The band, The Silver Comet, is going out on the 2012 Warped Tour and asked me for some ideas on funding. The biggest question to ask first is how much is it going to cost? The biggest cost, in my experience, is gasoline. (See the previous podcast and blog post where Blasko and I try to figure out ways to fund the tour.)
Below, I recorded a video to show how you can calculate your tour’s gas costs using Google Maps. Additionally, I used the 2011 Warped Tour’s dates to calculate the theoretical cost for The Silver Comet.
Here’s the basic calculation to know what the cost is. First, figure out your total gallons of gas burned:
Total Miles / Miles Per Gallon = Total Gallons
Then, the second part is to figure out the total cost of gas:
Total Gallons * Cost Per Gallon = Total Cost
And, afterwards, you need to add some margin of error. You never know if you’ll need to drive out of your way, so add in at least an extra 10%.
Total Cost * 1.10 = Total Cost with an additional 10%
After calculating the costs in the video, the number for 40+ dates on the road is daunting. To really make the tour cost effective, they might want to team up with another band and share a van to help split the costs.
After Google plots a route, you can click on the blue line and drag it. That allows you to customize the default route, and potentially add in the intermediary locations–such as that mechanic who is going to fix your broken down van.
Not to mention the potential cash versus mileage savings of toll roads versus non toll roads.
One trick I discovered was checking the gas taxes of various states. If you are driving close to the border of a state with a lower gas tax, you can take advantage of it. Example: Whenever I have a show in Eastern New York, Connecticut or thereabouts, I generally take I-84 to get there. While the route doesn’t go through New Jersey, if you take exit 1 in New York and head south, in less than 1/4 of a mile you end up in that state and a large cluster of gas stations around the exit. New Jersey has a lower gas tax, and subsequently lower gas prices that either New York or Pennsylvania. Thus, whenever I’m on that route, I make it a point to make my gas stop at that particular exit right near the New York/Pennsylvania line.
Oh that’s tricky. How much of a difference can taxes make? Like 7%? I guess if you get super hardcore into math, you can calculate the savings vs. the extra gas in driving out of your way.
Right – while I don’t consider this out of my way, who knows how many of these “flybys” are in the country? You’d have to compare a map like this to your route map, for starters.
Nice article, love Google Maps. Yeah, that extra 10% is the “Oh Crap” fund.
Great tip, Seth. Using that noodle!
Thank you, Andrew!
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Apps like Gas Buddy can help find cheap fuel along the way.
Thanks, Chris! That’s a good one. Did not think of that.