Cost to Travel These Days

Getting a bit harder all right CLC50.

Guess though a pensioner could drive a bit slower,
carry more fuel to eliminate the peak prices and consider moving
back to a tent.

These things have the potential to bring costs back to what they were.

Me - Well I'm picking up a new DRZ400E tonight. (Trail bike 5lt/100km)

Slowly to spread the cost over time.

CLC50

Tell me about it.

I have mooted the idea that we reduce our stable to one multipurpose vehicle only but SWMBO does not want to hear about that. Wants her independance!!! My old oiler is just sitting there in the garage gathering dust...lol

We use the Xtrail more as it is lighter on fuel and 10c litre cheaper to run.

Everything one does has to be by the budget. We have just been hit by the Deeming Rate. The government deems that your investments are now earning say 8.5% but in reality you are tied to 5.5%. As it is deemed that you are earning more, so your pension is cut accordingly. Nice work Canberra! I know, its been around for years.

Big Trips have to be saved for. Being absolutely debt free is essential. But if fuel goes to $2.50litre then I suspect big trips will be taking a back seat.

One has to estimate how long you are going to live and then calculate what you can spend in that time....LOL

I can't see SWMBO agreeing to the sale of the house either!!!


Cheers

I have to ask if you were towing a van on this thip? I make this to be 18.5868 itrs perkm or $28.14 per 100 km at average cost of $1.5138 cpl and at that without a van I would stay at home. With near 3T load - with van - I get 16.65 lperkm and on a longish trip with just the vehicle I average 12.16 l per km.
How long since your injectors and pump were serviced as these figures seem very high? Did you start your calculations from a full tank? Just thinking you may be adding in the fill before you left home which would skew the averages.

Kevin J

Can I suggest CLC50 that the thing that is costing you the most in fuel is what you have on the roof.

I had an old 81 MQ normally aspirated SD33. It returned the same fuel figures nearly all the time, no matter how much weight I was carrying inside the vehicle. Even with a trailer on the back fully loaded it made little difference. But when I put stuff on the roof, that changed dramatically for the worse.

While your turbo probably allows you to travel a little faster, mine also used heaps more fuel when travelling above 100km/h.

My Mum & Dad travel in a Mitsubishi van it is fitted out with all kinds of camping gear all the time. They would normally travel at about 90 to 100km/h. When they bought the van it had two roof bars on top. They left them there 'cause it was handy to be able to chuck stuff on. When they visited us in Broken Hill, travelling from Pt Stephens, I suggested they take the bars off for the run home. Used heaps less fuel.

The bottom line is if you are pushing air or disturbing air at high speed it costs you energy, energy costs money. The fact that you get great fuel figures around town, at low speed, supports my theory.

I appreciate why your vahicle is set up as it is, it looks great, but for a quick trip like the one you describe hear it may be worth the effort of losing the roof rack. Unless you have a genuine need for what you are carrrying.

Duncs

Speed definately comes into it especially with our less than aerodynamic vehicles.
The other thing to watch is to keep the engine in its 'happy' range. This is usually right on maximum torque or in some cases just above the torque peak.
With just the vehicle I can get the best economy at 105k which is above the torque peak, with the Shippshape on the roof or camper on the back 95 -100 will get consumption in the same region.
The best consumption ever acheived was in the 80k range on the Birdsville track.

Yep - if practical, the slower speeds will bring significant savings, even in an efficint modern TD - I've noted that for years now - when recently in QLD with a camper in tow, we did about 500km in the backblocks at a max of 80kph - we had no following traffic to speak of and had the 'nomad' time to slow down and 'see' the countryside - the fuel usage was outstanding - that situation is highly impractical for a lot of good reasons I know (other road users, pressure of time etc), but it was an interesting lesson for us.

I brought this exact same thing up 2 days ago, and got howled down and told "Just accept it" and something like "adjust and move on".. crap like that.

Slow down? Christ, are we all supposed to drive at 50 in a 100 zone?

$2.50?? god at the rate its going up, it will be $2.00ltr by June. possibly $2.75 - $3 by xmas.

But the ACCC is looking after us, DONT WORRY!

Just think, my kids are 8 and nearly 4, they have no chance of seeing this country when they grow up.

Singapore spot price determines our fuel price. The problem for us is that the Asians want diesel not petrol and thus we compete with them for the heavy end diesel. Apart from some cynical price gouging during known high demand periods the pollies/ACCC are basically powerless. Note in the last year when fuel prices have risen to record levels the Caltex share price has gone from 28AUD to.......11AUD. WE should all be complaining about the price mark up on clothing see the Chinese workers are exploited for so little pay.....silverback