Gas prices.

[notsobigjoe]

Hi guys, so let me start with the most pertinent statement I can make regarding my post. It is not meant in any political fashion or statement what so ever so if you steer the thread that way then it's on you.
I had 18 trips booked this year and have canceled several of them including seeing my father in Rome New York who is 84. It's just to expensive. I did however fill all of the canceled slots with local small campgrounds that are a plenty here in Central Florida. I found them all here on this campground page.

https://campgrounds.rvlife.com/regions/florida

Making the best of it and hoping it doesn't get to much worse or I'll have to cancel more.
Anyway, I'm sure all of you are thinking the same thing and wondering what those thoughts were.
Joe

[mr__ed]

I’m not rving at this time due to a disability, but my heart is still with the lifestyle. Due to fuel costs I would definitely cut back on the cross country journeys I used to take and concentrate in just one area of the country. In my case, that would probably be the southwest. I would also likely stay in one location for an extended time to save on fuel costs.

In the future I think Rvers will find it a little more difficult to find spaces available as long as fuel prices continue to spike and world conditions generally continue to worsen.

[Moderator]

Moved from ATC due to the emphasis being on the effect of fuel prices upon the RV lifestyle. Please remain on that topic. Thanks.

[georgelesley]

bstar1952 wrote:

Crowe wrote:
We've been RVing over 25 years and been thru several of these inflationary type periods but this one just feels different. Since we're now retired and on a fixed income,here's what we've decided.

You answered your own question. You are retired now, on a fixed income and sounding a bit panicky. Completely understandable. Priorities change and being on a fixed income makes the whole situation a lot scarier. However, if you are that willing to just cut and run that quickly I think the thought of retiring from the lifestyle has crossed your mind prior to this. I might do the same in your shoes-the objective in life is to make it less stressful. There are, indeed, many ways to travel. I'm sure you'll start your new chapter, whatever it may be.

First, it is nice to have a respectful conversation so thanks! Yes, we have been thinking about giving up the RV lifestyle for several reasons. Rising RV park pricing as well as gas prices were just the final straws for us. An example - I was making some reservations a month or so ago at an average park we use in the Texas Hill country. Come to find out they had almost doubled the overnight price and wanted to charge $20 extra A NITE for my miniature Dachshund. I just laughed and said no thanks. Plus as we age, things just are not as easy as they once were and my driving skills worry us both a little.
We're still going to travel, just in different ways. We actually have a pretty good retirement so its not just about the money. And yes, the Twilight Zone world we're all living in does have us a little spooked.
Cheers to all.

Well said. Last summer we stayed in a cg that also has cabins for rent while some friends of ours stayed in their rv. We may well do that sort of “rv” travel in the future. The cost was similar to staying in a hotel and we still got some of the “camping” experience and were close to our friends. We also no longer have the money tied up in an rv and setup/ tear down issues or ongoing maint/ins, etc.

True, this also has it’s compromises and things we can no longer do (like boondocking), but it is another way to travel and still get much of the rv experience.

[Crowe]

the Twilight Zone world we're all living in

LOL! Great description!

[bstar1952]

Crowe wrote:
We've been RVing over 25 years and been thru several of these inflationary type periods but this one just feels different. Since we're now retired and on a fixed income,here's what we've decided.

You answered your own question. You are retired now, on a fixed income and sounding a bit panicky. Completely understandable. Priorities change and being on a fixed income makes the whole situation a lot scarier. However, if you are that willing to just cut and run that quickly I think the thought of retiring from the lifestyle has crossed your mind prior to this. I might do the same in your shoes-the objective in life is to make it less stressful. There are, indeed, many ways to travel. I'm sure you'll start your new chapter, whatever it may be.

First, it is nice to have a respectful conversation so thanks! Yes, we have been thinking about giving up the RV lifestyle for several reasons. Rising RV park pricing as well as gas prices were just the final straws for us. An example - I was making some reservations a month or so ago at an average park we use in the Texas Hill country. Come to find out they had almost doubled the overnight price and wanted to charge $20 extra A NITE for my miniature Dachshund. I just laughed and said no thanks. Plus as we age, things just are not as easy as they once were and my driving skills worry us both a little.
We're still going to travel, just in different ways. We actually have a pretty good retirement so its not just about the money. And yes, the Twilight Zone world we're all living in does have us a little spooked.
Cheers to all.

[notsobigjoe]

srschang wrote:
I was hoping the high fuel prices would free up some camping spots, but I guess not. The last couple days we've been trying to book single nights at campgrounds between Mobile, Alabama and Apalachicola, Florida. This is for 3 weeks from now. We got all the nights booked between campgrounds and Harvest Hosts, but man, I was surprised how many said sorry, we're fully booked. I know it's a pretty popular time in the Florida panhandle, but we've been going there for almost 20 years, and never encountered this many fully booked campgrounds!

3 weeks from now is still spring break in Florida. Nothing is available really and if it is it's pricy. The second week in April you should find anything you want.

[srschang]

I was hoping the high fuel prices would free up some camping spots, but I guess not. The last couple days we've been trying to book single nights at campgrounds between Mobile, Alabama and Apalachicola, Florida. This is for 3 weeks from now. We got all the nights booked between campgrounds and Harvest Hosts, but man, I was surprised how many said sorry, we're fully booked. I know it's a pretty popular time in the Florida panhandle, but we've been going there for almost 20 years, and never encountered this many fully booked campgrounds!

[wa8yxm]

philh wrote:
Go see your dad

Drive slower, speed while towing has a HUGE impact on MPG.

My 2014 Jeep cherokee latitude
75MPH just over 20 MPG
65MPH just about 30 MPG (Freeway in all cases)
55 MPH pushes 40 (39 and change) MPG

Motor home Below 60 not much change
over 60 MPG dropped faster than Speedometer climbed.

Observations on the Average MPG meter on both vehicles.

Motor home (38' Class A gasser) with 100 MPH (about) tail wind. I mean the tumble weeds were passing me going straight down I-10 like I vehicles would be if I was in pari.. 13.8MPG Internet at the time was yammering about the 14 MPG Class A....Well that's one way to do it 🙂

[georgelesley]

Crowe wrote:
Georgelesley, thanks for the compliments. However, we did not get back into the game. After much consideration and careful thought we opted not to for the time being and are concentrating on air travel, both domestic and international. We too, have not closed the door on getting back to the RV lifestyle but for now it is on the back burner. Enjoy your travels wherever you may go and however you may get there.

+1.

[Crowe]

Georgelesley, thanks for the compliments. However, we did not get back into the game. After much consideration and careful thought we opted not to for the time being and are concentrating on air travel, both domestic and international. We too, have not closed the door on getting back to the RV lifestyle but for now it is on the back burner. Enjoy your travels wherever you may go and however you may get there.

[georgelesley]

Crowe wrote:
We've been RVing over 25 years and been thru several of these inflationary type periods but this one just feels different. Since we're now retired and on a fixed income,here's what we've decided.

You answered your own question. You are retired now, on a fixed income and sounding a bit panicky. Completely understandable. Priorities change and being on a fixed income makes the whole situation a lot scarier. However, if you are that willing to just cut and run that quickly I think the thought of retiring from the lifestyle has crossed your mind prior to this. I might do the same in your shoes-the objective in life is to make it less stressful. There are, indeed, many ways to travel. I'm sure you'll start your new chapter, whatever it may be.

Crowe, I have always admired your take on things and agree with you on this one as well. As I recall you folks took a break from RV’ing for awhile and are now back in the game. We did decide as I posted awhile ago to sell the rv. Gas prices were certainly not the main reason. We may get back into rv’ing, the door for us is not closed. Right now international travel seems to be our thing but that at least for me is a very limited interest having been in 33 countries already. DW is currently in Paris, France with a granddaughter having a great time while I do honeydo’s at home and play my music. Thanks for the thoughtful post as always.

[Dutch_12078]

We're currently in Florida and have 18 mostly state park reservations in 6 states from here to NY through the end of the year. We have no intentions of canceling any of them, and are working on the scheduling to make a few more. Our take on gas prices is that a $1/gallon price increase at 8 MPG adds $125 to the fuel cost of a 1,000 mile trip, and that's not enough to make us park our home. We can cut expenses in other areas if necessary.

[Crowe]

We've been RVing over 25 years and been thru several of these inflationary type periods but this one just feels different. Since we're now retired and on a fixed income,here's what we've decided.

You answered your own question. You are retired now, on a fixed income and sounding a bit panicky. Completely understandable. Priorities change and being on a fixed income makes the whole situation a lot scarier. However, if you are that willing to just cut and run that quickly I think the thought of retiring from the lifestyle has crossed your mind prior to this. I might do the same in your shoes-the objective in life is to make it less stressful. There are, indeed, many ways to travel. I'm sure you'll start your new chapter, whatever it may be.

[winnietrey]

Well, from my perspective, as a 66-year-old, whose parents are long dead, and whose wife died way to early. If you don't have the money for higher gas that is one thing. But on the other hand, if you have it, but just don't to spend it, that is a big mistake, and a person will regret it later in life. We all get old, we all die, do it while you can, because we never know what is around the corner.

[philh]

Go see your dad

Drive slower, speed while towing has a HUGE impact on MPG.