Hmmm, yes lot's of pessimism. Let's try and put things in perspective. A few years ago diesel was 1.65 or so a gallon. A 25 gallon tank puts a fill up at 41.25. Today diesel in my neck of the woods can be had for 3.95, that same tank of fuel is now 98.75. So a hundred bucks as opposed to 40$. I am not seeing a huge difference given the overall cost of doing the RV thing.
I would propose that fuel is a relatively small part of the equation. The TV was 32K, the AS was 25K, and its is ~ 1.5k a year to keep it maintained and stored. Fuel is down in the noise compared to the cost of buying into the RV lifestyle infrastructure. So I do not expect any real change in use.
A lot of folks (including the US GOV) were and are living beyond what they can afford and fuel is putting some over the top. Not sure you can do anything about that. It's like a kid eating a bag of candy, he won't stop until he pukes his guts out and next time he'll know better. A lot of folks were grazing at the trough of cheap credit and now we have the gut ache. Only it's adults and they have to decide on their own to step away from the trough.
The US is a great country with great people. I could care less what a bunch of Asian or Middle Eastern citizens think about us as they do not have a leg to stand on. Buy into your country and work to make it a better place rather than run it down. Get involved. It is easy to complain, but it's also easy to make a difference just by making a choice to do so.
If a segment of our population wants to buy cheap Chinese junk, then that is the beauty of a free market. Those same people are also dumb enough to buy that junk over and over as it will keep breaking, maybe they'll learn maybe they won't. My wife and I make it a point to buy made in USA whenever it is possible and it mostly is (sometimes you need to work at it a bit). The quality delta is typically night and day, the US stuff is in general way better (not always). But that is our choice.
I think all of us here on the forum have bought into a classic chunk of Americana. So let's keep our chins up and set the example. The US economy will be back in stride before you know it and that new electric/hydrogen tow vehicle will take you places you never thought possible.
