A year or two ago, fuel prices took on the air of an amusement park: Up and down like a roller coaster, crossed with a walk through the midway where you--the consumer--are the "mark." Nowadays, those who fancy a trip to space should sign up at the fuel pump. Prices for RV fuel are flying away like a rocket, with RVers hanging on for dear life. Filling up at the gas (or diesel) pump is a decidedly painful experience that most of us try and put off as much as we can.

How can you see more of the road, and less of the pump? Does the answer lie in those internet marketed "fuel saving" devices or snake-oil-for-your-tank brews? You may be surprised--there really are ways to go more miles on your tankful.

The first rule of thumb is on your foot. Ha! Give yourself a hand! Don’t plant your foot so firmly on the accelerator. Every time you bear down on the "gas pedal" more money flies out the exhaust pipe. Let entropy work in your favor: When approaching a stop or slowing down for a speed zone change, get your foot off the accelerator and coast (in gear) rather than brake to slow. Coasting to decelerate saves fuel and cuts down on brake wear.

Leaving the stop line, don't make like the 40 yard dash. A controlled, easy acceleration can save as much as 10% on your fuel economy. Picture an egg between your foot and the pedal. Ease down on the gas to increase speed. At highway speed--on level roads--kick in the cruise control. It's best to leave the cruise-o-matic "off" when doing hills.

Your RV is like a big house rolling down the highway--it presents a large front to the air. If you push up to over 55 miles per hour, the wind resistance against "Moe Moe the Motorhome" can really drop your economy--as much as 2% for every mile of speed over the double nickel mark. If your rig averages 10 miles to the gallon and you have a 300 mile trip ahead of you, sure, you'll get there a half hour quicker if you drive 60. But if you keep it to 55, you'll save nearly $9.00 at current gas prices.

Gas engine drivers, a low-cost vacuum gauge will help you visualize fuel savings. As a general rule, the higher the "vac" the less the fuel being consumed. Got a turbo diesel? Some turbo drivers say if they keep the boost to five pounds or less, greater distances between fillups result.

Well-maintained engines save fuel. Fouled or worn spark plugs can eat up as much as 30% of your fuel economy. Clogged air filters are attributed to something on the order of a 10% economy loss. Check your filter by holding it up to a light. If you can't see the light shining through, change the filter.

Another filter that can put a choke hold on your wallet is the fuel filter. Restricted fuel flow can result in hard starts, hesitations, and power loss. When "winter fuel mixes" come on-line at the gas pump, they often result in fuel filter clogs when that fuel mix includes alcohol. The alcohol readily mixes with water sometimes present at the bottom of your gas tank. The mix can carry tank crud into the filter, choking off flow.

Oil changes can affect fuel usage. Dirty oil means more friction. More friction means harder engine work, and greater fuel sucking.

Keeping tire pressures at their optimum level will make your tires more round and less flat. Rounder tires are easier to push--aha! Less fuel consumption! Check tire pressure when tires are cold.

Wheel alignment keeps your tow rig (or motorhome) in better shape to shoot down the road. The same is true for your trailer. A properly aligned front-end reduces fuel consumption and tire wear.

While you're poking around under the vehicle, have your brakes checked. A dragging brake increases rolling resistance--increasing fuel eating. Don’t overfill brake cylinders--it can cause brake drag.

Extra rig weight equals more fuel to get from here to there. If you're camping in an RV park, consider traveling with only a few gallons in your water tank. Dump your holding tanks, too.

Extra (unused) junk in storage compartments also equals more weight to push around. Look in the basement storage area--if you haven’t used it in a year, will you use it this year? Toss it out!

American auto maker, General Motors, tells us that "dash air" units eat up to a mile and a half a gallon in fuel consumption. However, rolling down the windows at freeway speed adds aerodynamic drag. Roll down the windows at city speeds, and use your air on the freeway.

Can you save money by adding magnets to your fuel line, or fancy "wind twisters" to your air intake? Uncle Sam's Environmental Protection Agency takes a rather dim view of retrofitted "fuel economy devices." None they tested gave significant improvements.

A Seattle TV station recently put some of these much ballyhooed devices to the test. From magnetizing fuel to spinning air for the intake system, the station (in conjunction with a test team from the American Automobile Association), put several devices to the test. They also tried one of their own "fuel saving" tricks: A piece of common duct tape was put on one test vehicle.

The results were amazing. The test rigs operated with "magnetized" fuel lines actually lost fuel economy. A device called the "Tornado" improved fuel mileage by a little over 5%. And the duct tape? A whopping 6% increase was shown!

What it all boils down to, according to the station, is that "all those devices didn’t work in our test." That six percent "duct tape" saving actually translated to one mile per gallon--hardly a sufficient margin of improvement to really prove anything.

What’s the answer? Don't be a "lead foot." Keep air in your tires and maintain your engine. Don’t carry more junk than you need. And for good measure, stick a little duct tape on the side of your rig. At least folks will know you've checked out this website!