Fuel cost calculator for tree crews

Add two parts. Trucks: round-trip miles divided by miles per gallon gives gallons, times your price per gallon. Machines like the chipper, stump grinder and saws: engine hours times gallons per hour, times the price per gallon. Add a small allowance for idling and extra trips, plus saw oil if you want it in. This tool does those steps with your own numbers.

Fill the tank all the way and reset the trip meter. Drive a normal week of jobs with the trailer and chipper as you usually tow them. Fill up again and divide the miles on the trip meter by the gallons you put in. A loaded truck pulling a chipper usually gets far fewer miles per gallon than the sticker says, so use your own number.

Start with a full tank and note the engine hour meter. Run it on normal jobs, then refill and divide the gallons you added by the engine hours used. The owner's manual or dealer can give you a rough number to start with, but your own measured number is better.

No. Count only the hours the engine runs. If the chipper is shut off while the climber works, those hours burn no fuel. Your hour meter is the honest answer: divide the hours it moved this month by the jobs you did.

Saws use much less fuel than trucks and chippers, but the mixed fuel and bar oil add up over a month. Measure it like the chipper: how many gallons of mix your crew goes through in a normal week, divided by the jobs that week. Put the result in the saw row and the oil in the oil line.

It is a percent added on top of the measured fuel. It covers engines left running, a trip back to the shop, a run to the dump or parts store, and warming up on cold mornings. Start small and change it once you compare the tool to your real fuel receipts.

Off-road diesel is generally meant for equipment that does not drive on public roads, and tax and use rules for it depend on federal and state law. Short explanation, not legal or tax advice. Ask your accountant or fuel supplier before you switch.

Add the fuel cost per job as its own line, or build it into your price per crew-hour. Either way the cost is covered. Our tree job estimate builder has a fuel line you can fill in with the number from this tool.

Some companies do, and some build a range into their prices instead. Use the price change line in this tool to see what a jump at the pump costs you per month. Then decide if you raise prices, add a short-term surcharge, or plan routes to cut miles. Tell customers before the job, in writing.

Group jobs by area so trucks drive fewer miles. Turn engines off when they are not working. Keep tires at the right pressure and service air filters on schedule. Fewer wasted estimate trips also help: booking jobs by phone or text and asking for photos first can save drives.

No. It is an estimate built from the numbers you typed. Real fuel use changes with weather, terrain, load and how the crew works. Check it against your fuel receipts once a month and adjust the inputs.

No. The math runs in your browser. Your numbers are only kept in this browser on this device so the form is filled in next time. Clear your browser data to remove them.