Anyone Cancelling Truck Camper Trips Due to Fuel Prices?

[BradW]

Please, no political comments.

We have a 5,000 mile trip planned with reservations made, but we are reconsidering due to fuel prices. 60 cents per mile for diesel is pretty bad.

[Durb]

We belong to an RV club. Many of our members are on fixed income. Six rigs were going to Yellowstone this summer (1,000 miles each way), all cancelled. I don't totally believe those that say they are going no matter what the cost is. I go at 60 cents per mile, but have my limits. When it gets up to a dollar or two or three per mile, I will stay closer to home. Spending five grand on fuel to go out the exhaust pipe seems like a waste of money that that could be spent on camping enjoyment locally. We are fortunate to have really nice places to go close by.

In 18 months since November 2020 the price of diesel has gone up 272% in my area. At this rate of increase, in another year and a half, diesel will be over 15$ per gallon. I don't believe it will happen, but that is the trajectory.

[Grit_dog]

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.

[jimh406]

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.

[MORSNOW]

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.

[notsobigjoe]

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!

[MrPhelps]

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.

[ssthrd]

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.

[JoeChiOhki]

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.

[monkey44]

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.

[valhalla360]

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.

[Trent1980]

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

[Grit_dog]

RetiredRealtorRick wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
So why is Getupside App strangely void of any real info on the web?
This is not a sarcatic question. Does anyone know the basis or endgame with that? (Not that I give a ____ or have the time nor inclination to submit receipts for "rebates.")

Paging RetiredRealtorRick....

I haven't the SLIGHTEST idea how it's funded, nor do I care. When I reach increments as small as $15, I cash them in. Simple as that. My son paid for Christmas gifts for his children from this app last year. (He never cashed in anything during the year).

How the he11 does GoodRx get funded?? How does GoodRx make money?? Do you care??

I was skeptical at first, but not anymore. Saving money is saving money. I see no "downside" to Upside, and that's why I use it.

For the record (I see a LOT of skeptics on this forum), I have NO PERSONAL INTEREST, INVESTMENT, or CONNECTION to the Upside app. --
I'm just SMART enough to use it, and benefit from it.

Use it or don't -- it's your choice -- but don't jump my case for sharing something that can actually save money for other forum members.

Oh, and BTW, it does not involve submitting receipts or anything like that. You might actually want to look into it before 'you' decide how it must work.

Fair enough. No real offense meant.
And another search now, says it's funded by merchant commissions. Upside provides purchase and marketing data to merchants/companies, fee gets split between consumers who participate and of course Upside.

Apologies for the inferences.

[mkirsch]

midnightsadie wrote:
every one ,every one just sit on your butt for one month .I mean every one. there be such a drop it,ll wake up the people who made this mess. for those that don,t care about the price, go have some fun.

No, it won't. The fuel used by RVing is but a drop in the bucket compared to all the people driving to work and hauling goods.

[RetiredRealtorR]

Grit dog wrote:
So why is Getupside App strangely void of any real info on the web?
This is not a sarcatic question. Does anyone know the basis or endgame with that? (Not that I give a ____ or have the time nor inclination to submit receipts for "rebates.")

Paging RetiredRealtorRick....

I haven't the SLIGHTEST idea how it's funded, nor do I care. When I reach increments as small as $15, I cash them in. Simple as that. My son paid for Christmas gifts for his children from this app last year. (He never cashed in anything during the year).

How the he11 does GoodRx get funded?? How does GoodRx make money?? Do you care??

I was skeptical at first, but not anymore. Saving money is saving money. I see no "downside" to Upside, and that's why I use it.

For the record (I see a LOT of skeptics on this forum), I have NO PERSONAL INTEREST, INVESTMENT, or CONNECTION to the Upside app. --
I'm just SMART enough to use it, and benefit from it.

Use it or don't -- it's your choice -- but don't jump my case for sharing something that can actually save money for other forum members.

Oh, and BTW, it does not involve submitting receipts or anything like that. You might actually want to look into it before 'you' decide how it must work.

[winnietrey]

.
I am a member of the died to soon, wife club. And I would tell all of you this. Screw the money, unless it will put you out on the street, do it and do it now.


If you do not you may well live to regret it. Think about life, not a buck or two either way