Hello beautiful people, and welcome back on the route! 🙂
We are finally on the way back from our trip through Norway and Sweden, Finland and the Baltic countries…and wow, it has been an incredible journey!
In a separate article, we will be talking about our experience in Scandinavia and everything we saw and learned there…but before, we though of writing this article about a gritty topic you don’t see often in social media when speaking about vanlife: the receipt from the pump!!!
On this trip, we spend roughly 4500Euro on fuel alone (50% of our expenses of the last 3 months!), with filling up in Norway and Finland being the most expensive countries (diesel in October 2026 peaked here at 2,7-2,8Euro per liter…GULP!
No need to say, that filling up was always a very sad, saaaad moment for our wallet! 😭
Once, while driving the unending Norwegian roads (more than 4k km of slow roads…we had plenty of time!), we started thinking about all the ways we could reduce our fuel consumption, being more efficient and save on our gasoline expenses!
Truth is…that many people tend to spend months obsessing over lithium batteries, insulation and solar watts, down to the last decimal.
Then, when hitting the road for the first time, discover a simple truth: when you live in a van, fuel becomes your new rent, and you pay it every few days!
A converted van is basically a heavy box on wheels, and it pushes a lot of air… so could we make it more efficient?
Here after you will find our ideas, few smart habits that cal help you CUT your fuel bill (some just a bit, some a true lot!), without giving up the adventure.
Here are 7 smart ways to save on fuel with your campervan, plus a list of extra tips at the end… Let’s dive right in! 🙂
In this article:
1. Just learn to EASE OFF
the Gas!
This is the big one!
A tall, boxy van or a squared campervan has basically the aerodynamics of a fridge! 😅
Air resistance grows much faster than your speed.
Above a certain point, most of your fuel goes into pushing air out of the way… that is why accelerating from 0 to 100 might take 10 seconds, but from 100 to 200 it is almost impossible.
Fuel economy usually starts dropping quickly above at around 95–100 km/h (65mph).
Research has shown that going from 100kmh to just 110kmh cuts efficiency by about 14% on average for normal cars, and up to 25% with a high-roof van the penalty is even bigger.
So, on long highway stretches:
- keep a cruise speed of around 90–100 km/h (55–62 mph) instead of 110- 120 –130; You’ll arrive 5-10 minutes later, but you’ll save up to 20% of your fuel (which, by today prices, it’s a crazy lot!)
- use cruise control on flat roads –> less accelerations and breaking, make the engine more efficient!
- accept being overtaken by trucks! If you stay behind one, your aerodynamics could even improve! Of course by a good safety margin….
The beauty of campervans is watching around, it’s the journey itself, so enjoy the panorama and save fuel in the meantime seems to us a pretty good deal! 🙂
2. Drive Smooth,
Not Fast
Your right foot is the boss!
According to researches conducted by the US Department of Energy, aggressive driving can lower fuel economy by 15–30% on the highway and 10–40% in stop-and-go traffic., which means that hard accelerations and late braking are pure fuel thrown out of the window.
These are few habits that, once automatic, can make a real difference:
- look far ahead and lift off the gas early when you see a red light or a queue;
- use engine braking on long descents, instead of riding the brakes. Your fuel and your brake pads will both thank you!
- with a manual gearbox, shift up early and don’t let the engine scream at high revs –> more revolutions, means higher fuel consumption!
- on climbs, find a steady pace and keep it, instead of flooring it 🙂
3. Lose the
Dead Weight
Every kilo you carry has to be pushed uphill, again and again.
What does it mean in practicality?
Applying some physics I learned in high school, that means that every 45 kg, the fuel economy of an average 3,5T van, will roughly decrease by around 1%.
A fully loaded camper can easily carry several hundred kilos more than the empty van, and most campervans are overweight to begin with. Imagine to be overweight to 4T (that would be illegal of course), what would also consume 11% more gasoline than driving at 3,5T.
Which is the biggest hidden weight in a campervan then? Water.
One liter weighs one kilo, so a 100-liter fresh water tank is 100 kg, and a full grey water tank is just extra weight you’re carrying around for no reason! 2% lost!
So, here is our practical advice:
- Empty the grey water tank before long drives, and especially before climbing a mountain pass – no need to bring it on tour with you! 🙂
- Travel with only the fresh water you need until the next refill point, no need to drive 6 hours with 200L of water if you’re ending up in a camping anyway!
- Declutter every few months: tools you never use, “just in case” gear, the third pair of hiking boots… to my bad, I had so many wrenches and worktools I had since building the van which I kept in the van “just in case” xD
And, BIGGEST TIP OF ALL, if you’re still building your van, think about weight from day one: lighter materials, smart furniture and the right base vehicle.
Our guide to the best vans for a DIY conversion can help you choose which might be the right fit for you:)
4. Keep Your Roof
(and Your Aerodynamics) Clean
Roof racks, solar panels, boxes, bikes, surfboards… The roof is where vanlifers love to put everything. But anything on the roof adds drag, and drag is exactly what a high-roof van doesn’t need.
- Mount solar panels as flat and low as possible, and leave a clean front edge so the air can flow over them. Use an aerodynamic wedge if the location is not optimal aerodinamically speaking!
- Remove empty racks and roof boxes when you’re not using them (useless weight + drag!)
- If you can, carry bikes and boxes at the back instead of on the roof. Rear-mounted cargo has a much smaller impact than rooftop loads!
It sounds like a detail, but on a 1,000 km drive the difference can easily show up at the pump 🙂
5. Keep Your Tires
and Your Van in Shape
Under-inflated tires are one of the most common (and easiest to fix) fuel wasters.
The US Department of Energy says fuel economy drops by about 0.2% for every 1 psi of pressure lost across all four tires.
Campers are heavy, so:
- check the pressure at least once a month and before long trips, with the tires cold;
- use the loaded pressure recommended for your vehicle (on the door sticker or in the manual), not the “empty van” value – normally they are written on the driver seat or by the driver door.
- keep an eye on the alignment, especially if you see uneven wear!
The extra weight also wears out shocks, brakes and suspension faster than on a normal van.
Regular maintenance instead, keeps your fuel consumption down and spares you from a nasty repair in the middle of nowhere.
6. Plan Smarter, Drive Less,
and Stay Longer!
The cheapest kilometer is the one you don’t drive.
Small daily trips, can add up to LOTS of kilometers!
Driving to a dump station (20km), to a gym (7km), to a supermarket (8km), to a spot with phone signal (10km), filling freshwater and throwing garbage (10km)… It is easy not to notice, but it might add fast, and given that most campervans to 10km with 1 liter of diesel on average, a “service” day might cost easily 20-30-40Euros without even realizing it!
What to do then?
- Slow down your travel! Find a nice spot and stay there for a few days instead of moving every afternoon. Our guide to RV parking, campsites and boondocking can help you find the right places! 🙂
- Combine your errands in one trip: water, groceries, laundry and fuel all at once!
- Check signal before you park, especially if you work online, so you don’t have to pack everything up and drive to the nearest town for a video call. Here’s how to stay connected: internet in your camper!
- Avoid idling. Running the engine just for the air conditioning or heating can burn 1–2 liters an hour! Look for shade instead, park facing the wind (less heat on the windows!), open the windows with insect nets, or go up in altitude where it’s cooler 🙂
7. Pay Less
at the Pump
You can also save just by choosing where and how you fill up.
- Avoid motorway service stations when you can: fuel is often more expensive there than in towns just a few kilometers away!
- Use price comparison apps and sites. Fuelio and GasBuddy are very popular ones. Then, in Europe many countries have official price websites, like prix-carburants.gouv.fr in France or Osservaprezzi Carburanti in Italy.
- In Italy, choose “self-service” instead of “servito”: the same fuel at the same pump costs more if an attendant fills it for you.
- On long trips across borders, check prices in the next country: sometimes it’s worth arriving with an almost empty tank.
- Use loyalty programs and fuel cards. If you’re touring the United States, for example, a BP fuel savings credit card takes a few cents off every gallon at bp and Amoco stations. That makes a real difference when you fill up every few days, and it helps protect your emergency fund for repairs. Like any credit card, it only makes sense if you pay the balance in full every month 🙂
Each tip saves just a few cents per liter, but when you live on the road, those cents add up fast.
Extra Tips
to Save Even More ⛽
Still hungry for savings? Ahah
Here are some quick extra tips we thought of!
- Choose road tires over all-terrain, unless you really go off-road: AT tires are heavier and have more rolling resistance. We went through Norway in autumn with summer tyres and went just fine 🙂
- Windows up on the highway, open in town. At high speed open windows add drag, so use the vents or the AC; at low speed it’s the opposite.
- Use a diesel parking heater instead of idling. A typical unit burns roughly 0.1–0.5 liters per hour, a fraction of what the engine uses when it’s running just to keep you warm!
- Charge with solar or a DC-DC charger while you drive, so you never have to run the engine just to top up your batteries.
- Don’t warm up the engine by idling. Drive off gently and let it warm up on the road.
- Use the engine oil grade recommended by the manufacturer: the wrong viscosity can increase consumption!
- Plan routes with the elevation in mind: a flatter road that’s a bit longer can cost less than a steep mountain pass. Don’t always trust blindly Google for “shortest” route… shorter does not always means cheaper 🙂
- Compare tolls and fuel: toll motorways are faster but make you drive at higher speed; secondary roads are slower but often cheaper on both counts.
- Sometimes the ferry beats the road: on long detours, a ferry crossing can cost less than the fuel, tolls and wear on the van.
Conclusions 🙂
And here we come at the end of this article! 🙂
Fuel will probably always be the biggest expense of life on the road, but with a lighter foot, a lighter van and a few smart choices at the pump you can save hundreds of euros (or dollars) every year, and spend them on what really matters: more time on the road.
- What’s your best trick to save fuel with your van?
- Have you ever been surprised by your first month of fuel bills?
Let us know in the comments below! 😀
If you’re planning your van life, don’t miss our 10 stupid campervan mistakes to avoid and our guide on how much a van conversion costs.
Thank you for reading, and see you in the next article! 🙂
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