While you can’t control the price at the bowser, there are some things you can do to stretch your dollar a bit further, whilst you are out there seeing Australia or New Zealand. Take a look at these ten fuel saving tips, to make your money stretch a little bit further.
- Tyre Pressure – Check your tyre pressure regularly. Make sure you know what your motorhome or caravan tyre pressure should be and monitor it. It will not only help you save 2%* in fuel it will extend the life of your tyres. There will be a minimum and maximum pressure recommendation depending on the load – the maximum is the one to use. Check your spare, as well.
- Accelerate Gently – The harder you accelerate the more fuel you use. In the city, you can use less fuel by easing onto the accelerator pedal gently. To be as fuel-efficient as possible, take 5 seconds to accelerate your vehicle up to 20 kilometres per hour from a stop. Imagine an open cup of coffee on the dashboard. Don’t spill it!
- Slow Down – Avoid high speeds, for example, at 120 km per hour, a vehicle uses about 20% more fuel than at 100 km per hour. On a 25-km trip, this spike in speed – and fuel consumption – would cut just two minutes from your travel time.
- Look Ahead – Every time you use your brakes, you waste your forward momentum. By looking ahead at how traffic is behaving, you can often see well in advance when it’s time to slow down. You will conserve fuel and save money by taking your foot off the accelerator and coasting to slow down instead of using your brakes.
- Remove what you don’t need – Weight and aerodynamic drag are other key fuel-consumption drivers, so don’t drive around with unnecessary items just because ‘one day’ you might use it.
- Make Sure your RV is Serviced – Oil degrades. Filters clog. Wheels are knocked out of alignment. These and other elements can all impact on your vehicle’s fuel efficiency, so service it by the book. Vehicle maintenance is critical because even dirty spark plugs can have a big impact on fuel consumption.
- Use Air-conditioning Sparingly – Air conditioning can increase a vehicle’s fuel consumption by as much as 20%. Open the windows when you’re driving in the city and use the flow-through ventilation system with the windows up on the highway. If you do use air conditioning, use the re-circulate option. It will minimise the impact.
- Drive less often – Stay in one location longer than you had planned. Walk around the town that you are visiting or push bike around to see the sites.
- Avoid Idling Your Vehicle – Turn off your engine when you’re stopped for more than 60 seconds, except when in traffic. The average vehicle with 3-litre engine wastes 300 millilitres (over 1 cup) of fuel for every 10 minutes it idles.
- Plan Ahead – Map out your travelling route and avoid towns in peak hour when the traffic is stop start. Idling while waiting in traffic typically uses 1-2 litres of fuel per hour, dependent on the size of your vehicle, so it really does pay to travel off peak where possible.
*Stated by NRMA https://www.mynrma.com.au/membership/my-nrma-app/fuel-resources/fuel-saving-tips
Do you have any other fuel saving tips that you do to save- fuel whilst you are travelling?