Avoid these fuel guzzlers that destroy fuel economy

Improve your fuel economy: avoid these fuel guzzlers and save lots of cash. They increase fuel use, so if you skip them, it will save you heaps.

These things will increase fuel use so I would avoid these fuel guzzlers if you can:

• Dual wheels are often fitted at the rear to carry extra load and lower the height of the chassis and load tray or RV body. If they are smaller in diamater than the single wheel they replace they will probably have higher rolling resistance. Being smaller they have more road drag and because there are two instead of one, there is a further increase in rolling resistance.
• Extra axles mean more wheels, more drag and higher rolling resistance. Plus they usually allow you to load the vehicle with extra weight.
• Extra weight increases fuel use.
• Boxy shapes make it harder for the air to flow smoothly around the vehicle. Thus there is more wind drag and this becomes even more important at speeds over 80 km/h (50 mph).
• Sharp edges and hard corners also make it harder for air to flow around the vehicle and create more wind drag.
• Rushing burns more fuel. This is because of the higher speeds, higher wind drag, higher rolling resistance and because you are likely to press harder on the gas pedal.
• Running an air-conditioner in the car, RV cabin etc.
• Running an appliance on the road Running a 12 v fridge or other appliance on the road using power from your vehicle's alternator means the motor must run the alternator under load and that burns more fuel.
• Charging house batteries on the road using power from your vehicle's alternator
• Driving in very hot weather - particularly above 104 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees Celsius means the engine may be almost starved of oxygen and the fuel will not burn efficiently. You will have to press harder to get anywhere, particularly at speed and will burn lots more fuel. Add a refrigerator and air conditioning and you have a major increase in the amount of fuel used.