#Road trip budget calculator manual#

Alternatively, you can use a trip planning service like RV LIFE Trip Wizard RV trip planner and input your tank size and MPG, and it will tell you where you need to stop for fuel along the way.

#Road trip budget calculator manual#

The manual option for finding the average fuel cost on your trip starts with figuring up how many miles you can drive on a tank of gas and then deciding where you will stop for gas based on that. This is the most challenging thing to figure out because fuel costs are constantly changing.

The final piece of the puzzle is figuring out how much you can expect to pay for fuel along your route. Doing this tells you about how many gallons of fuel you can expect to purchase.Įxample: 2,627 miles ÷ 7 MPG = 375.28 gallons for this trip. Calculating The Total Fuel Required For Your Tripįirst, divide the number of miles in the trip by the average MPG your rig gives you. But this test does give you a good idea of what to expect. This number will change based on your load or road conditions. The first odometer reading was 45,600.The result is the number of gallons per mile your rig gets on average under those driving conditions.Next, divide the miles driven during the trip by the number of gallons of fuel you put in on the second fill up.This will give you the total number of miles driven during your short trip. Subtract the first odometer reading from the second.Make a note of how many gallons of gas you put in and how many miles are on the odometer when you fill up the second time. At this point, you can head to a gas station and fill up. You will want to make sure this trip uses at least half a tank of gas. Then, go on a short trip, making sure you are towing your trailer or car if that is how you will be traveling cross country, and ensuring your RV is loaded as it will be for your big trip. If you are among those who will have to find your gas mileage manually, you will want to start by filling your gas tank and recording the miles on the odometer when you fill up. Still, others out there will have to figure this out the old-fashioned way. Others have trucks or motorhomes that will tell them how many MPGs they are getting at any given time. Some people have already figured this up and can tell you the answer off the top of their heads. The next step in finding your fuel cost for a cross country trip is figuring out how many miles per gallon your rig gets. This map from Road Trip USA shows some of the many popular cross-country routes to choose from. For others, cross country might mean driving from Florida to Washington or from SoCal to Maine-both trips require more driving than the aforementioned straight line across.ĭecide where you want to end up and figure out how many miles that is from your starting point and write this number down.Įxample: Greenville, NC to Los Angeles, CA is 2,627 miles. When trying to determine how much it will cost you to drive cross country, the first thing you have to figure out is what exactly you mean when you say “cross country.” This might mean driving from North Carolina to California in a straight(ish) line for some. The Definition of A Cross Country RV Trip Below you will find some ways to figure up your approximate fuel cost. Rather than go with our estimate, though, you may want to calculate the cost for yourself. Large motorhomes will cost more, and small campervans may cost considerably less. Honestly, we can’t give you a precise answer to this question, as it really depends on a number of factors.īut, if you take the straightest route possible from one end of the country to the other, a good middle-ground for 2022 is around $2000 ($4000 round-trip). In this case, you may be wondering about the average fuel cost of a cross country RV trip. With fuel prices soaring, you might be getting worried about your summer travel plans, particularly if you’re planning a big cross country trip. How Do You Budget Your RV Travels Fuel Is Just One Factor in a Cross Country RV Trip, But It’s A Big One