RV FEATURE
OUR FUEL USE
So, the big question: how much fuel do we use?
On a good day, our consumption can be as
low as 17L/100km. On a bad day it can be as
high as 25L/100km. Our average works out to
20L/100km on sealed roads and 23L/100km on
rough dirt roads.
With such a variable fuel use, how on earth do we
budget for fuel during our big trip?
As I mentioned earlier, we stopped tracking our
fuel use to the dollar and now we give ourselves
a weekly fuel budget of $300. This takes into
consideration getting between destinations and
sight-seeing. Again, this can vary considerably
depending on how long we stay in one place. For
instance, we camped in Streaky Bay, SA, over the
Christmas break for five weeks. We didn’t have
to travel too far into town for supplies and most
of the local attractions were only a short
drive away, so our fuel use over that period was
minimal.
At the opposite end of the scale, we drove from
Darwin down the Stuart Highway to Port Lincoln
in five days. We exceeded our weekly budget on
that leg of the journey.
To cope with this variability, we pay cash for all
our fuel. Whatever we save in one week goes
towards the next week’s fuel use, or we set aside
the remainder as a sort of fuel slush fund. It all
means the cost of fuel is not as scary as it might
otherwise be.
“WE STOPPED TRACKING OUR
FUEL USE TO THE DOLLAR.”
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