Fuel Anxiety Is Real: How to Never Run Out on a Travel Trailer Trip

There's a particular kind of dread that hits you somewhere past the last town, when the fuel gauge starts dipping and the next servo is still 200 kilometers away. Your eyes flick between the road and the dash. You start doing mental arithmetic. You ease off the accelerator, just a little.

That's fuel anxiety — and if you've felt it while towing a travel trailer through remote Australia, you're not alone.

What Is Fuel Anxiety?

Fuel anxiety is the persistent worry about whether you have enough fuel to reach the next service station. And unlike range anxiety in electric vehicles (which gets most of the media attention), fuel anxiety for travel trailer tourers is grounded in a very real problem: Australia is enormous, and fuel stops can be genuinely few and far between.

For unladen drivers, it's rarely an issue. Most modern vehicles can cover 700-900 km on a tank, and most highways have servos every 50-100 km. But hook up a travel trailer and everything changes. Your fuel consumption can jump 30-50% overnight, slashing your effective range by hundreds of kilometers.

It's consistently one of the top concerns raised by first-time tourers — and even experienced travellers respect it. The outback doesn't care about your travel plans.

Why Towing Destroys Your Fuel Range

The physics are straightforward but brutal. A travel trailer is essentially a large, unaerodynamic box that your vehicle has to drag through the air while also hauling an extra 1,500-3,000 kg of weight.

Take a Toyota LandCruiser Prado as an example. Unladen, you might see 10-11 L/100km on the highway. Hook up a dual-axle travel trailer and you're looking at 16-18 L/100km — sometimes north of 20 L/100km in hilly country or headwinds.

That 80-liter tank that gave you a comfortable 800 km range? Now it's delivering 450-500 km at best. And "at best" means flat roads, no wind, and moderate speeds. Throw in the red centre's corrugated tracks or a strong westerly, and you could be burning through fuel even faster.

The key factors that increase consumption when towing:

• Aerodynamic drag — your travel trailer presents a massive frontal area to the wind
• Weight — every extra kilogram requires more energy to move and stop
• Terrain — hills that your unladen vehicle barely noticed now demand serious fuel
• Speed — drag increases exponentially with speed; 110 km/h burns dramatically more than 90 km/h
• tire pressures — underinflated tires create rolling resistance that costs fuel
• Wind — a 30 km/h headwind can increase consumption by 15-20%

Rule of thumb: expect 40-60% higher fuel consumption when towing. If you don't know your exact towing figure, assume the worst until you've measured it.

The Outback Reality

Australia has some of the longest distances between fuel stops of any country on earth. Here are a few stretches that demand serious fuel planning:

• Stuart Highway (Alice Springs to Coober Pedy): 688 km with limited fuel stops in between. Kulgera and Cadney Park are your options — miss them and you're in trouble.
• Great Central Road (Yulara to Laverton): Roughly 1,100 km of unsealed road with perhaps 2-3 fuel stops (Warakurna, Warburton, Tjukayirla). Fuel availability at each is not guaranteed.
• Plenty Highway: Over 700 km with extremely limited fuel. Gemtree and Boulia are it.
• Gibb River Road: Not as long, but every stop needs to be planned carefully. Fuel at Mt Barnett and Imintji, and you'd better know their opening hours.

And the reality of remote fuel goes beyond just distance:

• Prices are eye-watering. Expect $2.50-3.50 per liter at remote roadhouses. A fill-up for a 140-liter long-range tank could set you back $400-500.
• Opening hours are limited. Many remote servos close at 4pm, or don't open on weekends. Arriving at 5pm on a Saturday to find a locked bowser is a genuine risk.
• Payment methods vary. Some remote pumps are unmanned and card-only. Others are cash-preferred. Carry both, and make sure your card works without mobile signal (some EFTPOS machines need it).

Practical Solutions That Actually Work

The good news: fuel anxiety is entirely manageable with proper planning. Here's how experienced tourers handle it.

1. Know Your Actual Towing Fuel Consumption

This is the single most important thing you can do, and it's surprising how many people skip it.

Don't rely on the manufacturer's claimed fuel consumption — those numbers are measured unladen, in laboratory conditions, at sea level. They're essentially useless for towing planning.

Instead, measure it yourself:

1. Fill your tank completely at a servo
2. Reset your trip meter (or note the odometer)
3. Drive a typical towing day — mixed highway and town, with your travel trailer loaded as it normally would be
4. Fill up again at the next servo
5. Divide the liters pumped by the distance driven, multiply by 100

Do this at least three or four times across different conditions (flat vs hilly, calm vs windy) to get a reliable average. Most tourers find their towing consumption sits between 14-20 L/100km depending on the rig.

Once you know your number, you can calculate your actual towing range: tank size divided by consumption, multiplied by 100. An 80L tank at 17 L/100km gives you a theoretical range of 470 km — but you should never plan to use more than 75% of that.

2. Plan Your Fuel Stops Before You Leave

Winging it works on the east coast. It does not work in the outback.

Before you depart, map out every fuel station on your route. For each one, check:

• Opening hours — some close early, some close on weekends, some close for months during the wet season
• Fuel type — not every roadhouse carries diesel or premium unleaded
• Payment methods — card-only, cash-only, or both

Useful resources for fuel stop planning include FuelMap Australia, WikiCamps, and Fuel Watch (WA). Cross-reference at least two sources — apps can be outdated.

Then calculate the distance between each stop and compare it against your known towing range. Never plan to arrive at a servo with less than a quarter tank. That buffer accounts for detours, unexpected closures, or consumption running higher than expected due to wind or terrain.

3. Jerry Cans — The Safety Net

Jerry cans are the traditional insurance policy for remote touring, and for good reason. A couple of 20-liter cans can extend your range by 200+ km — enough to bridge most gaps.

But they come with trade-offs that many travellers overlook:

• Weight adds up fast. A full 20L jerry can weighs roughly 20 kg (16 kg of fuel plus the can itself). Three cans is 60 kg — that's a meaningful chunk of your payload allowance.
• Use metal cans only. Steel or aluminium jerry cans are the standard. Plastic fuel containers can degrade in UV and heat, and aren't legal for fuel transport in all states.
• Store them properly. Jerry cans belong on a rear bar carrier or in a dedicated external cradle — never inside the vehicle cabin or travel trailer. Fuel vapours in an enclosed space are a serious safety hazard.
• Fuel goes stale. gas starts degrading after about three months. Diesel lasts a bit longer but still needs attention. Add a fuel stabiliser if you're storing cans for extended periods, and rotate your stock regularly.

The smart move: carry enough jerry can capacity to bridge the longest gap on your specific route, not a worst-case "what if" scenario. Over-carrying fuel wastes payload and can push you over your GVWR.

4. Drive Smart to Maximise Range

When range matters, how you drive matters enormously.

• Slow down. The difference between 100 km/h and 110 km/h can be 10-15% in fuel consumption when towing. On a 500 km stretch, that's the difference between making it and not.
• Maintain steady speed. Avoid heavy acceleration and braking. Cruise control is your friend on flat highways.
• Check your tire pressures. Underinflated tires increase rolling resistance significantly. Check pressures when cold, and inflate to the correct figures for your load — not just the placard value.
• Remove unnecessary weight. Every 100 kg of extra weight costs roughly 0.5 L/100km. If you're heading into a fuel-critical stretch, consider whether you really need everything you're carrying.
• Time your travel. Early morning often means calmer winds. A strong headwind can add 3-4 L/100km to your consumption.

5. Upgrade Your Setup

If you're serious about remote touring, there are hardware solutions worth considering:

• Long-range fuel tanks (120-180L) are the gold standard. They replace your factory tank with a larger unit, giving you genuinely extended range without the hassle of jerry cans. A 140L tank at 17 L/100km gives you over 800 km of towing range.
• Sub tanks or auxiliary tanks add capacity alongside your main tank. They're a good option when a full tank replacement isn't available for your vehicle.
• Fuel consumption gauges (ScanGauge, UltraGauge) give you real-time consumption data so you can adjust your driving on the fly. Knowing you're currently burning 19 L/100km instead of your usual 16 lets you ease off before it's too late.

The Weight Compliance Connection

Here's where fuel planning and weight compliance collide — and where many travellers unknowingly create a new problem while solving the first one.

Adding jerry cans is the obvious response to fuel anxiety. But those cans add weight, and that weight has consequences:

• Three 20L jerry cans add 60 kg to your payload. If you're already close to your GVWR, that could push you over.
• Fuel weight shifts your balance. Jerry cans on a rear bar move weight behind the rear axle, which can lighten your front end and affect steering. Extra fuel in the travel trailer's trunk shifts your tow ball mass.
• It's a common compliance trap. Travellers add jerry cans, a generator, recovery gear, and suddenly they're 200 kg over GVWR without realising it.

The smarter approach is to plan your fuel stops carefully enough that you minimise how many jerry cans you need to carry. One 20L can as a genuine emergency reserve is often enough if your route is well-planned. That's 20 kg instead of 60 — a much easier figure to accommodate in your payload budget.

How KamperHub Helps

KamperHub's Route Builder includes fuel planning that calculates stops based on your actual vehicle consumption and tank size — not generic estimates. The jerry can configuration models extra fuel capacity while showing you the weight impact on your payload. And if you're pushing into remote territory, the Trip Advisor flags long stretches where fuel planning is critical, so nothing catches you by surprise.

Quick Reference: Fuel Planning Checklist

• Measured my actual towing fuel consumption (L/100km)
• Mapped all fuel stops on my route
• Checked opening hours for remote servos
• Calculated range between stops (with 25% buffer)
• Jerry can weight factored into payload calculations
• tire pressures checked and correct for load
• Emergency contacts saved (RACQ / NRMA / RAA / RAC)
• Downloaded offline maps (no mobile signal in remote areas)

The Bottom Line

Fuel anxiety doesn't have to control your trip planning. The formula is simple: know your consumption, plan your stops, carry a sensible reserve, and drive efficiently. Do those four things and you can tackle even Australia's most remote routes with confidence.

The travellers who run into trouble are almost always the ones who didn't measure their towing consumption, assumed the next servo would be open, or carried too much "just in case" weight without checking their GVWR.

Plan smart, travel light, and keep that fuel gauge where it belongs — comfortably above the halfway mark.

Safe travels out there.

Useful Resources

• US Department of Energy — Fuel Economy Tips
• GasBuddy — Find Cheap Gas
• AAA — Gas Prices

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KamperHub Team

Helping travellers tow safely and confidently. KamperHub provides tools for trip planning, weight compliance, and adventure management.