I was so excited to see gas prices here along Alabama's Gulf Coast drop this weekend to $2.35/gal. Diesel is still at $2.85.
Wonder why it is not coming down in price like gasoline? Wondering what others are having to pay for fuel? It really makes a family on a tight budget think twice about trips even to the point of planning what cities/states you might travel to.
Does anyone use www.gaspricewatch.com to search for cheaper fuel? I know that we try to use it in cities we travel to and plan our fuel stops around what we have found out about certain stations and their prices along the route we will be taking.
Does anyone else have a web site that has fuel prices that would be helpful when planning a trip?
Flying J truck stops have facilities like dump stations for RVs at most locations and give a 1c discount and the cash price on credit/debit with their RV card. They give a 5c discount on propane with the RV card. I use the diesel numbers on this page since they reflect car/rv diesel prices since in some states (AZ, IN, OR, etc.) the commercial trucks pay a different price.
mikeway said
10:35 AM Sep 18, 2006
I second Bill's remarks for diesel. Most Flying J locations are pretty easy to find. We use Flying J almost exclusively, with the RV card. The RV pumps are usually accessible and when they aren't, no one hassles us for using the truck pumps. The fuel is usually fresh and that helps.
A full timing acquaintance, Newt Perdue, also keeps a page of fuel links on his site. This is the link.. Look on the left frame under "rving links". It is pretty comprehensive or use this direct link. He has an interesting site.
By the way, the Southeast seems to remain more expensive than the rest of the country. Any excuse they can use.
However, the coverage is not great nationally - mostly populated areas.
Don and Lois said
06:05 PM Sep 18, 2006
our oldes son lives in Newberry, S.C. and he said the gas at Wal-Mart was $2.13. We paid $2.47 for Diesel on this past Sat.
blijil said
07:12 AM Sep 19, 2006
Just thought I would try to answer why diesal and gas prices differ. Mostly it is supply and demand. Diesal demand is more constant and predictable and over time is less expensive but with Katrina and others diesal production was severely reduced at gulf coast refineries which bit into reserves and raised prices which should begin tracking oil prices again. Gasoline on the other hand is driven by the winter gas summer gas phenomenom which is both supply and demand because of travel and cost affected by the legislated summer blends for environmental protection in many states. So gas prices should normally oscillate to greater extremes following the oil price, demand, and the seasons.
In spite of what I might want to think most analyst agree that price gouging (other than interstate vs off the freeway price) doesn't really affect the price more than a few cents.
As for how much the price affects travel, I thought prices had gone into orbit when it raced from 30 cents a gallon up to 65 cents a gallon in the 70's. I saw an inflation adjusted curve from the early 60's up to the end of last year and believe it or not fuel is cheaper now than it was in the past. Even so I can't believe people are rushing out to fill up because gasoline dropped to $2.51 a gallon this week.
Just another way to look at things.
Larry
jomago said
05:20 AM Sep 20, 2006
Noticed that the price of some major oil companies were in the low $2.20's yesterday.
The paper says to expect another big fuel drop some. Don't know about that, but we'll take anything we can get.
Old Snipe said
06:37 AM Sep 20, 2006
A WaWa fast food/gas stop by me in Gainesville, VA has regular gas for $1.95! There was such a happy mob scene the TV news crews all came to film it. It was WONDERFUL!
Best Regards!
mikeway said
02:32 PM Sep 20, 2006
A couple of additional notes.
Diesel prices appear inflated. I once read (maybe heard on NPR) but can not site, a lot of the diesel is exported due to our lower production costs. Go figure. Additionally, most truckers and large trucking companies get per gallon supplements or have negotiated discounts. In the 80's the truckers were striking, now when fueling, I don't even hear complaints.
Seaking of gouging: we are staying in a very small mountain town (only 2 gas stations) until Oct 15. 27 miles down the hill, diesel is $2.77, here it is $3.29. I call that gouging not transportation. Along the interstate, truck stops within a few miles of each other will vary in price by 15 cents per gallon for diesel. Don't know what to call that.
There is a psychological effect, whether actual inflated cost is lower or not, perhaps mitigated by constant mention in the media. When I was out in May, there were few coaches and other rigs. At one park, the only folks I encountered were full timers or those living within 25 miles of the park. When we began our journey in September, some parks that used to fill up ran less than 50% occupancy or less.
Friends argue over price even though fuel cost is a lesser proportion of your travel (unless you are running and gunning). Every time you see a coach moving above 70 per, figure price is no object.
Mike
Paul H said
02:34 PM Sep 20, 2006
Flying J .com
Paul and Bonnie said
08:20 PM Sep 22, 2006
$2.25 in Milton, FL
jomago said
04:27 AM Sep 23, 2006
Dallas had some major station selling for $1.92. They were lined up for blocks.
greenlady said
07:19 AM Sep 24, 2006
we're at Rainbows End in Livingston, Texas and we saw diesel for 2.55 and under yesterday. I think one station in town had it for 2.49
Linda
Joan On The Road said
09:59 PM Sep 25, 2006
$2.20 today north of Chicago, Illinois!
Takadare said
11:02 PM Sep 25, 2006
Filled up for $2.12 today in Austin,Tx...Hope it still goes lower!!!
-- Edited by Takadare at 01:02, 2006-09-26
Brian and Tam said
03:43 PM Sep 26, 2006
I saw diesel for $2.99 today about 20 miles South of Fresno at a truck stop. Finally it's going the right direction....
-- Edited by Brian and Tam at 20:25, 2006-09-30
Dick Nason said
03:10 PM Sep 29, 2006
Diesel prices just dropped to $2.96 at Safeway in Wenatchee WA., but the Washington state tax is among the highest in the nation.
Auburn War Eagle said
10:53 AM Sep 30, 2006
Diesel is still $2.69 here along Alabama's Gulf Coast, but gas is $2.21. I just realized that if you have a Walmart credit card or Walmart Discovery card, you can get $.03 off each gallon at participating Walmart gas stations.
I think I'll get the Walmart card, not the Discovery card (had a bad experience with Discovery credit card company!)
War Eagle!!!!!
Ann and Tom
greenlady said
09:32 AM Oct 1, 2006
we found diesel for $2.45 at the Indian Village near Livingston, Texas. in town we saw one place $1.99 for gas. first time I've seen it under 2 bucks!
Linda
wmalefyt said
07:18 PM Oct 1, 2006
Took the motorhome out for some exercise today and found diesel for $2.669 at Shell in Naples. This is about the best price in this area as we saw most stations at $2.759+ for diesel. Fuel is more expensive down here due to the distance that it must be trucked in from Miami or Tampa.
Bill
bjoyce said
08:51 PM Oct 1, 2006
Here in Rapid City, SD diesel is running about $2.539/gallon about everywhere in town. Unleaded is $2.399 most places, with Wal-Mart wanting $2.439 for some reason. We found one place selling unleaded for $2.339 for cash and giving a 3c discount for credit, so we filled up at $2.309/gallon. First place we ever found that was cheaper with a credit or debit card than cash.
dreamjosie said
07:56 AM Oct 4, 2006
It's been so frustrating here in the Northeast. While gas has been consistently dropping, the cheapest we have seen diesel is $2.73, and that's after we just paid $2.89 for it somewhere else. Yesterday, we paid $2.95. Big gap between price of gas and price of diesel here.
Brian and Tam said
08:25 PM Oct 4, 2006
Cheapest diesel in Fresno today was $2.75. Gas was 32 cents cheaper...
bjoyce said
03:28 PM Oct 6, 2006
Diesel was $2.369/gallon with our Flying J card in Sioux Falls, SD yesterday. Unleaded plus, the stuff with alcohol, is as cheap as $1.979 around Council Bluffs, IA. If you don't want the alcohol in the gas, it does reduce mileage, the price is $2.079 and up for normal unleaded. Iowa is a corn state so they like alcohol in the gas.
-- Edited by bjoyce at 17:29, 2006-10-06
Auburn War Eagle said
09:42 AM Oct 10, 2006
Gas prices keep coming down here along Gulf Coast....reg. unleaded=$2.11 Diesel=$2.49. We filled up with gas in Montgomery,AL at Flying J for $2.02, diesel was $2.39. That's cheapest I've seen in Alabama.
We were on our way home from Auburn/Arkansas game. (Let's not even talk about that outcome this week!!!)I have faith Auburn will pull thru this Sat. against FL.!!!
Heard on Today show this morning that gas prices will start to go back up. Something to do with winters heating oil prices!?
Ann
Dick Nason said
01:30 PM Oct 10, 2006
Today the fuel prices in Wenatchee WA are $2.69 for regular and $2.86 for Diesel. I can't wait to head south (19 more days).
Linda said
02:18 PM Oct 10, 2006
Today in Ponca City Oklahoma the Diesel is $2.39!!!!!!!
Brian and Tam said
08:39 PM Oct 11, 2006
We paid $2.83 for diesel in Morro Bay, Ca today...
Luvglass said
10:42 AM Oct 12, 2006
What's with diesel prices in the northeast??? We've been up here in NY, Vt, NH, ME since July and diesel has been between $2.85 and $3.09 the whole time. We just paid $2.99 yesterday in NY. Gas prices in the meantime have gone from a high of $3.35 in late July down to $2.39.
mikeway said
02:38 PM Oct 12, 2006
Diesel is still at 2.79 here in the Colorado mountains.
Mike
leelare said
12:39 AM Oct 30, 2006
We paid $2.59 for diesel this evening in Brookings, Oregon along the Pacific Coast Hwy -101, approx. 8 miles north of the California border. We were commenting that it is exactly $1.00 per gallon less than what we paid this summer. Wish it was less, but every little bit helps! Happy roads...
Lee Ann
bjoyce said
06:15 PM Nov 4, 2006
Some of the best prices we have seen for a while today around Houston, TX. At Costco on I-10 unleaded was $1.839/gallon. At the Flying J on I-10 west of Houston we paid $2.319/gallon for diesel for the cash price plus 1c off for their RV card.
mikeway said
08:01 PM Nov 4, 2006
In Arizona, regular unleaded is running between $2.07.9 and $2.11.9. Diesel remains artificially high at $2.43.9 to $2.47.9
By the way, Flying J is getting less and less likely to conveniently accept debit cards at the TRUCK pumps.
Mike
Auburn War Eagle said
09:06 PM Nov 5, 2006
unleaded got down to $2.05 2 weeks ago, then last week it went back up over-nite to $2.13. Now it is starting to go back down, $2.07, diesel is $2.43. That's better. Diesel is sooooo slow to come down in price!
I don't know if we will ever see prices below $2.00 here along Alabama's Gulf Coast!
Ann and Tom
wmalefyt said
07:55 AM Nov 6, 2006
In southwest Florida unleaded regular is going for $2.349-$2.429 and diesel is around $2.569. My son tells us that gas is around $2.06 in the Phoenix, AZ area.
debken said
09:33 PM Nov 6, 2006
We just got back from San Antonio and paid $1.96 per gallon of unleaded at Sam's Club using my Sam's card.
simonsrf said
11:17 AM Nov 11, 2006
In Santa Rosa CA, the lowest price for Diesel is $2.69.
Brian and Tam said
02:26 PM Nov 11, 2006
Diesel price in Fresno is $2.59
mikeway said
03:50 PM Nov 11, 2006
Las Cruces, NM; regular fuel is between 2.10.9 and 2.17.9 and diesel between 2.39 and 2.45.
Mike
dreamjosie said
06:27 PM Nov 11, 2006
We paid $2.75 for diesel today to fill up in Milwaukee before we left. Later, as we crossed over into Indiana, I noticed a sign for diesel at $2.41!!! Hope it continues lower as we make our way through IN, Memphis, AR, OK, TX, NM.
Tmcblane said
07:04 PM Nov 11, 2006
Western Ohio diesel was down to $2.47 at one point but now back up to $2.59
sfischer said
09:27 PM Nov 11, 2006
In our area, diesel jumped in the past few days from $2.41 to $2.49.
dunwurkin said
04:50 PM Dec 9, 2006
I'm not sure if is valid or not, but a fellow good sam member told me that some of the disparity between gas and diesel is because of the higher production costs for the new low sulphur diesel.... kind of like unleaded being higher than leaded? All of the pumps in our home area (north idaho) have now completely switched over to low sulphur diesel, cost is $2.89
gomer
Tmcblane said
05:46 PM Dec 9, 2006
dunwurkin wrote:
I'm not sure if is valid or not, but a fellow good sam member told me that some of the disparity between gas and diesel is because of the higher production costs for the new low sulphur diesel.... kind of like unleaded being higher than leaded? All of the pumps in our home area (north idaho) have now completely switched over to low sulphur diesel, cost is $2.89
gomer
]
Yeah that's a bunch of bull crap, just like they raised the prices during hurricane season in anticipation of damage, price never really came down much from that. Guess we will never see that money again. Crooks is all they are. It will always be some excuse why fuel will be high. Still no reason for diesel to be higher than gas as diesel takes less refining than gasoline. But more people are running diesel now and they don't want to lose out so they just adjust their prices to keep their profits on the upswing. Can't wait till the day when we can burn straight water in our vehicles and can watch the oil barons pay huge fees for storing a dangerous chemical.
wmalefyt said
08:24 PM Dec 9, 2006
Isn't it strange too how fuel prices went down just prior to the elections and now they're going back up after the elections? I'm sure it's just a coincidence!
cksck said
11:14 PM Jul 10, 2007
I've found the AAA gas price finder to be useful. You don't need to be a member to use it. It finds the gas stations near an address or zip code and tells you their gas prices charged the past 7 days. Kind of a nice way to find a cheaper gas station in an area you are not familiar with. I don't know if this helps those of you with diesel, though. http://csaa.kivera.com/csaa/gaspricefinder.jsp?
PS - I looked again, and it does also list diesel prices. :) c-
-- Edited by cksck at 00:15, 2007-07-11
mikeway said
08:02 PM Jul 11, 2007
Interesting thoughts on gas prices.
We are staying in the mountains where fuel is quite expensive - still. We drive down to Pueblo about once a week where, among other things, we fuel up for the week at Sam's Club. Since mid June, the regular fuel price has 3.01 +- 2 cents.
Today we hear a report on the weather channel about "A" refinery in Coffeeville, KS that has been flooded and prices will increase. Today, in Pueblo at Sam's Club, regular is 3.21.9.
Do think that that Sam's Club uses that refinery?
Why is the fuel so high? Because they can and they had a small excuse.
Mike
Tim & Robyn said
05:46 AM Jul 12, 2007
I really think it's more of a supply/demand issue. If a refinery goes offline somewhere for whatever reason, the total available supply is going to be less.
When a desirable commodity is in short supply, it costs more to get your hands on it. You also tend to buy only what you really need, so it's less likely that the commodity will completely run out. Remember the long lines at the pumps back in the '70s, and the gas stations running out of gas? Remember also that there were price controls in effect at that time? Price controls are almost guaranteed to produce shortages...
Everybody should read 'Basic Economics' by Thomas Sowell (yea, I know... ). It opened my eyes to a lot of stuff never taught in the schools. If everybody knew how things really worked, the politicians wouldn't be able to get away with the lies they tell now to manipulate voters.
I better get off my soap box... It's too early in the morning for that...
I was so excited to see gas prices here along Alabama's Gulf Coast drop this weekend to $2.35/gal. Diesel is still at $2.85.
Wonder why it is not coming down in price like gasoline? Wondering what others are having to pay for fuel? It really makes a family on a tight budget think twice about trips even to the point of planning what cities/states you might travel to.
Does anyone use www.gaspricewatch.com to search for cheaper fuel? I know that we try to use it in cities we travel to and plan our fuel stops around what we have found out about certain stations and their prices along the route we will be taking.
Does anyone else have a web site that has fuel prices that would be helpful when planning a trip?
Ann and Tom
http://www.flyingj.com/fuel/gasoline_CF.cfm
Flying J truck stops have facilities like dump stations for RVs at most locations and give a 1c discount and the cash price on credit/debit with their RV card. They give a 5c discount on propane with the RV card. I use the diesel numbers on this page since they reflect car/rv diesel prices since in some states (AZ, IN, OR, etc.) the commercial trucks pay a different price.
A full timing acquaintance, Newt Perdue, also keeps a page of fuel links on his site. This is the link.. Look on the left frame under "rving links". It is pretty comprehensive or use this direct link. He has an interesting site.
By the way, the Southeast seems to remain more expensive than the rest of the country. Any excuse they can use.
Mike
-- Edited by mikeway at 12:45, 2006-09-18
-- Edited by mikeway at 12:46, 2006-09-18
http://www.gasbuddy.com/
This site is pretty easy to use. The diesel in Fresno is still in the $3.00 + range...
Yeah I was happy to pay $2.63 today in Iowa.
Here is another site I have had good luck with:
http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx
However, the coverage is not great nationally - mostly populated areas.
our oldes son lives in Newberry, S.C. and he said the gas at Wal-Mart was $2.13. We paid $2.47 for Diesel on this past Sat.
Just thought I would try to answer why diesal and gas prices differ. Mostly it is supply and demand. Diesal demand is more constant and predictable and over time is less expensive but with Katrina and others diesal production was severely reduced at gulf coast refineries which bit into reserves and raised prices which should begin tracking oil prices again. Gasoline on the other hand is driven by the winter gas summer gas phenomenom which is both supply and demand because of travel and cost affected by the legislated summer blends for environmental protection in many states. So gas prices should normally oscillate to greater extremes following the oil price, demand, and the seasons.
In spite of what I might want to think most analyst agree that price gouging (other than interstate vs off the freeway price) doesn't really affect the price more than a few cents.
As for how much the price affects travel, I thought prices had gone into orbit when it raced from 30 cents a gallon up to 65 cents a gallon in the 70's. I saw an inflation adjusted curve from the early 60's up to the end of last year and believe it or not fuel is cheaper now than it was in the past. Even so I can't believe people are rushing out to fill up because gasoline dropped to $2.51 a gallon this week.
Just another way to look at things.
Larry
Noticed that the price of some major oil companies were in the low $2.20's yesterday.
The paper says to expect another big fuel drop some. Don't know about that, but we'll take anything we can get.
A WaWa fast food/gas stop by me in Gainesville, VA has regular gas for $1.95! There was such a happy mob scene the TV news crews all came to film it. It was WONDERFUL!
Best Regards!
Diesel prices appear inflated. I once read (maybe heard on NPR) but can not site, a lot of the diesel is exported due to our lower production costs. Go figure. Additionally, most truckers and large trucking companies get per gallon supplements or have negotiated discounts. In the 80's the truckers were striking, now when fueling, I don't even hear complaints.
Seaking of gouging: we are staying in a very small mountain town (only 2 gas stations) until Oct 15. 27 miles down the hill, diesel is $2.77, here it is $3.29. I call that gouging not transportation. Along the interstate, truck stops within a few miles of each other will vary in price by 15 cents per gallon for diesel. Don't know what to call that.
There is a psychological effect, whether actual inflated cost is lower or not, perhaps mitigated by constant mention in the media. When I was out in May, there were few coaches and other rigs. At one park, the only folks I encountered were full timers or those living within 25 miles of the park. When we began our journey in September, some parks that used to fill up ran less than 50% occupancy or less.
Friends argue over price even though fuel cost is a lesser proportion of your travel (unless you are running and gunning). Every time you see a coach moving above 70 per, figure price is no object.
Mike
Dallas had some major station selling for $1.92. They were lined up for blocks.
we're at Rainbows End in Livingston, Texas and we saw diesel for 2.55 and under yesterday. I think one station in town had it for 2.49
Linda
$2.20 today north of Chicago, Illinois!
-- Edited by Takadare at 01:02, 2006-09-26
-- Edited by Brian and Tam at 20:25, 2006-09-30
Diesel prices just dropped to $2.96 at Safeway in Wenatchee WA., but the Washington state tax is among the highest in the nation.
Diesel is still $2.69 here along Alabama's Gulf Coast, but gas is $2.21. I just realized that if you have a Walmart credit card or Walmart Discovery card, you can get $.03 off each gallon at participating Walmart gas stations.
I think I'll get the Walmart card, not the Discovery card (had a bad experience with Discovery credit card company!)
War Eagle!!!!!
Ann and Tom
we found diesel for $2.45 at the Indian Village near Livingston, Texas. in town we saw one place $1.99 for gas. first time I've seen it under 2 bucks!
Linda
Took the motorhome out for some exercise today and found diesel for $2.669 at Shell in Naples. This is about the best price in this area as we saw most stations at $2.759+ for diesel. Fuel is more expensive down here due to the distance that it must be trucked in from Miami or Tampa.
Bill
Diesel was $2.369/gallon with our Flying J card in Sioux Falls, SD yesterday. Unleaded plus, the stuff with alcohol, is as cheap as $1.979 around Council Bluffs, IA. If you don't want the alcohol in the gas, it does reduce mileage, the price is $2.079 and up for normal unleaded. Iowa is a corn state so they like alcohol in the gas.
-- Edited by bjoyce at 17:29, 2006-10-06
Gas prices keep coming down here along Gulf Coast....reg. unleaded=$2.11 Diesel=$2.49. We filled up with gas in Montgomery,AL at Flying J for $2.02, diesel was $2.39. That's cheapest I've seen in Alabama.
We were on our way home from Auburn/Arkansas game. (Let's not even talk about that outcome this week!!!)I have faith Auburn will pull thru this Sat. against FL.!!!
Heard on Today show this morning that gas prices will start to go back up. Something to do with winters heating oil prices!?
Ann
We've been up here in NY, Vt, NH, ME since July and diesel has been between $2.85 and $3.09 the whole time. We just paid $2.99 yesterday in NY. Gas prices in the meantime have gone from a high of $3.35 in late July down to $2.39.
Mike
We paid $2.59 for diesel this evening in Brookings, Oregon along the Pacific Coast Hwy -101, approx. 8 miles north of the California border. We were commenting that it is exactly $1.00 per gallon less than what we paid this summer. Wish it was less, but every little bit helps! Happy roads...
Lee Ann
By the way, Flying J is getting less and less likely to conveniently accept debit cards at the TRUCK pumps.
Mike
unleaded got down to $2.05 2 weeks ago, then last week it went back up over-nite to $2.13. Now it is starting to go back down, $2.07, diesel is $2.43. That's better. Diesel is sooooo slow to come down in price!
I don't know if we will ever see prices below $2.00 here along Alabama's Gulf Coast!
Ann and Tom
In southwest Florida unleaded regular is going for $2.349-$2.429 and diesel is around $2.569. My son tells us that gas is around $2.06 in the Phoenix, AZ area.
Mike
I'm not sure if is valid or not, but a fellow good sam member told me that some of the disparity between gas and diesel is because of the higher production costs for the new low sulphur diesel.... kind of like unleaded being higher than leaded? All of the pumps in our home area (north idaho) have now completely switched over to low sulphur diesel, cost is $2.89
gomer
Yeah that's a bunch of bull crap, just like they raised the prices during hurricane season in anticipation of damage, price never really came down much from that. Guess we will never see that money again. Crooks is all they are. It will always be some excuse why fuel will be high. Still no reason for diesel to be higher than gas as diesel takes less refining than gasoline. But more people are running diesel now and they don't want to lose out so they just adjust their prices to keep their profits on the upswing. Can't wait till the day when we can burn straight water in our vehicles and can watch the oil barons pay huge fees for storing a dangerous chemical.
http://csaa.kivera.com/csaa/gaspricefinder.jsp?
PS - I looked again, and it does also list diesel prices. :)
c-
-- Edited by cksck at 00:15, 2007-07-11
We are staying in the mountains where fuel is quite expensive - still. We drive down to Pueblo about once a week where, among other things, we fuel up for the week at Sam's Club. Since mid June, the regular fuel price has 3.01 +- 2 cents.
Today we hear a report on the weather channel about "A" refinery in Coffeeville, KS that has been flooded and prices will increase. Today, in Pueblo at Sam's Club, regular is 3.21.9.
Do think that that Sam's Club uses that refinery?
Why is the fuel so high? Because they can and they had a small excuse.
Mike
When a desirable commodity is in short supply, it costs more to get your hands on it. You also tend to buy only what you really need, so it's less likely that the commodity will completely run out. Remember the long lines at the pumps back in the '70s, and the gas stations running out of gas? Remember also that there were price controls in effect at that time? Price controls are almost guaranteed to produce shortages...
Everybody should read 'Basic Economics' by Thomas Sowell (yea, I know...
the lies they tell now to manipulate voters.
I better get off my soap box... It's too early in the morning for that...