Gas Budget

[Lexx1214]

I’m working on our budget for our September 2018 and I’m trying to figure out what to budget for gas on the drive down and back. I know prices fluctuate but I’m trying to get a rough estimate as to what we should keep aside for gas. We have a 2004 Ford F-150 and get beteeen 600 to 800 km per tank. We will be driving from Ottawa to Orlando and Drive straight through there and back (DH has done it several times on his own without another driver to share the driving). How much do you guys budget for gas there and back?

 

[isabellea]

For our 2011 Honda CR-V AWD we budget 250-300$USD (Montreal-Orlando).

 

[Lexx1214]

For our 2011 Honda CR-V AWD we budget 250-300$USD (Montreal-Orlando).

That’s not bad at all. Is that for a round trip or just one way?

 

[isabellea]

Round trip.

 

[starvenger]

Ironically I was trying out Gas Buddy for the first time to get a guesstimate for my trip. I'm hoping that prices drop in August but for now it's showing me that my Sienna will cost me around $350-$400 USD round.

Did a quick calc for you and got:


Was guessing on the make of the truck though. Used this criteria:



Hope this helps you and your SO.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We took a brand new grand caravan from Toronto to Cocoa Beach in March and spent $450 CAD on gas. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Lexx1214]

Ironically I was trying out Gas Buddy for the first time to get a guesstimate for my trip. I'm hoping that prices drop in August but for now it's showing me that my Sienna will cost me around $350-$400 USD round.

Did a quick calc for you and got:
View attachment 316065

Was guessing on the make of the truck though. Used this criteria:

View attachment 316068

Hope this helps you and your SO.

This is amazing! Thank you so much

 

[badiggio]

if there's more than 2 of you,it might be worth it,otherwise from Ottawa in september it would probably be cheaper and definitely easier and faster to fly.If you do drive ,you get better mileage if you keep filling up at the half tank if possible.A vehicle that size and age probably doesn't get the best mileage and the risk of something breaking down?Just my opinion.

 

[bankr63]

If you do drive ,you get better mileage if you keep filling up at the half tank if possible.

As an engineer I find that statement completely baffling. Although the effect would be negligible, your gas mileage would improve marginally as your tank empties as you are moving less mass; keeping a tank full would decrease overall gas mileage (each gallon weighs a bit more than 6 lbs, or around 0.75 kg/l). My 75 litre tank holds 56kg of fuel when full. That's like adding a whole extra person to the vehicle. Your suggestion would be about (on average) the equivalent of throwing an extra 10kg bag of sand in the trunk for the entire trip.

The time lost to the increased number of stops would be much more costly than any savings even if it was true. On the highway I start looking for a station when I get down to about 50 miles (75km) of range (about 45 minutes driving). Use the gasbuddy app mentioned above to find an inexpensive station ahead of you along the route.

 

[Lexx1214]

if there's more than 2 of you,it might be worth it,otherwise from Ottawa in september it would probably be cheaper and definitely easier and faster to fly.If you do drive ,you get better mileage if you keep filling up at the half tank if possible.A vehicle that size and age probably doesn't get the best mileage and the risk of something breaking down?Just my opinion.

It’s just the two of us going down and while I would happily fly anywhere, DH doesn’t fly. While our truck doesn’t get the best mileage nor is it as fuel efficient as newer vehicles, it’s in excellent shape so no fear of breaking down. To be safe we will have our mechanic go over it just to check that everything is good to go. I’d hate to have to replace the old girl, beyond breaks, tires and a battery we’ve never had an issue and we have no payments on her.

I think many people believe they get better mileage before the half tank mark because of the way the tank is shaped. On most vehicles your gas tank is wider on the top and narrows towards the bottom. The indicator measures based on the level of the fuel in the tank, not in the actual volume. So the first half tank lasts much longer than the second. Thankfully I know my truck very well and will be able to gauge when I should fill her up. I’ve found the best way to get good mileage is to stick to a steady speed with minimal acceleration and deceleration.

 

[badiggio]

As an engineer I find that statement completely baffling. Although the effect would be negligible, your gas mileage would improve marginally as your tank empties as you are moving less mass; keeping a tank full would decrease overall gas mileage (each gallon weighs a bit more than 6 lbs, or around 0.75 kg/l). My 75 litre tank holds 56kg of fuel when full. That's like adding a whole extra person to the vehicle. Your suggestion would be about (on average) the equivalent of throwing an extra 10kg bag of sand in the trunk for the entire trip.

The time lost to the increased number of stops would be much more costly than any savings even if it was true. On the highway I start looking for a station when I get down to about 50 miles (75km) of range (about 45 minutes driving). Use the gasbuddy app mentioned above to find an inexpensive station ahead of you along the route.

Im as"baffled"as your response is to me, but,I have to disagree.In my experience of driving for 40 years and comparing the scenarios myself, as well as having my experience confirmed by mechanics over the years, says otherwise.When you fill up,after a few km's your vehicle gives you an average km/litre.Considering you drive in the same environment,the more you drive the average becomes less km/litre as you approach the half point,not more.The more air you have in your tank,the less mileage per litre.I'm not an "engineer",but I don't have to be to know this.It's actually fairly common knowledge.I suggest you fill up and see how far you have travelled on the first half tank,and see if you even come close to that mileage ,on the second.

 

[starvenger]

“Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers." - George Carlin

 

[badiggio]

It’s just the two of us going down and while I would happily fly anywhere, DH doesn’t fly. While our truck doesn’t get the best mileage nor is it as fuel efficient as newer vehicles, it’s in excellent shape so no fear of breaking down. To be safe we will have our mechanic go over it just to check that everything is good to go. I’d hate to have to replace the old girl, beyond breaks, tires and a battery we’ve never had an issue and we have no payments on her.

I think many people believe they get better mileage before the half tank mark because of the way the tank is shaped. On most vehicles your gas tank is wider on the top and narrows towards the bottom. The indicator measures based on the level of the fuel in the tank, not in the actual volume. So the first half tank lasts much longer than the second. Thankfully I know my truck very well and will be able to gauge when I should fill her up. I’ve found the best way to get good mileage is to stick to a steady speed with minimal acceleration and deceleration.

Sounds like you know what you're doing and talking about,and if your husband doesn't fly,not many options available.

 

[DavidL]

I've found that GasBuddy is quite accurate. Note that it is using gas prices from today. Fuel prices seem to be going up, so be sure to buffer a little more money to allow for price increases.

March 2018 - We drove our Dodge Grand Caravan from London ON over to Flint, then drove south to Orlando.
Round trip price total in Canadian dollars was $392.10

That included driving around Orlando to go to Universal Studios, some shopping and also to drive between the Disney resorts. Approx 4500 km. Roughly 8.7 cents per km.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I've found that GasBuddy is quite accurate. Note that it is using gas prices from today. Fuel prices seem to be going up, so be sure to buffer a little more money to allow for price increases.

March 2018 - We drove our Dodge Grand Caravan from London ON over to Flint, then drove south to Orlando.
Round trip price total in Canadian dollars was $392.10

That included driving around Orlando to go to Universal Studios, some shopping and also to drive between the Disney resorts. Approx 4500 km. Roughly 8.7 cents per km.

You're was quite close to our total, but I don't think we had quite as many kms. We probably didn't get as good deals on gas as maybe you did.

 

[starvenger]

So just to revisit the fill when half-empty debate, I looked around the interwebs and I found this:
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-th...r-is-more-fuel-efficient-than-the-second-half

To summarize, the fuel gauge is a good approximation, but is not completely accurate due to the shape (trapezoidal prism-esque) of the gas tank. The gauge works linearly (measures based on level), but because the top half of the gas tank is larger than the bottom half, and because we tend to top off gas above the level that the gauge can measure, you tend to see "better" gas metrage from the first half versus the second half.

As for air in the gas tank, this used to be a concern as air used to be drawn directly from the outside, and the resulting condensation could cause a loss of fuel efficiency. But technology has more or less negated that issue. Ref: https://www.seattletimes.com/nwshow...ping-gas-tank-half-full-prevent-condensation/

 

[Sue M]

I’ve learned something new! Never knew Gas Buddy had a trip calculator! I’ve wondered how much it would cost if I drove from Vancouver to DL. But I wouldn’t drive straight thru. It’s probably cheaper to fly. But now I can calculate.

 

[jlynch924]

Y'all have Walmart in Canada, right? If you get a Walmart credit card and fill up at WalMart on your trip (there will be no shortage of finding those on your route), you get to knock off a few cents per gallon when you fill up. Additionally, WalMart usually has some of the lower prices on gas.

 

[Disney Addicted]

OP, I just saw this thread. We started driving a Montana van to Florida (from Courtice, Ontario) on April 13 (ha - the day you posted this thread) and back home on April 22.

I don't recall how full the gas tank was when we started. Let's say half full since our first stop for gas was 11:45 AM somewhere half-way along the I-90 at a service station after we crossed the border. We had only been driving 3 1/2 hours by then. However, I kept notes of stops & spending. I hope this helps you.

On the two day drive to Florida we put $167 AMERICAN in the tank. Two gas stops on the Friday ($80) and two gas stops on the Saturday ($87).

On the two day drive back home, we put $185 AMERICAN in the tank. Three gas stops on the Sunday ($119) and two gas stops on the Monday ($66)

Total $352 american funds. According to google maps that was a 2,451 KM drive (including the stop we made in Oakville to drop off our daughter).

 

[starvenger]

This was a full size van, yeah? What was the fuel capacity on it?