Fuel Cost - How do you cope? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Happytrails · RV-Dreams Family Member

Fuel Cost - How do you cope?

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Happytrails,

Yes, we are traveling less, yes, we are cutting back on spending where ever we can, and yes, we are looking for lower priced campgrounds as we travel.

You can still find some good prices at campgrounds if you don't mind being a little farther off the beaten path. For example, we are at a CG right now, that has a monthly rate of $300 plus electricity. That's not too shabby. It's a very nice park, but there is not a real lot to do in the area.

One thing to keep in mind. We recently talked to some friends of ours that still live up in Illinois. The cost of their heating fuel, electricity, and cost of living in general, have gone up considerably. In fact, after talking to them, I think we're better off Full-timing than they are living in a stix and brixs home.

We've been full-timing for quite a while now, and one way or another, we have adjusted to the price increases over the years.

If you really want to go full-timing, you will find a way to pay for the increase in fuel prices. No one likes the increase, but this lifestyle is soooo much better than living in a house with a foundation, that you will make the adjustments.

Making a budget is fine. We have one, and I think most full-timers do, but things change, RVs break down, fuel prices go up and down, and CG costs can be all the way from nothing to $50 or more. Make your budget, try to stick with it, but don't sweat it if you are over at times. You can make it up at a later date by work camping or not traveling as much.

If you follow Howard's posts, you know that their budget gets changed frequently. You need to be flexible and go with the flow. We have found out that almost everything works out in the end, (no matter how bad it may seem at the time). Full-timing is a completely different lifestyle, and until you've experienced it, it's hard to understand.

Go for it! If you really want it, you can have it, and the price of fuel will not make a difference. smile

Roz · RV-Dreams Family Member

Mike and Gerri,
We are on our motor coach a little over six months of the year, so not full-time. I try to look at the increased cost for fuel for a specific trip over last year's cost.
Let's say fuel from one location to another cost $1,000 this year and $700 last year. I rationalize do I want to cancel the trip because of $300. It is not the $1,000.
Yes, it is still more expenseive, but so is staying in the stix and brix.
Like jim and Linda said, if RVing is what you want to do, full-time or half-time, you will find a way to save on other costs to do it.
We will return to Maine next year to workcamp for our site only, but I can assure you we will eat fewer meals out. We really found few meals worth the price and none as good as we cook ourselves. We should have done that this year.
Charles

emeacham · RV-Dreams Family Member

We're fairly new full timers, and due to family illness, haven't traveled as much this year as we had planned to. But, we are on the road now, and will have to cope with the ever-increasing fuel prices too. So far, the prices haven't gone out of our budgeted range, because we built the higher prices into the budget.

Yes, choosing less expensive campgrounds is one thing we can do, eating out less, and driving a little slower to conserve fuel are all things we plan to do. Keeping our motor home and car in good shape, including proper tire inflation is also important.

I'm always on the lookout for additional ideas too, to help conserve energy overall. I do think this lifestyle costs less than our previous one in a house. This is they way we've chosen to live, and we will adjust expenditures to keep rolling as long as we can.

Happy Travels smile

,
Ellie

Speedsgirl · RV-Dreams Community Member

We plan on extended stays at lower monthly rates and doing as much as possible from that loaction. This means it will take us longer to see the USA but then maybe that is better than a whirlwind tour????? We have cut corners all our married life I guess we just keep on cutting.

RVDude · RV-Dreams Family Member

Roz's point about looking at the "delta cost" is key for me. Since I would already have planed/taken a trip at the lower gas price, does the delta cost increase mean I'll cancel it? Truth is, while seemingly significant, the delta cost of fuel for a trip planned at $2.20/gal compared to $3.00/gal is really not a lot in the BIG picture. Again, I do not mean to trivialize the increase, but in the bigger picture the delta might really be minimal. That whopping $0.80/gal increase with an 8MPG rig means the delta cost is $0.10/mile and over a 2,000 mile say 6 month adventure that is "only" $200 or $30/month. Not trivial by any means but then again probably not a show stopper either. Just another way to look at the real situation.

In addition I have to think does changing my rig in the hopes of increasing the MPG (getting a smaller one, adding thousands of dollars of Banks type improvements, etc.) really justify the savings I "might" gain by making that change? Again, in the final "delta cost" or should I say "delta savings" analysis, probably not.

Just another perspective on a real and challenging dilemma.

blijil · RV-Dreams Family Member

After reading many discussions and having a few experiences on our own we have noted a few truths about the cost of fuel discussions and our choices.

First we are talking about roughly $1200 to $3000 a year increase in fuel cost, depending on whether we drive 12,000 miles a year or 30,000 miles a year. When we add up other parts of our budget we notice that we spend a lot of money on the miscellaneous item and the entertainment item. Particularly expensive are what I call excursion costs hidden in the two line items above. The are often guided, luxury, or just plain excessive things that we want that are completely optional and could eliminate without any loss of the RV lifestyle experience (for us). Many years just a reduction in these costs would cover most of the fuel cost. Not that we want to do without but we could if we need too.

Second we drive at least as many miles running around at a location as we did getting there. The strange thing is that we would rather have hiked many times and could have stretched out these try this try that trips into one or even more check it out trip that would be much more cost effective. We know that we are in the run around mode when we start letting the chores pile up, the novel has been on the shelf a while, we are tired a lot, and we need to run down to the store again. This is almost like the nesting syndrome in reverese for us and we seem to start fluttering around without thinking about it. This mode of life costs a lot of fuel and does little for us but keep us busy, busy, busy kind of like nervous pacing. If you don't do this it won't help you to stop but once again if we don't get into this mode we could save the added fuel cost again every year and indeed we have done just that this year to pay our part of hospital bills instead of added fuel cost.

Third we enjoy the first 3 or 4 hours of a drive the most and after that it is mostly just getting there. We have found that travel is exploring and enjoying a new area and the big surprise to us is that next great exploration is just 50 to 200 miles away. Trails, waterways, and small towns abound in the USA and they are everywhere and each has a very intriguing character to it. Yes we want to go to Alaska but doubt whether we can stay just 3 or 4 months and feel like we have seen it. Unfortunately we don't have the 50 or 60 years to see the country like we would like but with that said driving by this place or that isn't much of a look either. Spending a couple of weeks or more every 200 miles means spending at least months in a state. We have noticed that many fulltimers enjoy life at the slow pace and seldom note racing to get away from bad weather, to get to the next event, or to find the next camping spot in their blogs.

Fourth we have noted that one airplane ticket will by a lot of fuel. How many airplane tickets do you buy a year in your stick house? We buy quite a few and mostly for convenience and could do without most of the time.

A budget is a budget and we all have them either on paper or in our head but we also make some decisions about how to spend the money we do have. If you want to travel you will buy more fuel and less (fill in the blank). All you have to do is face the fact that you will have to fill in the blank. The only other option is that four letter word we don't like to use, work. We will do less of many things before we work but we might volunteer a bit more which means less traveling. Oh well.

The comments made by others above are just as true, but we just thought you might want to know where we see things going in our budgeting and coping with fuel costs.

Larry and Jacki

Happytrails · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks for all the input! Not actually living the lifestyle yet makes it a little harder to understand the increase of fuel cost and how it effects the travel. I think that I have been on the vacation mode without even leaving the den, LOL. I am learning! Each person full-times in their own style and within their own budget. The travel doesn't change the lifestyle, see I am getting it! You tend to see the price at the pump and think only of the vehicle (RV) and not that it also impacts all areas of life including living in a sticks and bricks.
Your thoughts and personal experiences have been greatly appreciated! It helps more than you know. You are great folks!

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Does anyone use WVO (waste vegetable oil) in their diesels?

Mallo · RV-Dreams Family Member

As a full timer I can't get a consistent supply of WVO and I don't have the room to filter it in the quantities I would need. But we move every week or so.

Mallo

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

cherylbrv wrote:
Does anyone use WVO (waste vegetable oil) in their diesels?

Not really practical for this lifestyle.

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

Racerguy wrote:
cherylbrv wrote:
Does anyone use WVO (waste vegetable oil) in their diesels?

Not really practical for this lifestyle.

I'd agree with Racerguy about it not being practical. I worked for a company that made bio-diesel during the last fuel cost spike and although they did save a bunch of money it's quite a process. Large holding tanks, stinky used cooking oil and byproducts that were hard to dispose of. It's better suited to someone in a stationary location unless you want to haul around a trailer full of equipment and then scrounge used cooking oil wherever you go.

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

--Markie-- (cheryl's other half.. intrudes)...

Regarding Fuel expenses, we're planning (ugh) to budget based on what seems reasonable in the next 2-10 years..about $8.00 per gallon....

I know... that sucks.

And with WVO (for diesels), you can use 20% WVO (filtered of course) in a regular diesel engine with no changes...

Thanks for the info, and happy camping

2fortheroad · RV-Dreams Family Member

I know this question was pointed more towards the fulltimers, and we are still a month away from being on the road.

I am having a hard time with the subject line, "How do you cope". Sounds like the end of something. My thought is that if we want to live the lifestyle then we will make the neccesary adjustments and move on.

snowman8 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well for us we're long time stationary, but these prices are going to prevent us from going places this summer even locally (within state). One thing we have going for us on the vehicles is SAFEWAY is running their gas discounts. Depending whether we turn L or R depends on whether we get $.10 or .20 off per gallon for every $50.00 of groceries. So you combine shopping trips with gas trips and when you're talking 30 gallons.....it helps.....plus SAFEWAY is usually a little cheaper anyway than SHELL or CHEVRON...etc...

Hope this helps.........

2fortheroad · RV-Dreams Family Member

snowman8 wrote:
Well for us we're long time stationary, but these prices are going to prevent us from going places this summer even locally (within state). One thing we have going for us on the vehicles is SAFEWAY is running their gas discounts. Depending whether we turn L or R depends on whether we get $.10 or .20 off per gallon for every $50.00 of groceries. So you combine shopping trips with gas trips and when you're talking 30 gallons.....it helps.....plus SAFEWAY is usually a little cheaper anyway than SHELL or CHEVRON...etc...
Hope this helps.........

Snowman8, sounds as though you have given up. Maybe you should read or reread bunjil's post. I think Larry did an excellent job explaining how the majority of us make it work, to live the lifestyle. Sometimes as hard as it is we all give up something in order to get something.

As far as going to Safeway or any other store that says if you spend ex-amount of dollars they will give you something are blowing smoke up you know where. Its just a way to get people through their doors. These stores are in business to make profits for their investors. Oh yeah, I forgot to add, IMHO.

-- Edited by 2fortheroad on Sunday 17th of April 2011 12:13:35 PM

Waggin Tails · RV-Dreams Family Member

What fuel cost is going up again. I just consider it a cost of doing business.

TerryG · RV-Dreams Family Member

Eat out one less time a week, slow down and drive the speed limit or lower, boondock a night or two more a month, eat what you catch and eat more homemade veg soup, and many many many more ways to cope with the rising gas cost.

Necro · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our plan is for our days off from work-camping, to only take our van and a tent to different areas. We'll be near The Finger Lakes, and also close to the Pa. Grand Canyon, so there's a LOT to do in the area. I'm not gonna take the RV with us to any of the other sites we want to see. We lived comfortably in the van for nearly three months last fall, so doing that for two or three nights a week won't bother us much (nice, big van). Right now, we're booked to work at the same campground for all of the Spring and Summer, so there wouldn't be a lot of travelling anyway, but this gameplan can be used for future adventures as well. Basing the trailer in one place, and using the van and a tent to go everywhere else. It's not about the comforts of home for us. We love getting "out there", so the gas issue shouldn't be too much to overcome for us.

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

2fortheroad, don't get the rocks out, but since you broached the subject to Necro about font choice, my old eyes are having a tough time with italics such as you use in your posts. To be honest, I tend to skip over the posts that are difficult to read due to font choice, or the use of reds or blues. I am probably gong to miss an important tip one of these days doing that. I find the font used as default on the forum as the easiest to read. And, I apologize up front if I stepped on toes, forgive?

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

Um... back on topic... it's easy to get all emotional about fuel costs but if you do the numbers it's not the end of the world. If you drive 7500 miles a year at 7 mpg the increase in fuel cost is less than $100 per month compared to last year at this time. Unless you were already bumping bottom with the budget it should be possible to save that money somewhere else in the budget. Like others have suggested, don't eat out as much, boondock somewhere for free for a few nights, workkamp a little more, etc.

53Merc I hope you could read this! biggrin biggrin

Mallo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Waggin Tails wrote:
What fuel cost is going up again. I just consider it a cost of doing business.

Co-workers brought this issue up thinking "Now we got him this has got to hurt the cost of fuel going up."

The problem for them is the number of gallons of fuel I was burning a year to heat the old house in PA was also going up in price.

I can pay for diesel to see the country or I can pay for diesel to send up the flue of my heating system. In either case it's going up.

Or as I expressed it to my co-workers... "You turning off your heater? or just using it a bit less? Fuel's a utility bill for us."

Mallo

Necro · RV-Dreams Family Member

Good point. It's hitting everyone, not just full-timers. I'd rather pay to put gas in my RV and travel, than pay to heat a sticks and bricks. No-brainer there. smile

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yes, the cost of fuel is more than it was. However, that cost is impacting each and every thing all of use. When I plan a trip, I kinda look at the cost of fuel, then I may or may not adjust the trip to adjust the cost of fuel. It all comes down to, "do I want to go?". If the answer is yes, then we just pay the cost. I guess one way to reason it out is to chase 70 degrees. That way, we are not sending heat up a flue. Yeah, makes sense to me.