So, last fall, my husband and I planned a trip to the Oregon coast to meet up with my sister and her family. They live in WA; we live in the southwest. They and we reserved sites at an upscale RV resort for four nights. (I haven't spent much time with my sister in over 20 years, and for some reason, I have this need to try to reconnect with her.) My parents reserved the following three nights at a house in WA (about five hours north of the OR RV resort), and we planned to drive up there, park the trailer in the driveway and stay with them. Then, we planned to meander home.

When we originally planned it, we estimated the fuel costs to be about $1500. Now with the high gas prices and seeing what our truck will realistically do, we're realizing that it's going to be at least double that--about $3000+ just in gas alone! We'd have to Visa everything else on the trip, including food.

Now, we're thinking we may have to scrap the trip entirely, which would be a downer for everyone involved, or fly , which would cost $900 round trip. But then we'd have to pay hotel expenses (not to mention dealing with noisy hotel rooms--and both my husband and I HATE noisy hotel room stress!), we'd have to leave the dog, and we'd miss out on the drive . . .

Any objective advice / opinions on a) how we can drive cheaply, b) if we should fly, or c) if we should scrap the trip?!

(Maybe this should've been in a "siblings" forum . . . or a "frugal traveling" forum!?)

Hi SWK: I know how disheartening it can be to realize that all that money just goes to gas. It's halted us from taking a much-wanted cross country trip. There's a lot of things involved in your trip. First of all, you got the RV, so you sure want to use that instead of flying. And, what a scenic trip it would be! Plus, you want to bring your dog with you. You can't put a price on reconnecting with your sister. It is something that you really want to do.

Aren't there other ways that you can cut corners on costs? Perhaps boondocking at Walmarts, rest areas and truck stops instead of staying at RV parks. Or, at least, alternating nights. Drive 55, the slower you drive, the more fuel you save. Don't pack too much, and don't drive with full holding tanks. Also, eat more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and less going out to eat along the trip.:)

What is your financial situation? If the trip is going to cost $1,500-2,000 more than you anticipated, is there any way that you could just use the next 12 months to pay 200 extra dollars to your credit card? If you are starting with little to no credit card debt, then it's feasible that you could do this excursion and not suffer any big financial repercussions from it.

Here is a question you might want to ask yourself. This is what I pondered when I have been in similar situations. Will that money matter five years from now, or will the trip? I'll give you an example. My hubby and I took off on an 18 month RV trip back in 2002. Less than 2 months into the trip, our engine seized up and broke down in Connecticut. We had to decide whether to continue on, or let the cost of the new engine stop us. We decided that the engine wasn't going to stop us and we slapped it on a credit card and continued on our adventures. We never regretted that decision. Five years later, that money meant nothing to us, but our memories did.

Write out the pros and cons of each of the 3 decisions you made up there. It sounds like you don't want to travel any other way but by RV, and I totally understand. It also sounds like you would be really sad to not take the trip. And I get that too. Be creative with other ways that you could cut costs, and also see if there is any other way that you can figure out how to make that extra $1,500 not sting so much.

Hopefully one day in the near future, all of us RVers don't have to deal with the whole gas prices taking up most of our trip budgets.

Keep me in the loop!

Erin

I think you're right, Erin. We need to do this, and if it comes down to putting some of it on the Visa, even though I hate not paying a credit card off every month, it'll be worth it in the long run. Traveling via RV has changed our lives completely, and I think it'll be more stressful flying and hotel-ing it! Your question really got me thinking . . .

If I can get my husband to slow down, that'll make a huge difference, I'm sure. We don't tend to eat out that much while on the road anyway. But I hadn't thought about staying in Walmarts and rest areas. We've always stayed either in state or national park campgrounds or in RV parks. Boondocking at Walmart might make for some interesting stories! We might be able to cut some miles off of our trip, too. And I think if we take more local highways instead of freeways, our gas mileage will improve, as well.

And although it sounds cheesy, I really don't want to leave my dog with anyone. She's so much fun to take on the road, and I'm really wanting to go running with her on the Oregon and Washington coasts. I don't know the Oregon town where we're staying, such as how safe it is or anything, so I won't really feel comfortable running alone there.

I do think the experience will outweigh the costs. We'll figure it out somehow.

Thanks for your reply. It helped me a lot!

SWK, i love the idea of running the oregon coast. the coast is so amazing there, sheesh. Now I want to plan a running trip too! Except, of course, for the gar prices.

My RV plans these days are closer to home. I do live in AZ where tons of beautiful places are a short drive away. I just have to get over my current funk and make said plans.

SWK keep us posted on what you end up doing. I know it's a lot to consider! Jill, the Oregon coast is lovely, I recommend it during July or August. Perhaps gas prices will get low enough so you can take a coastal trip!

I've done it twice, but always felt rushed. I want to take my time if i go up again.

I use to run the Oregon coastline a couple times a month. My son was in school in Eugene. I always took the coastal route. It was nice to spend time with the kids discovering everything ocean. I really miss living on the West coast.

Diana, that sounds like you had some beautiful drives each month! I do love living near the coast. I especially am fond of SoCal. Would love to migrate down there in the next few years.