Gas price increase affecting your travel plans

[TitanMike]

Another way to deal with rising fuel costs, keep the vehicle you have and use the money saved by not trading in every few years on fuel.


My 17 year old truck is paid for and does a great job. There's an extra $600 or so per month available for travel.

[timfromma]

My truck is 8 years old and has 160,000 miles on it. My truck is starting to need inexpensive but annoying repairs which is to be expected with a truck that age with that many miles. The issue I have is that sometimes these minor issues come up while on the road 1000+ miles from home with the camper in tow. When home, these problems are easy to deal with. They become much more problematic while traveling. As a result I am starting to lose faith in my truck's ability to hold things together while on a trip.

[W5CRE]

Originally Posted by timfromma

My truck is 8 years old and has 160,000 miles on it. My truck is starting to need inexpensive but annoying repairs which is to be expected with a truck that age with that many miles. The issue I have is that sometimes these minor issues come up while on the road 1000+ miles from home with the camper in tow. When home, these problems are easy to deal with. They become much more problematic while traveling. As a result I am starting to lose faith in my truck's ability to hold things together while on a trip.

Easy fix. Buy a new truck and while you're at it you should probably get a new mattress. You know that 8 year mattress wear-out thing they keep advertising about. LMAO

[Bob2019]

Originally Posted by timfromma

My truck is 8 years old and has 160,000 miles on it. My truck is starting to need inexpensive but annoying repairs which is to be expected with a truck that age with that many miles. The issue I have is that sometimes these minor issues come up while on the road 1000+ miles from home with the camper in tow. When home, these problems are easy to deal with. They become much more problematic while traveling. As a result I am starting to lose faith in my truck's ability to hold things together while on a trip.

I hear you. A number of years ago there was a newspaper auto column writer who said fixing a vehicle WAS always the way to go. Wrong. Every month or so it was $800 or more for me to keep it running. Not to mention breakdowns going to work. It is a bad time to buy any type of vehicle, but check around with the web for what you want. I've generally had good luck in the past, and sometimes you just have to bury your current old vehicle. Good Luck!

[timfromma]

Im really hoping that I can hold my truck together long enough for for prices to return to a more reasonable level. I guess we shall see.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by timfromma

Im really hoping that I can hold my truck together long enough for for prices to return to a more reasonable level. I guess we shall see.

x2! We had hoped to get a new truck and new 5th Wheel, after selling our house. Not going to happen anytime soon.

[elchilero53]

Originally Posted by rmac04401

Remember in the sixties minimum wage was somewhere around $2.00 an hour. My first job in high school in the 80 s was $3.19 an hour.

When I started working after school in 1970 minimum wage was $1.65/hr. Gasoline was $0.28/gallon and #2 diesel was $0.21/gallon. During the Arab Oil Embargo (that was in response America's assisting Israel during the Yom Kippur war) gas went up to $0.35/gallon. This was during the Nixon Administration. When Carter was President, gasoline rose to $0.67/gallon (nearly doubled). Adjusted for inflation, this comes out to $3.26/gallon in 2021 dollars. The high gas prices on the west coast are due to tax rates on fuel, not the actual gasoline price.

By the way, the gas lines in the '70s were in the major cities. Small towns away from the cities had plenty of gas. I know because a friend of mine and I drove across country during Spring Break to see our girlfriends in during the Embargo using 2-lane highways and we had no trouble finding gas going and coming.

[SailorSam20500]

[Sammici]

Originally Posted by elchilero53

When I started working after school in 1970 minimum wage was $1.65/hr. Gasoline was $0.28/gallon and #2 diesel was $0.21/gallon. During the Arab Oil Embargo (that was in response America's assisting Israel during the Yom Kippur war) gas went up to $0.35/gallon. This was during the Nixon Administration. When Carter was President, gasoline rose to $0.67/gallon (nearly doubled). Adjusted for inflation, this comes out to $3.26/gallon in 2021 dollars. The high gas prices on the west coast are due to tax rates on fuel, not the actual gasoline price.



By the way, the gas lines in the '70s were in the major cities. Small towns away from the cities had plenty of gas. I know because a friend of mine and I drove across country during Spring Break to see our girlfriends in during the Embargo using 2-lane highways and we had no trouble finding gas going and coming.

In 1979 I took a camping trip off season to Acadia NP during the oil embargo and couldn't fuel up while in Bar Harbor because of stupid odd even nonsense.
I pissed the station attendant off because I ran out of gas when I was leaving and blocked the pumps. He finally decided to give me $5 worth.

[NJKris]

I wouldn't doubt quite a few people ran out of gas waiting in those stupid lines.

[Jefrid]

We just returned to Seattle from an 80 day 15,000 mile trip to 41 states including Maine and Florida. We have had this trip planned for a couple years. Fuel costs were greater than originally budgeted. Before heading out, we adjusted the budget and never let it dampen a wonderful trip. In many parts of the country gas prices can be found for under $3 a gallon. The highest price we paid for a partial fill up was $5.20 a gallon in California. If we were not tired and a bit lazy we could have avoided this one.

And I have to say that our 2018 Forester 2291 performed fabulously! Only issue was one drawer catch broke and I had a spare so no big deal. No plumbing, slide, electrical or tire problems. Rig now has 32,000 miles on it with almost no manufacturer’s defects! Maybe I should go out and buy a lottery ticket.

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Another way to deal with rising fuel costs, keep the vehicle you have and use the money saved by not trading in every few years on fuel.

My 17 year old truck is paid for and does a great job. There's an extra $600 or so per month available for travel.

Originally Posted by timfromma

My truck is 8 years old and has 160,000 miles on it. My truck is starting to need inexpensive but annoying repairs which is to be expected with a truck that age with that many miles. The issue I have is that sometimes these minor issues come up while on the road 1000+ miles from home with the camper in tow. When home, these problems are easy to deal with. They become much more problematic while traveling. As a result I am starting to lose faith in my truck's ability to hold things together while on a trip.

After reading those contrasting comments about aged trucks, I instinctively looked at the truck brands. Nissan and Chevy. Hmmm.

[jbflag21ds]

I am finalizing my 5,100 mile, 32 night spring trip and between fuel, food and camp ground fees when I am not boondocking, it'll be close to $0.90-$0.95 per mile.

[Tom 2424]

Originally Posted by Sammici

In 1979 I took a camping trip off season to Acadia NP during the oil embargo and couldn't fuel up while in Bar Harbor because of stupid odd even nonsense.
I pissed the station attendant off because I ran out of gas when I was leaving and blocked the pumps. He finally decided to give me $5 worth.

I had to drive from FL to MA to attend college during the second crisis with the odd/even rationing. Kind of impossible to do. So, I carried a spare license plate! I would pull to a remote spot in a service area to switch tags. One time, I heard someone come up behind me, and I thought uh-oh... I turned around and he said: "Well, golly, that's a GREAT idea!"

I had to switch tags back before hitting the road again, of course...

[jeepin1]

Originally Posted by NJKris

I think I was making 4k a year in the Marines, early 80's. Considering your food, lodging, and medical were covered, that was all beer money after making car and insurance payment!

I thought I was the only one that kept mine, from the Army 74 thru 77,

Originally Posted by rmac04401

Some call me crazy but I still have my paystubs from back in the 80s when I was in the Airforce.

[JKCamper]

Originally Posted by Dianekane

We discovered that on the Ben Franklin bridge from Jersey to Philly that you need to remove your EZPass tag and pay cash. The automated system was charging us $30. The toll taker counts the axles and it’s $12.50. F150 pulling a 30’

I had the exact same experience a few years ago going over Commodore Barry Bridge from NJ to PA. GMC 1500 towing 21FBRS.

First time I went through EZ-Pass lane - $30
Next time went through cash lane - $12.50

Thanks for the info.

[billcrews81]

i just delete meals for the kids. that saves tons for gas

[aircommuter]

Originally Posted by GFD47

I usually agree with your posts Mike, but for the record I just this month renewed the tabs on my 8,000# 2020 F350 for $109.72. The big rig pays 31x what I did.

Taxing big rigs is just a politician’s way of hiding taxes. Those trucks just have to pass it on. I owned a class 8 truck for 23 years in one of my businesses and if it wasn’t passed on we would not have owned the truck. We all must know free shipping is a nice advertisement, but it just means shipping included.

[5er_tom]

Yup! That is why truckers could care less about the cost of fuel. That cost gets passed on to the customer invoice (read you and me). Diesel fuel went up $1.00 a gallon? You will see that increase on the invoice.

Wish I could do that with my RV. Oh! I do. It come back to me.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

Yup! That is why truckers could care less about the cost of fuel. That cost gets passed on to the customer invoice (read you and me). Diesel fuel went up $1.00 a gallon? You will see that increase on the invoice.

Wish I could do that with my RV. Oh! I do. It come back to me.

And they don't even try to hide it. Proudly call it a "fuel surcharge".