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Teach · 04-25-2006, 04:16 AM

With analysts warning that gas prices will hit $5.00 this summer we bit the bullet and cancelled two of our longer trips planned for this summer and scaled back on some of the others.

After 40 years of rving I'm thinking it's time to consider selling the rv and buying a cabin on the lake.

Anyone else changing their travel plans because of this?

Regards,

Teach · 04-25-2006, 04:16 AM

With analysts warning that gas prices will hit $5.00 this summer we bit the bullet and cancelled two of our longer trips planned for this summer and scaled back on some of the others.

After 40 years of rving I'm thinking it's time to consider selling the rv and buying a cabin on the lake.

Anyone else changing their travel plans because of this?

Regards,

tps0424 · 04-25-2006, 04:38 AM

I'm taking more of a wait-n-see approach to changing summer trips. We didn't get to go much last year due to illness and have really been looking forward to this season.
However, if the price DOES get obscene, changes will be made.

Hitchhiker · 04-25-2006, 06:29 AM

I'll wait and see too. Last summer right after Katrina hit you'll recall fuel spiked up and all the doomsayers immediately started predicting $5.00 a gallon fuel. Again, we've had a fuel spike and the doomsayers are out beating their drums again.

Personally, I think a lot of the price gouging feeds on itself. I saw on CNN some footage of stations with price signs reading in the mid $3 range and one with it priced over $4 in the past few days. Don't you think those stations might be getting a little greedy when they hear what the doomsayers are blowing about and then they rush out and kick up their prices to $3.50 or $4.00?

I passed a station on the way to town this past Friday that was priced at $2.929, most all the other stations that day were priced from $2.809 to $2.879. I filled up at the lower priced one. This morning, I went to town again and all the stations are still in the same price range but the station that was getting overzealous Friday @ $2.929 has dropped it a nickle to $2.879.

Don't you suppose he/she was getting $$$ signs in their eyes on Friday thinking they could sneak an extra nickle from a rising market?

I often wonder what would happen to the market if we went back to fuel pricing controls such as were in place in the 60's. Put a limit on their margins, no increase would be legal unless they could document an increase in the cost.

Jestme13 · 04-25-2006, 06:48 AM

It's plane and simple, the oil companies are raping the American public, and our elected officials are standing by watching it. It's a **** shame whats happening in this country, where are our elected officals we put into office to look out for us ?

YES Teach, even at $3.00 a gallon we are cortailing a bunch of travel this summer. We will do our annual Maine trip, and the IRV2 Rally in TN. Thats it, no out west

Teach · 04-25-2006, 07:56 AM

We're not planning to sell out now. We, too, will take a wait-and-see attitude, but we had to make a decision for this summer as our travel plans impacts our kids and grandkids. Like you, Jestme3, we cancelled two of our west coast trips, one to so. California this spring and one to Washington state (I was planning to stop in Oregon and see Mike at Brazel's).

If gas does go to $5.00 per gallon that's roughly $50.00 per hour to run down the road. Being retired and on a fixed income, I can't jusify that.

powerboatr · 04-25-2006, 08:30 AM

we are finishing our home base which happens to be 100 yrads from teh lake, its big enough we can live in it or the rv, and if worse comes to worse the coverd part over th rv can be enclosed to make for a very nice house.
this last weekend we watched #2 climb from 259 to 289 over a two day period

diandtom · 04-25-2006, 11:31 AM

I was watching Fox News today and they had one Democratic and one Republican repsentive on. They sure see things differently. We can't open up the fields in Alaska due to enviormental reasons and it would only be a small amount if we could. It also seems Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry are blocking a wind farm off shore in Mass. There was no Democratic response to why blocking the wind farms. It looks like we are going to be paying high prices for a long time for fuel.
Tom

Rick A · 04-25-2006, 04:32 PM

We have only 2 trips planned this summer, and both are less than 100 miles from home. There will be no family vacation this year, and our ussual weekend trips each month will not happen. Trying to support a family of six with young childeren on a budget, does not leave a lot of room for such radically changing fuel costs. If the unstabilty and unpredicatabilty do continue, we will be selling the trailer and the truck for a small economical car just be able to commute to work. The stock holders and the politicians are doing nothing to show they care about what is happening to the middle class american families. It makes me wonder sometimes why we work so hard just to watch the rich and greedy get richer and geedier, while the things we love to do gets harder to do because of increasing costs. I guess everything changes, time to find a new recreation for the family untill the rich and greedy politicians find a way to ruin that as well. Any have any suugestions how to explain to 8-10 year olds why mommy and daddy have to sell the camper because of world economics and the laws of supply and demand? Sorry to rant, feel a litle better now. Guess only time will tell whats next.

Hitchhiker · 04-25-2006, 05:59 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">There was no Democratic response to why blocking the wind farms. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Maybe Teddy and Kerry think all that harnessed hot air would be competitive with the hot air they expel.

calliopeguy · 04-26-2006, 02:30 AM

We are taking a 5,000 mile trip in about two weeks no matter what (Minnesota - California). Things are probably not going to get much better and the increase in fuel prices are still not a wipe-out when you consider the proportion of the total cost of the trip. I ain't getting any younger (and certainly not richer) so going to get 'er done while I still can enjoy it.

**Petro** · 04-26-2006, 04:53 AM

Richard;
If you recall, price & allocation controls of the seventies were a dismall failure. That is why the government is hesitant to do it again. When a station ran out of alocation they went to another station with surplus allocation and bought his surplus allocation at his allowed margin and resold it and put their margin on top of it. Prices went through the roof. I called it daisy chaining. I believe the free enterprise system is very competetive, alive and well. If we start messing with the free enterprise system I fear some serious over looked consequences.
I am looking forward to visiting with you at PF in July.

Don

mamaloya · 04-26-2006, 05:51 AM

I don't think the gas industry is truly a free enterprise system. Even though there is technically not ONE single company holding the cards, it is still a monopoly. They are ganging up on us as if they are one company. The government outlawed monopolies and, where it cannot be avoided, they have put caps on profit. Take utilities for example. The price is controlled by the gov. Our gov needs to step in and say "enough is enough".

They are so bipartisan that they only care about towing the party line and not caving. They are in a contest to see who can hold out the longest and we are the ones suffering from theis peeing contest. (sorry, but could not think of another way to put it) They need to agree to throw parties out the window and do what needs to be done.

We are not dependent on the middle east for our oil. That is a lie told by someone as an excuse to gouge. We have stockpiles of oil in case of emergency. We have tons of oil in the gulf of mexico. We have oil in Alaska if the democratic would get over the enviornment and let us drill. We are self sufficient. I am all for the environment, but the oil companies take precautions and cause less disruption to the environment than all those tree farmers. The democrats don't mind bulldozing acres of land to put in a mall or condo complex to line their pockets, but heaven forbid we drill for oil in Alaska.

Oh, and I guarantee if we told the arabs that we won't pay more than $10 a barrel for oil and stuck to it, they would sell it to us for that. It does not cost them that much to produce. They pay their workers not much and it is the gov there getting rich. We use more oil than most countries (if not all) and can set how much we pay. We need to stop buying oil from them, tap into our reserves and I guarantee you that after 1 month they will be begging for $10 a barrel.

OK, just oust all of the politicians from washington, and put the members of this forum in and this country will be much better off.

Sorry for the rant, just sick of the greedy people running (ruining) this beautiful country.

RustyJC · 04-26-2006, 06:37 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mamaloya:
We are not dependent on the middle east for our oil. That is a lie told by someone as an excuse to gouge. We have stockpiles of oil in case of emergency. We have tons of oil in the gulf of mexico. We have oil in Alaska if the democratic would get over the enviornment and let us drill. We are self sufficient. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>From the USDOE - United States Energy Data:<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Oil Production (January-October 2005E) 7.5 million barrels per day, of which 5.4 million barrels per day was crude oil (Note: does not include "refinery gain")
Oil Consumption (2005F) 20.8 million barrels per day
Net Oil Imports (2005F) 12.2 million barrels per day (59% of total consumption) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Rusty