Trip fuel cost calculator
By Fernandez · Updated October 2026
Price the fuel on a trip before you accept the load.
Trip fuel cost
$702
Gallons (truck + reefer)
185 gal
To fill the tanks once
$570
Fuel cost per mile at these numbers: $0.58. Reefer fuel is often untaxed off-road diesel from a separate tank; price it separately if so.
This trip burns about $702 in fuel. We price loads with fuel and empty miles included.
Our dispatchers find and negotiate the loads; you approve each one and sign the rate con. 5% of gross for one truck with an MC 6 months or older, no setup fee.
Start dispatchHow it is calculated
- Gallons = trip miles / miles per gallon.
- Reefer gallons = reefer run hours x gallons per hour.
- Trip fuel cost = (truck gallons + reefer gallons) x diesel price.
- Fill-up cost = tank capacity x diesel price.
Worked example
| Item | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|
| Trip miles | 1,200 |
| Miles per gallon | 6.5 |
| Diesel price | $3.80 |
| Gallons | about 185 |
| Trip fuel cost | about $702 |
| Fill 150 gallons | $570 |
EXAMPLE price and MPG. Use your own.
Reading the result
Fuel is usually the largest variable cost on a load, so this number tells you a lot about whether the rate works. If the fuel surcharge on the load covers most of the trip fuel, the linehaul pays the rest of your costs. If there is no surcharge, the rate has to cover the fuel on its own. Include the empty miles to the pickup in the trip miles; the truck burns fuel on those too.
For the full picture, put fuel next to your other costs in the trucking cost per mile calculator, and see what a payment adds with the semi truck payment calculator. Miles also cost value; see semi truck depreciation by age and mileage and how much does a semi truck cost.
Fuel estimate mistakes
A fuel estimate is only as good as the numbers you feed it. Small errors in MPG or miles turn into real money over a long trip, and they usually run in the same direction: the estimate comes out lower than the fuel receipts. These are the common reasons:
- Using your best-ever MPG. Use your average over several weeks, loaded and empty, summer and winter.
- Leaving out empty miles. The miles to the pickup and home at the end burn fuel too; add them to the trip miles.
- Forgetting reefer fuel. A reefer running for a long trip can burn a meaningful amount on top of the truck.
- Pricing every gallon at one state's price. Diesel prices vary by state and by stop; a fuel plan along the route can lower the real cost.
- Ignoring idle time. Hours of idling at docks and truck stops burn fuel that no mile count includes.
Fewer empty miles, less fuel nobody pays for
We plan reloads before you deliver. A dispatcher calls you back.