Enter your trip distance and tank range, and get the exact number of fuel stops you need, where to plan them, and how much fuel the whole trip will take.
| Stop | Distance marker | Remaining to destination |
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Running low on fuel in an unfamiliar stretch of highway is stressful and avoidable. Planning stops ahead of time means you always know how far you can safely push before the next fill-up.
A safety buffer means you refuel before your gauge gets uncomfortably close to empty.
Enter a known range, or let the tool calculate it from tank size and mpg or L/100km.
See exactly how far into the trip each suggested fuel stop falls.
The planner first works out your usable range per tank: full-tank range multiplied by one minus your safety buffer. A 400 mile range with a 20% buffer becomes a 320 mile usable range, so the plan assumes you'll refuel with a cushion left rather than running to empty. The number of stops needed is the trip distance divided by that usable range, rounded up, minus one — and if your whole trip fits inside a single usable tank, it correctly reports zero stops needed instead of suggesting an unnecessary one. Suggested stop points are then listed as cumulative distance markers: one usable-range interval, two intervals, and so on, stopping before the total trip distance is reached. Total estimated fuel is calculated directly from your mpg or L per 100km rate when you provide it, or estimated proportionally from your tank size and range otherwise. Every calculation runs instantly in your browser as you type, with no data sent anywhere.
Usable range accounts for your safety margin, not just the theoretical maximum.
Short trips that fit in one tank are reported as needing no fuel stop.
Switch units instantly without re-entering your trip details.
It applies your safety buffer to your full-tank range to get a usable range per tank, then divides your total trip distance by that usable range. If your trip distance fits within one usable tank, it correctly reports zero stops needed.
It reserves a portion of your tank as a cushion. A 20% buffer on a 400 mile range means the tool plans refueling every 320 miles instead of cutting it to the last drop.
Yes. Switch to the tank size and efficiency mode and enter your tank size plus mpg (or L per 100km in metric mode); the tool calculates your full-tank range from those numbers automatically.
Yes. Use the Imperial/Metric toggle to switch between miles, gallons and mpg, or kilometers, liters and L per 100km. All calculations update instantly.
If you provide mpg or L per 100km, fuel needed is calculated directly from your trip distance and that rate. Otherwise it's estimated from your tank size and full-tank range, scaled to your total distance.
More free travel-planning tools from My Panda Toolbox.