We in the US are lucky to be in such an affluent society. Many of us are older and can remember when a 'middle class' family had one car and one TV. Vacations were on the road, but, included an icebox with sandwiches and drinks because eating out was too expensive. Most cars did not have A/C (even in Phoenix) Camping was in tents. Wife/mother would ask to check the motel room for cleanliness before checking in. Luxury was a clean motel with a swimming pool. My dad would be shocked at the luxuries we can enjoy on such a 'low' income.
We bought our first RV (MH) when gas was .90/gal We considered selling it when gas went over $1/gal. Glad we didn't. We got a lot of use out of it even when gas got more expensive. We bought our most recent RV (fiver) in March, knowing what the gas price was going to do.
I agree with many that if you ever want an RV, now is the time to buy one. If you want to wait, the prices on them will probably be even better toward the end of the summer.
In 3 or 4 years the relative price of gas will again be considered 'low' and you can travel more. Meanwhile you can use it now, even if it might be on shorter trips.
charlie
2006 Toyota Tundra Crew Cab
2003 Skyline Nomad 24ft Fiver
Me and Wife
Maggie the Old English Sheepdog
Here's another look. The boss has been fighting cancer and winning for 9 years now.(after a one year to go diagnosis) She loves the beach and the lake. Therefore, we'll be at our favorite Adirondack Lake in July, we'll be at Myrtle Beach in October, and Crystal River Florida in February. We'll adjust our spending in order to make these trips but we will not stop going.
Bill
2000 Hitchhiker II Rio Grande
2000 Dodge 3500 dually Cummins 5 speed Edge EZ and guages
Bill1374 wrote: Here's another look. The boss has been fighting cancer and winning for 9 years now.(after a one year to go diagnosis) She loves the beach and the lake. Therefore, we'll be at our favorite Adirondack Lake in July, we'll be at Myrtle Beach in October, and Crystal River Florida in February. We'll adjust our spending in order to make these trips but we will not stop going.
Bill
Good for you and the "Boss". Keep truckin' and enjoy. Travel safe.
Well, I have said it before, and I'll say it again. There are just to many ways to save a couple of extra dollars, with-out making quality of life changes. We have been RV'ers for some 40+ years now, and we are not about to stop, until we are just to old to be on the road anymore. We also put a lot of thought as to what size 5er we wanted, to finish out our lives as RV'ers. Its wasn't hard to figure out many many years ago, that every thing would cost more, as time went on. So we bought a 5er that we know would last us a very long time. It doesn't take a lot of brain power to figure that the bigger the 5er, the bigger the TV has to be, and the more it is going to cost you to move it around. Our choce of 5er really has paid off for us. We could have afforded any size 5er or truck we wanted. We bought what we felt would really do us for size. Our 5er has served us so well, and has been so comfortable its just the right size for just two people and one small Yorkie. And it doesn't cost us and arm and a leg to travel with. We think of our 5er as being 12 years young. As it is still in perfect Mint Condition. And so is our F-250 H.D. PSD. Both our F-250 and our Nash 24ft 5er will last us the rest of our lives. Because we take exellent care of everything that we own. We do keep our 5er in a Covered RV Port, as it really makes a huge differance in its apperance over the years. We also have a Custom Cover for our F-250 when not in use, and we keep it coverd. Since we are already retired, we only have so much more time to enjoy ourselfs. We have loved being RV'ers for over 40+ years, and hope to stil have quite a few more years left in us, before we get to old to travel anymore. We travel as we please off and on all year long. We still have a very beautiful home we maintain, across the street from the 4th Fairway on the Golf coarse in a very small town of only 18,000 people in the hills of Northern Calif. So I guess that we are lucky to be able to have the best of both worlds. But one thing is for sure, we are not about to quit RV'ing, just becasue the cost of fuel has gone up. Many of us remember the days of 59 cents a gallon of gas. Since thoses days, fuel has consistentely been going up. Just not as fast as it has in the last year or so. Nothing ever stays the same price. If you truley enjoy RV'ing as much as we do, then you will either find a way to continue to travel, or you will have to just say home, and find another way to make yourself happy. Life has been a constanly changing event. You will either adapt, or you will have to go with-out. We chose to keep travleing. Good Luck. Happy Camping, Dan & Jill
1997 Ford F-250, H.D. Extended-Cab, Short Bed, 7.3 PSD, K&N Air Filter, 5000 lbs air bags w/on board compressor w/guage, SuperChips Tuner/Programer. 1996 Nash 24fter 5er, 15K "Lil" Rocker Hitch w/BedSaver, Twin EU2000i Gen's W/Kit. Nam-Vet, 33 Months.
Hey, quality of life is what you make of it. Our Class C and we will be sitting by a stream, perhaps a little closer to home, but still enjoying "quality of Life" until we are on the other side of the grass or can no longer go. Make the best of what you have and count your blessings. There are a lot of people in this world that would gladly trade places with you.
crickeydog wrote: My sister lives in the U.K and they're paying just shy of the equivelant of $9 U.S. dollars for a gallon of diesel fuel for their 24' European MH that they use to travel around Wales and the rest of the U.K. FWIW: Yes I miss the .25 cent a gallon gasoline prices of my 1950's youth but considering we can take a 2000 mile trip today paying $4.50+ a gallon for diesel fuel averaging 11 MPG towing our 14K+ 5'er and still enjoly ourselves and pay less compared to auto driving, staying in hotels, and eating out, I think we've got it pretty good! We enjoy a quality of life not enjoyed by most of the rest of the world and fuel prices certainly will never have an impact on my quality of life. However, fuel availability like the embargo's of the 70's can bring everything to a screaching halt. But I have no control over that so as long as diesel fuel is at least available, our quality of life in no way has been affected. Our freedom to do what we want, when we want, where we want, and for as long as we want, with the freedom to be able to put ourselves in a position to afford and enjoy such luxuries not easilly available to the rest of the world, has not been affected in any way because of fuel prices. We've recently acquired a 33' MH in addition to our 5'er that we intend to fully restore and are excited about eventually using on a regular basis. Regardless of the price of fuel, I can't help but get excited at the opportunity to hit the road and enjoy the RV lifestyle. IMHO: Most of the folks complaining about not being able to afford to feed their RV's today were probably on the bubble of actually being able to afford ownership in the first place. JMHO.
Happy camping!!! See ya'll down the road!!!
When fuel gets $15/ gallon come back and tell me what you think then. For me, it's not about today's current price as it is the market situation itself with no end in sight.
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and Missy 
& Skeeter 
