Anyone Cancelling Truck Camper Trips Due to Fuel Prices?

JoeChiOhki wrote:
Haven't started any yet, but burning through about 90 gallons or so of fuel a week since the old Dodge had to resume Daily Driver Status.

The camper kind of was built with a double purpose in mind, one of which was potentially as a "stay in town" solution if I needed to cut my commute costs for a while by staying in the camper and floating around near by my work place during the week days and then heading home for the weekend.

Since its been ten years since I last camped anywhere, I'm not currently planning to cut back on anything, since nothing is in stone yet, more concerned with shortages vs fuel prices and the resulting hyper price spikes it may cause for regular consumables.

I may also speak with my manager about seeing if I can get approved for a "workcation" model for periods of time since we have our Star Link RV unit now, which means as long as I can get it some sky I can get online with decent enough latency to do my job remotely for a change.

But you’re not actually trying to camp, nor save $ on fuel. Neither in the least.
And apparently not this year either. So I can understand your lack of concern for fuel prices.
If you were, you wouldn’t be commuting in an old gasser dually forever.

valhalla360 wrote:

jimh406 wrote:
The polls are saying most people don't think they are doing well now. I can't think of any reason why some would think that most people are doing well now. Maybe they aren't paying attention.

Perception vs reality are often different.

It feels bad when you drop $100 filling the tank vs the $50 you paid a year ago. So people perceive things as bad.

That doesn’t seem very different. If you are making a lot more money than a year before, that’s great.

However, most people including retired people aren’t getting 100% pay raises. In those cases, perception and reality are the same.

Of course, you can argue that it is all part of a good plan, but many people don’t agree that it’s a good plan.

Note: it’s not about me. I’m doing ok. However, the people who are living paycheck to paycheck are not.

We just completed a 5,795 mile twelve state trip to visit family and friends whom we haven't seen in years. The extra gas cost was worth every penny, even when only averaging 9mpg with the winds and multiple mountain pass crossings in the west. There is no guarantee for tomorrow.

MrPhelps wrote:
Well that settles it for me! I was wondering. From these responses, everyone is still traveling and the crowds are going to be terrible again in spite of massive increases in fuel costs with potential shortages. I thought the cost of fuel would suppress travel and record RV travel might be a bit lower.. From these responses it seems that is not the case.

If the reports of possible fuel shortages and $10/gal are true, will that change the narrative?

We have recently taken extended exploration summer trips (6-8 weeks) where we stay no longer than 3 avg days per location, thus lots of fuel.. Alabama-->Montana range trips.

So, about a 500 mile radius from home limit this year .

Brad, thanks for the thread.

Yeah I agree with you on the radius. We have greatly limited our travels to about 2-4 hours because of fuel and other considerations. My truck and camper are getting very old and not so reliable. I think the wife and I are looking at a TT very seriously now as well. We've been looking for about two years but not seriously. Now I catch her looking on the computer so who knows what's in the future. My 1996 Chevy dually gets about 5-8 with the camper on I think I can double that with a small trailer behind my 2013 dodge 1500 with a small block. They make tow behinds specifically for this type of truck and they are beautiful. Paper thin but beautiful. My wife just said if were putting all the money in the tank maybe we can do better and put all the money in the camper.

We are looking at this model here.

https://lakeland.craigslist.org/rvd/d/auburndale-2020-forest-river-mini-lite/7491911168.html

2020 FOREST RIVER MINI LITE 2512S

Of course I'll have to beef it up a little!

Well that settles it for me! I was wondering. From these responses, everyone is still traveling and the crowds are going to be terrible again in spite of massive increases in fuel costs with potential shortages. I thought the cost of fuel would suppress travel and record RV travel might be a bit lower.. From these responses it seems that is not the case.

If the reports of possible fuel shortages and $10/gal are true, will that change the narrative?

We have recently taken extended exploration summer trips (6-8 weeks) where we stay no longer than 3 avg days per location, thus lots of fuel.. Alabama-->Montana range trips.

So, about a 500 mile radius from home limit this year .

Brad, thanks for the thread.

TxGearhead wrote:
I've got a paid for ticket and a camping spot for the Knoxville Nationals Sprint car race in Knoxville Iowa in August. I'm on the fence about cancelling. 1,000 miles one way. So 2,000 miles at 10 MPG x $5 gallon is expensive.

Never been to the Knoxville Nationals, but if I already had the tickets, extra bucks for fuel wouldn’t hold me back! I can already smell the Castrol and feel the dust in my lungs from here.

Go have fun. You’ll never regret it.

Haven't started any yet, but burning through about 90 gallons or so of fuel a week since the old Dodge had to resume Daily Driver Status.

The camper kind of was built with a double purpose in mind, one of which was potentially as a "stay in town" solution if I needed to cut my commute costs for a while by staying in the camper and floating around near by my work place during the week days and then heading home for the weekend.

Since its been ten years since I last camped anywhere, I'm not currently planning to cut back on anything, since nothing is in stone yet, more concerned with shortages vs fuel prices and the resulting hyper price spikes it may cause for regular consumables.

I may also speak with my manager about seeing if I can get approved for a "workcation" model for periods of time since we have our Star Link RV unit now, which means as long as I can get it some sky I can get online with decent enough latency to do my job remotely for a change.

And if you divide that amount of difference over a two week stay, without towing anything or driving much. You get a small daily increase in vacation costs. The fun and relaxation alone should be worth it.

jimh406 wrote:
The polls are saying most people don't think they are doing well now. I can't think of any reason why some would think that most people are doing well now. Maybe they aren't paying attention.

Perception vs reality are often different.

It feels bad when you drop $100 filling the tank vs the $50 you paid a year ago. So people perceive things as bad.

But between the covid response splashing around trillions in cash, wages going up and easy to find jobs, the people are able to still maintain their lifestyle. The numbers say even with the inflation, people are still doing well.

Now, with inflation up, covid cash largely running out, don't be surprised if things take a hard nose dive and reality catches up with perception.

To the original question: 5000miles at say 12mpg
- At $2.50/gal = $1041.
- At $5.00/gal = $2082

Assuming a 3 month trip, that's around $350/month extra and probably not enough to really impact the decision. Of course:
- I'm still going to be doing some driving regardless.
- Food isn't any different at home vs on the road.
- Utilities savings will offset a good chunk of the campground costs.

Now if you are doing 5000miles in 2 weeks, some of those numbers do change but that's 7+ hours driving per day and doesn't sound fun.

Just pulled my camper from south Louisiana to Colorado for 2 week vacation. Fuel ate me up across north Texas with the wind. But with 2 small children, and I'm not getting any younger, you can't make
those memories at the house. So we said screw the cost