By the numbers .... October 17, 2018, 06:41:29 pm Just got back from our what we called the Great Southern Circle Trip.The original plan was the head up I-5 to Seattle then cross the country on US 2 till we hit the Great Lakes then drop down to Knoxville, Tennessee then cross to St. Louis pick up 66 to Arizona then up thru Utah back to Portland. So much for the plan. Fires all across the northern US put us on another path. Not a big deal as we are 'fly' by the seat of your pants kind of RVers.So the new plan was no plan at all just hit the road with one day goal at a time. The general path was Portland to Seattle then down thru Idaho Utah Nebraska Missouri Arkansas Tennessee Georgia Alabama Florida Mississippi Louisiana Texas New Mexico Arizona Nevada Californian and Oregon. The numbersTotal Days 49 Total Miles 7654.2 Total Gallons of Gas 747.4 Total Cost of Gas $2,086.64Total number of States 19 - spent at least one night campingTotal cost of camping $740.74 Total free nights camping 10 Total propane 8 gallons about total cost $32.00Highest temp 114 Big Bend National ParkLost Temp 28 Lessen Volcano National Park.Three mail buckets of junk mailHad wheel alignment at Big O in Bransen, MO. Cost $195.00 - as an aside I will be getting new tires, battery (house and engine), antifreeze change and a oil change -- all are due.We enjoyed every mile of the trip. We missed three hurricanes. This is a great country. Folks no matter were they live are kind and generous. We may differ in the process but we all want the same things. If I've never said it before Lazy Daze made a darn good class c RV. Almost without fail folks would come over and ask about the RV. Felt like a rock star. <smile> between Dylan my cat and Baxter the RV........If you'd like to look at the spreadsheetBig Trip South - Google Sheets 14 Likes
Re: By the numbers .... Reply #1 – October 20, 2018, 12:38:11 am Gas cost hard $2gs, I find moving the RV gas cost to be the biggest reason to not go too far. Keeping at 55 helps. If you look on Mapquest driving hours it will say 4 hrs 55 minutes to destination, thats considering like I-25 to be 75 miles ph. At 55 mph your losing 20 mph, so the destination is already a lot longer. 1 Likes
Re: By the numbers .... Reply #2 – October 20, 2018, 10:18:20 am Gas mileage on/in an RV is an interesting thing. I keep a record ONLY because I like numbers. I brought the RV knowing it would not to cheap/inexpensive to own or operate. That all being said miles per gallon is a tad missing leading. I say that although it's 'real' gas is also used while I'm standing still i.e. running the generator. Over the four or so years we have owned the RV I have found that I average about 9 to 10 mpg no matter what. We live in Portland Or. To go anyplace we will have to go over at least one mountain range. We will go from 700 ft above sea level to 2000 and back down to sea level on most all trips. This is a spreadsheet of various trips we've taken.Travel Number for Random Trips - Google Sheets<smile> Average price is a meaningless term as you pay in hard dollars ....... 3 Likes
Re: By the numbers .... Reply #3 – October 20, 2018, 12:16:19 pm Oh Mr. Cold Dog, how differently we travel. We take 4 to 6 months for a trip like you took. Big Bend is nice in the winter. 1 Likes
Re: By the numbers .... Reply #4 – October 20, 2018, 10:49:34 pm I was interested in your propane cost at $4/gal. Did you fill before you left home--is that the going price west of the Rockies? I know gasoline is way more expensive (Missouri prides itself on having one of the lowest gas taxes in the nation, & our roads/bridges show it. We're voting on to increase the gas tax in a few weeks, though the legislature that voted to put it on the ballot isn't doing much to promote the measure).I was going to fill before I left north Missouri for Texas. Our Ace Hardware recently added a Ferrellgas tank for people to fill their BBQ Tanks/etc. & I thought it might be more convenient to fill there on my way out of town. Their price was something like $.71/ pound; the MFA CO-OP (local ag supplier) was $1.84/gal. The Ace folks gave me the formula to convert # to gallons (FWIW, 4.24#/gal), which came to about $3.01/gal at the Ace store ...needless to say, I'm sticking with the ag supplier.I'm not a numbers person, but I really appreciate those of you who are. Thx for sharing.Lynne
Re: By the numbers .... Reply #5 – October 21, 2018, 09:15:21 am The current cost of LPG in both locations (San Jose and Paso Robles) where I typically fill is $5.10 per gallon. Top tier 87 octane gas in this area (and in many regions of California) runs from $3.90-$4.00 per gallon, and is even higher in some cities/regions. Fuels cost what they cost, where and when you need them; just part of the "pay to play" lifestyle we've chosen. As ever, YMMV.
Re: By the numbers .... Reply #6 – October 21, 2018, 09:42:38 am Quote from: Lynne Broyles-Greenwood - October 20, 2018, 10:49:34 pmI was interested in your propane cost at $4/gal. Did you fill before you left home--is that the going price west of the Rockies? I know gasoline is way more expensive (Missouri prides itself on having one of the lowest gas taxes in the nation, & our roads/bridges show it. We're voting on to increase the gas tax in a few weeks, though the legislature that voted to put it on the ballot isn't doing much to promote the measure).I was going to fill before I left north Missouri for Texas. Our Ace Hardware recently added a Ferrellgas tank for people to fill their BBQ Tanks/etc. & I thought it might be more convenient to fill there on my way out of town. Their price was something like $.71/ pound; the MFA CO-OP (local ag supplier) was $1.84/gal. The Ace folks gave me the formula to convert # to gallons (FWIW, 4.24#/gal), which came to about $3.01/gal at the Ace store ...needless to say, I'm sticking with the ag supplier.I'm not a numbers person, but I really appreciate those of you who are. Thx for sharing.LynneTwo answers ....To your cost question ..... tax issues are complicated. All places in the US tax at different rates and for different reasons. Its just about impossible to compare states and local government taxing policies. In a word Oregon is a user tax state. Gas tax ONLY goes to upkeep and building roads and highways. No government department or agency can spent money they don't have or was budgeted ie if they run out of money they shut down. It is my observation (purely a guess) that Oregon is the lowest taxed place on the west coast. California then Washington then Oregon. But having said that all three States tax differently so any comparison is not really valid. Enclosed is my spread sheet on propane ..... frankly I try to leave home (Portland) with a full tank. Then we just look for the cheapest on the road. Sometimes we win and sometimes we eat it. Popane Numbers - Google SheetsYour second question is more interesting......We in the general public buy gas/propane by the gallons but burn it by the pound. This sadly is a rip off of the public. The volume of gas (gallon) changes depending on the temperature. The weight never changes. We should be buying by weight.And not all propane is created equal. Again we should be informed of BTU of the propane we are buying then the price should be adjusted to that. But sadly us normal humans are no equal to the large powers that be.
Re: By the numbers .... Reply #7 – October 21, 2018, 12:51:37 pm Quote from: Joan - October 21, 2018, 09:15:21 amFuels cost what they cost, where and when you need them; just part of the "pay to play" lifestyle we've chosen. Besides staying home, the only way to slightly minimize gas costs is to use an app like Gas Buddy to find the best local price.https://www.gasbuddy.comLarry
Re: By the numbers .... Reply #8 – October 21, 2018, 01:06:20 pm Quote from: colddog - October 21, 2018, 09:42:38 amIt is my observation (purely a guess) that Oregon is the lowest taxed place on the west coast. California then Washington then Oregon. But having said that all three States tax differently so any comparison is not really valid. The volume of gas (gallon) changes depending on the temperature. The weight never changes. We should be buying by weight.My BIL is a CPA, in the Portland area. We have had the tax cost discussion and it's his opinion that, depending on where you live, the overall tax rates are similar, the burden is just distributed much differently.The best place to live, tax wise, is on the Washington border, doing all your shopping in Oregon....if you are up to the challenge of getting across the Columbia on I-5. The border really needs a bigger bridge.To get the best price on propane, buy it early in the early morning when the storage tank is cold.Gasoline has the same issues but since it is usually stored in underground tanks, it's temperature is more stable.Propane is regularly stored in above-ground tanks.There are such things as temperature compensated flow meters that could be legally mandated.Larry
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