Tips & tricks
Finding REAL fuel discounts
By Russ and Tina DeMaris
Feb 11, 2010, 09:42

Many RV folks are some of the most frugal people we've ever met. Of course, if you're on a limited or fixed income, if you want to stay in the RV lifestyle, you've got to be. One of the largest expenses in the lifestyle has to be that of fuel. So keeping an eye on the price of fuel can make a big difference in how far your RV dreams will take you. There are ways you really can save money on fuel.

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First, don't be a slave to a given brand name. For the most part, gas is gas, and diesel is diesel. We've heard the arguments that "so and so waters down their fuel," and all the rest. OK, if you find that your rig really does run poorly on a given brand of fuel, then avoid it. And of course, when you consider what grade of gasoline to run, look at the owner's manual. If your rig does need the higher octane rating, then use it. If not, research really does show that fueling with a higher octane rating than your rig requires really is a waste of money.

Some outfits offer customer loyalty programs. Among RVers, probably the most widely known (and perhaps used)is the program offered by Flying J travel centers. With a swipe of the loyalty card, you'll get a cent off a gallon of fuel, or even more, depending on how much you've spent in their convenience store or restaurant in the past month. But let your peepers tell you the truth: Is that 1 cent off per gallon of fuel really less expensive than a competing station?

Some folks are tied in tight with grocery store fuel stations. Kroeger and Safeway immediately come to mind. Safeway offers a 3 cent discount to it's loyalty program members; Kroeger gives a dime off per gallon, provided you've bought $100 worth of groceries. Safeway doesn't tie their base discount to a purchase amount. But watch out. Grocery gas discounts are just like Flying J--compare the price of the fuel less the discount to competitors, you may do better skipping the loyalty card and going elsewhere. And that BIG dime discount at Kroeger's may evaporate if you compare the cost of groceries in their store to say, those bought at Walmart or other discount grocers--the price of inflated food soon outweighs gas discounts.

If you have Internet access, plan ahead for your fuel ups and save money at the same time by using a gasoline price website like gasbuddy.com. These outfits provide information on current gas (and often diesel) prices listed across the nation. For example, as of a few minutes ago if you were going to fuel up in Las Vegas, Nevada, you could go to a Shell station on Flamingo and pay $2.77 to fuel up your gasser, or just go down the street and fuel up at the Rebel station for $2.67. This web site also includes click-on options to map your stations.

It pays to keep your eyes--and options--open when it comes to paying for that price go-juice.

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