|
|
05-19-2008, 09:42 PM
|
#141
|
Rivet Master
1976 Argosy 24
Joplin
, Missouri
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,673
|
Going camping anyway
We plan to do some camping, gas prices or no. Just have to cut other ways. We are just doing a touchup on our Argosy instead of the paint job we were considering; it is either get her painted and have a nice yard ornament, because we won't be able to afford to take her out, or do it ourselves so she looks passable for now, and have the money to use for gas so we can have fun with her. We can afford a few cans of paint and gas too. But most of our trips will be fairly local, within a couple hundred miles, at least until this gas price thing resolves itself.
|
|
|
05-20-2008, 07:45 AM
|
#142
|
3 Rivet Member
1985 25' Sovereign
St Cloud
, Minnesota
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 111
|
We just got back from a rally on Monday afternoon. We were in Orange City, IA for the Tulip Festival. We had 20+ units from the MN & SD units of the WBCCI. We spent almost a week in the trailer. Our total miles travelled was about 500. It cost right around $200 for fuel. We will make a couple of more trips this summer. One will be to Thunder Bay, ON. I expect the fuel to be about $350 for that trip. We do use the trailer almost every weekend. We keep it at the Airstream Park in Clear Lake, MN.
__________________
Pete
WBCCI #7528
MN Unit
|
|
|
05-20-2008, 02:29 PM
|
#143
|
"Cloudsplitter"
2003 25' Classic
Houstatlantavegas
, Malebolgia
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 20,000
|
Not stay'n home..
Adirondack St. Park
Not keeping us away from our favorite places
__________________
I’m done with ‘adulting’…Let’s go find Bigfoot.
|
|
|
05-20-2008, 03:41 PM
|
#144
|
Rivet Master
Currently Looking...
St. Catharines
, South Western Ontario
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,367
|
We just got back from the "long weekend" camping trip to the Pinery Provincial Park on the east shore of Lake Huron.
It was a very cold weekend with lots of showers. The park has 1,200 sites and was 95% full. Gas here for regular is $1.25 a Litre. About $6.00 a gal.
Lots of dual axle TT's towed by pickups, SUV's, mini vans, and cars. There were very few diesel or HD pickups. There were quite a few 30' TT's around us and they were being towed with 1/2 tons and SUV's like the newer Durango's.
The guy in the site across from us had a 30 Trailite and was towing it with a Dodge quad cab Dakota. He said he was an automotive engineer for one of the big three and he was thinking of buying a Hensley to improve stability.
Ours was the only Airstream that we saw in the park.
There were many tenters who were using 4 cyl small cars. One cool set up was a Lincoln LS that was towing an A liner Expedition.
Folks are still camping here but we are seeing fewer and fewer HD TV's.
__________________
Airstreams..... The best towing trailers on the planet!
|
|
|
05-20-2008, 03:43 PM
|
#145
|
Aluminut
2004 25' Safari
.
, Illinois
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,477
|
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating doing something now, but one has to consider the overall use of their unit individually. I am happy to have my Airstream, but I will be honest, if I have to limit my travel and use it only 3 weeks total out of the year for weekend type trips here and there, though nice, that isn't really why I got this thing, to limit myself. Add the storage, insurance, maint and of course cost of the unit, it does add up and if I have to add $2k a season for fuel...... I am going to at some point have to make a decision.
When I got into RVing, I was thinking of trips all over the country. Clearly, I'm not in significant pain right now, but I am looking at the 1000' view, rather than at ground level. There are considerable ancillary costs to owning an RV in general, let alone an Airstream that costs 4x more than a POS SOB, all that on top of fuel. I just got tires about a month ago. I am sure those cost a lot more than they did in early 2004. I am not about to put my unit up for sale just yet, matter of fact, I just picked up a 3 stage charging unit from Randy from bestconverter, and who knows what may come down the road in a year or so. But when it becomes clear to me that this is not going to change, then yes, we may use our timeshare (which is paid for) more often since that as of today, it costs us far less than the overall and total cost of RV ownership right now, which includes tow vehicle, RV, fuel, maint for both, insurance for both, etc.
I'm not looking for .99/gal (though it'd be nice!), but I really and honestly feel that $4.25 and eventually $5 is just unreasonable. I don't care what Europe is doing or paying. I'm having a hard time digesting what is going on here to all of in the States!
|
|
|
05-21-2008, 02:57 PM
|
#146
|
Tom, the Uber Disney Fan
2006 30' Safari
Orlando
, Florida
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 4,693
|
This is evidence of the ridiculousness of the fuel situation:
Thieves swipe used cooking oil to brew biodiesel | ajc.com
It's pretty bad when folks are stealing what was given away a couple of years ago and now considered valuable. At the prices quoted in the article it proves out what I have said about bio-diesel: At some point there won't be enough used french fry oil to go around and the veggie oil will be as costly as petro-oil so bio-diesel will not be the answer to high diesel prices in the long run. If you strip the taxes and refinery cost away from the price of a gallon of diesel, is it really much more expensive than $1.25/gallon?
__________________
2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
https://streaminacrossamerica.com/
|
|
|
05-21-2008, 04:55 PM
|
#147
|
Rivet Master
2011 34' Classic
Westchester Cty.NY
, / Miami FL
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,122
|
this is Fleet Week in NYC. on an interview, the fuel consumption was quoted as 40 gallons per hour. ground our fleet for a week and the fuel crisis is over! LOL.
__________________
Ricky
2012 F150 Super Crew 5-1/2' bed Ecoboost 4x4 3.73 elec. lock diff. Propride hitch
give life. kidney & pancreas transplant 9/9/06
Ingrid-my unofficial '"World's Oldest Streamer" 1909-2008 R.I.P.
|
|
|
05-24-2008, 07:58 PM
|
#148
|
Rivet Master
1992 29' Excella
Currently Looking...
JOY IN
, Arizona
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 650
|
deep pockets
Unless you have deep pockets, yes I agree, a end of a era of long drives to rallies.Sad state of affairs.
|
|
|
05-26-2008, 04:25 PM
|
#150
|
4 Rivet Member
2001 25' Safari
London
, Ontario
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 299
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Road Ruler
We just got back from the "long weekend" camping trip to the Pinery Provincial Park on the east shore of Lake Huron.
It was a very cold weekend with lots of showers. The park has 1,200 sites and was 95% full. Gas here for regular is $1.25 a Litre. About $6.00 a gal.
Lots of dual axle TT's towed by pickups, SUV's, mini vans, and cars. There were very few diesel or HD pickups. There were quite a few 30' TT's around us and they were being towed with 1/2 tons and SUV's like the newer Durango's.
The guy in the site across from us had a 30 Trailite and was towing it with a Dodge quad cab Dakota. He said he was an automotive engineer for one of the big three and he was thinking of buying a Hensley to improve stability.
Ours was the only Airstream that we saw in the park.
There were many tenters who were using 4 cyl small cars. One cool set up was a Lincoln LS that was towing an A liner Expedition.
Folks are still camping here but we are seeing fewer and fewer HD TV's.
|
Hi Road Ruler!
We just returned from the same park (Pinery) over the Memorial Day weekend. (At least we got the nice weather! ) The park was probably 75% full, with 80% of those being Americans -- mostly from Michigan. We did see a handful of HD pickups but mostly 1/2's and SUVs towing TT's and popups. We also saw for the very first time some incredibly large and sophisiticated tents that I've never seen before. Maybe a new trend?
Like you, we were the only A/S in the park. Hmmmm... But at least we had great time -- only the second time out with our new-to-us airstream and I have to say we LOVE IT so much more than our previous SOB, as good as it was.
On a more hopeful note, at least one knowledable financial adviser I read indicates we're in the middle of a speculative oil price bubble that will burst, and even has the potential for crashing. But make no mistake about it, over the long term the cost of fuel is going up.
Gary
__________________
Gary & Debbie
2001 Safari 25 SS
2011 Chevy Traverse 3.6L AWD • Hensley • DirecLink • McKesh
Set-up by Can-Am RV
|
|
|
05-27-2008, 08:30 AM
|
#151
|
Tom, the Uber Disney Fan
2006 30' Safari
Orlando
, Florida
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 4,693
|
We just returned from a trip down I-75 from Atlanta to central Florida and I figured I saw maybe 20% fewer motorhomes and travel trailers on the interstate than I normally would. We stayed at Ft. Wilderness Campground at Disney World and it was packed. So I don't think camping is on its way out. But I do think that there will be a decline in visitors to our national parks like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. I think people will stay closer to home and visit their local/simi-local state parks and destinations closer to their homes.
We decided that all of our trips this year would be in central Florida. My mom lives in central Florida in a retirement community where there are a ton of retirees that have RV's and boats. Nearly all of the communities in the area will not allow you to store your boat or RV at your home, so there are a ton of storage facilities in the area. My mom arranged a safe place for us to store our Airstream so now we drive down to central Florida solo and pick up the Airstream about an hour or so from our destinations and return it to its storage facility at the end of each camping trip.
This weekend (Memorial Day Weekend) for example, we towed the Airstream approximately 70 miles each way from the storage facility to Ft. Wilderness as opposed to the nearly 450 miles from our home in the Atlanta suburbs to Ft. Wilderness. Towing uses approximately twice the fuel as driving solo. In the middle of June, we will do the same to stay at another resort in central Florida and for the week of the 4th, we will make the same trip to Ft. Wilderness for the entire week. We will do the same for August and again in October and December.
When we return in October, we will bring the Airstream back with us so we can attend a rally in early November and will keep it at home after our week long trip in December so we will have it for a rally in January, but then it will be back to Florida for storage for the rest of the winter or spring depending when we camp the next time in Florida.
So yes, the price of fuel has changed camping, for us, but it hasn't made a tremendous impact on our camping frequency.
__________________
2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
https://streaminacrossamerica.com/
|
|
|
05-27-2008, 09:11 AM
|
#152
|
Rivet Master
1959 26' Overlander
Putnam
, Connecticut
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 3,064
|
Short term the price will effect us. I get 20% mpg increase by going 55 (16mpg). Still going to the VAC East Coast, 500 miles one way, but that will be the long trip for the year. No regional rally. New England Unit rallys are mostly 4-6 hours or less. May still take a two week road trip but it will be fewer miles and staying put more. Come the time to hit the road we will hit the road. Just fewer travel days and more stopped days. Save money on sites to spend it on fuel.
Don't think we will see $3 again. I do think diesel will correct if just by reducing the extra taxes.
|
|
|
05-27-2008, 12:50 PM
|
#153
|
Moderator
2004 30' Classic Slideout
Fenton
, Missouri
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 10,408
|
I would consider trips down to Ft. Wilderness special and not the normal camping trip you do annually. That doesn't surprise me that it was full. I do believe that many of the more ordinary distant destinations will see the effect. For example I might have considered heading up to Door County Wisconsin, or Mackinac City Mi., this summer. Those locales probably will not be traveled to until prices stabilize.
I would guess that you would draw a 200 mile circle around most major metropolitan areas and figure that if you own a campground in the circle, you might have a pretty good year. Outside of that things might get a little rough.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo.
AIR #56 S/OS#15
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500
|
|
|
05-27-2008, 03:23 PM
|
#154
|
Tom, the Uber Disney Fan
2006 30' Safari
Orlando
, Florida
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 4,693
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcanavera
I would consider trips down to Ft. Wilderness special and not the normal camping trip you do annually. ...
Jack
|
I realize my family is "special" when it comes to Disney. But you would be surprised how many regulars there are at Ft. Wilderness. This was our second trip this year (8th to Ft. Wilderness since we got our Airstream in 2006) and we have three more trips planned before the year is out (plus one at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in August).
We have met many folks, plenty that don't even have kids with them, that camp at Ft. Wilderness each year. We know one couple from Massachusetts that have been going to Ft. Wilderness every year since 1984 and spend from November to March in the same campsite in their Prevost; they are in their 50's. There is another couple from Tampa that leave their motorhome in the campsite across the street and visit on weekends. We aren't there yet, but who knows, once we retire we might get that "bad".
__________________
2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
https://streaminacrossamerica.com/
|
|
|
05-27-2008, 04:20 PM
|
#155
|
Moderator
2004 30' Classic Slideout
Fenton
, Missouri
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 10,408
|
Well if I lived in Tampa, Orlando wouldn't be an issue. The Prevost owner, well that in itself says a lot about affording the cost of fuel.
What will be affected is the common day working person who has to travel a significant distance. Just like I noted I may still get down to Branson since it would be within my decent circle of travel. Now the guy from Chicago might completely think differently about that trip. It just depends on where the campground/attraction is at and the area that this destination draws from.
The locales on the fringes with no major metropolitan areas to draw upon are going to be those most hurt by gas prices.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo.
AIR #56 S/OS#15
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500
|
|
|
05-27-2008, 08:59 PM
|
#156
|
Rivet Master
Currently Looking...
West of Fort Worth
, Texas
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,699
|
Here is a link to an interesting article regarding buying an RV in today's market, and how that may actually save you money. Assuming you are in the market for one)
Dave
RV Travel: Why high fuel prices could make RVing cheaper
__________________
AIR #15800
"Wimpy" 1/2 ton 2002 GMC Sierra 4X4 Z-71 Gasser
2000 Safari SS 25'
|
|
|
05-27-2008, 11:05 PM
|
#157
|
Moderator
2015 25' FB Flying Cloud
2012 23' FB Flying Cloud
2005 25' Safari
Santa Rosa Beach
, Florida
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,159
|
Intersesting article. Here I was thinking that the really popular campgrounds would be easier to get into.
Gas may be high, but life is short.
__________________
SuEllyn & Brian McCabe
WBCCI #3628 -- AIR #14872 -- TAC #FL-7
2015 FC 25' FB (Lucy) with ProPride
2020 Silverado 2500 (Vivian)
2023 Rivian R1T (Opal)
|
|
|
05-27-2008, 11:25 PM
|
#158
|
Master of Universe
2008 25' Safari FB SE
Grand Junction
, Colorado
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 12,711
|
I agree, interesting article. I'm not sure I agree with the premise since it's based on the prices of large M/H's. The average A/S costs a lot less and therefore the savings on the price in a buyers' market are a lot less, and cash left over for fuel is a lot less. And I'm guessing most people finance an RV purchase, but don't finance fuel (unless they don't pay their credit card balance every month), a good deal on an RV doesn't necessarily translate to cash for fuel.
Nonetheless, it's going to be hard to significantly change American's driving habits.
Gene
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|