demoon
Auburn, MA
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Joined: 09/23/2005
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paulm999 wrote:paulcardoza wrote:Really? At $4/gal, that would be 1,000gals used in 2 weeks. At 8mpg that's 8,000miles! Me thinks you are exaggerating, unless you plan to drive non-stop for 14 days......
paulm999 wrote:I'm planning to go round trip Chicago in April. I stopped traveling with a motorhome (or any Rv) years ago when gas stayed over $2gal. I'll be taking a small SUV that will cost me $1500 in gas for 2 weeks. If I took my motorhome, the cost would be $4000 for 2 weeks. I think RV days are over with, except for those with money to burn gas.
Expected price of gas will be near $4.85ga
Miles driven RT will be near 5000mi
SUV 5000mi RT / 16mpg = 313 x 4.85 = $1516
MH 5000mi RT / 7mpg = 714 x 4.85 = $3463
Well, given those figures that makes sense. My trip planner gave me the one way trip from Pala to Chicago as 2028 miles, so I thought 4200 was a reasonable figure. I also used 7.5 mpg. If gas is at 4.85 I guess you have a better case. Still doesn't take any lodging our dining out into consideration. Anyhow, to each their own - have a great trip and be safe.
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tatest
Oklahoma Green Country
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Joined: 05/14/2005
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Price variations for the same fuel are mostly due to differences in taxes and transportation costs. For some locations in the U.S. the transportation costs exceed the refining costs.
If you are in the right part of Tennessee, you might save yourself some tax money driving over to Arkansas or Missouri (nearly the lowest fuel taxes in the country), but the border stations can charge higher prices and take more margin, and it costs you some fuel to get there and back.
Variations locally can be from location costs (rent and taxes on the property) and lack of immediate competition allowing a greater margin. In the other direction, a convenience store can operate with lower margins on fuel because they are making big money selling you a few cents worth of flavored water for a dollar or two.
Yet another factor is variation in the cost of fuel, because it is different fuel. There are differences in fuel formulations to meet different emissions requirements, different costs for additives (and some additives, like ethanol, have much higher transportation costs than the petroleum components).
Comparing Great Plains or Corn Belt states to other places in the country, there are states that do not collect highway taxes on the ethanol component of the fuel, and the ethanol is a local product so that it did not have to be tankered halfway across the country by a truck burning 20 gallons of diesel per hour.
edit:
Paid $3.199 yesterday for 87 octane with ethanol, the refinery is about 80 miles away, nearest ethanol plant 150 miles, but the refinery's feedstock has to come up by pipeline from the Gulf because the local oil fields dried up 50 to 70 years ago.
Same gas is about 10 cents more across the line in Kansas, a nickel less in Missouri. That part is taxes.
* This post was
edited 02/09/12 09:05pm by tatest *
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B
2001 Ranger Edge
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wbwood
Troutman, NC
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I paid 3.59 here in Troutman, NC (35 miles north of Charlotte). I saw it in the 3.70's in Charlotte earlier this week. When we went to Los Angeles back in August, we expected a much higher price, but was relieved to see it was no higher than 15-20 cents/gallon higher. I can live with that. These are unleaded prices.
Brian
RVing Illustrated
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Dick A
Spokane
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Please post fuel comments to THIS thread.
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