What effect does rising fuel prices have on your summer road trip plans?

[Mark Sedenquist]

We're working on a road trip planning article and we'd really value your ideas and experiences. I'll be posting a couple of polls here in a few minutes.

The results will be posted on this thread, but the "voting" is secret -- no one will know who posted what result.

And there's a second poll that poses some levels for the price of fuel that might affect your planning this year.

Thanks,

Mark

[Midwest Michael]

I'll be honest, they are giving me serious pause. I'm looking at a trip out west where I'd spend about $1300 for gas, if prices settle in at $4. Basically, for every 50 cents they go up, the trip will cost me $200 more.

But I commute about 1,000 miles a week, so the higher the prices go, the less able I am to save up for the trip. That's probably an even bigger factor in my decision about if this trip actually gets off the ground.

[Mark Sedenquist]

That cost-of-commuting issue is really significant -- No question that it is really hammering those who are planning road trips. I just took a short three-day trip and the cost of the fuel -- or rather how much extra $$ it took to complete the trip was a real eye-opener for me. That being said, once on the road -- I didn't find that the additional cost had a significant effect on my trip... But it certainly will affect what I do for the rest of this month and beyond... so it's kind of a complicated issue.

Mark

[Southwest Dave]

Being 'Johnny Foreigner", I'm not sure I qualify for the poll, as $5 per gallon is about half of what we are already paying over here and you don't have 'Take a longer road trip' as an option. The main problem created by high fuel prices is getting an affordable flight to get to your 'cheap' fuel.

I doubt the high fuel costs would effect my road trip, [here or in the US] but the 'knock on effect' is to tighten the purse strings and cut back on day trips, short visits etc, that I may have otherwise done. It's these types of cut backs that are hitting the tourist trade just as hard, if you don't go out, you don't buy Ice cream, beer, lunch, admission fees etc and the 'day tripper' business is very important to the economy.

So like Mark, it won't effect my main road trip plans, but you gotta make savings somewhere.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Dave, I was specifically thinking about you and other roadtrippers who already pay at least $10.00 per gallon at home. I didn't want to create a self-fulfilling poll by pointing that out, but I did think about it. What about the second poll? If fuel were $10 or more a gallon, would that diminish your enthusiasm for roadtripping here? What about $15 or even (sigh) $20 per gallon?

Thanks,

Mark

[Foy]

Gents,
I responded to the second poll at the $7.50/gallon breakpoint. My situation is atypical where most recently I've been looking at driving costs vs. fly-n-drive costs. At 7.50/gallon I reckon I can fly it and rent a vehicle once "there" cheaper, but in my haste to respond, I failed to account for what can only be a dramatic increase in air fares in the even gasoline and diesel go up that much. I guess a more accurate answer would be 10.00/gallon as that makes the cost of my annual ski vacation (where we fly some of the group and the rest drive it) something in excess of $10,000.

Man, am I glad I live but 1.6 miles from my office, as my commuting costs are <$200/YEAR at 13 mpg in my old Lincoln. I'm often asked "isn't it terribly expensive to drive that barge every day?", to which I reply "Nope".

Foy

[Lifemagician]

Down here we're not as bad off as Dave is, but none-the-less, $5.00 per gallon would be nice. At present we are paying around $1.50 per litre (multiply that by 3.75) and rising.

And yes, air fares are constantly going up. Am pulling in the belt and saving for the next trip.

However, none of it will stop me from coming to see my grandchildren, and tripping in between. Fortunately I am finding, that as the years pile on, the desire to cover the same distances diminishes. A saving in itself.

On the other hand, long ago I decided to accept the cost of things I cannot provide myself. I can cook my own meals, rather than eat out. Make my own clothes and grow my own vegies. I will pay for my milk, rather than keep a cow, and pay for my fuel without complaint.

But it is a consideration as I keep on doing my research to find a vehicle to 'purchase' for my next, and subsequent trips.

Lifey

[Mark Sedenquist]

It's really helpful to hear from you experienced and road-savvy travelers.

I know we're lightweights on the price of fuel -- I paid $4.99 per gallon a couple of times last week and I really noticed $50 hardly moved the fuel gauge....

Mark

[Midwest Michael]

At 7.50/gallon I reckon I can fly it and rent a vehicle once "there" cheaper, but in my haste to respond, I failed to account for what can only be a dramatic increase in air fares in the even gasoline and diesel go up that much.

While its easy to worry about how much more things that are directly impacted by fuel would cost, I actually think the bigger impact would be far beyond only transportation costs.

Grocery prices for example, would certainly skyrocket. As the price of gas has gone up even from $3 to $4, I've seen significant price increases for a lot for nearly every food item. For example, the price of hamburger at my local store has gone up about $1 a pound over the past few months.

If you start seeing gas up at the $7-8 mark in the US, it would have a tsunami like effect on the economy, where a roadtrip will start being the least of concerns. Again, thinking about food, the cost to produce it, the cost to transport it, and even the cost to sell it (heating/cooling systems inside a store, etc) would skyrocket. $4 a gallon gas was one of the first dominoes that started the current recession, and unless the increase was gradual, seeing prices expand beyond the $5 mark could have a real crippling effect on the overall economy.

[Harry Kline]

I have a road trip to New England planned in about a month, and I've already factored in gas at $4 and at $5. The difference in fuel cost is only about $50 on a 3,200 mile trip, but even so, I have kept on fine tuning my route and my stops.

I've planned each day as a separate road trip with a map detailing each attraction. I've added and subtracted RA's and put in some optional ones. In doing so, I've been able to reduce overall mileage by about 150 miles. I believe the revised trip is even more scenic than the original one.

Another planning tool I use is to type up and print out a sequential list of specific addresses for each attraction and hotel along the route. I can program them into my GPS unit so that I never get off route (lost). That can save a lot of gas too.

Let me add one thing. As a retired career airline employee, I and my wife can fly virtually anywhere in the world for free or low surcharge, but I wouldn't give up my road tripping for anything regardless of the cost of gasoline. I enjoy every mile I drive.