Fuel Prices: What price is your 'tipping' point ? (1 Viewer)

[Carol]

We usually try and get away several times during the year but due to the increase in fuel charges are planning just one trip up to Scotland to see our son. I have been trying to save a set amount each month as a "Diesel" account and therefore have a buffer to use once we are on journey. Once on the road I do try to "soft" pedal and keep my speed down. We have tried going over all that we take with us and have taken out much of the "just in case" items but still seem to have a lot - even the small library has been condensed !! Any ideas to lighten the load would be most welcome.
Thanks.

Welcome to Motorhome Fun arebee, one way those who like to take a few books with them is to have them on Kindle a large thread on here somewhere about that, another way do a bit of wild camping a couple of nights here and there will put a bit of diesel in the van, another is to join in with a fun rally those are good value whatever you do enjoy your motorhome (sorry OP off track a bit)

 

[philw111]

We are fortunate in living within easy reach of the Scottish highlands so will probably just reduce the distances travelled.

The problem you have in deciding to sell up is that, as fuel and other costs become more expensive, it becomes harder and harder to sell at a good price so this is absolutely the last option.

 

[cyclingdoglucy]

Yes, yet another thread on fuel costs I here you mutter... but a specific question ...

We now find it hard enough just running a car .. and have decided not to buy another motorhome..
We were contemplating a smallish caravan.. but even that is looking less likely as fuel costs soar .. so our tipping point has been reached at £6 per gallon... :Sad:

So..

At what price per gallon will you say enough is enough then either sell and give up motorhoming, or downsize ? 6,7,8,9,10 pounds ... or more per gallon ?

If you are wealthy, you may say never.. but I suspect there are few in that fortunate position.

hello everyone.
can i firstly declare that i have sold my motorhome at the close of summer last year . can i also admit that we did not sell due to any unusual on going costs that are linked to the life of motorhomeing , and can we also say that we have met some very nice people among you all & will remain friends.
6 months down the line we reflect back did we do the right thing for "us" & we both have no regrets on selling our m/h , we probably used it more than the average , but so glad to see it not sat there on the ample space up the side of our bungalow waiting for the dismal summer season to get under way, or if your lucky this year & i hope will be the one in ten year summer that you hit occasionally.
we have had a few weekends away this year (coach) nothing spectacular but we know this going to the i o wight for a mon -fri break in january but the food & all inclusive and the warmth of the hotel was a fantastic mid week break with the most important good food & entertainment.
now the question of fuel prices , i think i got shut at thr right time (lucky) i put it on flea bay for sale that had over 2,200 for sale & had no luck , one or two came to view but they said the money was right & that it was a first class m/h , but not the layout that they really wanted , so i thought i was going to be stuck with it for a time , anyway i spotted a motorhome wanted roadside sign , i rang the dealer who offered £500 less than the previous price on e-bay , deal done i kept the honda generator & the driveaway awning & other useful m/h goodies so we did very well out of it , i had the m/h for 4 years & more or less got back the purchase price that i got a good deal on .
i dont see the fuel prices coming down in the future i only see one way & that is up & up, but they may not put the fuel levy on it in the coming budget, of course coach travel & air fares are going up infact the coaches are now putting a £10 fuel levy on at this very moment . i look out of my window & no longer is the m/h gobbling up my money with lack of use . my neighbour on the street in front has a 2 year old m/h & i have never seen it off the drive ever & i pass his house up to 5 times everyday, so if you have one & not makeing full use of it then we think that is even more waste of money.
obviously its a good job we are not all the same & the point im makeing is that we are really happy on the decision that we made last year on our sale , best of luck in what ever decision you have to make in the future.
best regards.:thumb:

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[Gonewiththewind]

I have still got my M/Home , only vehicle. Keep thinking of getting shut, but then talk my self out of it. Its paid for and whatever I do I dont have finnance on top.
I buy Biofuel. Use the Tesco discount after doing shopping.
Gone are the days of weekends away.
Make more use of my Bus Pass than anything.
Bring on the Revolution.

Don

 

[motor roamin]

I think like many others we will run whatever we want to run until we can't afford the fuel, my RV stands me at £70,000 plus, I think finding some one with say 65k in their pocket would preclude the idea of selling, I am fortunate that at the moment although I don't like the cost of fuel (and it is realy hurting my business as well) I will continue to afford to put fuel in, the ones who can't afford to will undoubtedly loose money on the sale of their RV.

I wish every one luck who are forced into this position.

All the best Rick.

 

[Pikey Pete]

As a fulltimer and addicted traveller, fuel is my biggest outlay now.

I'm currently in Spain laid up for the winter and spending €390 a month all in except for food and entertainment. I'm now seriously thinking about just staying put and not travelling any more. The money pit is not bottomless.

I do think though that the huge amount of tax per gallon will become counter productive as a means of gathering tax as people reduce their desire for travel and holidays, thus reducing tax revenue from tourism, new vehicles etc. etc. etc.

Pete:Cool:

PS Will the beast run on sunflower oil? It's only €0.79c per litre.

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[rangi]

We hav'nt reach the point yet!, but it's not too far away! Just changed ours, upgraded from 89 to 02. Think we could still manage our usual 4000-5000mls a year, it will be tight tho! as long as it doesn't go way too high!

How you fellas with an rv manage, some of those things only do???? per gallon, I wouldn't want to be in that position!

 

[Dalek]

Both Graham and I have a vehicle, me a car and Graham his van for work. Being self employed we need both vehicles so no matter what the cost of fuel we will have to pay, otherwise "no work, no pay". Emily catches the bus to school which is £8 a week and only if Graham is working her school side of the City will he take her. The motorhome hasnt seen much use this winter, that is not because of the price of fuel but due to Emilys boating accident last October that has put a stop to sailing until she has made a full recovery. We would in total of covered over 3000 miles had we done the winter sailing training and dread to think how much the fuel bills would of been. We have no intention of selling the motorhome and have weekends away booked but the trip to France may not happen.

Dale

 

[algill]

I have to say we're glad we have our 5er on a seasonal pitch about an hour from home so we can still use it without having to tow. It might be as good as it gets for the forseeable future.

Thing is though, we had planned to tour more with it this year instead of taking a long haul holiday. Clearly that's not going to happen now. Firstly because of the price of diesel if we tow. Secondly because our business has been hard hid during the last 12 months, by the downturn in work in construction and the cost of fuel for our machinery. (JCB's - even red diesel is now 71p per litre).

There again if work picks up Al won't be able to take time for holidays.

The words "rock" and "hard place" come to mind.

So I suppose the answer to Jims question is - the price of diesel is already too high for us to consider towing (as things are with our economic situation as a whole), so we'll use our 5er like a static.

I feel for you guys with motorhomes/RV's. It would be a difficult decision to sell when you're not likely to get a good price.


Gill

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[Larrynwin]

We bought our present RV new last July and it stands us for a load but we made the decision then that we would have what we wanted and could afford for our retirement.
Converted to lpg and pulling a 62mpg toad it will be a long time before we are priced out of travelling. We may have to plan journeys more carefully but we cannot spend our hard earned cash when we are dead and goodness knows how I have become aware of that risk in recent weeks.
Keep on rolling :thumb:

 

[Gooney]

Maybe a good idea is for us all to leave our pride and joys wherever they are parked up and start a scheme where we swap homes for a weeks holiday in each others 'homes', get to see someone else's part of the country and still enjoy the M/H way of life but just pay normal car type mpg travelling between the locations :thumb:

 

[Castaway]

Not sure what my 'cut off' point is. No doubt there'll come a time when we say enough is enough but, at the moment, grinning and bearing it seems a good option!
As someone has already pointed out, we can't take it with us so might as well enjoy it while we've got it!
When the money runs out, we'll stop at home.

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[Dalek]

Maybe a good idea is for us all to leave our pride and joys wherever they are parked up and start a scheme where we swap homes for a weeks holiday in each others 'homes', get to see someone else's part of the country and still enjoy the M/H way of life


If you saw where we keep ours you'd never want to motorhome again - its in a cow shed

Good idea though and one worth considering

Dale

 

[david and ann]

fuel costs

Yes, yet another thread on fuel costs I here you mutter... but a specific question ...

We now find it hard enough just running a car .. and have decided not to buy another motorhome..
We were contemplating a smallish caravan.. but even that is looking less likely as fuel costs soar .. so our tipping point has been reached at £6 per gallon... :Sad:

So..

At what price per gallon will you say enough is enough then either sell and give up motorhoming, or downsize ? 6,7,8,9,10 pounds ... or more per gallon ?

If you are wealthy, you may say never.. but I suspect there are few in that fortunate position.

:Cool:Hola guys
If you are all thinking of selling cos of rising costs who do you think is going to buy all these motorhomes suddenly hitting the market. We just have to hang on and hope things get better plus just go less distance when out and about.
I'm paying 1.31 euro per litre here in Spain which is not as expensive as England but its rapidly catching up. Surprising considering that we're surposed to pay less tax over here !!
Keep your chins up
David:thumb:

 

[jonandshell]

We do worry about how fuel prices are going to affect the affordability of motorhoming and thus the residual values of our vans.:Sad:
However, because all aspects of travel rely on oil, we believe that the RELATIVE cost of our hobby in comparison to air travel, cruises and yes, car travel will be constant. We are already seeing bigger fuel surcharges at the airports.
Hopefully, camping, caravanning and motorhoming will still be seen as relatively cheap (once you have the kit!) and we won't be stung come trade-in time.

Any other funsters out there have similar concerns?

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[scotjimland]

we have had a few weekends away this year (coach) nothing spectacular but we know this going to the i o wight for a mon -fri break in january but the food & all inclusive and the warmth of the hotel was a fantastic mid week break with the most important good food & entertainment.

Just recently we have been exploring this option and been surprised just how much is on offer and at very affordable prices .. for example

From this site http://www.door2tour.com/searchresult.aspx?TourTypeId=1&DepartingFrom=33&GoingTo=104

A 5 day mid week trip to IOW , all inclusive £149.99 per person ..
YOUR TOUR INCLUDES


* Return coach travel
* 4 or 5 nights dinner, bed and breakfast
* Entertainment some nights
* Rail fare and entrance to Osborne House
* Free daily excursion programme as detailed
* Services of one of our drivers throughout


You can't beat that for value for money .. !

As I mentioned earlier motorhoming used to be a relatively cheap way of having a holiday and seeing far off places .. but not anymore, however, if you want to travel independently for an extended period a camper van is the best option... it all boils down to cost and how much you can afford.. or not as the case may be.

 

[GJH]

Jill's parents have been going on those sorts of coach tours for many years and we considered them as one option before buying the van.

However, the point regarding independence is very valid. At the time we intended using the van for re-enactment events as well as on conventional camp sites and have done so.

 

[Scout]

my son-in-law and brother are both tuggers, honda crv's and 16/17 foot vans, they get "towing" very simular mpg as I do in my van, so no real differance there


My brothers getting to thinging of putting his van on a site as a static, I like differant place to see.

Ive got a pennine pathfinder folding camper to use if I need to for long distance warm weather touring.

I wont sell the van cheap in a distrest market, on the other hand theres allways somebody with something bigger trading down, how people this year have changed RV's for smaller units, so a smaller unit should allways be sellable

It is a way of life, I've done the hotel stuff and now want freedom of chioce/travel, when/iff I cant afford the cost of the m/h it may well be in a tent

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[Road Runner]

Although campsite costs are rising along with every other cost we an=ll need to holiday or chill out and our hobby is still one of the cheapest ways of doing it.

I am intending to[STRIKE] sell[/STRIKE] the RV but not going to give it away because of the current fuel price panics.

Interesting to see how this all pans out.

 

[scotjimland]

It is a way of life, I've done the hotel stuff and now want freedom of chioce/travel, when/iff I cant afford the cost of the m/h it may well be in a tent

I agree, it is a way of life, one I have enjoyed all my life .. be it a tent, caravan or camper van.. and while still physically fit, won't ever give up.

Last year we had a trip to Scotland with our tent and another closer to home in Norfolk .. we enjoyed it so much we bought a new Cabanon tent and we will be doing the same this year .. but will still need to consider the cost of fuel.

A PVC could be a viable option and still not ruled out, provided fuel costs don't go through the roof..

 

[barryd]

Just being doing some sums. Lets say Diesel is now £1.40 compared to £1.20 a litre last year. If you do around 5000 miles a year in the van it would have cost you just over £1200 last year and now £1400. Its not exactly crippling when you look at it that way (unless my sums are wrong)

I remember a couple of years ago it going up but then it went back down again. Perhaps this will happen again. I cant see it spiraling out of control. The government will have to do something or people just wont use their vehicles.

I reckon it would have to go up a heck of a lot for me to stop motorhoming as its still a cheap way of having a long trip. Expensive for a weekend but if you dont use campsites (and we dont) then I think its pretty cost effective. We have a scooter though as well so that makes a difference as we dont need to use the van as much when we arrive at a destination.

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[Gonewiththewind]

"PS Will the beast run on sunflower oil? It's only €0.79c per litre".

Where have you seen that price Pete, It stands at £1.45. in my local store.
Ran my Pug all last summer on Veg Oil (when it was cheap as chips).

Don

 

[Road Runner]

If all these people are contemplating bailing out it's going to be interesting/worrying to see what happens with the ones on finance.

If the market hits the deck and you are financed up to the hilt (OUCH)

 

[GJH]

Although campsite costs are rising along with every other cost we all need to holiday or chill out and our hobby is still one of the cheapest ways of doing it.(snip).

Good point. Perhaps, instead of thinking we are hard done by, we ought to think about the people who have too small an income to be able to afford any transport of their own, let alone a motorhome.

If all these people are contemplating bailing out it's going to be interesting/worrying to see what happens with the ones on finance.

If the market hits the deck and you are financed up to the hilt (OUCH)

We all experienced a clear demonstration, a couple of years ago, of the risks associated with financing oneself up to the hilt. People who suffer because they have done so in the intervening years have only themselves to blame if they haven't factored in sufficient contingency.

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[Alan]

Spain

Here in spain its nearly as bad I filled up 2 days ago at 1.32 euros a litre, in Portugall it was even dearer but the costs are easily out weighed by the free camping it still is the cheapest way to travel europe unfortiunately we are now on our way home.

Alan

 

[simsy56]

l own an RV, and the mpg is around 12. However, and l paid much less than a Hymer of the same year as l got a real bargain, it has only 11,000 miles on it. It's paid for, l have no mortgage, and due to tragic circumstances, l have not been off the Island since last June. But, we have all enjoyed what we have on our doorstep.
It is stored on farmland with fresh water, electricity, and waste dumps. The views are spectacular, and we can spend days and weekends where it stands. No other vehicles around. We have spent weekends around the Island, in the plantations, on the beach, and at different towns.
l filled it up prior to getting the boat home from England in June and l haven't filled up since. So, my three hundred pounds to fill her is still being used today. l admit l haven't done much milage, and l suppose when it comes to travelling then l will feel the pinch, but, we are enjoying what we have for now.

Craig

 

[grumps147]

We are not planning any major changes, having only just changed from tugging. Costs when tugging about the same, so nothing major there. I have reduced speed both in MH and when using he car. I have noticed a few more car drivers going about 60 on the motorways - but they are mainly older drivers, not many families amongst them.

It cannot be that expensive yet in many peoples eyes, when I did get to 70 on Friday I was being overtaken by all sorts at speeds of 80 and above - flying past - and not all company cars (had to have a quiet laugh at the mother with a notice in her back window going like the clappers and asking me and everyone else to be careful of the child in her car).

Its the same in town, driving carefully and not accelerating hard I get left behind by most - and thats where you do burn fuel.

There will be a limit which will restrict travel to the local region, say 2 gallons to a site and 2 gallons back, but i have no idea when that will be. I do wonder if my recent ferry booking will be my last though.

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[Terry]

I agree, it is a way of life, one I have enjoyed all my life .. be it a tent, caravan or camper van.. and while still physically fit, won't ever give up.

Last year we had a trip to Scotland with our tent and another closer to home in Norfolk .. we enjoyed it so much we bought a new Cabanon tent and we will be doing the same this year .. but will still need to consider the cost of fuel.

A PVC could be a viable option and still not ruled out, provided fuel costs don't go through the roof..

Hi Jim and all :thumb: this has moved on a bit since yesterday
Your suggestion on a PVC is not a million miles from making sense :thumb:My own van returns more MPG than the car and the way we travel about avoiding town centres etc, has been noticed (by us) in the fact that unless absolutely necessary we avoid the towns and shop at out of town locations that are very easy (and free) to park at with the van.As for camping in the tent you still have to drive there using fuel.You could go the whole hog and join Buttons with a VW and get a few more MPG with the ease of parking.For us we like our own loo and shower (although I use site showers more)and all the freedom the van allows.Ann smokes and so hotels are now out of the question oh: she gets up to the loo a couple of times a night so again the VW is ruled out just on internal space for us.
Go for the PVC Jim you know it makes sense :thumb:Get rid of the Honda buy a van and convert it :thumb: then you have the best of both worlds a motor home and a big car with decent mpg
terry

 

[Scout]

times are going to be harder for most of us, we collectivly are at an age were things were good for long time.

we can sit back and think of the "good old days" or think of the differant but good days to come

2the king is dead", "long live the king"


I know what Im going to do...

 

[MrJinks]

Hi Jim,
As a relatively newcomer to motorhoming I have spent too long waiting to travel with it to currently worry too much about the fuel costs. In the early 80s I used to have a round trip of about 40 miles to work everyday. The price had just reached £1 per gallon and I worried myself silly about how I would afford the petrol every week.

Now having a RV it will be a major cost however, when I eventually start fulltiming I will budget a certain amount for fuel and will have to manage the travelling within that budget. As fuel gets dearer, as it surely will, I will travel less.
The tipping point.....I don't know. Probably when the overall cost becomes stupid compared to the amount of money we have available. Many of us will already have reached that point or rapidly approaching it. I am not wealthy so I will reach that point at some time as the cost will only go one way.

I have believed for years that our governments have actively encouraged the dearer cost of fuel as the only way they can control the explosion of car usage and make us use public transport. Over the last 20 years successive governments have told us about the impossibility of more & more car usage on our crowded roads and the inevitability of gridlock happening. They promised more investment in public transport What happened to that. Less trains & buses than ever. Another 5-10 million added to our population. More & more families with 2-3 cars.

Result........make fuel cost so expensive that nearly everyone will use their vehicles less & less so eventually reducing the total mileage covered.
Am I paranoid? When did you ever hear a politician (in power) promise to do anything about reducing fuel duties (significantly and prolonged). However, I totally agree that the tax would have to be re-couped from us elsewhere.

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