What distance to travel this summer?

[rrloewendick]

Hello Fellow Campers! Hope everyone is doing fine as the busier camping season heats up. As a freelance journalist, I write for several publications (inlcuding PUT) on outdoor travel and adventuring subjects, especially camping. My question(s) is this: With fuel prices continuing to rise, how far are you willing to travel on camping excursions this season? Will you stay closer to home? Cancel trips completely? If not traveling far, what activities are attractive and would encourage you to choose one destination over another? What are you doing, if anything, to combat high fuel prices so you may continue to pursue our shared passion for camping?

I would love to hear from fellow PUT readers on these questions when you have a second, or whenever you come back in from polishing and tinkering with your RV. Hope to meet any of you on the road or at the campground as I travel on assignments. If you need any advice on a campground in Ohio, simply send me an email. I recently completed a camping guidebook titled, [/I]Camping Ohio, to be published later this year by FalconGuides Publishing.

Thanks for your time,
Robert (Bob) Loewendick
//www.robertloewendick.com

[McCampers]

Our camping will be contained to the VA, NC, SC area for most of the year, but that is not different from normal.  We may even take a trip to the Gulf Coast this summer if we don't go to the Caribean.  Fuel prices will make for cheaper food choices and probably not as much restaurant food while camping out.  We can cover our fuel increase with an extra meal at the popie instead of in town.

[AZsix]

We are going to the Grand Canyon at the end of next month and were thinking of taking a second trip to CA with stops in Northern and Southern CA but have cut out the CA trip. We continue to do weekend trips close to home.

[PattieAM]

As fuel prices have increased, and my paycheck has not., I've had to reduce expenses to make up the difference.  (Gotta remember that it's not just gas prices increasing, but anything - goods/services - dependent upon gasoline to get to the consumer).

I increased my HO and Auto insurance deductibles to lower the premiums.
Eliminated the excess on the telephone plan (caller id, call waiting, etc.) so that I just have basic phone service.
Reduced/eliminated cable/satellite service
Went back to 'dial up' for the computer
Using the clothesline vs. electric dryer (whenever possible).
Shopping - one day a week,combined with appointments so as not to use as much gasoline.  Allowing 10 days to pass before mowing the lawn.

There's other stuff, but this frees up almost $100/month or more.

As to planned trips - they may not be quite as frequent, and once there, might not do as much eating out/joy riding/sight seeing.  Have at least one trip a month planned within a 300 mile radius at present.

[6Quigs]

Ever since I got our popup in 2001, I've kept a journal of our travels, and we average 1,000 miles a year on camping trips.
At 10 mpg when towing, that's 100 gallons of gas a year.
If gas goes up by $1.00 a gallon, that will cost me an extra $100 a year, which when you add up all the other costs of camping, fees, insurance, depreciation, repairs, trips to camping World, drinks, food, drinks, firewood, drinks... it is a small price to pay for the enjoyment that we, and our children get from our camping experiences and the quality time we get to spend as a family when camping.

Compared to what any other type of vacation or weekend would cost, staying at a hotel or a resort, Camping is far more economical option and the extra cost of fuel is not going to put a damper on our camping.

[erich0521]

We will still do our 1 big trip with the PU this summer.  I guess gas will be at least $4.00 / gal by then.  We will travel to the gulf coast of FL from here in Central IL.  Distance about 750 miles.  We are going for 2 weeks.

During that trip we will not be spending as much $$ doing touristy things as we might normally do.  

The remainder of the camping season yes, we will cut back on the miles travelled.  We have 3 or so SP's within 40 miles and those will be the most of the trips.  Won't visit some other IL SP's that are further away.

Things to save $$ during all this:
1. I've stopped eating lunch out at work almost completely.  Brown bag lunch.
2. Cut out small trips.  ie. 1 trip to the grocery store now per week.
3. Check out our van and SUV.  tires properly inflated, clean air filter, etc.
4. We've cut back on eating out meals as a family.  

Happy Camping Season despite the hi Gas prices   :U

[GeneF]

We cancelled our trip out west.  I figured a rough estimate of $4,000 for gas for the 10,000 mile trip.

Going down to Fl in Jan it cost us $487 for gas for 1421 miles.  Coming back, we drove about 100 miles more and it cost us about $100 more so it was about 1100 for approximately 3000 miles of towing.  Gas ranged from $3.32 to $3.11.  If and when it hits $4.00, this would be a very expensive trip.  Estimate that I would have to add about $250 more for the round trip.

We do have three trips planned that we will still take but these were planned last year.  Longest one will be about 400 miles round trip.

Any other trips, will be close to home.

With food, clothing, fuel oil and gas all going up, adjustments have to be made on a fixed income.  The needs will take precedence over the wants.

[A2SuperCrew]

We are planning to go to Yellowstone this June.  I think it'll be about 4000 miles on the two week trip.  Spending $1,600 on fuel certainly hurts, but we will find a way to make it work.  The kids are getting older, and we will soon be out of opportunities to take long camping trips like this with them.  That is the most important reason we will still go.  Family adventure!

It's also still less than flying out there, renting a car and staying in lodges without all our own outdoor gear.  I did a quick query on Travelocity, and it would minimally cost us $4000 for airfare, car, and hotel.  I think we still come out ahead pulling our pop-up and having our own beds to sleep in!

The rest of the summer we'll likely camp within Michigan and northern Ohio.

Gotta Camp!  

[Dee4j]

Ever since I got our popup in 2001, I've kept a journal of our travels, and we average 1,000 miles a year on camping trips.
At 10 mpg when towing, that's 100 gallons of gas a year.
If gas goes up by $1.00 a gallon, that will cost me an extra $100 a year, which when you add up all the other costs of camping, fees, insurance, depreciation, repairs, trips to camping World, drinks, food, drinks, firewood, drinks... it is a small price to pay for the enjoyment that we, and our children get from our camping experiences and the quality time we get to spend as a family when camping.

Compared to what any other type of vacation or weekend would cost, staying at a hotel or a resort, Camping is far more economical option and the extra cost of fuel is not going to put a damper on our camping.

this is true. That is why we are combining college tours, camping & sightseeing..and scheduling that in junction with a rally.

where can you get a (decent) hotel for $50/night plus have a full kitchen and the kids aren't couped up in a 15X15 room :eyecrazy:


It doesn't get dark until 9 pm so we figure college tour in the morning, sightseeing in the afternoon and evening.  make breakfast, pack lunch stuff..

I never seem to figure the cost of gas in our trips, maybe that's why we are always broke!!! :yikes:

when I do errands I tend to do them all in one day and plan it out as to save as much gas as possible.

[Lifeangel1]

I have one 250 mile trip planned in September. The reservation was made last year. Last year we did more camping in Privately owned Campgrounds. This year we'll be camping more in State Parks locally to offset the price of the fuel. I'm fortunate to have at least 4 SPs within 30 miles of my house. If I get a site with electric that's fine but if I don't that's fine also. It's all about gettin away.

[CajunCamper]

We plan on a typical summer of camping. A few weekend trips to a few state park and state forest campgrounds within 2 hours of home, a 5 day trip Florida which is a 5 hr drive and possibly a trip up to Arkansas an 8 hr drive.

When we were young and broke we learned how to camp on the cheap or we couldn't go. Now a days we make a lot more money, but still enjoy the fact that we can enjoy a nice weekend camping trip for what many folks spend on one night in a nice hotel and dinner at a nice restaurant.

CajunCamper

[spicyville1]

Nothing wrong going on the cheap. It is more fun when you do that and plus, hot dogs do not take much to cook and the kiddo's love em! About a couple hundred miles would be about as far as I would attempt with little ones.

[Craigtheretired]

We had planned a trip to the Pacific Northwest to do some serious fishing but now it looks like at least two trips from Arizona to Virginia, one to pick up the grand daughter so she can see the western national parks and another trip back to take her home.  We are in Yosemite now, gas is $4.65 for the cheapest stuff, but the park is jammed in spite of the road construction and bridge detours.

[ddh2]

Looking at the price of fuel v/s the amount of memories i can share with my children..... I'll take the opportunity to share the memories any day of the week. I lost my father at a young age and the memories we had camping together can never be replaced. But on the other hand I look at the prices of gas and and i am glad i can still get 19 mpg @ 3.25 per gal v/s my buddy with his 5th wheel gettin 7 mpg @ 4.15 per gal , lets do the math...... i win. LETS GO CAMPING!!!!!

[denbert]

Yep, I too will be cutting back some.  Since I live in the mountains of North Carolina, there are plenty of places to camp nearby.  I'll probably state within the state this camping season.