Hey there Reader,
As a scientist, I love data. The more I have, the better I can plan. But I also like tools that are simple and give a “close enough” answer to be useful (what good is a tool if you have to enter a ton of variables?).
Minerva and I have road tripped across the US a couple of times, covering over 36,500 miles exploring National Parks. We usually drive our own cars because they’re comfortable, reliable, and get solid gas mileage.
Plus we know the exact trunk size which makes packing easier.
Then my dad asked the obvious question: Why put all that wear and tear on your car when you could rent instead?
That got us wondering: should we finally rent, or keep using our own? Existing calculators didn’t feel quite right for us (we already pay for insurance and registration, and most of our long-distance miles are on highways, where fuel efficiency is better).
So we built our own Road Trip Car Cost Calculator. It’s fast, simple, works in your browser, and keeps your numbers private.
It factors in:
- Your vehicle type (Car, Minivan, or SUV based on AAA's data)
- Fuel costs & MPG
- Rental price and MPG
We also added a few quick tips for finding last-minute rental deals. Sometimes renting really does save hundreds.
