your car. If your particular car isn't listed, you can also manually type in the MPG. Your calculated results are shown for both one-way and round-trips.

Tips & Warnings

• Getting a tune-up and having the correct pressure in your tires can affect your overall MPG.
• Make sure to have cash available! Not all gas stations on your road trip may accept credit or debit cards.

Resources

• Moblu fuel calculator
• AAA's fuel cost calculator

[ladym33]

on 11/7/2009 This would be good to do ahead of time. We always purchase all of our gas on our Discover card when we travel so we can gat that 1% kickback on the milage and it is a good way to see how much we have spent, but it would be good to try and calculate it before hand.

[joni04]

on 7/5/2009 Adding this to my favs, thanks!

[AllFYB]

on 7/5/2009 I always caclulate trip fuel costs. Especially if I am going further than my normal 15 miles to the grocery store. It works great for adding fuel costs to any of your job billings too. Thanks for the calculations and sites that will help.

[karileighk]

on 7/5/2009 Wonderful ideas on saving money!