What's Your Annual Rv Usage/mileage? Options

[FosterImposters]

We too are looking forward to hitting the road again this year, soon as the center of our nation thaws out. This year we're heading to the Midwest. ALWAYS get a break in gas prices, as soon as we drive out of California!

[pianotuna]

Hi Foster,

I get the same break as soon as I hit the USA border! That will be Friday Feb 18, 2011 this year. Propane is also cheaper in the States.

[rollinghills]

We're planning on going to Glacier and Yellowstone National parks this year, just have to save a little more. We usually go to Red River New Mexico for a few years then go on a big trip. I figure I can't take my money with me when i die so I'm going to enjoy it while I'm here. Hope to see y'all out there.

[Wink]

We are camping longer at a time.We just make the trips we make count.In place of 3 days we go for up to three weeks.We will take a few trips over 500 miles this year but most are with in a few hundred.If we go more than 200 miles from home we go for at least two weeks.We are retired and stay in Federal and state parks.With what I call the gray hair pass and my states discount over 65 it is still a good bang for the buck in fun and relaxation.
We will probably do around 120 days camping this year.I found if I cut off the water heaters and other things in the house I can save up to 12 dollars a day on my electric bill and that pays for some of the days we camp.
Wink

[Glenn Norton]

It has been almost three years since I first answered this poll. Gas prices are up, but it didn't stop me from travelling over 25,000 miles in the motorhome this past year. That is up from past years as it was catch up time. The wife had an operation in 2009 and I only used the motorhome when she was in the hospital. We intend to take a shorter trip this summer and save ourselves for a bigger trip this winter. Even if gas prices stay high, I don't think it will stop us from travelling. As long as I have gas money, it's time to hit the road and enjoy all the wonderful places away from home.

[pianotuna]

Hi Glen,

Since I purchased my "new to me" RV, on Feb 14, 2009, I've been driving 1200 miles per month on average. That is a significant increase.

[Glenn Norton]

Hi Don:
I guess your mileage also depends on how well your rig runs. Over the past 8 years that we have owned our present motorhome we have been very fortunate to have not had very many incidents on the road. Your increase in miles driven sounds like you are enjoying the drive!

[Jerry S.]

Hi again folks,

As the originator of this poll/thread, I check in "once in a while" with my personal updates concerning RV usage as effected by gas prices. This summer I ended up taking the shortest (mileage-wise) summer trip since I retired in 15 years ago. For all of those years until now, our, on average, our summer trip was 8-10 weeks and 8-10,000 miles. This year is was 9 weeks but less than 4,000 miles. My usually fairly accurate math shows that we saved somewhere around $2,000 in gas costs compared to our usual trip.

When we decided on this mini-mileage trip (IL, IN, OH, MI, WI, MN, WI, and back to IL), gas was pushing toward $4/gal. Fortunately, it did not go up much in July and August as it has in the recent years. Since, gas is now actually going down we may actually use some of that gas cost savings from the summer and have a longer fall trip. Usually we just go down to MS, LA and the gulf coast. This year we are going to head west from Lousiana and go all the way to the Grand Canyon. We already have 4 nights reserved at the RV park at the south rim. It has been about 10 years since we've been to GCNP and this will be our longest stay and the first time not in hot weather. In fact, even though it should be in the 60s while we are there, it can snow in late October at 7,000 feet in northern AZ. Hopefully, the extra 3,000 miles for this fall trip will only cost about $1,000 if most gas is under $3.50 as it was per Gasbuddy last week.

We should be leaving Sunday.

[RFCN2]

Jerry,

Be careful of the Grand Canyon as it can be cold there early. We camped at Williams in May of this year and we had snow showers. Plus we may have another wet year that starts early. We are getting our first west coast storm off the Pacific starting tomorrow. That is about six weeks early.

We cut our summer trip too due to fuel prices. Instead of getting back to Ohio and looping back through MT, we just did the loop out to WY & MT and then towards home.

Bob

[Jerry S.]

Bob,

Thanks for the warning. For what it's worth, I do realize there is the possiblity of getting cold and even snow at that time (late Oct.) in northern AZ. That is one reason we will be coming back east on I40 through New Mexico and not I70 through Colorado.

[Jerry S.]

Well my traveling is over for the year. The trip to the Grand Canyon went great. The total mileage for the trip (IL to Louisiana to AZ and back to IL) was 4800 miles (about 2500 miles more than our usual fall trip). Based on our mpg (a bit less than 10) and the average cost of gas for the trip (about $3.25), the extra mileage cost us less than $900.

Although it got a little "iffy" weatherwise the fourth night (low of 20F and another predicted for the the next night), our three full days there were terrific - sunny and 60s, partly cloudy and 60, and partly cloudy, a few sprinkles, and 60. We had good to decent weather on the trip back home via I40, I44, I70, and I57. If we had waited until this past week, we would have run into violent storms, tornadoes, snow, and even earthquakes. Somebody leads a charmed life.

Next April/May can't come soon enough.

[chowhound]

Well my traveling is over for the year. The trip to the Grand Canyon went great. The total mileage for the trip (IL to Louisiana to AZ and back to IL) was 4800 miles (about 2500 miles more than our usual fall trip). Based on our mpg (a bit less than 10) and the average cost of gas for the trip (about $3.25), the extra mileage cost us less than $900.

Although it got a little "iffy" weatherwise the fourth night (low of 20F and another predicted for the the next night), our three full days there were terrific - sunny and 60s, partly cloudy and 60, and partly cloudy, a few sprinkles, and 60. We had good to decent weather on the trip back home via I40, I44, I70, and I57. If we had waited until this past week, we would have run into violent storms, tornadoes, snow, and even earthquakes. Somebody leads a charmed life.

Next April/May can't come soon enough.

welcome back home

[Jerry S.]

Has it already been almost 4 months since my last post in this thread?

Well, here we are nearing the end of the mildest, least snowy winter many of us around the Great Lakes have ever experienced. I am almost tempted to put away the snow shovel and bucket of salt. Then again, I can remember 10" snows in early April, but it doesn't look likely this year. My usual de-winterize and preparation month of April is just around the corner and the usual spring trip down south departure date of about May 1st just beyond that.

Then, last week, I spent over $4 per gallon for gas - a definite, potential bump in the road (pun intended). As noted in my posts in this thread last year, I still took three (spring, summer, and fall) trips in 2011 but gas prices kept my summer trip fairly close to home and reduced my total mileage for the year by several thousand miles below my yearly average in recent years. I'd certainly like to do my usual three trips, but the gas prices and another, more personal, problem may limit my traveling this year. I do want to make one more northwest (WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, etc.) while I still can. I can't seem to tire of those areas.

So I've got a lot to do and figure out in the next 6-8 weeks.

[Jerry S.]

Since everytime somebody new takes the poll in this thread, it pops to the top of the topic list until somebody else posts in a new or another thread. So the poor reader keeps reading my 3/8/12 post thinking it is new. So to put those folks out of their misery, here's an actual new post.

So here we are approaching June 1st and we haven't even begun traveling this year. Our usual May trip down south didn't happen due to a unexpected problem. It has been going on for almost 2 months and, unfortunately, I see no guarantee that we will even be able to take our usual 8-10 week summer trip from late June or early July to late August or early September. After over 15 years of 3 trips taking up 4-5 of the 6+ months between late April and early Novemeber, the string may be broken.

So much for the "Somebody leads a charmed life" comment I made back in my 11/11/11 post in this thread.

[John Blue]

Jerry S,

I hope you are OK and can travel soon.