How low do you let your tank get before stopping?

[LanceRKeys]

I just got back from my longest trip with my travel trailer yet. I get nervous when the tank drops below half, which makes us stop every two hours or so. This was mainly on the interstate, so no lack of fuel stations. Stopping this often made the trip take much longer than it should have. So when going on a long drive, how low do you let your tank get before you stop?

I plan to add a small (36 gallon) auxiliary tank to help with this situation, but until that time, I need to work on my fear of running out and stretch my stops out a little more.

[jccjr500]

Have auxiliary tank in bed which I can put 30 gallons in plus 48 gallon in truck gives plenty of fuel for whole day travel. Always drop 5th wheel at night, then look for fuel at night. Usually find fuel quite a bit cheaper then on highway. I am 13’5” tall and I am afraid of not finding station that can accommodate my height, so that is why I have the auxiliary tank. It less stress.

[Grit_dog]

LanceRKeys wrote:
So I actually enjoy for topics to take twists and turns and I learned quite a bit from this topic. I currently own a 1968 beetle, so even that part of the discussion was good. I’m not sure why you would even bring up toilet paper, everyone knows that it should be over the top, and if they think otherwise they are wrong and should correct their way of thinking.

Back on topic, if I get a bigger tank it may be difficult to explain to my better half that it will not cost any more to drive, even though the price to fill up will be more...

Well there ya go! I’d been wonderin about the over/under for a while!
But yeah , bigger tank = mo betta :C

[SweetLou]

JTrac wrote:
I find if I don't let my tank get below half it costs less to fill up than if I let it get close to empty. Makes perfect sense, right?

So I guess Diesel then only costs half the quoted price on the pump. Good, I thought I was getting ripped off. 🙂

[JTrac]

I find if I don't let my tank get below half it costs less to fill up than if I let it get close to empty. Makes perfect sense, right?

[LanceRKeys]

So I actually enjoy for topics to take twists and turns and I learned quite a bit from this topic. I currently own a 1968 beetle, so even that part of the discussion was good. I’m not sure why you would even bring up toilet paper, everyone knows that it should be over the top, and if they think otherwise they are wrong and should correct their way of thinking.

Back on topic, if I get a bigger tank it may be difficult to explain to my better half that it will not cost any more to drive, even though the price to fill up will be more...

[cummins2014]

Well lots of ideas on when to fuel up, my dad gave me a little advice when I started driving a vehicle, its just as easy to keep the top half full as it is the bottom half. 🙂 Pretty much followed that advice for the past 55 years.

[Grit_dog]

I couldn’t read this one past page 1!
OP, fill up whenever you think you need to regardless of someone’s experience with a 67 VW in French Canada, lol!
Since this is a topic of discussion, how about over or under on your TP roll, and does either way provide greater mpg??

[Groover]

Bobbo wrote:

Groover wrote:
I don't understand why Ford has you identify each trailer that you have then doesn't do anything useful with that information (such as adjust predicted mpg).

I don't know about your Ford, but on mine there is a menu setting on the dash "Settings/DTE Calculation" that allows me to select "Normal" or "Towing." It does give me different DTE (distance to empty) figures. Now, if you have multiple trailers, it won't differentiate between them, but there are separate readouts for towing/not towing.

I have 3 different trailers that I pull frequently with 3 quite different impacts on fuel economy. I am talking 9, 12 and 15mpg. I don't want to hijack the thread but it disappoints me that Ford came so close to a good system then totally dropped the ball and seems to have no interest in picking it back up. I would love to talk with Ford directly about this and some other issues but get better results talking to a brick wall than their customer service department.

[SweetLou]

I stop at about 300 miles when towing. I always carry an extra 5 gal of diesel with me in a can

[alexleblanc]

JTrac wrote:
The 17 and up Ford Super Duty's with a long bed now have a 48 gallon tank. I also have a 25 gallon Enduraplas transfer tank. 73 gallons will get us further than I care to go in a day. Stops are for bathroom breaks.

when I retire and no longer commute in my truck / or buy a dually and get a cheap daily i'll go this same route, nothing like more range than you can stand to drive!

[LanceRKeys]

I think I may purchase a 5 gallon can and run a little further between fill ups before spending the money for an auxiliary tank.

[Bobbo]

Groover wrote:
I don't understand why Ford has you identify each trailer that you have then doesn't do anything useful with that information (such as adjust predicted mpg).

I don't know about your Ford, but on mine there is a menu setting on the dash "Settings/DTE Calculation" that allows me to select "Normal" or "Towing." It does give me different DTE (distance to empty) figures. Now, if you have multiple trailers, it won't differentiate between them, but there are separate readouts for towing/not towing.

[Keithk3628]

About 200 for me, with a 26 gallon tank too much more would be an issue, will change for sure when I change oem tank out for a Titan 50 gallon.

[Vette_Racer]

With 129 gal onboard, when ever I want to! But in truth I usually fill somewhere between 40-80 gal down, truck rides much better when tank is full, and of course when price is right.