The young man looked over at the old man and said, "I bet that thing doesn't get very good gas mileage does it?" "Oh, not so good for a vehicle" the old man said, "but for a rolling condominium... not too bad."
Sometimes we have to keep things in the right perspective. I here RV owners all the time that don't drive their RVs at all because of the price of fuel. Others worry about the potential for increasing prices of fuel. Well, nobody looks forward to the price of anything going up and most of us have to keep an eye on the budget. But, at the same time, maybe we are blowing this issue out of perspective.
The current (April 2014) price per a gallon of unleaded regular gas is $3.63 per gallon. If you travel 6000 miles a year (that is like driving from San Francisco to Miami and back) in your RV and you average 7 MPG then you will use 857 gallon of fuel a year / 71 gallons per month. Your annual fuel costs at the current price would total $3111 or $260 per month.
Now for the perspective. If the price of fuel were to go up to $4.63 per gallon then your annual fuel costs based on that 857 gallons would then be $3968 or $330 per month, an increase of $857 per year or $71 per month.
You also have some degree of control over fuel costs. You don't have to travel as many miles to enjoy good weather, good company and adventure. You can adjust other expenses to lower your overall expenses too. Maybe boondocking instead of staying at RV parks is an option. Staying in Federal Parks with the senior discount saves a lot. I also find that family members and friends offer parking where they live. Another thing to remember is that many have an option of driving a fuel efficient tow vehicle. Mine averages about 30 mpg. The point is that RVing offers several different ways to adjust your budget if the need arises. Ways that are generally not available to those living in a stick built home.
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