Whats fuel costs gonna cause?

[Carol H]

The question is why the big jumps in gas prices? None of the crude that has gone up in price has been shipped to North America yet - but the prices of gas at the pumps has jumped as if it has. Not to mention that the Middle East ranks behind Canada, Mexico and Venezuela as a US supplier of crude oil. Libya only produces 2% of the worlds crude oil and Saudi has already said they can cover that loss. Even crazer is if Canada is the biggest supplier to the US of crude oil and as far as I know we still have lots of it - then why are we in Canada paying so much more already??? go figure. :-)

[Borden]

$1.20 L or $4.80 US gal today

[Tom U]

Originally Posted by Bruce Thomas

The forecasts for fuel costs this year are staggering.
Bruce

We just canceled our 1 1/2 month, 5,000 - 6,000 mile trip through (I don't gotta show no stinken papers) Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

The price of fuel was the last straw. Even staying in parking lots on the road and boondocking when possible it just didn't pencil out as affordable.

Of course, the tickets to spring training games (GO Giants) in Phoenix had already gone by the wayside.

We will be going to places close to home this year.

[Greg H]

I think it's really going to put a hurting on the tourism and resort industries.

[GeorgeR]

Originally Posted by Tom U

:............................. We will be going to places close to home this year.

Tom, I would not complain too much, Santa Cruz Mountains are beautiful; Big Basin (with recently added Little) Basin should not be too far. I used to ride bicycle there and possibly still know every road from Skyline.
George.

[Tom U]

Originally Posted by GeorgeR

Tom, I would not complain too much, Santa Cruz Mountains are beautiful; Big Basin (with recently added Little) Basin should not be too far. I used to ride bicycle there and possibly still know every road from Skyline.
George.

George,
You are right, it could be worse.

You live in a beautiful place, also.

We will be taking full advantage of the beauty of the Central Coast. There are just some birds in other areas we don't have here. I'll have to substitute a CA Condor for a Caracara and a Purple House Finch for a Roseate Spoonbill. However, even residents of Paradise appreciate an occasional change of scenery.

If you get back down this way drop a line and I'll show you some of the trails through UCSC and Wilder Ranch.

[Dave Bese]

Doubtfull I'll log 13,000 miles as I did last year. As I have a new project to keep me busy this summer; I'll still make appearances at Gatherings and trips into the mountains for purty rocks.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by melissab

I was talking to my folks about saving motel and food expenses using a trailer and they pointed out that for the cost of a trailer you can pay for a lot of motels and food, lol. We all agreed it was more about comfort and the safety of knowing who has slept there and what went on and of course NO BED BUGS!!! So it will take us a long time to recoop the cost of a trailer but you cant put a price on Peace of Mind.

200 nights in a motel with a net savings of $50 per night equals $10,000. Our average cost for lodging with the Scamp has been $8 per night. How many of you want to stay at a $58 per night motel?

The real rate is closer to $100 savings per night, but even at half that our 2004 Scamp has long since paid for itself.... And that's not even counting the value of home cooked meals compared to restaurants, which is seldom an option at Motels.
In short.... No Scamp = almost no travel.

BTW; We still have our Scamp with a residual value of nearly 75% of it's original cost... How much are those used motel towels, tiny shampoos and little bars of soap still worth?

[melissab]

Well put! But where do you find $8 campgrounds?? And until the kids are gone and we retire it will take us a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time to spend 200 nights in our trailer. Although we may take more 3 day weekend getaways since there will no longer be the hassle of a popup.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Carol H

The question is why the big jumps in gas prices? None of the crude that has gone up in price has been shipped to North America yet - but the prices of gas at the pumps has jumped as if it has. Not to mention that the Middle East ranks behind Canada, Mexico and Venezuela as a US supplier of crude oil. Libya only produces 2% of the worlds crude oil and Saudi has already said they can cover that loss. Even crazer is if Canada is the biggest supplier to the US of crude oil and as far as I know we still have lots of it - then why are we in Canada paying so much more already??? go figure. :-)

Without getting into too much detail, it is the spot market which pretty much determines retail prices at the pump. recent federal tax increases and other factors will prevent the price from coming down as far as it did last year, but the spot market will come down again and bring prices down with it..... This too will pass.
My guess is that the price will peak soon.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by melissab

Well put! But where do you find $8 campgrounds?? And until the kids are gone and we retire it will take us a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time to spend 200 nights in our trailer. Although we may take more 3 day weekend getaways since there will no longer be the hassle of a popup.

I don't find $8 per night campgrounds, but what I said was...
"Our average cost for lodging with the Scamp has been $8 per night."
That average is brought way down when in transit to a destination...
Those nights are spent for free at Wal-Mart, CrackerBarrel,Truckstops, and rest areas. We have found a couple of places with hook-ups for $11-$12 though.
Our recent trip to Florida was a bit higher than our average ... we spent 9 nights at $22(Sebring and Ocala) and 7 nights at $0 for an average cost of just over $12 per night.
Sometimes when we visit friends along the way, we stay in the driveway instead of a motel or intruding on their hospitality.
When racing SCCA we often stayed for free at the track, this added (hardly needed) security and extra sleep, as well as saving the Motel bill.

[melissab]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I gotcha now. Sorry I missed the "average" part. I didnt realized Cracker Barrel allowed overnighting. I'll have to add that to my list as we LOVE to eat there for dinner after a hard days travel before turning in with a warm satisfied belly for the night.

[SherryNPaul]

Gas went up here about 10% a gallon the last week.
It won't change our minds about traveling, though. Towing doesn't change our mileage that much, and we're not getting any younger.

Sherry

[mcbrew]

I just did the math on our trip to the Poconos for a FGRV rally this summer. If gas was $3.10 like it was a couple weeks ago, the round trip would cost about $67. If gas is $4.00, it will cost $87. I would not even consider changing my plans for $20. The campground is about $70 per night... so $20 doesn't look like much. I'll spend $20 in tolls getting there.

On the other hand... if gas is $4.00 a gallon and I drive the Scamp, it will (as mentioned) cost about $87. If I drive my car up there without the Scamp, gas will run about $60. That leaves $27 to pay for two nights at a hotel in the Poconos. I just checked the rates at the Budget Inn & Suites, and a room with one queen bed is $99/night. Rates go up from there.

Even with an expensive campground rate, I'm saving a lot by taking the Scamp.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by SherryNPaul

Gas went up here about 10% a gallon the last week.
It won't change our minds about traveling, though. Towing doesn't change our mileage that much, and we're not getting any younger.

Sherry

It didn't deter us from going from San Diego to Oregon in July 2008. I doubt it will deter us this year either.

[Cyndi B.]

We plan on spending our son's 21'st birthday at the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, NM outside of the Philmont Scout Ranch. A tridition we tried to start with our oldest but he ended up with a busted appendix a month before his birthday and having to have it removed in Taos. We got to know the town well in the twelve days we were there.

[Peter_Crowl]

Originally Posted by SherryNPaul

Gas went up here about 10% a gallon the last week.
It won't change our minds about traveling, though. Towing doesn't change our mileage that much, and we're not getting any younger.

Sherry

And this.....to me.....is the best comment of all.

[Karalyn]

The price of getting BED BUGS in a motel, hotel, plane or train makes me think hauling the Scamp and sleeping in my own bed is well worth the sacrifice. It will cost me $100 extra to pull the Scamp to our destination this summer, and I will not be bringing home bed bugs. I could fly for the same amount of money, most likely even cheaper, but I saw that big article about bed bugs in airplanes this past week. Makes me think twice.