Feb 1, 2023 John’s observations on Gas

On a trip like this, thoughts about gasoline occupy a large part of every day.  When we left NH, gas was about $3.90 per gallon and we were really grateful to not be driving a diesel truck as diesel was running over $5.00 per gallon.  As the driver, all day long I’m monitoring the speedometer, fuel gauge and the clever MPG per tank display.  The Toyota Tundra, a famous gas hog, actually pulls the Oliver easily at around 13 MPG on average. Hills and stop-and-go driving might drive the mileage down to 11. Under optimum conditions: flat roads, no wind, steady 60 miles-per-hour, we have gotten over 15 MPG on a tank ful.  So far this has happened only in NM and AZ.  

The price of gas surprised us by dropping as we drove South and West from NH. By VA it was about $3.20 per gallon, by Texas we were paying as little as $2.50.  Even in California, notorious for high gas prices, we have been paying around $4.00 and opportunists are charging about $5.00.  Diesel everywhere is as much as $2.00 per gallon more than gasoline which contributes to the higher cost of everything.

One of the biggest challenges every day is finding a gas station we can get into and out of again with the trailer.  Some are just too tight to make the wide, sweeping turn required.  At least a half-dozen times we have pulled up to a pump to find it’s out of service leaving no room to maneuver to another pump at the same station.  Very frustrating.  However, the country is generally well-supplied with gas stations, it’s a trivial thing to complain about!