Clifford,Drove 500 miles each way to the black hills and back and hit a headwind on the way out.
Clifford,Here's my conundrum and I bet it's alot of other folks as well. Drove 500 miles each way to the black hills and back and hit a headwind on the way out. Spent $800 on fuel to drive 1000 miles. It was completely unsafe as we were traveling 15-20 mph up hills where those around us were driving between 60 and 70 mph so I need more power and better gas mileage right? Unfortunately, the only motors that will fit in our 9's without extending the back end out are either another inefficient two stroke (8V92) which will give us more power and will probably hurt our gas mileage so that won't work or a series 50 which doesn't have the power we need to be a game changer in the hills and may gain us a whopping 2 mpg. Then there's the problem with both scenarios in which there is the added cost of the new motor and the retrofit which would be tanks and tanks and tanks of fuel.Moral of the story??? Our antiquated hobby/passion for those among us where it matters in our pocketbook greatly that a $500 tank of fuel will one day get us less than 500 miles IS eventually going to go the way of the dinosaurs that fuel them. Extinction is coming. It's not a matter of if but when.We are losing money everyday whether or not we're even driving them (Been to ebay lately and seen the prices these things are being offered for and passed on?) meanwhile, our buses are getting increasingly more expensive and difficult to maintain (how many competent 2 stroke mechanics do you know?) and we are losing the battle with the gas pump.The end came for the buffalo, the home phone, a small and unobtrusive government and it is on our doorstep whether we like it or not. The only folks it doesn't apply to are the folks that are wealthy enough to overcome the loss of ownership.We are readying our bus for sale as I type. It just doesn't make sense anymore and although I have loved the knowledge and family I have found here on this blog. I don't buy the delusional arguments anymore that have sufficed to keep me drinking the kool aid for the past few years. With campgrounds asking and getting $60 a night at most vacation destinations and the added expense of food, maintenance and fuel it simply doesn't make more sense than a hotel room and an airfare anymore. We reached a tipping point when ALL those that drill for, refine, trade the commodity of oil checked our resolve to their greed and we, as a nation, blinked. Checkmate.Rick
Math is not my strong suit but gas was around $1.40 a gallon when I bought my bus. It's increased threefold since then. Oil traded above 108 a barrel today which means $4 a gallon for the rest of the summer which is the only time us northerners can use our buses. The argument it's still cheaper than the alternatives just doesn't add up. Food has doubled, most campgrounds that are kid friendly are $45 and up a night. It costs me $350 a year to license a bus I'm using 2-3 times a year. When does the perception that we are saving money by bringing our own hotel/restaurant cease to make sense? Tires were $250 a tire when I bought my bus just 7 years ago now they are $500 and rising and God forbid someone loses an engine on a trip far from home. That could be $20,000. I can't afford to be my own rolling hotel/restaurant anymore.I bought my bus at the low swing of 7 years ago and I am gonna take a major bath because alot of folks figured out the same numbers as me and are currently trying to unload their buses for a fraction of what they cost. None of this applies if you're living with your family in your bus, writing off business travel (Get caught by the feds for that and you'll be sorry, Tax evasion is a serious deal to Uncle Sam he needs as much of our hard earned money as he can get to fund his cronies, and his political platform. Lol There are cases where it makes sense the number one being that you have a significant amount of skill to fix most stuff yourself and if you a significant amount of disposable income. Hell, who cares then right?I will miss this place, it has been great learning and watching and getting to know a few folks here but the fat lady is singing in my house and it's not my mother in law.Just my two cents. It's about all I have left after the black hillsRick
That YouTube clip made me chuckle. The first shot it showed was purportedly of Swindon in England, but it showed somewhere next to a large harbor. Swindon is in Wiltshire. Wiltshire is a land-locked county without any coastline or ports. It makes me doubt the rest of it if it cannot even get the first part right.The retail price of fuel is just one aspect of a much larger looming problem (to put it mildly) - the collapse of the whole house-of-cards Ponzi scheme that most nations' economies now are. When, not if, $#!% hits fans, it won't be a bad idea to have a solid Plan B, including having an alternate place to live and a means to relocate anywhere at short notice. Even with the ever-increasing price of fuel, maybe that's the price we pay for being better prepared than 99% of the population.John
If you think selling a bus is hard in this day and age, take a gander at this: See unsold cars unsold, cars, pile, up, photos, recession, credit, crisis, automobiles, toyota, parking, shipping, GM, Ford, Mercedes, Nissan, Honda, Volvo, ... BCO-CTA
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Topic: Fuel Prices (Read 35323 times)
