So how do you plan fuel stops?

If you're paying IFTA, please be aware of how exactly one states price compares to another states price. It all matters what each states fuel tax is and what the pump price is minus that tax.

The pump price is meaningless (or the discounted price on your card) if you aren't aware what the true price of the diesel is for you.

 

The biggest thing to remember about fueling is fuel in your tanks is money not in the bank...especially in a lease program. Only purchase the fuel needed for the trip. If it's a 600 mile run, then why put 200 gallons of fuel in the tanks? I run my trips to where I will have 1/4 tank at the end. That way I still have fuel, but not so much that it will affect my bottom line. Also, be smart as to where you buy fuel. Don't buy it in the NE or California. gasbuddy.com has a fuel price "heat" map that shows average prices across the nation.

Heat map:
Heat Map

I know it shows gas prices, but it is also a very good indicator of diesel prices as well

The easiest way to figure out how much fuel you will need for a trip is to take the trip miles and divide it by your average mpg's. if the trip is 1200 miles and you average 6.8mpg's, then you will need 176 gallons to run it. I always add about 10 gallons to account for idling the truck and out of route miles.

Hope that helps!!

 

It depends on your tank capacity too. If you have say 300 gal total capacity, yup it matters. I have two relatively small tanks, and I usually fuel up every other day. I find its better to just buy as much cheap fuel as I can where I'm at.

Its actually lowered my fuel cost per mile by doing it that way - but I dare say if I had larger tanks, I'd just buy enough to get by.

 

Varies on what I need at the time. I go threw allot of cash for labor so i find myself puting on 50 gals at a time so I can go $300 over cash back. But generaly I like to put fuel on at 500-1000 miles.

 

Hopefully he's not leasing on somewhere that filling up with a tank of fuel at the end of the week is something that's going to make or break the bank. I used to be leased on in a low pay situation like that and always went home with the tanks topped off, it doesn't really matter one way or another, you're going to have to get that fuel at some time or another and pay for it. If you stress over buying a tank full of fuel at the beginning or end of a week then you're running for nothing and need to make a change. I always try to buy most of the fuel in the states I run in, certain states with high fuel tax like Illinois for instance, I will always buy as much fuel as possible there. If nothing else always buy it in the states with high fuel tax when possible.

Always stop the pump at 110.5 gallons or 96.5 gallons or 148.5 gallons, always put an extra half gallon in there, you get tax credit for the full gallon even though you didn't buy it. Sometimes I check for cheapest pump price in whatever state I know I'm fueling in and sometimes not, just depends if I have time. My method buying fuel where I run and what states I need it in, just by the seat of my pants keeping a tally in my head, works ok for me. This last quarter I only owed money to KY. Really you will have to get out there and roll, see where you're running mostly all the time, and figure out what will work best for your truck cause everyone's situation is different.

 

Whatever you do, keep track of your numbers! That's the only way you'll know whether or not your fueling strategy is working.

 

You do have a great system down Ironpony - that would be the best way to do it. To my way of thinking IFTA tax is what it is and I'm not going to save enough to justify keeping such close tabs on it. I have many things I keep very detailed records on but fuel tax isn't one of them.

 

I have the T/A, Loves, and Pilot apps on my phone. I figure out that I will need fuel in XXXX amount of miles and look at the apps to see who and where the cheapest fuel is in each state. I then judge my fuel discount. I usually try to fuel in the higher fuel tax state on my route so it will carry over to the other states I go thru.

 

I list out each state that I'm going to run through. Then list out the amount of fuel tax credited at the pump. Check the prices along my route, deduct our discount, deduct the fuel tax credit and the cheapest ones win. I usually fill, as I quit playing the scale game over 20 years ago.
My usual fuel stops are TA/Petro, Loves, Sapp Bros. These are where our best discounts are found. Only fuel at Pilot/Flying J if I'm on fumes, lousy discounts there for us.

SHC you do know we are on cost-minus at Sapp Bros?