Mileage/cost discussion

notanlines · 10-22-2019, 06:50 AM

I'm going to paste a post from the sister site, 5thwheelforums.com, here because it seemed interesting to me and it is well-written and factual.

"The Fuel Factor

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This is not a question, more of an observation. Please feel free to comment. After maybe a 12 year hiatus from camping we bought a 5th wheel last fall. Prepping and planning we took off on a 2 month trip this June. We were headed from north central Florida to northern Michigan. The first 1400 miles were a straight shot, no sightseeing. I had not anticipated how much the cost of fuel would be. How naive. At maybe 10 mpg It would cost us about $70 to drive 250 miles. This was a daily expense when traveling. We extensively used Boondockers Welcome. If not available, campgrounds could be readily found for $30 - $40. As it was, in two months we put about 8K miles on the truck and close to $6K on the credit card. I have not actually crunched the numbers but guessing at least $2500 was the cost of fuel. Is this a fact of life? Do you people live with it? Thanks for listening. "

I tried to get this member to post it here himself, but when he tried registering here some time ago he got that usual message and eventually gave up.
I don't know if Admin has resolved that problem or not.

German Shepherd Guy · 10-22-2019, 09:51 AM

I think that it is indeed a "fact of life."

The reasons for using an RV are as varied as they are numbered. For us it is the convenience of "camping" where we are planing to show the dogs. Besides not having to hassle with hotel staff and facilities for our dogs needs.

Then when we go playing we like to take the RV because we like the idea of having our own stuff around us, not to mention that the scenery is usually much nicer than the hotels we could afford to stay at.

Do we use the RV because it is cheaper? Absolutely not,

in fact it might, as Jim's associate has discovered, be more expensive when added up.

My big truck gets all of 9.5 miles to every gallon here in the mountains. And the cost of nice RV sites are only about 1/2 or less of what a very nice motel would cost.

A push really when you factor in the cost of putting the rig on the road. Hard to qualify why we do it, but it still feels right. But then there is all the maintenance,

and the repairs

and... Whoa!

I am talking myself out of RVing.

Oak

jsb5717 · 10-22-2019, 10:38 AM

It's hard to do a head to head comparison with all of the variables but if we want to travel then there are some costs that don't go away. Clearly this is different for destination travelers/vacationers vs. Full Timers and doesn't at all figure the up front costs of the equipment.

Travel: car, train, bus, air - all have an expense. Driving a car vs. a large truck will provide better mileage but there is still a cost
Accommodations: RV or hotel - RV will almost always be less than hotel so some tradeoff dollars from the truck's poorer mileage
Misc Entertainment: the same cost regardless
The Benefit of having your own stuff along the way: Priceless

Whether we are taking a short trip or a longer vacation we always count the cost so we can budget accordingly. Whether it's affordable or too expensive is a personal decision. But there are definately some hard costs associated with RVing. Take out the calculator, plan accordingly, enjoy the trip!

Canonman · 10-22-2019, 10:52 AM

Fuel is a big $ issue. I'd say 75% of our RV season travel expense is fuel. You can find inexpensive/free places to camp https://freecampsites.net/
But, you still need fuel to get there and back. For us, the issue is staying where we can enjoy being out in the field, on our own terms coming and going in our own time. The cost to get there is something we just expect and live with.
The RV lifestyle isn't cheap but we think the rewards outweigh the costs.

notanlines · 10-22-2019, 11:12 AM

I believe that is the real world numbers. Most gas rigs hover around the 9 mark and most diesel rigs in the 12 mark. Yes, I know there are those of you with the Ford 2.7 turbo towing 38' Holiday Ramblers getting 26 MPG and members with the new 1000 lb/ft Ram getting 38 MPG towing 44' DRV Elites, but the real numbers have already been mentioned.
With nationwide diesel in the $3.25 mark and gas about $2.75, fourth grade math gives about 27 cents per mile for diesel and 30 cents per mile for gas. These numbers I pulled out of my nether regions still put your fuel at $2400 for your trip. Yep, you are on the money. $45 per night RV parks and high fuel consumption are becoming a fact of life for travelers.
When we travel sans the Suites, DW budgets our motel stays at $100 per night and we work hard to keep it at $80.00 per night. Do you realize how bad accommodations have gotten on the road for $80? Stick with the bad mileage and your own bed at night!

**hankpage** · 10-22-2019, 11:29 AM

When we used to make our yearly trip north to south and return, towing we stopped three times for fuel for 1250 miles. We would use our onboard facilities and sleep in truck-stops or rest areas at no cost.

After we got a permanent site in Florida and left the trailer we would make the same trip stopping once for fuel but with the added cost of a motel for one night.

The cost of both trips was pretty much the same but I preferred dragging along my own bed and bathroom. Mama never liked that big box following us so closely. We still have not replaced the Cougar, sooooooo, you now know who the boss is.

Lynn says it's me but we all know otherwise.

German Shepherd Guy · 10-22-2019, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canonman

Fuel is a big $ issue. I'd say 75% of our RV season travel expense is fuel. You can find inexpensive/free places to camp https://freecampsites.net/
But, you still need fuel to get there and back. For us, the issue is staying where we can enjoy being out in the field, on our own terms coming and going in our own time. The cost to get there is something we just expect and live with.
The RV lifestyle isn't cheap but we think the rewards outweigh the costs.

And anyone who can take pictures of the incredible quality of Canonman SHOULD stay out in the field. For all our benefits.

Roscommon48 · 10-22-2019, 05:10 PM

Not sure what you are after but fuel is a large part of RVing--IF YOU travel.

Simple math....10mpg!

Campgrounds can be anywhere from $25-$100+ a night--when in season.

gearhead · 10-22-2019, 06:07 PM

A Corvette and a Hilton Rewards card is cheaper.
I jumped on and off planes and in and out of hotels my last 5 years of work. Kept a room in a Embassy Suites for almost a year. It gets old fast.
I do wish I had that Corvette back though.
If the budget gets stretched just back down the travels.

**flybouy** · 10-22-2019, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gearhead

A Corvette and a Hilton Rewards card is cheaper.
I jumped on and off planes and in and out of hotels my last 5 years of work. Kept a room in a Embassy Suites for almost a year. It gets old fast.
I do wish I had that Corvette back though.
If the budget gets stretched just back down the travels.

Roger that. I traveled all over the US the last 20+ years of my career. After the second Gulf war that a friend's son was in, I started donating my air miles to the soldiers coming home. Did that with the hotel points as well. I did get to drive a wide array of vehicles over the years.
Luckily for us we can stay close enough for a single tank trip (36 gal tank) with many cg to choose from.

gearhead · 10-22-2019, 07:35 PM

Actually we "think" we're headed your way soon. To Crofton to check out the old Linthicum House.....wife's ancestors...9th great grandfather.
Going to Charleston to just be tourists then to Charlotte for sprint car national finals and up to College Park and check out the old house.
Leaving Saturday and still talking about it. LOL

**flybouy** · 10-23-2019, 10:01 AM

Probably closer to DC than where I live (North East of Balt towards Delaware.) Are you towing? A lot of folks like Cherry Hill CG next to 495 and 95.

gearhead · 10-23-2019, 11:36 AM

Yes, pretty close to Cherry Hill. Plans are to stay there. We're pulling the Oshkosh.

**flybouy** · 10-23-2019, 12:45 PM

Very nice. Have safe travels and post some pics along the way! We still have several friends from my days of working for Blockbuster Corp. many years ago. I worked there during their big expansion in the 1990's as a Director of Construction in the Mid Atlantic Office. I spent a lot of time in Dallas(was the main office) and other cities such as Huston, San Antonio, etc. helping to develop new construction prototypes.
I wanted to hitch up and visit Big Bend this winter but my wife's health has put the nix on that. Oh well, maybe next year.

wiredgeorge · 10-23-2019, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notanlines

I tried to get this member to post it here himself, but when he tried registering here some time ago he got that usual message and eventually gave up.
I don't know if Admin has resolved that problem or not.

I think MAYBE a reason some folks have registration issues is that the entity that owns this forum owns a number of other forums. This being the case, I also believe you can only have ONE password associated with your username if you use the same username on any of these other forums. I had issues for quite awhile and believe this was the cause; may not be in the case of your friend but it is worth mentioning. If I am wrong, in the spirit of thrashing, I will apologize to the more computer savvy right now.

wiredgeorge · 10-23-2019, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

Probably closer to DC than where I live (North East of Balt towards Delaware.) Are you towing? A lot of folks like Cherry Hill CG next to 495 and 95.

Was it the Delaware highway patrol or the Maryland that used to park that cruiser in the middle island between northbound and southbound lanes with the dummy in it? Guess they were trying to keep speeds down on I95 any way they could (I think it was I95).

**flybouy** · 10-23-2019, 01:43 PM

That would have been in Maryland. It caused a couple of accidents ad some folks saw the dummy when it fell over and thought he was dead. Well, he was not alive but he wasn't dead, anyway after that fiasco they removed him,or her, or it, or whatever.

gearhead · 10-23-2019, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

Very nice. Have safe travels and post some pics along the way! We still have several friends from my days of working for Blockbuster Corp. many years ago. I worked there during their big expansion in the 1990's as a Director of Construction in the Mid Atlantic Office. I spent a lot of time in Dallas(was the main office) and other cities such as Huston, San Antonio, etc. helping to develop new construction prototypes.
I wanted to hitch up and visit Big Bend this winter but my wife's health has put the nix on that. Oh well, maybe next year.

Been saying for a few years I want to take the Bigfoot cabover to Big Bend. Hadn't happened yet.

**flybouy** · 10-23-2019, 04:14 PM

One of my past coworkers/friend from Ft Worth bought a motorcycle a couple of years ago and she sent me pictures. Sort of reminded me of the badlands. It's definitely on the "bucket list" now.

**sourdough** · 10-23-2019, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

One of my past coworkers/friend from Ft Worth bought a motorcycle a couple of years ago and she sent me pictures. Sort of reminded me of the badlands. It's definitely on the "bucket list" now.

You need to get on down there - it's changing and the number of folks going is increasing....but that still means it's pretty much uninhabited most of the time.

I grew up where it was miles and miles of nothing to get to anything. I learned to love it and still do. Serene; quiet, the stuff we like. Big Bend is that. And it's a long way to "stuff" so bring what you need.

When I said it was "changing" I was thinking not only about the increase in people but Boquillas. Many years ago it was just a little dirt road down to the river and you crossed to Boquillas. So quaint, so real, so remote. You could walk the river, take a little skiff or a guy would let you get on his donkey and lead you across. The town was a step back in time. Several years ago they shut down the crossing. Next it opened with a border crossing station and the town changed. Just an example of how things are changing yet how neat they still are. Here's a link to some folks experience in Boquillas:

https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/boq...big-bend-texas

Edit: Forgot to mention you might want to take in the huge chili cookoff in Terlingua around the first of Nov.

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