good morning everyone
just thought i would post this.i think this city (ottawa ontario canada) is winning in the crazie price for fuel catagory....$5.40 per gallon..
so if i ever did get a bus,and it got 8 miles to the gallon.thats would mean every 8 miles would cost me $5.40.. so 80 miles $54.00 and 800 miles $540.00..then i would have to get home of course......$1,080.00 for a 800 mile trip...gee that doesnt even take me to flordia.....
doing so serious thinking about this bus idea.....
scottie
Hi Scottie,
I think you meant $5.40 gal. not $540.00 but, Canada sells liters... don't they?
Bussing is not for the faint at heart I mean pocketbook. :D
Nick-
Fixed topic pricing. Richard
Scottie,
If you did the same trip by air I bet the cost is about the same maybe more. Look at all of the fun and memories you would miss out on if you flew.
Life is short, enjoy everday to the fullest!
Get a bus, take shorter trips.
Paul
and how many trips to florida do you plan on in a year??
My wife and I were talking about the fuel costs for this year the other day and came to the conclusion that for the 8 or 9 weekend trips planned this from now thru October we are going to use about 300 gallons of fuel.
so 300 gallons at $4.25 a gallon is $1,275.00 or 182.00 each month
our trips are mostly weekends close to home but still getting away for 3 or 4 days. now of course we will take spur of the moment trips which will add to our fuel cost and that is ok with us
we did not put out all of the money for the buses for them to sit and rot... so we use them
2 to 400 dollars a month is a lot less than most car payments
Not a big cost compared to the conversion, repairs and upkeep of any coach
My point is that even though none of us like the cost of fuel and it will not go down EVER the fuel cost is very minor for us and most bus owners UNLESS you drive many many miles
Just my take on this
Chris
It really depends on how you use your bus whether it is worth it or not.
If you plan on driving to Florida in a bus and make arrangements to park at a campground and live out of your bus it will be cheaper in the long run then driving in your car/flying and renting a house/apartment/extended stay hotel.
If you drive your bus and still plan on renting a house/apartment/etc then your better off driving a car.
A bus is best if your going to "travel the US" You drive around and stop where when you want. Staying in the bus rather then getting a hotel room is where your savings is.
I use my bus for band gigs mostly. The gear is in the storage bays and I unload and set up the gear at the gigs. On average at least one other person rides with me to the gigs (some gigs we all ride) Not much in fuel savings driving the bus but not any worse. When I pulled a 16ft trailer behind my truck with the gear I would still only get about 8-mpg so I figure it an even trade off with the fuel.
What we do gain is a place to gather between sets at the gigs and if someone needs to change clothes, take a nap, meet with friends away from the bar crowd it is a definite PLUS having the bus at the gigs.
Thats an Imperial gallon!!! Has about an xtra quart in it. Canada is a major oil exporter!!! The Canadian people are really getting ripped, They should topple thier goverment, or better yet we should invade them. They export most of there oil to the US. If they quit exporting it they would be paying 20 cents a gal.
In Quebec, the liter is 1.419$/liter....
My Prevost's tank contains 568 liters x 1.419$ = 806.35$ CND for fulling....
You know, the Quebec's taxes are charged on the Canadian's taxes...a legal pickpocket by the governement...
Very crazy country (government)...So, all the roads are scrap! The weather is up side down...The plan close all around...And Canadian hockey players are not good...Soon, the Canadian people and Quebecers will beg for eat and fulling the car's tank...
I'm eager to my retirement...Where? I don't know! May be in Mexico...If I can with the rest of my pocket money ;D
My point is that even though none of us like the cost of fuel and it will not go down EVER the fuel cost is very minor for us and most bus owners UNLESS you drive many many miles
Chris
[/quote]
I am not saying that you are wrong, but-
I have a different opinion on the issue of how fuel cost affects bus conversion operators:
First, owning a bus doesnt make you an operator. My friend who has a scrap yard has several and has never driven a bus. As a bus "owner" fuel cost is inconsequential to him. As far as buses are concerned, he doesnt care what the cost of fuel is. If you have a "yard queen" like I did for several years, it made no difference to me either.
However, for the person who has a road ready bus, fuel cost is not a minor inconvience, but it is the determining factor in "driving many many miles" in our buses. My bus has been ready to ride for several years and all I have to do is get in and go, and if fuel was $1.50 per gallon as it was when I started my project, I would drive it somewhere nearly every day. I did make a 400 mile trip last weekend, but those are few and far between. Its true that we can drive short distance and enjoy our coaches, but that isn't what I built mine for, but at least it runs the coach a little and lets us use the bus.
There is a fuel price that will make every last conversion owner park their bus. For some, it was $2.00 and for some it may be $10 per gallon......there is a price for you also. What is it?
And, there is always someone who will thump their chest and say that if you can't afford the fuel you're in the wrong hobby...maybe that's the guy that can pay the $10 per gallon. Nearly anything can be justified if you look hard enough. (like I did the short trip thing in the last paragraph)
I have read these boards nearly every day for the 6 years that I have owned my bus and have seen LOTS of folks come and go. Check the archives on BNO for 5 years ago and see how many names you recognize. Several others here have seen that also. Either bus technical issues or fuel cost did away with them, but for most the was the rising cost of fuel. Good buses now are going to the scrap yard that 5 years ago would have sold like hotcakes.
A hobby is suppose to be fun and sweating the $$$ that fuel costs to operate is not fun and to make it a minor issue is just naive.
This is one of those NO win arguments.
Since how it really affects you, is based on soley individual situations.
We use our bus about once a month on average, usually in state trips. But of course in Florida, in state could be over 8 hours. :P
I know personally that I won't be doing weekend trips that are out of state, unless combined with another destination, We used too, just doesn't make fiscal sense to me anymore.
If I was retired and wanted to travel the USA , the higher fuel would be a real drain on my pocket, as I am sure it is for many.
I am trying to look at the positive side of this, We are still going out once a month on average, going to closer destinations, that we overlooked before, (You know, no matter what side of the lake you put the boat in, everybody drives to the OTHER side to fish ;)) I am still having FUN building my bus, and enjoying it. Just adapting to the change.
Best of luck in ALL your plans.
Cliff
:o :o :o :o Today gasoline went up 16¢ per gallon and diesel went up 18¢ per gallon here. >:( >:( >:( :o :o :o
When does commodities speculator hunting season open and what is the daily limit? :D
Let me know the answer to that one too, HiTech, cause I wanna make sure I bag my kill limit on the lil dastards.
BC Tom
Fuel prices in Minneapolis made a similiar jump yesterday so we are a day ahead of you.
well everyone makes a good point ,and i agree its more fun that flying,same price too ,dont let the bus sit there and rot etc etc, yap your right i agree...but..
.i still have to go buy a bus,,,then i want to convert it myself (part of the whole idea of doing this in the first place).then i would have to out fit my garage with larger tools ,larger air compressor etc etc to do "some" work on the bus and all the work i cant do well ill have to pay some to drive out in the middle of no where to fix it..
so the price of the fuel is just the iceing on the cake...dont want to sound like im "on a downer" but im haveing some seroius thinking to do.......mmmm ...
scottie ???
Scottie,
Keep in mind it's not the destination.. it's got more to do with the journey for most of us. Whether we are tooling down the road or tooling up to make major modifications to our buses.... it's all part and parcel of the whole package.
Good Luck on your decision, we are all pullin' for ya!
Dallas
Chuck....UR right on the money! :(
FWIW,
RCB
I am not sure that fuel prices will never go down. I remember in the 80s prices were super high, around $2/gallon. Adjusted for inflation, that price is not that far off from today's prices. But then inflation adjusted prices declined dramatically and stayed relatively low for over a decade. Let's hope the same thing happens this time. It just might if the economies of the world fall apart. Look how the Chinese stock market has dropped by over 50% in the last year. I predict five years from how fuel will be less costly on an inflation adjusted basis than today. Much of our perception in the US of high fuel prices is related to the substantial drop in the US dollar. When that is reversed, fuel prices here will appear to decline, given no other changes.
"Much of our perception in the US of high fuel prices is related to the substantial drop in the US dollar. When that is reversed, fuel prices here will appear to decline, given no other changes."
No...my perception is that in the past few months diesel has gone up over $1.00 a galllon.
You folks, keep bying the crap the oil companies and politicians and news papers are spewing out if you want too...I say we are getting hosed real good!
And don't go complaining to the oil companies...they threaten to sue you! (I know!)
Jack
Well we each have to deal with it in our own way.
I love to travel, I have a 35 ft avion travel trailer but the wife does not like the twin beds in it. I still need a better truck to pull it. So we talked about buying a nice pickup $10,000 + and trading the trailer would take and extra $3,000. We did not have the cash so we would have had to make payments, $300.00 + a month
then I was looking for a genset to power the house the power was out here and I found one in a bus for $3,500. We were able to pay cash for it, now we have a bus and I am getting to learn a lot from it. If it gets 10 mpg that is not too much different from what a pickup might get pulling a 35 ft trailer. then if I just drove the car I would have stay in a motel some where (I HATE THEM). I don't care to eat out all the time so I figure in the long run if I am going to go it is going to cost. So I chouse to go this way until I can aford to do differently. I hope to enjoy what evey I can aford to do I hope eveyone else can do the same.
Thanks for all the help you guys have been in my work on getting this one running.
Buses only get 10 MPG when they are for sale ;D
Because we use our bus for our home and are retired, we can justify the high fuel prices. But even now, we are reconsidering where we want to go next based on how much it will cost. Sad, but even at $10/gal we'll still be buying fuel. Just couldn't imagine not calling this old girl home any more, even if moves fewer miles each year. :'( :'( :'( FWIW This topic is depressing, :(
This country has gone to war for less at stake. Its National Security time or we are done for. If I lived in Iran right now I would know my number was up. I'd be trying to save my life by giving away oil. Venezuela too.... This country better not/won"t go down without a BIG fight. I guess Obama knows that we still hang traitors....
'Thats an Imperial gallon!!! Has about an xtra quart in it. Canada is a major oil exporter!!! The Canadian people are really getting ripped, They should topple thier goverment, or better yet we should invade them. They export most of there oil to the US. If they quit exporting it they would be paying 20 cents a gal."
You may be right about the Canadian people getting ripped. But the price of fuel is governed smewhat by NAFTA which stipulates that oil has to be sold to the US at the same price as in Canada.(taxes account for the difference). Intersting that both Hillary Beast and Obama want to re-negotiate NAFTA or scarp it. MANY Canadians also want to re-negotiate NAFTA because they(we) realize that the US is getting our oil far to cheap. Canada is the biggest supplier of oil to the US and with the oil sands coming on stream Canada also has the worlds largest supply of oil.
So while we will not likley quit exportingf our oil is is quite possible we MIGHT be pasying 20 cents a gallon someday.
Incidently a US gallon is equivalant to 4 Litres while an imperial gallon equal 5 litres. We currently pay 1.33 cdn per litre in Vancouver.(1 US dollar equal 1 Cnd dollar)
Fred Mc.