Renting a moving truck can be a simple, affordable way to get your family and all of your things from one place to another, but there are certain expenses beyond the actual truck rental that you must take into consideration and plan for--like gas. Fortunately, calculating how much gas for a moving truck will cost is relatively easy process.
Instructions
1. Determine what size truck you will be using. Smaller trucks (10 feet through 14 feet) usually average 8 to 10 miles per gallon of gas. Medium-sized trucks (15 feet through 19 feet) average about 6 to 8 miles per gallon. Large trucks (over 20 feet) usually only get about 4 to 6 miles per gallon.
2. Determine how many miles you will be traveling. Add at least 50 to this number, to account for factors like stops and the distance from the rental office to your house.
3. Divide the number of miles you will be traveling by the smallest average number of miles per gallon for your size truck. For example, if you are traveling 900 miles in a large truck, you would divide 900 by 4 for a total of 225. This number is how many gallons of gas you will need just to reach your destination.
4. Determine the average cost of gas in your area, and the average cost of gas in your destination area. (Most rental trucks must be returned with a full tank of gas, so you should factor that cost into your total. Small and medium-sized trucks usually have 30- to 40-gallon tanks, while large trucks can usually hold between 50 and 60 gallons.
5. Multiply the number of gallons of gas you will need by the average cost of gas. Using the above example, if you need 225 gallons of gas to reach your destination and gas costs roughly $2 per gallon, you will spend about $450 to travel 900 miles.
6. Calculate the cost of returning the truck with a full tank of gas by multiplying the number of gallons the rental truck tank holds by the average cost of gas. For example, if you have a truck with a 50-gallon tank and gas costs roughly $2 per gallon, it will cost about $100 to fill the tank.
7. Add the cost of filling the tank to the cost of traveling to get the total cost of gas for the rental. Continuing with the previous examples, it costs $100 to fill the tank and $450 to reach your destination, so your total cost would be $550.
8. Remember that this cost is merely an estimate, and your load size, the cost of gas in different places along your route, and speed and weather conditions will all affect the mileage you'll get. So plan on spending a little extra, and you'll be better prepared for traveling.
Tags: average cost, miles gallon, your destination, reach your, reach your destination
