Monday, July 28, 2008

The Numbers Are In

Everyone asks us about the price of diesel and camping fees while we're on the road. I finally received all the charge bills so I took the time to go over them. It seemed to me that camping fees were up this year but our daily average was $24 compared to $25 and $26 the last two years. Paying weekly rates and using Passport America helps keep that figure from increasing I think. We were out 67 days.

We spent just over $2000 on diesel. We traveled 2800 miles pulling the RV but I can't account for the driving around when the RV was parked. We made two trips to Owenton, KY while in Cincinnati and there was 30 miles a day round trip for three weeks from Addison Oaks into Troy. We didn't intend to go in every day but between the dentist appointments and the lack of electricity after the storm, we found we were doing that.

We did turn 100,000 miles on the truck as we passed through Cleveland, TX on our way home. I didn't check the odometer when we arrived home and we had the added trip back to Lufkin to pick up the RV and then home. Ted drove to Fort Worth and back last week and is now in Dallas. So I don't think I'll ever have a good read on our actual mileage. Diesel pretty much stayed around $4.69. Once we got it for $4.49 and in Vicksburg we had to pay $4.75 (but it was $4.69 the day before!)

Diesel trucks are supposed to be good for 250,000 miles and are just getting broken in at 100,000 (or so they tell me). Diesel is more expensive than gas but we get better mileage. For a 100 mile trip pulling the RV we would need 10 gallons of diesel or $46.90. A gas motorhome getting 7 mpg would need 14.5 gallons of gas for that same 100 mile trip or $54.81. So either way, it's not an inexpensive proposition but it's a way of visiting and vacationing that we enjoy. We'll continue on until we get tired of it or it simply gets too difficult for Ted to handle. We're hoping that isn't anytime soon.

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