Here is a neat website for finding current fuel prices. See if you like it. The http says Arizona gas prices, but you can use it anywhere. We found it very helpful for our trip to and from Arizona.
http://www.arizonagasprices.com/map_gas_prices.aspx?z=11&lat=32.894379&long=-111.756910&sid=117963&ft=D (http://www.arizonagasprices.com/map_gas_prices.aspx?z=11&lat=32.894379&long=-111.756910&sid=117963&ft=D)
The main site is just http://GasBuddy.com (http://gasbuddy.com) -- you pick the state you want from a list and it sends you to the state-specific site. Gas Buddy also has a dedicated app for your smartphone. It all goes back to the same user-submitted database. That database is usually pretty good, but a rogue number gets in once in a while, so don't drive too far afield for an unrealistically low price.
Also note the Arizona site specifically will generally list the car price for diesel; remember that for three or more axles or over 26,000 lbs, you can't use those pumps. Stations that have heavy vehicle pumps, usually truck stops, will assess the extra $0.08 per gallon at those pumps, so remember to add that amount to the number quoted by GasBuddy (ArizonaGasPrices.com).
We use this site (and now the phone app) all the time and it has saved us thousands of dollars on diesel over the years. I would say it easily saves us over $1,500 per year.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com)
I had not looked at GasBuddy.com until just now. It seems to me that most of the diesel stations that I looked at around CO/NE/IA were automotive diesel stations that we could not get into. Maybe I am doing something wrong.
I always used http://www.dieselboss.com (http://www.dieselboss.com) in the past. Have not used it recently. I liked it because it was info on truck stops where we can get in. I saw that they will send you reports twice a week in what sounds like a spreadsheet format.
Have not worried about fuel in the past, but with fuel at the cost today, it might be worth doing the research.
Jim
Quote from: rv_safetyman on March 15, 2011, 07:06:08 PM
I had not looked at GasBuddy.com until just now. It seems to me that most of the diesel stations that I looked at around CO/NE/IA were automotive diesel stations that we could not get into. Maybe I am doing something wrong.
No, you're not doing anything wrong. The site is user-contributed data, and most users are in cars or light trucks, so the database is mostly automotive stations. That said, the truck stops are usually in there, too, but there is nothing to set them apart other than recognizing the name of a truck stop chain.
That said, we buy fuel at automotive stations all the time, and if we can get in to them, it's hard to imagine you'd have any trouble. You might have to unhook your toad before rolling in, though. But the savings are huge; when we just filled in Las Vegas (at an automotive Arco station), fuel was a full 25 cents less per gallon then at the cheapest truck stops in the area. We put in 180 gallons, so we saved $45. That would seem to me to be worth unhooking the toad at a nearby shopping center. It's also worth the extra 20 minutes or so to fuel from the smaller automotive nozzles.
As they say, YMMV.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com)
Quote from: Sean on March 16, 2011, 12:08:41 AM
That said, we buy fuel at automotive stations all the time, and if we can get in to them, it's hard to imagine you'd have any trouble.
I just looked up my local Sam's club with the program and I know I couldn't maneuver my MCI around those pumps as it's set up. But the price is the lowest in my area.
We always used MapQuest I like the feature where the stations are numbered by the lowest price just click on 1 and price is there
good luck