No not sell my Ex...but I have replanned our years worth of travels due to the gouging by the oil companies.

We had planned to take a near 5000 mile towing trek this July. We were going to pull our 9000# TT from Indiana and stop at Teddy Roosevelt NP in ND, Glacier NP in Montana, pull thru Idaho to Spokane Washington and then down to Yellowstone and Devils Tower in WY, Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Badlands in SD before heading home...

I typically "average" 8mpgs but with the new ethanol blends being pretty much everywhere now...the ethanol really puts a hurting on my mpgs...

So since 87 octane is up ~$1/gallon over what I had planned for...I'll be looking at roughly $600-$700 MORE for fuel on this trip alone!

So...rather than just line the pockets of these oil companies...we're doing something different now...

We'll be flying to California and spending a few nights each at the following: San Fran, Yosemite, Sequoia and then to Vegas/Hoover Dam.

We've also decided to do a Christmas time cruise leaving out of San Juan.

Thankfully I have lots of frequent flier miles for the airfare and we'll simply spend what we were on gas for the summer trip and get to see different things...

I mean $600 to $700 MORE for fuel on ONE trip was just too much for me to swallow.

I never like to let the oil companies win...and in this case I was able to alter our travels to see a lot without bending over too much for them.

So is anyone else rethinking their summer travels at this point?

Joe.

 

The sad reality is the fact the prices will not be going down this time.

$3.50 to $4.00 a gallon is here to stay.... for a short while. Then they will start creeping up even more.

 

I guess I am not ready to buy into that theory (yet)...$4 may be reality...but I'm not willing to surrender...$3.00 to $3.25 and BELOW is where this country needs it to be for our economy...

And the sad reality if it stays at $4...the oil companies will be cutting off their own golden goose's because there WILL BE alternatives developed by ingenious people...there has to be and there will...necessity IS the mother of invention...and when food costs continue to be driven by fuel costs climbing out of control...someone will develop alternatives...it is our way!

 

GLAD YOU'RE NOT SELLING THE EX!

Not changing our road trip plans. I've already committed to mentally ignoring the cost of gas and taking the vacations we planned. I don't want the mental stress of thinking "That 60 mile ugly stretch of corn fields just cost me $25 to pass." while on vacation. We are paying for the experience and it will still come in cheaper than the cost of flying and hotels but we are a family of seven.

Just to pick nits...the oil company wins when you use jet fuel to get to your destination too. So you're paying the piper somehow. You just already paid for that fuel while you were collecting the air miles.

Glad you found an alternative that will work for your family. The new destinations will be great to experience too. Yosemite is beautiful!

 

Jason,

nice post...and I agree with you...It was just killing me to think about ~$2500 for fuel alone for this trip!

I paid $3000 (granted that doesn't include alcohol or excursions at the islands!) for the 8 day cruise for the 4 of us with a balcony state room to boot...but that does cover room and food while on board.

And you are right...racking up all those freq flier miles cost someone the fuel...but for me to use them...it is free now...so I'll delay the big RV trip to see where these crazy prices land...if they stay...so be it...I'll adjust accordingly...

We're looking forward to Yosemite...it is WAY too far for us to pull the camper anyway...so this is a good excuse to see it NOW!

 

There already are, one of them is called biodiesel and I've been making and using it for 3 years. Materials cost is under $1 gallon, using a biodegradable and sustainable fuel is PRICELESS.

Tomorrow I am heading on a day trip to NY and back, about 22 gallons so less than $22 roundtrip. Oh and we just sold some fuel to a local farm so this batch is FREE

 

We had changed our plans a little. We dont really do any long road trips, we just usually weekend camp. (we just did a 700 mile trip though, thats our long road trip! lol) Last year, we were spending an easy $200 each weekend for gas and lot rent, so we didnt go as much as we wanted to.
This year, we are going to give seasonal camping a try. We have a nice little campground that we like on an all sports lake, actually, you can get to 4 different lakes from the one! Lot rent is just over $1000 for the season, and we plan on being out there every weekend this season! We are planning on taking the trailer out there in 2 weeks.

 

I wish it were that low here in California.

Stewart

 

When fuel prices go higher I re-think whether or not it's worth it to bring our T/H. Unless it's really necessary(because of the toys), we'll take the truck, but stay in hotels. We hit Yellowstone in 08' and #2 was $5.79/gal in the park. We had the trailer because I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

When you hit Yosemite, check out the ghost town of Bodie. It's worth the drive. Gotta be the best ghost town in the west.

Lemme know when you get to Vegas and we'll grab some grub.

 

i have hoarded some gas at home for later this summer in drums i have. but all in all we are cutting back on camping. only the 3 big holiday weekends for us this year. i intend to host a few campouts at my home though. i have a decent amount of land and to some of my campin buddies it's no different to come here than to pay for a CG.

 

at least you can afford to take the trip. my sisters 7.3 is out of commision so our plans to do a river run this month are out. and with gas being $4.15 average out here in CA i can barely afford to get to work and school.

 

If gas prices in the USA had followed inflation alone, we would currently not be giving a second thought to $6/gal. I don't like it, but I am prepared to keep the X even if low-octane gas hits $7/gal.

 

I am riding my Harley as much as possible, Going to let the 6.0 sit as much as possible. Maybe my not spending and hopefully a lot of others, will create a glut of fuel. It could happen.......,

 

The bottom line is......less $$$ spent at other businesses so the recovery just quits. I havn't really seen any recovery yet. The "Change" is nowhere to be seen other than higher prices on food & fuel, Mike.

 

This is exactly how a market economy is supposed to work. At $2.99/gallon, alternatives are just interesting toys. Now if we can just keep the .gov from screwing things up even more than they already have...

Mark