Quote:
Originally Posted by budman k20
Put on the camper and a loaded trailer then I drove it 25.3 miles and put in 4 gallons of gas! After that test I decided I need a cheaper way to get to Milwaukee for the HD party!
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I did some calcs for you. I do it all the time. Since I have a small Airstream motor home and I always check the +'s and -'s of taking it or the car or a plane when we make a run.
Sacto to Milwaukee is 2, 129 miles...Or 4,258 round trip. I'm figuring you're towing the bike...looks like you got something hooked on the back and you're going to the HD party...So...????
Gas prices (lowest premium) between Medford, where you'd fill up the rig and Milwaukee averages $3.70/gal if you wait until you get out of California.
At 6.25 mpg, that's $2,520.81 for gas.
I figure 8.5 nights on the road averaging 500 miles a day in the truck/house/bike rig. If you hook up at $35/nite for eight nights (full hook up), that's $280.
I figure food for two. But to make this work at all, I gotta figure one traveler.....so, in the rig, you can probably get by for $30/day cooking and the burger
from time to time...That's $240.
Never mind that these numbers don't match up with your reality. It's all about comparison. Maybe you don't hook up. Maybe there are more than one of you. Maybe you eat out all the time
on the road. The numbers are for comparison.
That makes the ride up in the style we like, bike on board, your own bed, kitchen and bathroom in your rear view mirror, for a total cost of $3,040.81.
Okay. Leave the bike at home? Take a car that gets 35 mpg? On regular unleaded? Average for the 121.66 gallons it takes there and back @ $3.60/gal (I checked the route), it's $437.97.
I figure $100/day for food for two (*we don't drink). But, take that down to $50...eating out. 8 days (yeah, maybe you make it in less in the zippy car....but, hey!), $400. Eight nights in motels?
I bet you have a hard ime beating $135/night in the summer. Okay, that's what it takes me using Priceline, Travelocity, and the oft stop at the local joints that my woman agrees, "people don't live there."
I'm gonna figure $135 x 8 = $1,040. You might go lower on the lodging. But how low do you want to go? We find places (Medford) for $75...and then we can't find any place out in the boonies
that are under $165 that aren't growing mouldy biting bugs....
Total cost in a car: Lesser comfort, lesser cool factor, no bike, $1,877.97.
Or, you could go from Sacto to Mil on the plane for $528. Rent a car, blow off the lodging, stay there longer, fly home....probably cost about the same. Then again, there's no "road trip"
experience to be had with that. Just an airport cattle-call and those idiot TSA folks (apologies to any among us...if you have a 67-72, you're different than most of 'em
).
Point: The difference, even if you factor in your own parameters, is going to be just over $1,100 for the trip.
I'm just sayin'.