Driving a rental truck from one coast to the other usually takes 2,700 to 3,300 miles of road. At this week’s prices, fuel for that drive comes to about $1,594 to $1,763 in a mid-size truck and up to about $2,267 in the largest one. Here’s how that number is built and what moves it.
Fuel for real cross-country routes
These are driving distances on the actual roads, not straight lines, with gas priced halfway between the average at each end of the route. The 15 to 17 ft column assumes about 9 MPG; the 26 ft column assumes about 7 MPG.
| Route | Miles | Driving days | 15 to 17 ft truck | 26 ft truck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY to Los Angeles, CA | 2,794 | 7 | $1,594 | $2,050 |
| Boston, MA to San Diego, CA | 3,028 | 7 | $1,729 | $2,223 |
| Miami, FL to Seattle, WA | 3,304 | 8 | $1,763 | $2,267 |
| Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA | 2,018 | 5 | $1,203 | $1,546 |
| Atlanta, GA to Denver, CO | 1,407 | 4 | $633 | $814 |
| New York, NY to Miami, FL | 1,279 | 3 | $592 | $761 |
Driving days assume 450 miles a day, a comfortable pace in a loaded truck. For any other pair of cities, use the moving truck gas calculator, which works for any town in the lower 48 states.
Why the total is so high
The math is simple: miles divided by MPG gives gallons, and gallons times the price gives the cost. What makes a move expensive is the MPG. A loaded box truck gets roughly a third of what a midsize car does, so a 3,000-mile drive that would use about 100 gallons in a 30 MPG car uses over 300 in a truck. At this week’s national average of $4.284 a gallon, that gap alone is worth about $1,000.
Where you fill up matters too. This week gas in California averages $6.031 a gallon, against $3.784 along the Gulf Coast, a gap of $2.247. On a coast-to-coast drive you’ll buy fuel in both, and the route pages show the price at each end so you can plan where to fill the tank.
What else to budget for besides fuel
- The truck itself. One-way rentals are priced per move, and some include a set number of miles with a per-mile charge after that. Get a quote for your exact dates, since prices change with season and demand.
- Nights on the road. A coast-to-coast drive is a week of driving, which usually means five or six hotel nights, plus meals.
- Towing your car. A car trailer or tow dolly costs extra to rent and lowers the truck’s fuel economy by roughly 15%, adding fuel on top.
- Returning the tank. Most rental companies want the truck back with the fuel level you picked it up with, and charge more than pump prices to top it off for you.
- Tolls. Routes through the Northeast, Florida, Illinois and parts of Texas and California include toll roads, and trucks often pay more than cars.
How to spend less on fuel during a long move
- Rent the smallest truck that fits. On a coast-to-coast route, the 26 ft truck costs hundreds more in fuel alone.
- Hold a steady, moderate highway speed. Wind resistance on a box truck climbs fast above 60 mph.
- Fill up where gas is cheaper on your route, and avoid buying a full tank in the most expensive states.
- Ship a few heavy, low-value items another way, or sell them, rather than hauling extra weight 3,000 miles.
Planning a specific move? Pick your two cities on the moving truck gas calculator to see the route on a map and the fuel cost for each truck size.
Sources and method
Fuel prices are weekly retail averages including taxes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Driving distances between cities come from OSRM using © OpenStreetMap contributors data. Fuel economy figures are typical real-world values that PumpTally uses as calculator starting points, not manufacturer ratings; your own vehicle may do better or worse. Every table on this page is recalculated each week when prices update.