If you are interested in helping to save the planet, or just save some money, the writers of the “Living the RV Lifestyle eBook” have come out with a new detailed and updated guide on “how to save fuel when driving an RV.”
According to the authors, you start saving fuel when you choose a fuel-efficient RV in the first place. Uh, okay. Makes sense. But most of us are way past that moment even though we can surely agree that no one wants to pay for “more” fuel or encourage some big oil company to lay pipeline across pristine wilderness.
The article is not a list of cheap gas stations, but is a list of creative ideas to save on fuel. For example, stay for longer periods of time at your destination. A parked RV uses less fuel than one on the road. And if we stay a whole season, we can go-green by growing our own food.
Next, plan your route. Getting lost or taking those winding back roads burns too much fuel. However, those winding backroads could help avoid freeway stop-and-go traffic. Bottom line, if you love the spontaneity of the RV Lifestyle and the scenic route, you will not save fuel. Nor will you save fuel if you go up winding mountain roads. So come to Florida where we have that topography thing under control. No elevation except on freeway overpasses.
Don’t get lost. But if you do, have your Sat Nav handy. Getting lost wastes fuel. Whether you use a Sat Nav, a TomTom, Magellan, Google Maps, homing pigeon, or those completely impossible-to-refold AAA roadmaps, go green by not getting lost because getting found takes extra fuel.
Don’t have breakdowns or flat tires. RVs that are in good repair burn fuel more efficiently. Tires that are properly inflated roll down the road easier using less fuel. Plus, if you do break down, the AAA rescue unit that drives to your location (and back again) uses even more gasoline!
Travel light. All that extra weight equals more fuel. We will not discuss what constitutes “extra weight”—so figure this one out for yourself. But we digress…
The next advice is to turn off heating and AC when not absolutely necessary. We’re in Florida. Turning off the AC is not an option during summer months, and tricky at best during winter months. But we get the idea.
Don’t idle excessively when you are stopped on the road or in campsites. Years ago, it took more gas to restart an engine than to idle an engine, but modern engines are less fuel-heavy on startup. Battery drain could be an issue. In a campsite, the issues go beyond green — it’s just rude to make neighbors listen to your engine noise and breath the pollution.
The last tip is to drive under 60 mph and don’t speed up or slow down too suddenly or too often. We hope our friends at Your RV Lifestyle will forgive our humor, because who doesn’t want to live a cleaner, greener, more sustainable way of life — every bit helps.
By the way, did you know we have a No-Waste store just a few miles from Floridays at 3876 SE Dixie Hwy, Stuart. JAR, the zero-waste shop, has been featured by Martha Stewart Living and takes going-green to a whole new level.