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offthewall · 01-18-2011, 08:30 PM

We wouldn't stop. I wouldn't like it and we might have to cut back on some other luxuries to offset the increased fuel cost. RVing is a "vacation" activity for us. The total cost of fuel is just one small part of each trip.

Gary - K7GLD · 01-19-2011, 11:42 AM

From a related thread:

Quote:

Thread subjects like this one will always draw out a majority of the dedicated and reasonably well-off RVers, who will inevitably state that their RVing will continue REGARDLESS of the fuel costs and related downsides of this lifestyle as our economy continues to slide and expenses rise.

BUT, keep in mind that regardless of what are actually a general minority, the collapse of the RV manufacturing industry provides stark reality as to what is REALLY happening to this lifestyle - sure, there will always be some who can and WILL continue RVing - but with the vast unemployment and foreclosed homes, luxuries such as RVing are very high on the "cancelled" list of redrawn priorities for our society at present - and foreseeable future...

RustyJC · 01-19-2011, 11:50 AM

I thought the subject was "If Gas Reaches $5.00/gallon, Are You Done?", not "If Gas Reaches $5.00/gallon, Is the RV Industry Done?" 2 entirely different topics, AFAIC.

Rusty

Gary - K7GLD · 01-19-2011, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyJC

I thought the subject was "If Gas Reaches $5.00/gallon, Are You Done?", not "If Gas Reaches $5.00/gallon, Is the RV Industry Done?" 2 entirely different topics, AFAIC.

Rusty

C'mon Rusty you're smarter than that!

My reference to the RV industry as a yardstick for measuring dedication and priorities of RVers to the $$$ aspects of our lifestyle was just that, a related yardstick - not a complete or unrelated hijack of the main topic...

RustyJC · 01-19-2011, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary - K7GLD

C'mon Rusty you're smarter than that!

Ummmm, thanks for the backhanded compliment, I think.....

Gary, most individuals on this thread responded to the original question with what THEY would do if fuel reached $5.00/gallon. That's what I did, because that's the question raised by the OP.

I don't doubt that OTHERS would bail and run on the RV lifestyle, but as I said, that's a different topic of conversation than was posed by the original question.

Rusty

sknight · 01-19-2011, 04:18 PM

I asked some fulltimer friends of mine what they did and if they thought about hanging it up when fuel was $4+. They said what they did was become more efficient, travel less, stay longer, make where they stopped more strategic. Instead of travel, setup camp for a couple of weeks, see the local area, move, repeat they would pick a location central to the areas they were going to visit, stay there six weeks and use the 30+ mpg toad to visit areas further away than they would before. They're in a CG every night so staying in one longer isn't a real cost difference and sometimes they'd drive 100 miles to see a town but they have the time to invest driving. Plus they take more scenic routes in the car than they could in the coach.

They said that they could realistically keep going indefinably. They have X amount to spend in fuel per month, so they'll keep it at X.

puttin · 01-19-2011, 04:59 PM

Nope, I won't be done. The rig sits in a storage facility three miles from where we camp 95% of the time. When or if things change I will just budget for it.

Shadowcatche · 01-20-2011, 05:16 AM

Interestingly enough, this same thread is running on the T&TTT (teardrop and tiny travel trailer) forum. Many/most of these are home built often based on a 4 x 8' foot print. There are members from as far north as Finland and as far south as southern Australia but the vast majority of us are from the US. For the most part it is obviously a very different demographic. Most of us will probably cut back on the number of miles we drive and the trips will probably be a little less ambitious.

Gary's quote however is very accurate and from what I have heard the only segment of the RV industry that is growing is in towables. I have often speculated what would happen when the US reached real world fuel prices. Look what has happened in Europe, for the most part you do not see large RVs. There are those on the T&TTT forum that have downsized into a teardrop or tiny travel trailer to be able to continue to afford to travel.

offthewall · 01-20-2011, 07:29 AM

I guess it really all depends of how many miles you drive a year and what your investment is.

We are still working and are lucky if we put 3-4 k miles on the RV in a year. Most of our trips are regional and we are more interested in getting somewhere, parking and enjoying ourselves rather than putting on the miles.

That said; at 3500 miles per year, 10MPG, $5.00/gal, we would be spending $1750/year on fuel. That's a small percentage of our total investment in the RV lifestyle.

heypilch · 01-20-2011, 08:07 AM

Even at $5 a gallon, RV'ing is still cheaper than a shrink.

Monacoach · 01-20-2011, 08:07 AM

The Rv industry has recovered nicely after a very sluggish period which indicates we are all still driving our buckets around. If fuel prices go to high again there will be another adjustment as alot of us will cut down. Its and endless cycle. We put alot of miles on ours so there is room for us to cut down and we will.

SlyFox · 01-20-2011, 01:56 PM

Well I have to say that currently our fuel in BC works out to $4.50/gal and some fuel in Northern areas of BC work out to about $6.80/gal. We would still travel the same. Having a rest, getting away from it all, and best of all meeting great people is more than worth the cost of fuel!

historyljc · 01-20-2011, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heypilch

Even at $5 a gallon, RV'ing is still cheaper than a shrink.

Yep! And better than standing in those lines at the airport, and staying in dirty motel rooms. If gas goes to $5.00 a gallon, then everything else is going up also (except my retirement checks) so the cost will be relatively the same as far as total expenditures go. I have high hopes of traveling in the MH till the day I die.

Always-RVing · 01-20-2011, 03:11 PM

It's all about conditioning. The world screemed when gas hit the $1.00/gallon mark and again at $2.00 and again at $3.00 but consumption just keeps going up.

People will find ways to spend $10.00/gallon just like they do with high price of cigs and beer. No matter the price, they will pay and the oil companies know it.

Fuel will just become a larger portion of our budgets even when it hits $10.00/gallon.

I don't remember anyone ever saying a motorhome was good on fuel. It's a huge fuel hog.

As the pump prices slowly ease up, consumers will become accustomed to it and make changes to accomodate the ever increasing cost. The challenge of every business is to see who can get the larger portion of your wallet.

America and the world needs to target energy resource technologies big time, but world economies depend on it. So it's not going to happen in a real way. Political suicide for anyone who makes a serious attempt to undermine oil companies.

You can belly ache until you're blue, but it's not going to matter until the world is forced into a change brought about by something catastrophic.

Yes, you'll pay and pay a lot more before there's a change.

Diesel has trippled in the past five years from $1.35/gallon to $4.00/gallon..

Another five year tripple and Diesel would be $12.00/gallon.