RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!

[Dick_A]

All other fuel threads will be automatically deleted. 🙂

[brighteyes818]

What effect do you think the barrel going to $210 is going to have on full-timing? With the Us dollare out and world currency in??

[RambleOnNW]

You might remember that during the recent two winter's blizzards the wind power in Europe came to a standstill and the countries were saved by fossil and nuclear.

I hadn't heard that. I did a quick google search and it didn't turn up anything either. Do you have a link?

[The_Falcon]

Funny how anything about fuel prices is restricted to this tiny, tiny part of this forum. Pretty much, the high cost of fuel is one of the biggest factors and needs to be in the mix, not just restricted to this section.

Well, OK, nice try.

[LindsayRichards]

You might remember that during the recent two winter's blizzards the wind power in Europe came to a standstill and the countries were saved by fossil and nuclear.

[RambleOnNW]

Comparing European fuel prices to those in the U.S. is not valid as generally those Countries are more socialist in nature and fuel is taxed at a much higher rate.

The point is that these countries with higher gas prices show what could happen in the US if prices skyrocket. However the good news is that they are still getting out there with their rvs and enjoying the great outdoors.

Everyone knows European countries tax their fuel at a much higher rate than the US. Not sure what the point is of bringing up the pejorative political term socialist to this discussion. Those countries are choosing a path of energy independence, Sweden in particular has a goal of becoming oil-free by 2020.

"In 1970, 77 percent of Sweden’s energy came from oil, but by 2003 that figure had fallen to 32 percent. Renewable sources account for an average 6 percent of energy consumed by nations in the European Union while renewable sources supply 26 percent of Sweden’s energy needs. Roughly a third of Sweden's energy comes from nuclear power, although a 1980 referendum declared that nuclear power should be phased out."

link

[SRT]

Noticed that the price of oil was bouncing down around $86 a barrel. Guess it will be a few weeks before the price of gasoline follows. 😞

[cekkk]

gmctoyman wrote:
Some interesting happenings recently. After we put a clamp on drilling offshore Florida, the Chinese bought drilling rights in Cuba - now these.

BBC

Protest

How many here have Petro China fuel cards ?

May well be wrong, but I understood from catching a teaser on a news channel that Canada is negotiating? to run a pipeline from the Gulf of Mexico north to Canada (so they can sell it back to us).

[gmctoyman]

Some interesting happenings recently. After we put a clamp on drilling offshore Florida, the Chinese bought drilling rights in Cuba - now these.

BBC

Protest

How many here have Petro China fuel cards ?

[LindsayRichards]

Mass transportation works only in very urban areas with vertical growth. Doesn't work here in Florida that is spread out. We have a federally sponsored bus system that is usually empty and a great waste of money. For those who think we are giving money to countries that hate us, that is a political choice. We have huge amounts of fossil fuels and the real pollution from them is a tiny fraction of what it was years ago. The global warming myth is what is driving this. It is about control, not pollution,

[SRT]

Gasoline has gone up to $3.19 from $3.13 ($3.07 at Sam's Club). As to conserving, our latest house has 2x6 construction with double glazed vinyl windows and a whole house air exchanger. Both Subarus average over 22mpg (not bad for an AWD vehicle that has some power, not a 4 banger wimp).

[marc515]

The one thing high taxes did in other countries was force conservation, and that is a good thing.

We (USA) as a whole are a very wasteful society, not only with the large vehicles we drive, but we are behind in overall energy conservation. It is hurting our nation in more ways than one. Mr. Pickens noted we are now in the greatest transfer of wealth our nation has ever seen, and we are poluting the environment.

Homes are stlee being buile with 2x4's and double pane glass. We ought to immediately implement codes that mandate 2x6's and trlple glazed glass.

As for RV's, the industry is slowly beginning to make TT's lighter so thay can be hauled by smaller vehicles.

My .02

[Mike_and_Trish]

Sorry, Dick, that was just my knee-jerk reaction to your use of the "s" word.

I agree, of course, that what works in Europe transportation-wise doesn't apply, in many ways, to much of the U.S., for the reasons you cited. I also agree with your underlying point that U.S. fuel prices can't be compared sensibly to those elsewhere without adjusting for tax differences. In fact, once you back out taxes, fuel prices are very similar in most countries, except for the few where prices are unrealistically low due to government subsidies and/or price controls. This is the best evidence I know of that the petroleum market is truly global, not regional or local. As such, any attempt to control prices in the U.S., whether by government intervention or consumer activism, is a waste of energy (so to speak).

[Dick_A]

Regardless of whatever descriptive name is applied to European societies, the fact is demographics are considerably different than in the United States.

While I agree much of our transportation infrastructure is in need of repair and expansion, the fact is it it not economically feasible to build a high speed train or subway between say Seattle, WA to Spokane, WA and on to Missoula, MN and eastward.

Additionally, in the Spokane, WA MTA regardless of fuel prices and public transportation demand, there is no way to make a public transit system economically feasible. We currently have a rather good bus system but it required millions and millions of tax support each year and does not cover even half the county.

While it may be practical to transverse New York and other large eastern cities using public transportation, I would advise and invite others to try the same in the Northwest before making generalized comparisons to Europe. Population densities and cultures are very much a different contrast.

[Mike_and_Trish]

Dick A wrote:

vikrv wrote:
When we were over in Sweden a few years ago, gas at the time was the equivalent of around $6/gallon. On the road we saw only 1 full size pickup pulling a trailer, most of the trailer tow vehicles were either Audi wagons or Subaru wagons.

Comparing European fuel prices to those in the U.S. is not valid as generally those Countries are more socialist in nature and fuel is taxed at a much higher rate.

Dick, I fear your politics are showing. Popular as it may be in some sectors today to call everything we don't agree with "socialist," in truth most European countries have much higher fuel taxes in order to promote a number of policy objectives, few of which would properly be called "socialist." Primary among these is to subsidize mass transit and/or discourage growth in energy consumption and environmental consequences. As a result, it's much easier to get around in Europe without a car.

I'm not saying we should do the same thing here, but raising fuel taxes both to discourage consumption and to pay for sorely needed infrastructure sounds reasonable to me.

[Dick_A]

vikrv wrote:
When we were over in Sweden a few years ago, gas at the time was the equivalent of around $6/gallon. On the road we saw only 1 full size pickup pulling a trailer, most of the trailer tow vehicles were either Audi wagons or Subaru wagons.

Comparing European fuel prices to those in the U.S. is not valid as generally those Countries are more socialist in nature and fuel is taxed at a much higher rate.