DIESEL FUEL

The cetane rating is actually the opposite of the octane rating. Cetane measures how fast a fuel will burn and start to produce pressure in the cylinder. Octane measures the degree of pre-combustion of a fuel. A higher octane fuel does not have more btu of energy per unit but it allows for a higher compression ratio and for less spark timing delay and this produces more power. Want high cetane rated diesel you need to go to Europe.

The day I start to see people driving at the speed limit on the highway is the day I know that the price of gas and diesel is high enough to discourage wasteful behavior. Until that day all whining about fuel prices shows a disconnect with reality.

My diesel truck averages 13 MPG but my daily driver averages 45 MPG and burns regular gasoline that is on average 80 cents cheaper per gallon than diesel. When I am traveling I am happy if a station pumps diesel - at any price.

3-4 cents per mile? Not worth it.

But if I fill up to the top before I pull out of town and come back on 1/4 tank, I know I pretty much go the most bang for my buck fuel-wise. I fill up on-base with the Military Star Card. Today, diesel is $3.629, or $3.579 with the Star Card. The local truck stops are $3.789. When I am purchasing 85 gallons to start the trip, saving 21 cents per gallon adds up to nearly $18 saved on that tank.

There's also something to be said for common sense. If I were taking a trip from Kalispell, MT to Banff and back, I would fill up in Whitefish, MT before crossing the border. Its currently $4.059, yet its north of $5.00 up there, a savings of about $1.20/gallon (about $120 less per tank).

Afternoon Everyone.

Flying J has the crappiest diesel fuel, at least on the east coast. They are running a Bio Diesel blend and that equates to less MPG. My 2002 Ford F350 diesel with the 7.3 motor dropped down to under 10mpg using Flying******fuel.
My normal mpg carrying a 4500 pound Lance Truck Camper is 13 to 14 at 60 miles MPH.

Buying diesel - it is all about the cetane value posted at the pumps. Higher the cetane, better MPG. Cetane is to diesel fuel as is octane is to gassers.

I use "gas buddy" to find the best prices and I am not talking about a few cents here. With my 60 gallon mid-ship tank, I can pick and choose where I need to fill up. I usually average 10 cents per gallon LESS - more often more, and coupled with my 4% discount fuel card that is a considerable savings.

The best cetane places to fill up are B/P and Sunoco. They are 40 cetane.

Mikeeeeeeee
P/S - do you know that any diesel vehicle brought from over seas would probably only run a week or two because over there it is mandated that diesel fuel be a minimum of 50 cetane

I hear that the pilot flying j discount cards will end at the end of the year. I too pull in at half a tank. If you have a motorhome the tank will get hot and more fuel helps cool it. Trucks have air going by the saddle tanks but ours are inside. I have a fuel cooler on my motorhome but it is still warm to the touch. So extra fuel is good and it us a nice break.

Easy to find truck stops on the interstate highways as a rule. It is on the secondary highways and out in more rural areas where diesel is harder to find. I have found gasbuddy to be worthless in the remote areas and don't even bother with it when traveling.

If you go to the websites for Love's, Flying J, Pilot, Exxon, Chevron, and others you will find locations that you will not find on gasbuddy and they will be current as to the availability of diesel at individual stations. I also use the yellowpages.com website and search by town for "diesel" and this is effective about two-thirds of the time.

I, too, have the Pilot/Flying J discount card. My wife and I just took a 2-week RV trip, and I kept an eye out for their stations to see if I could get a discount on diesel. What I discovered was that even with the discount Pilot/Flying J's prices were still higher than other stations in the vicinity. So much for getting a deal on diesel!

When we went to Alaska many of my friends razed me about the cost of fuel. I told them i just pull in, fill it up, get my credit card receipt and go on down the road. I told them if I had to worry about my fuel costs, I might as well stay home because worrying about the money would just ruin my vacation. We had a great time! After we got back one lady asked me how much a I spent on fuel. I told her I did no know; the money was already gone, so why worry?

Ray

Sez Hoo! wrote:
For people with 5ers or TT its easy to use the smaller mom and pop shops. But if you are in a MH with a toad, the smaller stations aren't always the best option. Backing up is not an option. For me its always truckstops.

At least with MH/toad backing has options....you can always unhitch toad :B

YES I have had to back out of couple stations.
BUT I've had more issues with some CG roads/sites then ever experienced at a service station.

For people with 5ers or TT its easy to use the smaller mom and pop shops. But if you are in a MH with a toad, the smaller stations aren't always the best option. Backing up is not an option. For me its always truckstops.

I travel secondary/backroads and buy diesel at ANY station that sells it.

I find fuel pricing at most stations cheaper than Flying J/Pilot.