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Low Gas Prices For Summer 2010

As reported by the Associated Press in the article, As Summer Nears, Expect Gas Prices To Go… Down?, gas prices may have already peaked for the summer. This makes the idea of a road trip a vacation possibility. Before you hit the road on what could be an awesome family vacation, consider these easy low cost tips. They could very easily save you lots of money.

Money Saving Vehicle Maintenance Tips

The first thing you should consider before you hit the road on a road trip is vehicle maintenance. And the easiest items to check are your spark plugs, air filter, oil, and tires. In fact, these are the most common items included in a basic tune-up. A basic tune will run about $65 for a basic six cylinder car. This includes changing the oil, air and oil filters, spark plugs, rotating the tires, and chassis lube.

$65 may sound like more than you want to spend right before you hit the road, but consider these savings. If your car is lacking this basic maintenance, it could be getting 5 MPG or more less than the advertised highway rating. If your trip is 600 miles round trip and the average cost for a gallon of gas is $3.00, this 5 MPG loss is equal to. And don’t forget to kick the tires, improperly inflated tires add friction, which can lower highway fuel economy 2 MPG.

Save Money With Trip Planning

Proper trip planning can definitely help you save money on a road trip. Take for instance finding the best gas prices along your route. You could look for the best price at an exit near where you may run low on gas. Or you could use the Gas Buddy trip planner. This route planner tells you what the address is for your fill ups, what the current prices is, about how much gas you’ll need, and approximately how much your total will be.

Another good way to save money on your trip is to sign up for hotel award points. One of the main hotel points programs I use are the hotel rewards by Choice Hotels. Each time I stay I get points that can be redeemed for free nights. I also gain points by using a special code when I rent a vehicle or buy from certain online vendors. This works really good when I am on business travel. Before I hit the road I plan my hotel stays along my route and check Gas Buddy for the best fuel prices near my hotel.

Other ways how to save money on road trips:

• Set the cruise control for the maximum sped limit. This not only will save you the cost of a speeding ticket, it saves gas! Very few drivers can beat the cruise control when it comes to MPG.
• Visitor centers have a lot of coupons!
• If you are going to spend a lot of time on the road over the course of a year, buy a seasons pass to the National Park System. In three visits to a national park you have already saved money over regular price admission for a family.
• Pack a cooler with drinks and snacks, you’ll save over buying in the convenient stores.
• Save money at home while you are gone, set the thermostat to a temperature where it the ac/heater won’t run much, turn off all the lights, shut all the doors (makes it easier to control temp in thermostat zone), turn the water hear to the lowest setting or vacation mode, and unplug all the power strips in the house.

Best of luck on your road trip, have fun and be safe!