Trip fuel cost calculator for semi trucks

This trip fuel cost calculator returns the gallons a trip will take, the trip fuel cost, fuel cost per mile, and what it costs to fill your tanks, with an option to add reefer fuel.

Fuel is the biggest variable cost on most loads, and it changes with every trip. Before you accept a load, it helps to know what the fuel alone will cost, so you can see what is left for everything else.

How it works

• Truck gallons = trip miles / MPG
• Reefer gallons = reefer run hours x gallons per hour
• Trip fuel cost = (truck gallons + reefer gallons) x diesel price
• Fuel cost per mile = trip fuel cost / trip miles

Include empty miles in the trip miles, because the truck burns fuel getting to the pickup too. Leave reefer hours at zero if you do not pull a reefer. Switch Units to see liters and kilometers.

A worked example

A dry van load runs 850 miles including the deadhead to the pickup. The truck gets 6.5 MPG and diesel costs $3.90. The trip takes about 131 gallons, or about $510 in fuel, roughly 60 cents a mile.

Now make it a reefer load with the unit running 16 hours at an EXAMPLE burn rate of 0.8 gallons per hour. That adds about 13 gallons and $50, bringing fuel to about $560 for the trip.

Semi truck fuel cost per mile: what changes it

• Diesel price: the biggest swing. Prices vary by region and by station.
• MPG: weight, speed, terrain, weather and the truck itself. The semi truck MPG calculator shows your loaded and empty numbers.
• Empty miles: they cost the same fuel and earn nothing.
• Idling and reefer time: fuel burned without moving.

How much does it cost to fill a semi truck

Enter your tank capacity to see the cost of a full fill from empty. Tank sizes vary a lot between trucks and configurations; our guide to the semi truck fuel tank covers common sizes and how to find yours. Planning fuel stops around cheaper regions can save money on long runs, as long as the detour is short.

Fuel surcharges

Many loads pay a fuel surcharge that rises with diesel prices. If you want to check whether a surcharge covers your real fuel cost, the fuel surcharge calculator shows how one is built from a base price and MPG.

Fuel is one line

Fuel is the biggest variable cost, but not the only one. DEF adds a little more; our guide to DEF cost and usage per gallon of diesel covers it. Then come tires, the maintenance reserve, fixed costs and your pay. The trucking cost per mile calculator puts them all together, so you can see the floor rate a load has to clear.

Loaded and empty legs

For a more accurate number, split the trip into legs. Price the deadhead to the pickup with your empty MPG and the loaded run with your loaded MPG, then add them. On a heavy load the difference can be large, because a truck may get noticeably better mileage empty than at full gross weight. The more precise your fuel number, the more confident you can be when deciding whether a rate covers the trip.

If you run the same lanes often, keep a note of what each trip actually burned. After a few runs you will have a real fuel number for each lane, including its hills, its traffic and the usual wait at the dock, which beats any estimate.

Planning fuel on a long trip

On a long run, plan fuel stops before you leave: where prices are lower, where your fuel card has a discount, and where truck parking is easy. Know your range on a full tank and keep a reserve for weather, detours and traffic. Running low in a remote area or in winter is not worth the few cents saved.

Where we fit

When we dispatch a truck, we run this math on every load with the deadhead included and pass on loads that do not clear your floor. You say yes, counter or no, and the broker sends the rate confirmation to you to sign. Our owner-operators page shows how dispatch works with one truck.