The summer kicked off with Memorial Day weekend, the time when RVers hit the road for the first camping trip of the season for many people and families. But this year that holiday weekend and unofficial summer kickoff was met with gas prices hovering the $4 mark and diesel even higher. And guess what, many people still went camping.
Now, official numbers haven’t yet been released, and I did personally see many campers, travel trailers and motorhomes sitting in driveways. But I was looking. I wondered how gas would impact our camping and RV travel. I don’t know if it did or not, but AAA estimated that the number of Americans who would travel during the Memorial Day holiday would drop, with 37.87 million Americans expected to travel 50 miles or more from home, a decrease of nearly 360,000 travelers (0.9 percent) from last year’s total of 38.23 million. .
As I told you earlier, my family didn’t go out this year because our son was graduating from high school on June 1 and we had an open house and graduation to prepare for. That’s the only thing that kept us home. In fact, as gas prices creep up, we bought a new tow vehicle for our 29-foot Jayco. While many people are downsizing, we needed a travel vehicle to tow our travel trailer, and we’re not about to stop camping!
So, with a new truck in the driveway, we’re already looking ahead for the next opportunity to hitch up the camper and go. And we will go. We may make cuts other places, but camping is something the whole family enjoys. And our son is leaving in August for college, so there’s only so much time to still have the whole family together.
We have a few open houses left and a nephew’s wedding in mid-June, but after those are past, we’re heading out on the open road, even with more money going to gas. We’ll cut back other places and make adjustments, but camping with the family is a treat and a wonderful time for us to spend together with few outside interruptions. And we’re not alone.
The Campfire Canvass survey by RVIA found that 93 percent of RV owners intend to use their RV as often or more frequently this summer as last. And, more than one-third said fuel costs would not affect their travel plans. Others, however, said they will adjust their travel plans to conserve fuel by staying closer to home and spending more time in one place.
In addition, 83 percent of the nation’s campgrounds reported that summer reservations are the same or better than they were in 2005, according to a recent survey by Michigan State University and published by the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds.
So, if there’s a will, there’s a way. And we’ll find ours on the open road leading to a camping destination. Make room at the campfire, we’re coming in.
Father’s Day is just around the corner so how about a surprise family camping trip! You’ll save time, money and have a wonderful experience that you and the kids will reflect on for years to come. But what about the details, the gift and how to keep everyone entertained? To get you going, I’ve compiled a list of tips and some new gadgets that Dads are going crazy for.