# How much does it cost in fuel to drive a 42' MOTORHOME FROM ARIZONA TO FLORIDA?



## Robert59 (Jan 6, 2021)




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## Aunt Marg (Jan 6, 2021)

Conclusion, it takes deep pockets to drive something like that and travel in it.

The fuel costs, maintenance, possibly overnight parking expenses, not to mention the inconvenience of not being able to just pull-in anywhere... I have mixed feelings over whether or not I would enjoy travelling like that.

Additionally, driving for 4 days straight to get to ones destination isn't for me. 

I remember the occasional trips we used to make to visit family, the long hours driving from early in the morning until late in the day, hour after hour. Granted, we had little ones in the back, so there were plenty of stops, but when I travel I much prefer being able to do it in a relaxed manner... non-rushed if you will.

Interesting though. Thank you for posting this, Robert.


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## old medic (Jan 6, 2021)

Our truck averages 11.5 MPG towing the camper. 
Last year we spent 3 1/2 weeks going 3000 miles to Maine and back with 9 major stops. 
Fuel and camping was right at $1200.. which included our most expensive campsite ever... $80 a night for 3 to explore DC.
Food and fees for places visited not included.


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## Aneeda72 (Jan 6, 2021)

I love road trips a d we have taken many but never in a camper.  I always wanted one, he didn’t. But road trips in cars and staying in motels, later hotels were fine.  If we ever get vaccinated we will road trip to Texas to see daughter and her family and a new found cousin.


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## jujube (Jan 6, 2021)

We got 10-11 mpg pulling our 39-foot fifth wheel with the diesel pickup.  Gas was a major expense but it was worth it to sleep in our own bed every night.  We did that for 10 summers, 4-5 months at a time.  Two summers, we made it all the way from Central Florida to California, Oregon and Washington. Other summers, it was the West and North.  

We sold both the fiver and the truck this year and will be doing our traveling in a car from now on.


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## jujube (Jan 6, 2021)

Aneeda72 said:


> I love road trips a d we have taken many but never in a camper.  I always wanted one, he didn’t. But road trips in cars and staying in motels, later hotels were fine.  If we ever get vaccinated we will road trip to Texas to see daughter and her family and a new found cousin.



Don't you LOVE meeting long-lost and new-found relatives?  When I started doing genealogy, I found relatives all over the country and really enjoyed meeting them.


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## AnnieA (Jan 6, 2021)

Wow.  Glad my Travato is 21 feet (fits in a reg parking spot) and averages 15mpg, but still provides a comfy bed and spacious bathroom for a van. Has enough solar to boondock without shore power or generator when not needing AC which means no overnight fees.


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## Don M. (Jan 6, 2021)

Traveling around the country in a nice RV would be nice....IF a person did a lot of traveling.  However, to go through the expense of buying and maintaining one of these...only to use it a few weeks a year...is hardly worth it....IMO.  Even traveling a long distance by car is far more expensive than taking a flight...when you factor in meals, motels, gas, etc.  
When I retired, we took a month long drive through lower Canada, and that was a wonderful trip, but it pretty well satisfied our "desire" to spend weeks on the road.  Now, if we go to Denver or Las Vegas, we just book a "gotta get away" flight on SW Airlines, and we are there and back quickly for a fraction of the cost of spending days on the highway.


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## Aunt Marg (Jan 6, 2021)

Don M. said:


> Traveling around the country in a nice RV would be nice....IF a person did a lot of traveling.  However, to go through the expense of buying and maintaining one of these...only to use it a few weeks a year...is hardly worth it....IMO.  Even traveling a long distance by car is far more expensive than taking a flight...when you factor in meals, motels, gas, etc.
> *When I retired, we took a month long drive through lower Canada*, and that was a wonderful trip, but it pretty well satisfied our "desire" to spend weeks on the road.  Now, if we go to Denver or Las Vegas, we just book a "gotta get away" flight on SW Airlines, and we are there and back quickly for a fraction of the cost of spending days on the highway.


You seen some beautiful country.


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## Don M. (Jan 6, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> You seen some beautiful country.


Yes, Canada is really nice.  There is a "triangle" from Edmonton, to Banff, to Kamloops that has some of the nicest scenery in N. America, IMO.


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## Aunt Marg (Jan 6, 2021)

Don M. said:


> Yes, Canada is really nice.  There is a "triangle from Edmonton, to Banff, to Kamloops that has some of the nicest scenery in N. America, IMO.


I know it well, Don.

Hopefully the weather was friendly to you.


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## Don M. (Jan 6, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> I know it well, Don.
> 
> Hopefully the weather was friendly to you.



Yes, the weather was great....it was Summertime.  If we were filthy rich, I'd have a Summer home in Edmonton, and Spend the Winters in Las Vegas.


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## Aunt Marg (Jan 6, 2021)

Don M. said:


> Yes, the weather was great....it was Summertime.  If we were filthy rich, I'd have a Summer home in Edmonton, and Spend the Winters in Las Vegas.


Boy, it's been so many years for me, Don, since I visited Edmonton. 

My guess is... 46-47 years. Things have changed so much I've been told, but what fun I had when we were there staying with an aunt one summer.


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## ManjaroKDE (Jan 6, 2021)

During my 5 years snowbirding to SW Arizona taught me one valuable lesson, 'A motorhome is expensive to own'.  On my daily walks around the park I would see 1 or 2 RV service trucks parked at an RV spot.  I talked to one fellow RV camper from Michigan several times.  On one occasion he had a windshield replacement van on site he was sitting outside so I stopped, talked to him, discovered that the replacement cost to replace the passenger's front pane was $1,100.

He claimed fully loaded he got less than 10 MPG on the road.  Parking it was a quest at most places, he was 82 and was thinking about selling since his health was making him a driving menace.  At least he acknowledged that problem.  I said many times that driving down and around was an adventure. 

My cost est is somewhere between $550 - $650 just for gas.  Pray your tires hold up.


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## RadishRose (Jan 6, 2021)

Interesting video!


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## Don M. (Jan 6, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> Boy, it's been so many years for me, Don, since I visited Edmonton.
> 
> My guess is... 46-47 years. Things have changed so much I've been told, but what fun I had when we were there staying with an aunt one summer.



Yes, Edmonton is a really nice city.  We spent a full day just exploring the West Edmonton Mall....largest shopping center in N. America....hundreds of stores, indoor water park, indoor roller coaster...that place is a "vacation" all by itself.  Then, we went to Jasper Natl. park and spent hours on the Columbia ice field glacier. The mountains in W. Canada are spectacular, with their sheer huge rising cliffs, etc.  Western Canada is a marvelous site with something new around every bend in the road.


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## Aunt Marg (Jan 6, 2021)

Don M. said:


> Yes, Edmonton is a really nice city.  We spent a full day just exploring the West Edmonton Mall....largest shopping center in N. America....hundreds of stores, indoor water park, indoor roller coaster...that place is a "vacation" all by itself.  Then, we went to Jasper Natl. park and spent hours on the Columbia ice field glacier. The mountains in W. Canada are spectacular, with their sheer huge rising cliffs, etc.  Western Canada is a marvelous site with something new around every bend in the road.


There's a running joke about the Canadian Military and it's fleet of submarines... _they can all be found in the West Edmonton Mall_! LOL!

We reside at the base of the Canadian Rockies, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

If ever you have the chance to visit Canada again, you would just love Vancouver Island.


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## ManjaroKDE (Jan 6, 2021)

> Don M. said:
> 
> 
> > Yes, the weather was great....it was Summertime.  If we were filthy rich, I'd have a Summer home in Edmonton, and Spend the Winters in Las Vegas.
> ...


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## squatting dog (Jan 19, 2021)

Well, my last trip was from Arkansas, through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, then Wyoming and then back. round trip was 3,842 miles. driving our 38 foot gasser motor home pulling a 20 foot trailer with the 2006 trailblazer on it.
$925.87 in gas. (480.6 gallons). mostly pull out camping in rest area's, or side of the road so no charge there. (the advantage of being self contained). Stopped in a couple of camp grounds, but, parked in overflow since it was labor day weekend and we make no reservations, so little or no charge. Plus we were able to stay at an Indian casino for free and another one for $30 dollars a night... Both had full hookups. All told, spent right around $1500 for the entire trip.


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## horseless carriage (Jan 19, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> The fuel costs, maintenance, possibly overnight parking expenses, not to mention the inconvenience of not being able to just pull-in anywhere... I have mixed feelings over whether or not I would enjoy travelling like that.


Marg does make a good case for that kind of vehicle's drawbacks. Currently I have a Mercedes Sprinter van but I am planning to sell it and buy a Mercedes Sprinter car carrier like this:

A single car carrier would allow me to carry my old MG and tow a classic trailer home, like this:

That would then see my wife and I, well equipped to attend one of the best vintage MG meetings in the US. It's called:
"The Gathering of the Faithful." It's held every year at Daytona beach. See here: https://classicmotorsports.com/news/gof-south-2019/
We have actually been to Daytona, it's famous for the owners of Harley-Davidsons. The Harley owners group is where the initials HOG originate.

The bike is, or was, known as a Heritage Springer. It scratched an itch. I sold it five years after buying it. Not once did we have a wobble, near miss or scare. The bike is a long story, another time perhaps.


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## AnnieA (Jan 19, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> Additionally, driving for 4 days straight to get to ones destination isn't for me.



I'm planning my first big trip in my Class B (Travato van) for hopefully next year to the Southwest.  The first two days will be a 800 mile slog to get to Albuquerque, but after that, days will be full of things I've wanted to see and do for years.


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