The cost of gas

[+juggalo30]

Has the soaring gas prices caused any of you to go caching less or about the same?

[+The Pathman]

Still about the same. We have enough close to home so we don't need to travel long distances just to go caching (yet)

[+Fuchsiamagic]

Has the soaring gas prices caused any of you to go caching less or about the same?

At $10.32 a gallon here in the UK, I am seriously thinking about looking for a different hobby!

[+briansnat]

No effect at all. I just don't eat anymore.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I'm looking for a used VW Jetta diesel to cache in, if that tells you anything!

[+DocDiTTo]

I just drove 238 miles yesterday to accomplish a goal I'd set for myself... gas was between $3.90 and $4.05 a gallon (depending what small town I was buying it in). So no, the cost hasn't stopped me from caching yet. I don't like paying $4 a gallon, but every hobby has some cost... geocaching is getting a little more expensive, but it's still one of the cheaper hobbies out there.

[+gof1]

At an average of thirteen dollars more for a tank of fuel it is still an inexpensive hobby. We just pack a lunch when we do a day trip for caching instead of eating out.

 

I like to think about the things we don't spend money on that others do. How much to go to a pro sports event these days? How many days of caching is that? What is the cost of a movie these days? That'll kill an hour and a half. The same money will keep us caching all day. Lots of other things that people do for fun. We cache.

 

We don't collect geocoins either. Some people collect them by the hundreds. How many tanks of gas is that worth.

 

In a few months that may change, who knows.

[wudduk74]

I drove my wife's Altima yesterday instead of my Tahoe. I think that I'm going to have to get a dual-sport motorcycle. If I could just figure out how to deliver Little Debbies off of one, I'd heave it made.

Edited May 25, 2008 by wudduk74

[+gof1]

I'm looking for a used VW Jetta diesel to cache in, if that tells you anything!

 

You are going to spend how much for that car? How much do you think it will save you in fuel costs? Do you think it is worth the investment?

[+DaFunkyFrogs]

I'm looking for a used VW Jetta diesel to cache in, if that tells you anything!

 

Yesterday we paid $4.15 a gallon for gas. at the same station diesel was selling for $5.05.

Not sure how that will save you anything.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I'm looking for a used VW Jetta diesel to cache in, if that tells you anything!

 

Yesterday we paid $4.15 a gallon for gas. at the same station diesel was selling for $5.05.

Not sure how that will save you anything.

Unleaded $3.64, Diesel $4.39 here in Birmingham Al today.

 

It was really a joke, but seriously, the diesel Jetta at 55mpg beats my Durango at 15mpg enough to at least consider.

 

You have no idea how much I would hate driving a Jetta, however. I am just not a small-car guy.

 

I did the cost of ownership math for buying a new hybrid, it's cheaper to keep driving my paid-for gas hog in the long run, it would take 8 years to save enough in fuel to pay for the least expensive hybrid, and I doubt they'll even last 8 years.

 

That changes when gas hits $4.15, then hybrids (and the aforementioned Jetta) start looking more financially viable.

 

Gas hits new highs almost daily here, so it may go from $3.64 to $4.15 pretty quickly! If it does I may have to get serious about the Jetta... or a Honda Goldwing trike.

[+lordzogat]

The Price of gas right now is $1.269 per Liter in Canada at home, which is...

 

3.785 L /gallon, so 1.269x3.785 = $4.803

 

The price is getting nuts. Just starting out in the Geocaching hobby but I do have several caches that are local. But yes it will make me think of how far i will go. It would likely be more of a case where if I have to go for another reason, then I will cache while there at the same time. By setting up and maintaining Caches locally will help to will keep me busy and active in the sport for the times when I don't want to spend the money to travel. I find the idea of people finding my cache and signing the log or online, just as fun.

 

I am also a Demonstration Kite flier and attend several festivals in the kite season as a result. So I will likely look for some caches while visiting these areas. I just finished building a 20x40 foot Canada flag to hang off my Power sled Lifter kite This flag requires a really stong wind to give the kite enough pull tio lift it high enough. I have to anchor it to the Car or a sand bag for safety, or I am going with it....it would bring in a whole new style of cache hunting from the sky!

 

Edited May 25, 2008 by lordzogat

[CoyoteRed]

Another thing one can consider is driving habits. Drive as smooth a possible and drop your speeds. If you drop your speed from 65-70 mph on the interstate to 55 you have the potential of increasing your mileage by 25%. The wife did it in her big truck and I've done it in a Ranger. Now, I have a Silverado that was given to us and at $75 a fill up it takes a chunk out of the pay check.

 

Luckily, I'll soon be getting a take-home car and gas is paid for. Sissy rides her scooter to work which only about 5 miles away,yet complains that it is now taking over $8 to fill it up!

 

For caching, 50 mpg on a dual-sport or 60 mpg on a scooter is a via option. Of course, when we both go that drops to an effective 27 or so mpg, so we have to make a choice on if we need extra gear like canoe, climbing gear, etc. that make us take the truck at 18 mpg.

 

Also, don't rely on "common knowledge" when it comes to tail gate up versus tail gate down. The Ranger did get better mileage with tail gate down regardless of what the Mythbusters say. I haven't tried it with the Silverado. One should drive a couple of tank's worth with it up and then with it down to see which is best for you.

 

Lastly, Google is your friend. There's a lot of good (...and bad, too) information on saving fuel costs. The important thing it to try different things, one at a time, and see what works best for you and your vehicle.

[+gof1]

Another thing one can consider is driving habits. Drive as smooth a possible and drop your speeds. If you drop your speed from 65-70 mph on the interstate to 55 you have the potential of increasing your mileage by 25%. The wife did it in her big truck and I've done it in a Ranger. Now, I have a Silverado that was given to us and at $75 a fill up it takes a chunk out of the pay check.

 

Luckily, I'll soon be getting a take-home car and gas is paid for. Sissy rides her scooter to work which only about 5 miles away,yet complains that it is now taking over $8 to fill it up!

 

For caching, 50 mpg on a dual-sport or 60 mpg on a scooter is a via option. Of course, when we both go that drops to an effective 27 or so mpg, so we have to make a choice on if we need extra gear like canoe, climbing gear, etc. that make us take the truck at 18 mpg.

 

Also, don't rely on "common knowledge" when it comes to tail gate up versus tail gate down. The Ranger did get better mileage with tail gate down regardless of what the Mythbusters say. I haven't tried it with the Silverado. One should drive a couple of tank's worth with it up and then with it down to see which is best for you.

 

Lastly, Google is your friend. There's a lot of good (...and bad, too) information on saving fuel costs. The important thing it to try different things, one at a time, and see what works best for you and your vehicle.

 

Around 40 on my dualsport. But I save lots of front tire wear.

[+StarBrand]

$3.80 here for gas and $4.65 for diesel. Ouch

 

But am planning on some caching trips this summer. Getting expensive but for now only about 35% more than a year ago.

[Luckless]

$4.01 per gal. here in central NY. I have already started to cut back. Looks like I'll be hiding more since I found all the ones nearby.

[+joranda]

$4.09 a gallon in Illinois. I pretty cache on the weekends now so I can travel to places with a lot of caches.

[+Rontro]

I have slowed down alot. I had done 99% of the caches within 20 miles of me, so I put together lists of caches and do them in groups. No more trips out to try for those FTFs.

[+The Hornet]

What a coincidence, exactly the same discussion is taking place in the UK forum. Mind you, as has been pointed out, with US fuel costs less than half what we pay you Yanks don't know how lucky you are

 

Conversely, I guess you guys have to travel greater distances to most cachers here in the UK.

[+gof1]

What a coincidence, exactly the same discussion is taking place in the UK forum. Mind you, as has been pointed out, with US fuel costs less than half what we pay you Yanks don't know how lucky you are

 

Conversely, I guess you guys have to travel greater distances to most cachers here in the UK.

 

The distances we travel are a bit farther that those traveled in the UK.

UK=94,000 square miles.

US=3.5 million square miles.

Michigan=97,000 square miles.

We make up for cheaper gas with sheer miles driven.

 

I once dated a girl whose dad had a driveway that was half a mile long. Long ways to go if dad got home early and found us, um, well, found us.

[+Tatty-Hunters]

It's a different world for caching in the Middle East - costs $18 to fill my RAV4 10 gallon tank.

 

However - it smarts filling the car up while caching at our home base in the UK - $100 for a diesel Ford Focus

 

Maybe if you feel the pinch, then some smart caching is in order. We find a bunch together, park centrally and walk to them all if possible.

[+juggalo30]

We have started just caching on the weekends and planing are routes. We try to stay in a local area. i live in a very small town and have to drive an hour to get to anywhere to cache. Gas here where i live just hit 3.97 a gallon thats why i posted this topic to see if it was just me are is everyone felling the crunch of over priced gas. Dont mean to start a great debate just getting everyone opinions.

[+Ducky]

The Price of gas right now is $1.269 per Liter in Canada at home, which is...

 

3.785 L /gallon, so 1.269x3.785 = $4.803

 

The price is getting nuts. Just starting out in the Geocaching hobby but I do have several caches that are local. But yes it will make me think of how far i will go. It would likely be more of a case where if I have to go for another reason, then I will cache while there at the same time. By setting up and maintaining Caches locally will help to will keep me busy and active in the sport for the times when I don't want to spend the money to travel. I find the idea of people finding my cache and signing the log or online, just as fun.

 

Well with regulated gas prices here in Halifax, Nova Scotia the only good thing is the price is stable for a week!

 

137.3 Gas 3.785 L/gallon, so 1.373x3.785 = 5.20

155.6 Diesel 3.785 L/gallon, so 1.556x3.785 = 5.89

 

It does put a crimp in the caching for sure!

Edited May 25, 2008 by Ducky

[+nekom]

I drove about 180 miles round trip today just to find one cache! Ok not really, I was going there anyway and the cache was right on the route. But people are going to go where they are going to go, whatever it costs.

[jvittitow]

At an average of thirteen dollars more for a tank of fuel it is still an inexpensive hobby. We just pack a lunch when we do a day trip for caching instead of eating out.

 

That's a good suggestion...You'd probably spend twice that for a family of four while eating out...I think it's still all relative at this point, depending on which way you look at it, but gas prices are still crazy!

 

I think it's also a good idea to do a little pre-planning prior to hitting the road...Maybe map out your route, so that you're not back tracking, etc, while you're out caching...

[+GRANPA ALEX]

We are caching in groups and we share the cost of gasoline . . . three people in our best mileage car this weekend finding 50+ caches cost us each $1.28 per gallon AND it was a lot of FUN, working together too.

 

We make plans during the week via emails to determine a target area to meet and cache - great fun and economy can go together!

[+DaFunkyFrogs]

I'm looking for a used VW Jetta diesel to cache in, if that tells you anything!

 

Yesterday we paid $4.15 a gallon for gas. at the same station diesel was selling for $5.05.

Not sure how that will save you anything.

Unleaded $3.64, Diesel $4.39 here in Birmingham Al today.

 

It was really a joke, but seriously, the diesel Jetta at 55mpg beats my Durango at 15mpg enough to at least consider.

 

You have no idea how much I would hate driving a Jetta, however. I am just not a small-car guy.

 

I did the cost of ownership math for buying a new hybrid, it's cheaper to keep driving my paid-for gas hog in the long run, it would take 8 years to save enough in fuel to pay for the least expensive hybrid, and I doubt they'll even last 8 years.

 

That changes when gas hits $4.15, then hybrids (and the aforementioned Jetta) start looking more financially viable.

 

Gas hits new highs almost daily here, so it may go from $3.64 to $4.15 pretty quickly! If it does I may have to get serious about the Jetta... or a Honda Goldwing trike.

 

I'm not a small car person either, but I'm sure glad I have that Hyundai Accent to go caching in when we go far from home. It costs a lot less in gas than our Suburban. It's a bit cramped for us, but it still only costs $40 to fill up vs. $140 for the truck. We only take the truck caching when we NEED a truck now. The Hyundai really hates mountain climbing, and a lot of our caching is in the mountains.

[+Neos 1]

We here at the Casa de Neos are feeling the crunch but we're still planning a fourteen state, 2300 mile caching/sightseeing road trip in July. As my ever charming partner says, "That's what credit cards are for."

[NH_matt]

I just bought a brand new Kawasaki KLR650 Dualsport motorcycle that gets 50mpg so I can continue my addiction.

[+Rich the Bushwhacker]

I'm caching about the same, but I do it with a smaller car or my motorcycle.

[+usyoopers]

Gas is 4.19 here. We have been placing more caches than finding lately, its really just as much fun. You still get the walk in the woods, skeeters, ticks and all! Then you get the fun of the logs later.

[+1-moore]

I combine two of my favorite past times - caching and cycling. I may need to cart my bike around in my truck, but once I get to a cache rich area I can cover a lot of ground.

[+Sioneva]

I drive a Civic, so while it still hurts, I get good gas mileage. Took off on a solo 450 mile trip on Saturday, and the wind was blowing my little car all over the road - there are drawbacks to have a small car, too. For that portion of the trip, I burned twice as many mpg.

 

I think I'm going to start biking to work - it's only 4 miles, it's good exercise, and it saves on gas! Just have to actually buy the bike.

[+1-moore]

I drive a Civic, so while it still hurts, I get good gas mileage. Took off on a solo 450 mile trip on Saturday, and the wind was blowing my little car all over the road - there are drawbacks to have a small car, too. For that portion of the trip, I burned twice as many mpg.

 

I think I'm going to start biking to work - it's only 4 miles, it's good exercise, and it saves on gas! Just have to actually buy the bike.

 

An 8 mile daily commute could be a very enjoyable bike ride - at least a couple of times a week. You may even discover some caches along the route, or maybe even hide some yourself!

[+drdick&vick]

WIth diesel prices here (UK) now at $2.577 per litr which equates to $11.7 (£5.83) per uk gallon and driving a 2.5ltr diesel Kia SOrento I now try and select 4 or 5 caches in a walkable area once or twice a week and always within 25 miles of where we are in our caravan.

[Neos2]

Looking at the long term ... If price increases had changed much about what we do, I wouldn't do anything at all.

 

When I was a teen, my weekly allowance was a very generous $5. That bought my school lunches, a few magazines or comics, an occaisional 45 or album, or admission into a movie, plus a splurge with my pals at the local burger joint about once a week. If I needed makeup or a cute new top, I had to skip a couple of the magazines or movies. My favorite shirt that summer cost a whopping $4, the windbreaker that was so in style cost $11. My uncle wouldn't buy a windbreaker for my cousin and demanded to know if he thought "money grew on trees"? A warm winter jacket could be purchased for $18 or so. A pair of Converse sneakers (Chucks) ran about $5 and that was expensive!

 

The price of gas went up from $0.17 a gallon to $0.25 cents a gallon the week I started driving.

I was hopping mad! I couldn't believe there was any reason for the price to jump that much, that quickly. Adjusted for inflation, the higher price would be about $1.59 in today's money.

 

My first apartment was in a nice part of town, the rent included electricity and waste removal. Other than rent, my expenses includeds my telephone and the heating bill. My monthly outlay for all of those combined was $200.

 

My grocery bill ran about $10 a week--as a single person with no dependents, I could afford a few luxuries, so my bill was actually quite high comapred to most people. The average family probably made do with $17-$20/week. That got you several grocery bags full of food by the way.

 

The problem isn't the price of things, it's the loss of buying power. Money isn't worth as much in goods and services compared to what it used to buy.

 

I remember when minimum wage had just gone up to $2.15 an hour. I was a young adult. Living by myself, I could just support my basic needs for shelter, food, and the neccessities. If I wanted a bit more I had to work a little overtime (or get a part time job too)--but I could live alone and get by on minimum wage. You can't do that any more.

 

Oh how I long for those days....

[+Metaphor]

How much to go to a pro sports event these days?

 

DC United vs. Toronto, May 24 (DCU 3, Toronto 2)

 

RFK Stadium from home: 35mpg@$3.86/g $17.50

Ticket (for 1) 20.00

Drive-thru Crappy Food 5.00

Parking 12.00

2 Good Beers in Parking Lot 4.00

2 Crappy Beers inside Stadium 13.00

Bay Bridge Toll 2.50

Total for 3 hours 74.00

That DC United actually scored a goal, let alone 3 PRICELESS

 

But caching HAS taken a backseat. Driving to find a parking lot micro for a TFTC smiley didn't do it when gas was $2.50 a gallon (and I've cached overseas at big prices.) I'd rather wait and set up a day hike to find a worth-it cache or two. Yeah, I'm both a beer snob AND a geo snob.

GEOBEER SNOBS UNITEd!

[+rocky mtn sue]

Plan on doing my geocaching in combination with errands when I am driving my Xterra or my scooter. With the scooter I can geocache at will, as long as I don't have to use the freeway to get to it.

[+gof1]

How much to go to a pro sports event these days?

 

DC United vs. Toronto, May 24 (DCU 3, Toronto 2)

 

RFK Stadium from home: 35mpg@$3.86/g $17.50

Ticket (for 1) 20.00

Drive-thru Crappy Food 5.00

Parking 12.00

2 Good Beers in Parking Lot 4.00

2 Crappy Beers inside Stadium 13.00

Bay Bridge Toll 2.50

Total for 3 hours 74.00

That DC United actually scored a goal, let alone 3 PRICELESS

 

But caching HAS taken a backseat. Driving to find a parking lot micro for a TFTC smiley didn't do it when gas was $2.50 a gallon (and I've cached overseas at big prices.) I'd rather wait and set up a day hike to find a worth-it cache or two. Yeah, I'm both a beer snob AND a geo snob.

GEOBEER SNOBS UNITEd!

 

And that is a "cost effective" sport. Three hours entertainment for the same price as a tank of gas.

That would be a fair bit of caching fuel. How long could you cache for the cost of an NFL game?

 

I must agree, running all over for a bunch of skirt lifters isn't the fun it was when I 21.

[+chilibowl77]

Here in Oceanside, Ca...

 

Gas is $4.03 a gallon...and my wife and I just hit 7 caches making multiple trips to the same area...grrr...should have planned it better...

 

That's a good suggestion though, packing a lunch and caching in groups....

 

Anyone in the Oceanside area wanna start car pooling?

[+gof1]

Here in Oceanside, Ca...

 

Gas is $4.03 a gallon...and my wife and I just hit 7 caches making multiple trips to the same area...grrr...should have planned it better...

 

That's a good suggestion though, packing a lunch and caching in groups....

 

Anyone in the Oceanside area wanna start car pooling?

 

I recommend keeping your caching party to no more than a couple of fellow cachers. Large groups are great for socializing at an event, but tend to take some of the fun out of actual caching. That is, of course, only my opinion.

[+sataraid1]

Yes, I'm caching significantly less. I do well to be able to afford gas to get back and forth to work each week.

 

I've also started a "geo-carpooling" effort among the local cachers to try and coordinate trips where fuel costs can be shared. I managed to share a ride with a fellow cacher this weekend. Had we not teamed up, both of us would likely have stayed home this weekend.

 

I'm hoping the idea catches on.

[+softball29]

Unfortunately, there's not much we can do about the gas situation. You either suck it up and continue your activities, cut back or cut them out.

 

I have found that I plan better. When I go on a hunt -- no matter in my area or 75 miles away -- I make sure the route is set a lot better so I don't backtrack or go out of the way a ton. I've also figured when I cache, I'm going to try and keep it in a 10-mile radius of where I want to start.

 

Gas prices aren't going to come down an awful lot in the future. If we ever get back down to 3.50 per gallon, I'd be shocked. The companies have us out behind the woodshed and aren't going to let us go free.

 

It stinks, that's for sure. But compared to the rest of the world, it does seem like we've been pretty spoiled. I've become more conscious of my driving and where and if it's needed and all. If I don't need to go somewhere, I don't. I'll be pulling my bike out a bit more, too, I believe. In fact, I might do that tomorrow when I go place a cache. We'll see.

 

I also agree with the others about a geo-group. Personally, I like caching with one or two people as it is. So if I can carpool with a couple of others and split the gas, it's worth it to do that, too.

[+Nochipra]

Chip and I have almost always done caching on the way to doing something else. We really don't have days where the only thing we do is geocache. With our physical limitations it really limits the caches we do anyway, so I just pick the ones I think we can do in the areas I know we travel the most or are on a route that we are already planning to take. If we didn't do this way, we wouldn't be able to afford it.

 

That gives me an idea? Maybe we need to start having mailbox caches? Start a package that has swag items in it and mail it to a random cacher and then when they are finished trading, they can mail it to another random cacher and so on? Hey? Maybe I'll do that? What do you all think? Although, I know postage has gone up too but it might be worth a shot? I don't think Groundspeak would consider it a cache either but you can always attatch a travel bug to it and post logs that way?

Edited May 27, 2008 by Nochipra

[+TakeTheLongWay]

You don't wanna know how much I paid for tickets for tomorrow to go see the Penguins most likely get humiliated by the Red Wings, in the Stanley Cup Finals, for the third game in a row.

[+gof1]

You don't wanna know how much I paid for tickets for tomorrow to go see the Penguins most likely get humiliated by the Red Wings, in the Stanley Cup Finals, for the third game in a row.

 

Here's a bit of homework for you. Take that amount and divide it by the cost of a gallon of gas in your local market. Then divide that by the mpg of your vehicle. Now think about how much quality geocaching time that could have been.

[+team lagonda]

i cant belive the red wings can afford to drive to pittsburgh..

[+TeamCatalpa]

Sounds like a lot of you (in the states, at least) have cheaper gas than we do in Michigan. I have a Silverado, and with gas at 4.19 and more, it costs 104 for a fill up. I live out in podunkville, so caches are ten miles apart or more, so yeah, the gas price gouging has crippled my geocaching. And I don't really know any cachers in my area, so I'm on my own....though this past weekend my friend who introduced me to caching came to visit, and we threw caution to the winds! Three days of finding and placing caches, it was great!

 

Otherwise, I just look for caches that happen to be along my route to somewhere when I working.

 

Someday I'd love to get a motorcycle - commuting and caching would be a lot cheaper!

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I think we can count on the fact that it's not going down, and I fully expect to see $6./gallon by next summer, so I think it will affect how we play drastically.

 

Everyone I know has cut back on geocaching in some way.

[marvall26]

This is one habit that I do not plan on giving up, but I have limited myself. Since I am from a small town, all the ones here I have found. All others will be found when there is a trip towards a certain area. For Memorial Day weekend, we visited some family in Beaumont, Tx. Well, before we left...you already know....I looked for caches that were accessable along the way. I told my husband he might need to get a second job to support "MY" habit.