Fuel expenses

[geO]

How does current fuel prices dictate your traveling plans for the summer? I fill up diesel about every 400 miles.

[topgun2]

Current prices for fuel certainly cut down on "fun" money but will not stop me from any of my planned summer trips - to include the annual Owner's Rally in May.

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

Fuel prices stink but won’t deter our summer plans.  We’ll be in Colorado in June and July, partly for family events.  We may not do an extended trip around the rally, just head to Alabama then come home.  Mike

[Dave and Kimberly]

It concerns me... but I'm at least blessed enough financially to be able to afford to travel despite the increased fuel charges.  So I'm just ball parking some numbers here, but if I get about 14MPG and use somewhere in the neighborhood of 165 gallons on that 2300 mile trip it means that it's going to cost me another $165 each way (round trip it's $330) MORE than fuel was just a year ago.   The last time we traveled extensively it was spring of 2022... we were in a tear-drop camper and because of it... we tended to almost exclusively go to KOA's for the shower/bath house facilities... and pay anywhere from $45 ~70 per night depending on the locale.   Why?   We needed those nicer facilities because we didn't have them in our little tear-drop.   Now when we get in our Ollie... we expect to be staying in state parks, Core of Engineers, maybe a even a few Harvest Hosts or even the occasional Cracker-docking (love that word!).   We even expect to stay at least a few times on BLM.   All told, even considering the higher cost of fuel (say $500 more).... we will easily save that now that we can choose places that I might not have wanted to stay in before.   All that and we are going to be obscenely comfortable in our new Ollie!   And let's not even talk about all the great campsites that will be opened up to us going forward.

   The other off-set is that our house is going to be virtually shut off while we are gone.    Typically our travels have taken us out for 6 weeks or so at a time but  when we leave this time... there is no telling when we are going to make it home again!  🙂  So we are going to enjoy life while we can and be grateful to God for every day we get!  And no looking back!   I'm also reminded of how fortunate we are in this country to only have to worry a bit about the current cost of fuel.   

[Steph and Dud B]

With the exception of our delivery trip to Hohenwald, all the trips we planned this year are within 5 hours of home, so we got lucky there. 

[Mountainman198]

No impact to travel.  Potential increase in Ramen purchases.  🤣

[rideandfly]

Most of the stations in our area are $3.72 to 3.80 per gallon for regular 87. There is one station that has been at $3.29 for non-ethanol 87  for the last three years. Hope to get 14 to 15MPG local trips, will see. Most of our trips this year will be TN, NC & VA foothills and mountains. Will not be heading out west this year.

[bhncb]

 

1 hour ago, Mountainman198 said:

No impact to travel.  Potential increase in Ramen purchases.  🤣

What's the octane rating of that stuff?

[topgun2]

10 hours ago, bhncb said:

What's the octane rating of that stuff?

Depends on the added ingredients?😁

[ScottyGS]

I was just thinking that $4 per gallon seems to be the new norm these days.    Plus, $4 seems to be the price that starts to hit the RV market.    What happens if it continues to go up.  If China invades Taiwan?   $4 a gallon may start to look like the good old days.   Sorry to be a buzzkill. 

[Mike and Carol]

Higher fuel prices should dampen a lot of the new RV enthusiasm.  Folks that have been at it a while will probably just suck it up and drive on.  I’ll be driving a little slower to bump up mileage, but we will still be on the road.  Mike

[DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI]

Won't impact our travels. When we picked up March 24th, Oliver sales folks said new orders are slowing. They attribute part of the cooling to higher gas prices. I guess it could deter some but with the price we pay for these trailers I doubt it will change plans of most owners. We bought our Ollie to use it and fully plan to do so! 

[CnC]

Today, our lowest grade of gas in this area $4.68.  We are committed to three long trips totaling more than 10,000 miles this summer.  Ugh.

Charlie.

[Calypso]

We leave in less than 4 weeks from home here in Florida. Up to Atlanta for a couple of weeks. Then its off to Alaska via the rally. The only worry we have is if they start to ration diesel. The silver lining is there may not be the great influx this year due to pent-up demand. That and we are now towing an Ollie instead of driving the big DP motorhome we sold in 2019. 😉

[Mike and Carol]

3 minutes ago, Calypso said:

The only worry we have is if they start to ration diesel. The silver lining is there may not be the great influx this year due to pent-up demand.

If diesel gets rationed there will be more problems than just for RVers!  Long haul trucks and trains live on diesel so supply chain issues will shut down the country.  I’ll pay the extra amount to travel.  Let’s hope there continues to be some supply for all the serious users.  Mike

[2008RN]

I just cringe, and hold onto my wallet, and please sir beat me some more.  Still doing a 2500 mile trip in June 

[Geronimo John]

We'll be covering over 12,000 miles this summer.  I figure that with all that is going on in the world, to delay our Canada/Alaska trip may result in a lost opportunity... forever. 

My recommendation is that if you have the means to do so, roll your Ollie's this summer and do that trip while we still can.

[Trainman]

In Ft. Worth, Texas yesterday it was $3.54 for regular.

trainman

[SNY SD UP]

We were not able to get fuel early this morning.  The fact that we had 3-4 ' of snow surrounding the pumps at our local station may have had something to do with it.

We are scheduled for at least 10k miles this camping season.  

 

 

[geO]

WOW... things changed fast. LA setting the pace. Another potential problem is DEF for diesels. If truckers can't get it they can't transport .

Getting pretty interesting if ya ask me! 

[mossemi]

My initial reaction to that sign when I saw it on the news last night was WOW!  But when I saw geO’s picture this morning I thought, WOW I’m going to go fill up with premium gas.  I don’t remember ever seeing premium just 4 cents higher than regular.  Maybe it’s a California thing.🙁

The couple parked next to us for the first couple of days at the rally we’re in a 40’ class A diesel pusher that got 5 MPG.  It had a 100 gallon tank and their fill ups were in the $400 plus range and at today’s California prices, they are looking at nearly double that.  So they would spend over $100,000 following Geronimo John on his summer trip.  Now that’s a WOW!
Edit:

I recalculated my estimate for the diesel pusher following Geronimo John on his 12,000 trip and the $100,000 estimate I made previously is inaccurate.  The cost should have been $22,056.  Which makes the previously stated WOW, just a wow.

Please except my apologies!

Mossey

A wise man once said, "it’s easy to appear smart, just keep your mouth shut"

Edited June 3, 2022 by mossemi
Math correction

[Mike and Carol]

6 hours ago, geO said:

WOW... things changed fast. LA setting the pace. Another potential problem is DEF for diesels. If truckers can't get it they can't transport .

DEF seems to be in supply around here.  It’s not a fossil fuel product, basically ammonia and water.  I get it at Costco for about $10 a jug (2.5 gal).  We’re packing to leave for Colorado next week.  Diesel prices here seem fairly stable, not sure what we’ll see in NM and CO.  Mike

[routlaw]

Curious, gas prices here just dropped a nickel yesterday now back down to $4.39 regular. I would go back to tent camping before I spent $400 or more to fill up, let alone way above that for a summers outing. There comes a point where it just doesn't make sense.

[SeaDawg]

It seemed very strange to be happy about finding regular gas at "only" $4.14 as we did yesterday, at a Murphy's near the Asheville Airport. We "saved" 25 cents a gallon filling up there, as most stations near us were $4.39.

My brother reported $4.76 in Florida,  today. 

If I owned that diesel pusher at 5 mpg/over $1 a mile, it would have a for sale sign in the window. Or, trade it in on a nice sailboat. The wind is free. 

 

 

[geO]

2 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

It seemed very strange to be happy about finding regular gas at "only" $4.14 as we did yesterday, at a Murphy's near the Asheville Airport. We "saved" 25 cents a gallon filling up there, as most stations near us were $4.39.

My brother reported $4.76 in Florida,  today. 

If I owned that diesel pusher at 5 mpg/over $1 a mile, it would have a for sale sign in the window. Or, trade it in on a nice sailboat. The wind is free. 

 

 

I've found owning an Oliver gives me more options on places I can fill up at.