The rig is well behaved on the road. The weight of the tow vehicle and its power means that the tail does not wag the dog.

After getting about half way into last week’s 1,000 kilometre vanning trip and noticing average fuel consumption of over 16 litres per 100km, it motivated me to find out what sort of fuel consumption could be achieved if a concerted effort was made to drive at a maximum speed of about 90 kilometres per hour.

Ian was amazed by the results of his experiment.

On the day I decided to do this, the cost of fuel on the North West Coast of Tasmania had skyrocketed overnight from just under $2 per litre to $2.17 per litre.

Price shock at the petrol bowser is a great motivator!

The result of marginally reducing maximum highway speed to 90km/h was a reduction in fuel consumption to13.5 litres per 100km (previously 16 litres); resetting the trip computer several times to make sure.

These results were achieved going back over the same route that had produced the previous higher fuel consumption results on the first part of the trip.

Of course, there are other variables such as wind strength and direction, traffic conditions etc. that may have affected this to some extent, but the results seem to indicate that slowing down marginally can save about 15% on fuel.

Planning a road trip from Tasmania to Queensland later this year is difficult with fuel prices likely to be even higher than they are now; although no one can accurately predict by how much.

Regrettably the issue for many vanners to now consider is; at what cost per litre does the fuel price need to reach before it becomes a deal breaker when planning an extended road trip?

• How many litres of fuel does it take your rig to drive 100 kilometres? Have you reduced your speed to try to cut fuel costs? Comment below.

Win! Win! Win!

Our new members’ section is offering subscribers a chance to win Scrubba Wash Bags, a Rescue Swag First Aid Kit … and a spooky ghost tour. Click here to find out more about our fantastic competitions.