Gr8LakesCamper: Gas prices are putting a serious dent in summer plans
UPDATE: I recently came across this excellent article by Marianne Lavelle for National Geographic News. Lavelle does a good job of explaining the history of gas gouging, and the reasons for it. In a nutshell, the lack of U.S. refineries means a handful of people/businesses can control the prices. I encourage you to read this article.
The cost of gas at stations near my home are typically about 15-25 cents cheaper per gallon than those around my in-laws. So, of course, every time I fill up I call my father-in-law to gloat.
But the price of gasoline is getting crazy, even around me. This morning it topped $3.50 per gallon. I realize it’s more expensive in other areas, but – as they say – it’s all relative. What’s worse, “experts” say the cost will only climb higher as the summer driving season approaches, turmoil in oil-producing countries escalates and any number of other reasons these people usually roll out at times like these.
Regardless of the reasons why they’re on the way up, the price of gas is serious business for RVers. For most of us, this can’t help but affect our travel plans this summer.
As for my family, we’ll either be heading out to campgrounds closer to home, or not camping as much as we’d like, or a combination of the both. Other circumstances will factor in for us – two kids are going to camp for a week or two, and the third will likely be playing baseball well into July – but the fact remains gas prices will be putting a serious dent into our RVing plans.
In January of this year, when gas was $3.10 per gallon, the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) issued a press release putting a positive spin on how the cost of gas affects RVing. Excerpts of that release follow:
• RV travel is a great value. The PKF Vacation Cost comparison study showed that a family of four can save 26-to-71 percent on vacation costs depending on the type of trip and type of RV used. More than 80 percent of RV owners say their RV vacations cost less than other forms of vacation.
• While fuel prices remain well below their pre-recession high, prices are 36 cents per gallon higher than they were a year ago. When fuel prices rise, RVers adjust by traveling to destinations closer to home or driving fewer miles, according to surveys of RV owners conducted by RVIA and CVENT, a leading provider of online surveys and research technology.
• More than 80% of RVers say their RV vacations cost less than other forms of vacation, even when fuel prices rise.
• To save on fuel, RVers typically spend more time enjoying the campground experience and less time on the road. More than 16,000 campgrounds nationwide give RVers the flexibility to save fuel and cut costs by staying closer to home. Whether they travel five miles or 500, they can still enjoy a great outdoor experience.
• Fuel prices would need to more than triple from their current level to make RVing more expensive for a family of four than other forms of travel, according to PKF Consulting. PKF’s spring 2008 vacation cost comparison study shows that RV trips remain the most affordable way for a family to travel because of the significant savings on air, hotel and restaurant costs, which continue to rise.
• Fluctuating fuel prices affect the cost of all modes of travel and transportation. Airfares and hotel rates rise rapidly when fuel costs increase.
• Many RV owners surveyed take additional measures to reduce fuel consumption through simple steps like driving 55 instead of 65 miles per hour, packing lighter to reduce weight in the RV, and turning off home utilities to save energy when traveling. RVers travel at a leisurely pace with no tight schedules for flights, hotels or restaurants.
It’s hard to argue with several of those points, especially that the high price of gas also affects all other modes of transportation. Airlines are raising their ticket prices nearly everyday, and tacking on fees – carry-on baggage, really? – at a ridiculous rate.
About the only thing that isn’t going up is my salary, and that’s why our camping this summer will be less than what we had hoped. I suspect I am not alone. Sure, there’s going to be a certain segment of RVers who will continue on as they always have, but for the majority of us camping is one line item that gets cut when it comes time to balance the family budget.
How is the cost of gas affecting your plans this summer?
From the companion blog: Ohio recently improved its online travel site, making it easier to use and the search results better as well. Similarly, Indiana Department of Natural Resources also improved its online campground reservation system. I also have a number of other posts about events, festivals and other information about travel destinations.
Gr8LakesCamper celebrates the world of RV Camping in the Midwest. Gather around the campfire and share tips, ideas and stories on RVing, camping and travel destinations. Follow Gr8LakesCamper on Twitter, Facebook and the personal blog.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
Related Posts
Last 5 posts by Gr8LakesCamper
- Gr8LakesCamper: Top 10 Most Beautiful Places in the Great Lakes
- Gr8LakesCamper: Michigan Campgrounds with Available Sites this Holiday Weekend
- Gr8LakesCamper: Michigan campgrounds with available sites for Memorial Day Weekend
- Gr8LakesCamper: Michigan DNR delays closing state forest campgrounds
- Gr8LakesCamper: Q&A with ARVC Michigan's New Director
Howdy G8LC,
It surely did affect my plans for traveling this YEAR!!!! I live 10 miles out from town
and if we need something it costs $5-6, just to go get it!!! Thatz in the 20mpg car!!!
I have 2 RVs and a camper van, so, I’m going to set them up like in a campground
and rent them to old folks @ minimum rent, so they won’t be on the streets…
The only REASON fuel is going thru the roof is GREED!!!! Oh, an earthquake in J-pan; raise the price, a tsunami on the West Coast; raise it again; the Pres. stumped his toe; raise the price of gas… THERE IS NO GOOD REASON FOR IT!!!!
If you can afford to go… GO!! Smooth roads & balmy breezes!!!!
Trust me, I don’t like to see the price of fuel going up anymore than anyone else. However, as I observe other motorists driving behaviors you would think fuel was still .99 a gallon. Jack rabbit starts and the constant breaking of speed limits by the majority makes me still think fuel is not expensive enough.
I do RV coast to coast every summer (NY to CA) to visit my daughter and many points in between. I have thought twice about not doing it until my wife shared this analogy with me…in NY the price of a pack of cigarettes is approximately $10. Multiply one pack per day times 365 days and whola, there’s $3650 for fuel. I have chosen to burn the fuel instead. If my friends can afford to burn a pack a day, then I can still afford to travel across this awesome country. Just start developing your habit every week or month and put that smoke money away so when the time comes to head out, you’ll have the fuel money to burn..
We’ll go to the same National Forest campgrounds, where my wife likes to catch Rainbow Trout, but just stay at them longer than we normally do, thus less driving.
I don’t know what the average number of annual miles is for the average RVer, but in our case we put on about 5,000 a year on our journey from AZ to MI and WI each summer. What we look at is how much extra will fuel be this year. based on a Class A Fleetwood Expedition average of around 7 mpg, we go through a little over 700 gallons a year. If fuel is $1.00 more this year, which looks about right at this time, we need to ask if a $700 bump is going to abort our Summer plans. We’ll still opt for the conveniences of our coach over driving a car or flying.
We’ll pick up the $700 somewhere else by re-budgeting our priorities. If you have an RV, the p[rice of fuel is not under your control, but many other factors are. While I hate to hurt our RV Resort friends, a couple of extra Walmart, Flying J, or rest areas overnighters can pick up the $700 in a hurry.
We had planned a trip cross country to tour the west coast. Total mileage for the trip would have been 10,400 miles. I had budgeted about $5, 300 for fuel at $3.50 per gal, but with the price of gas expected to be $4-$5 per gallon, maybe higher especially on the west coast, $5,942 to $7,428 is not resonable, so we have decided to postpone the trip. It is not a matter of not having the money to pay extra for fuel, I just refuse to be taken by OPEC, WALLSTREET and US OIL COMPANIES. Enough is enough. We will take more local trips.
I still hope to take a trip across the country but I think I’ll be driving at 55 mph. My mileage is dramatically better at that speed then at 60 mph and really far better than at 65 and above. I think Kenneth’s comments make a lot of sense.
Still a long way off of Canadian prices of $1.15 to$1.35 per Lt. which is $4.60 to $5.40 a US gallon.
Yes you can give thanks for your new Obamacare program! Take from the working class and give to the politician daycare programs. Such as free healthcare, free welfare, free housing, free food stamps, free this and free that for the people that crossover the borderline. Makes you want to quit working and stand in line also. Thank you and may I say GOG BLESS AMERICA before that’s taken away also.
Was planning our first trip to Alaska from South Texas this summer. I am having to rethink such a long journery with diesel prices. Some folks put the blame everywhere but where it belongs. With all the oil, natural gas, and coal, the US is hamstrung with the gov. regs. and environmental restrictions. I can write this note with some degree if knowing frist hand that it is next to impossible to get a permit to open up new oil and gas fields. Until we start producing our own energy resources, the price of gas and diesel well soon reach 2008 levels. I have decided that we will just have to settle with using our new 5th wheel where it sits, in the back yard.
It is not hard to figure where all the travel money goes. The $ that is going to higher prices for gas, is followed by more $ to the increase prices of everything, transporation of good ^, packaging ^, anything that relies on fuel will increase in price. Many RVers are retired, and if any will get a cost of living increase that is a ways down the road, and thoes still working don’t have much of a chance of a raise either. So it is not just the cost of fuel that will limit travel, the price at the supermarket is going up just as fast. The middle class won’t be on the road this summer.
We were planning to drive Az to Alaska via Alberta & return via B.C. & highway 101 down thru southern Cal. Aprox 8500 miles r/t. We will stay closer to home in the lower western states.
Yes, the Canadian price of fuel is terrible, but I have been planning my trip from central Canada to our West coast for 2 years now! My budget will certainly take a hit, but by careful use of food/fuel/campgrounds, hope to fulfill my dream. So I just won’t be shopping for anything else this time. And driving 55 (90km) sounds good to me! Wish me and my dog LUCK!
We like to spend January in FL, then move to TX gulf coast for February/March. This winter we suffered and stayed in the Keys for January/Februay and Ft. Lauderdale for March to save on fuel. Ooh, the pain of it.
I’m probably the biggest cheapskate in N. America, but let’s keep this in perspective. We’re driving our Ford Expedition and 26′ travel trailer from Detroit to Orlando next month. At my usual 9.9 mpg while towing, my fuel bill for the 4,700 mile round trip would be $1,410 with gas at $3.00 or $1,650 with gas at $3.50.
Am I happy about paying $240 more? No, but it’s less than 8% of the cost of the trip. We can camp 3 miles from Universal Orlando for a week what a single night at a fleabag motel would cost us.
Before you cancel your spring & summer plans, compare the total cost and might find that it’s not that much more.
This middle class family WILL be on the road this spring, this summer, and this fall come higher fuel prices, communism, or the fall of unions…and are not changing our plans. If I have to add 20%+ to my fuel bill…so be it. Guess who gets left out…Lowe’s, Applebee’s, Amazon.com, Hollywood, and all the other other companies, organizations, and entities that we can do without or at least a lot less of. Try it…it’s liberating and let the camping season begin. Remember these things…why put off to tomorrow what you should do today as tomorrow might not come…kids are not kids indefinitely and kids will grow up along with fuel prices…budget with facts, not fear…
Have fun and be safe…God bless you all!
Fuel here is $3.66 for gas, $3.99 for diesel, which is cheaper than most fuel in this area. It is less the current prices than the uncertainty of prices later this year. I don’t want to be in a remote area and find it difficult to get home or travel on due to fuel. If the Al Saud family should face more trouble, or any more unforeseen events arise, fuel will be $5.00 or more quickly. Yes, we need energy independence, and soon, we have the resources, lets do it. This all means shorter trips, longer stays, cheaper eats, less tourist shopping, etc. Travel on!
It looks like gas is going to head even higher. With the mess in Japan & the middle east, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see $5 a gallon gas by this summer. I’m not looking forward to it
The majority of RV’ers are seniors (more or less). Unless you have a 99 year lease with God then how do you know next year will come for you? Within reason live in the present and don’t keep putting your dream trip off. Like one poster said take greater advantage of the “freebies” when you can. Prepare more of your own meals instead of eating out as often (healthier anyway). Maybe dally along the way and spend a little longer in some campgrounds, Remember – this may be your last trip due to your health, injury, your partner’s health or other things beyond your control – so go for it!!!!!!!
Gas and Taxes are never going to come down….You still need to enjoy your life.
At $4 per gallon, its still cheaper and more convenient to drive than fly / rent/ hotel.
The way I see it I’ve worked all my life to enjoy retirement. Now that I am retired I’m not going to let the price of gas throw cold water on my plans…..just bought a new class “A” and I’m going to enjoy it…….I’m still in excellent health and God is my “PILOT”!
The gas prices are increasing day by day and due to increasing demand of the cars we need to switch over to hybrid and electric vehicles which are more fuel efficient than the combustion engine cars.