There must be a way to figure this out...

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We are driving from Sacramento to Anaheim, taking 5 all the way down. I want to try to figure out where the cheapest place to get gas is along the way. Any thoughts?

 

[jason417]

Try the following:

http://gasprices.mapquest.com/index.jsp

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

That doesn't work because it wants to know a specific address or intersection. Putting in a city doesn't work either because not all the exits along 5 are cities or towns.

 

[Disney Dreams]

California Gas Prices

 

[jason417]

Here's what I'd do...

Anaheim is about 400 miles from Sacramento. That's anywhere from 11 gallons of gas (Corolla or Civic) to 24 gallons of gas (Suburban). So, worst case scenario is about 24 gallons to get there. You probably already know the cheapest place around your home to get gas so you fill up there. That will get you far enough that you only need to fill up one more time before arriving. Stop at an ARCO when you are needing to fill up. Chances are there's not going to be much more than 10 or 20 cents difference between the ARCO you randomly stop at and the cheapest gas station in the area. Even if you put 20 gallons in at 20 cents above the cheapest gas in town that's only $4. True, that would add up over time but doing it a couple of times on your whole trip is fairly insignificant compared to the price of the entire vacation. And that's assuming you drive a big gas-guzzler. We live 324 miles from Disneyland and we can get there on an 11-gallon tank of gas in our Corolla so if you drive something like that then you're even better off than the above math suggests.

Another good resource is gasbuddy.com. You need to know the town you want to stop in and you may have to go a bit off the freeway to get to the gas station with the cheapest gas. That's not really an inconvenience I'd go for, but if your goal is the absolute cheapest gas it can be done with a little work.

 

[pixiewings71]

We always like to stop in Lost Hills. There is a Love's there that seems to have the best prices. We haven't done the drive since July but that's where we would stop. Oh and it's about halfway so it's a good place to stretch and grab snacks or food if you need it.

 

[dismom73]

Wow, everyone is so close! We are in Vacaville. We were supposed to go the first week of October, but had to cancel because of money (or should I say, lack of if). We are now looking into going in March instead. We love the drive down. We always play fun car games we make up about Disneyland. It's the drive home that we hate!

 

[jobo]

I second Love's at Lost Hills. We stop on our way from Las Vegas to Morro Bay. Plus the soft serve ice cream is SO GOOD!

 

[mAlien13]

I don't know if you have the program, but we love Microsoft Streets and Tips. When you plan your trip on it, you can designate by mileage or by time how frequently you want to stop. We do that, and then once you have a location for a stop, you can select an option to find nearby places. Select gas, and then all the gas stations in that area pop up by address, and you can set your directions straight to them. You can also find restaurants and hotels this way. The phone numbers are there as well, and I find that helpful, because I can check their hours, and whether or not they have a fee for using debit/credit. Sometimes, they will tell you gas prices, but usually not, because it could be a competitor calling. In any case, with it you have the exact address so you can use the web-sites to check. I would not even know how to plan a road trip without this program! It tracks your projected MPH, gas price average, and breaks the trip down by miles, hours and minutes, and let's you customize your stops to the minute. It also tracks online any known construction taking place on your route.

 

[CrazyDuck]

Just fill up at the closest gas station near the off ramp. Wasting gas driving out of your way to save $.05 a gallon will negate any savings! It's just a waste of time!

 

[SeattleTink]

Are you a Costco member? This summer we drove from Seattle to South Lake Tahoe and my husband went on the Costco website and researched all the warehouses with gas and then printed out directions from I-5 (most warehouses are right off the freeway). It saved us quite a bit of $.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I definitely don't plan to go away from the exit for cheap gas. But I have this habit of looking at gas prices every single time I pass a gas station and last time I remember seeing a VERY wide range of gas prices along the way, I just can't remember where they were

 

[Leofoenget]

From Sacramento to Anaheim, my guess is you would probably need to re-fuel around half way or Kettleman City/Buttonwillow area. Just re-fuel half way and be done with it. I agree with Jason417,a few cents this way or that won't make much of a difference in the long run.

just my 2c

 

[youmyflower]

we always stop at that Love's in Lost Hills too. It seems to be the cheapest always.

 

[pixiewings71]

Wow, everyone is so close! We are in Vacaville. We were supposed to go the first week of October, but had to cancel because of money (or should I say, lack of if). We are now looking into going in March instead. We love the drive down. We always play fun car games we make up about Disneyland. It's the drive home that we hate!

LOL we do that too! LOL We love playing our own version of 20 questions (always Disney related answers) we also play "I'm Thinking of...." which is Disney related as well. lol We played that on our adults only trip to DL with my BFF and her DBF, they liked it so much that they play it every trip too. LOL In fact, when we are all together one of us usually says "I'm Thinking of......" and off we go on a game! LOL

 

[IASWAM]

To the OP; I don't know if you have ever driven that route, but we did it this year (from Oregon to DL all the way down 5) and there isn't much between SAC and LA on I-5. Whatever you do, don't stop for gas at the gas station right before you head up into the mountains. We stopped there for a potty break, and gas was $4.79/gal when everywhere else it was around $3.95/gal. They knew they were the only game in town.

 

[KCmike]

www.gasbuddy.com

 

[disneegrl4eva]

We are driving from Sacramento to Anaheim, taking 5 all the way down. I want to try to figure out where the cheapest place to get gas is along the way. Any thoughts?

hey I live in Merced which is off of the 99 fwy and I take that all the way down to Bakersfield..now Im 2 hours from you and about 2 1/2 hours from Bakersfield...I fill up in Merced and then again in Bakersfield...Im not sure what cities stop on the 5 in between Sac. and Bakersfield except for Stockton...but Im thinking you should be able to get to Bakersfield on a full tank of gas right? if you can help me with that I would be glad to tell you some places you can get gas thats not horrific in prices

 

[pixiewings71]

To the OP; I don't know if you have ever driven that route, but we did it this year (from Oregon to DL all the way down 5) and there isn't much between SAC and LA on I-5. Whatever you do, don't stop for gas at the gas station right before you head up into the mountains. We stopped there for a potty break, and gas was $4.79/gal when everywhere else it was around $3.95/gal. They knew they were the only game in town.

Do you mean in Grapevine? Ya, never get gas there, everything is way too expensive there. Even the water is theme park priced! lol We've stopped there to use the bathrooms but that's it, we never buy anything there.

FYI, we drive an 05 Dodge Grand Caravan when we go, we "can" make it on one tank of gas but we try not to. It's a little scary, that's why we stop in Lost Hills. LOL Looks like a lot of stop there actually.