None of us like wasting money, and in today’s economy, a lot of people are finding ways to save every penny they can. But when does thrift become less advantageous than the effort or inconvenience required to achieve it?

One example is an RVer I know who never purchases fuel at stations near an interstate exit, because he says that more often than not, he can save two to three cents per gallon by driving an extra mile or two into town. Okay, so let’s say he has a 100 gallon fuel tank, and he waits until the gauge is at the 1/4 tank level. He puts in 75 gallons of fuel, and saves $2.25 (based on 3 cents per gallon savings). But how much fuel did he burn driving the mile or two into town and back to the highway? Not to mention the hassles of dealing with surface street traffic in a big rig. And again, he tells me that more often than not he saves money. That means there are times when he doesn’t pay any less. Then those extra miles actually cost him more than if he filled up at the exit!

When it’s convenient, we usually fill up at Flying J truck stops, because they traditionally give RVers a penny a gallon discount on fuel, most have dedicated RV fuel islands, an RV dump station, and allow RVers to park overnight. I don‘t go to Flying J because of the discount, although I am happy to get it. I go because I appreciate their RV friendly-attitude.

However, there are some Flying J locations, such as Kingman, Arizona, that I will bypass to pay a little more somewhere else, because the layout of that particular Flying J makes it extremely difficult to get in and out with a big rig. Since we have a 100 gallon tank, and I seldom let our fuel level get below half, saving 50 cents is just not worth the hassle.

We all know that we can save fuel driving at 55 miles per hour, as opposed to 65 or faster. But just how much fuel can we save, and is it really worth it? A few days ago, while driving along Interstate 95 in southern Georgia, I did a test. I set our cruise control at 65 miles per hour and carefully monitored our Silverleaf VMSpc engine monitor. Over a 20 mile distance, we averaged 7.3 miles per gallon.

Then I dropped our speed down to 55 miles per hour, and reset the cruise control. Over the same flat terrain, we averaged 7.7 miles per gallon. So yes, at 55 miles per hour, we can save fuel. (By the way, ignore the 101 MPG rolling MPG on the readout, that was because I coasted into the rest area where Terry took this picture. Also ignore the 0% coolant level, my rig doesn’t have a sending unit for that, and I need to reconfigure the Silverleaf display to remove it.)

I’m terrible at math, but if I punched the right buttons on my calculator, that means that on a 1000 mile trip, on all flat terrain, we could save just over 7 gallons of fuel. Let’s assume that fuel is $3 per gallon. That’s a saving of about $21.

However, at 65 miles per hour, we were keeping up with traffic on the busy freeway. At 55 miles per hour, we had traffic piling up behind us waiting for an opportunity to get into the left lane and pass, and several times eighteen wheelers rushed up on our rear end and tailgated until they could get past. We did not feel safe driving at 55 in that kind of traffic.

Dry camping is another example.  We often pull into a WalMart, truck stop, or highway rest area to spend the night when we’re on the road. But we do it for the convenience more so than the economy. I don’t want to have to get off the highway and drive two or three miles to an RV park, unhook our tow vehicle, and back into an RV site, then hook up the campground utilities. And then in the morning I have to reverse the entire process.

When we dry camp like that, we usually run our generator for an hour or two while we watch TV and I use my desktop computer to check e-mail. That’s a couple of bucks worth of fuel, and worth it to me. However, if there is a convenient Passport America campground with pull-thru sites for $10 to $12 a night just off the highway, I’d as soon go there and have hookups.

If there is no handy WalMart or truck stop, I know RVers who will drive past that $10 or $12 campground and drive as much as five for six miles into town to dry camp at an Elks or Moose lodge. Again, is the effort worth the savings?

So what about you? What will you do to save a buck?

Thought For The Day – Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.

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Yesterday was a girls’ day out for Terry and our friend Ann Moran, while Ann’s husband Tim and I had a boys’ day in. It worked out well for everybody.

We had told our friends that we’d come down to their place in Rockledge about mid-morning, and spend the day together. The plan was that Terry and Ann were going to do some shopping and hit some of the  craft supply stores, while Tim and I visited a local museum, and then we’d meet up with the ladies for a late lunch.

My back was acting up the night before and I didn’t get a lot of sleep, and when we got to Rockledge, Tim was feeling under the weather. Plus, the electric motor on the well pump that they use for watering their lawn had failed, and a repairman was on the way to replace it.

So, we made a change in plans. Terry and Ann went ahead and did their thing, while Tim and I stayed at the house waiting for the repairman to get finished with the motor. When the job was done, Tim and I decided to just hang out at the house and visit for the afternoon. So that’s just what we did, and I think that between the two of us, we solved most of the problems of the world by the time Terry and Ann returned about 4 p.m. I really enjoyed having a quiet day with my good friend, doing nothing at all.

The space shuttle is supposed to launch Wednesday afternoon, and my buddy Greg White had e-mailed me about a good place to watch the launch, from the causeway that connects Titusville with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Greg told us where to park, and said we’d have a nice unobstructed view of the launch across the water.

Either we went to the wrong place, or else Greg didn’t know about the new bridge they are building next to the causeway, but the view sure seemed “obstructed” to us!

No problem, we just drove a little further out the causeway, which has parking areas on both sides, and we found several places from which we can watch the lift off, if we get there early enough to beat the crowds.  The signs along the causeway say No Overnight Camping, but we saw several RVs parked there that look like they are settled in until the launch. Maybe the rules are relaxed when they have a launch, I don’t know.

We spent some time watching people fishing, or just enjoying being near the water, and Miss Terry got some very nice sunset pictures.

We wanted to have dinner at Dixie Crossroads again, but when we arrived the place was packed and people were standing in line waiting to get seated. Wow, when we were there Saturday night, we walked right in! The hostess told me the wait was about 30 minutes, and that they would stay this busy until after the crowds who came to town for the launch have left. We drove a mile so to a little Mexican restaurant called La Bamba II that we discovered on our last visit here, and had no problem getting a table. The food was excellent, and we were stuffed when we left.

Back at The Great Outdoors, there was a note on our door warning us to boil the water before we used it for drinking, brushing teeth, etc. for the next 72 hours. Apparently they had a broken pipe, and were worried about any contamination that might have occurred. We always keep at least a half tank of water on board, so it won’t be a problem, just a minor inconvenience.

A major inconvenience here is the terribly slow service we’re getting on our Verizon air card. We are only a couple of miles from town, but we are on the fringe of the signal area, and sometimes we can’t get online at all, or we get thrown off repeatedly. So much of our work is done online that this presents a real problem for us.

Hopefully today my back will cooperate and Tim will be feeling better, and we can get that museum trip in.

Thought For The Day – Be careful about reading health books. You could die of a misprint.

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One of the nice perks of our business is that from time to time we get to try out neat new products, and tell our readers about them. Occasionally we get a product that’s a dud, and I make somebody mad because I say so, but most of what comes our way is pretty cool.

We’ve recently received several new goodies to review, and I’m impressed with all of them. Since I didn’t have anything else to write about today, and with Christmas coming, I thought I’d tell you about them now, and maybe you can make one of your RVing friends (or even yourself) very happy. I don’t make a commission off of any of these, they are just good products I think you might want to know about.

The first is the Dandy Duster, from Cliff’s Custom Crafts, in Bay City, Michigan. Measuring over eight inches long and made of static free hog bristles, mounted in a beautiful wood handle, they are perfect for cleaning everything from computer keyboards to musical instruments, fans, air conditioner vents, and lots more around the home or RV.

I keep one with a handsome Brazilian cherry handle in my desk drawer to clean up after myself, and Miss Terry’s is a light oak, and also gets a lot of use.  Cost is just $19, with free shipping. You can find out more by e-mailing company owner Cliff Atwater at  cliffscrafts@chartermi.net.

Another product that I am impressed with is the Eyelog Personal Wireless Mobile Camera, supplied by our friends Phil and Tracey May at TechnoRV. I first became aware of this nifty tool at our Indiana Gypsy Gathering rally, when Phil called me late in the evening to tell me that somebody was in his booth in the locked vendor building. We immediately ran to the building, only to find it empty. Phil showed me the picture on his cell phone, which turned out to be the campground’s owner, who had been setting the air conditioner thermostats on the wall behind Phil’s display.

The Eyelog uses AC and/or battery power, and is motion sensitive. When armed, if an intruder is detected it will send either a photo or a video to your computer and cell phone. If we would have had one of these a year ago, we would have been forewarned and would not have walked in on an armed burglar in our RV! For more information, contact Phil or Tracey through their website or by phone at (866) 324-7915.

The Adalite is a handy wireless LED light that is perfect for RV storage bays, closets, kitchen cabinets, truck toolboxes, storage sheds, and anywhere else where you need some extra illumination.

The Adalite comes with a detachable mount for emergency use, and wireless sensors. The light operates when a storage compartment or closet is opened, and the sensors are separated. The “sending unit” sensor sends a signal to the Adalite that can be mounted anywhere within a 30 to 45 feet range of the sensors. Once the sensors are separated by opening the compartment, a signal is sent to the Adalite, which has (33) multi-directional bright LED lights that light up any area automatically. This is a great new product that is handy in dozens of ways around the RV or at home. Look for Adalite at your favorite RV rally or show.

Maybe I didn’t have anything to write about, but Bad Nick did. While I was playing with new toys, he was busy posting a new Bad Nick Blog titled Choose Your Poison. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that!

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We slept in yesterday morning, catching up on our rest from our fast trip from Raccoon Valley to Titusville. Then we spent a couple of hours following our normal routine of me checking e-mails and my favorite blogs, while Terry had her morning coffee and logged onto the internet to check her favorite blogs.

In the early afternoon we drove about 20 miles south to Rockledge to visit our old friends Tim and Ann Moran. We met Tim and Ann during our first months on the road, over twelve years ago, and they have been a part of our extended family ever since. Tim has been dealing with some terrible health issues the last few years, and they have hung up the keys. Whenever we’re in the area, we stop in for a visit, and always have a wonderful time with them. We’re looking forward to seeing Tim and Ann again while we’re here.

When we left Rockledge, we drove back to Titusville on U.S. Highway 1, a four lane road that passed through a couple of small towns along the way.

I can’t count the number of readers who have suggested that we have dinner at a restaurant called Dixie Crossroads, in Titusville, when we are in this area. We figured that many people couldn’t all be wrong, so we stopped there for dinner, and I believe we have a new favorite restaurant.

The waitress greeted us with a big basket of piping hot corn fritters dusted with powdered sugar, and they just melted in our mouths. The restaurant is famous for their rock shrimp, and we both ordered a seafood sampler that included broiled rock shrimp, broiled scallops, and fried shrimp. Terry and I agreed that it was the best meal we have had in years.  The portions were huge, the sides were fantastic to match, and we were both stuffed by the time we cleared our plates. If you’re anywhere within 75 miles of Titusville, you owe it to yourself to try Dixie Crossroads. It’s well worth the trip. 

When we scheduled our visit to Titusville, we didn’t know that the space shuttle was supposed to launch on Monday afternoon, but that was an added treat. Then the launch was rescheduled to Tuesday afternoon, and now they have postponed it until Wednesday. I sure hope they decide to do it in the week we’ll be here! The locals tell us that as many as 500,000 people are expected to come to the Space Coast to see the launch. I think that could be a real circus!

We are staying at The Great Outdoors, which is a very nice, very upscale RV resort with every amenity you could imagine, and some you probably can’t. The place is so big it has it’s own post office, restaurant, RV repair shop, beauty parlor, and more. It’s not our regular kind of hangout, we normally stay at smaller mom and pop campgrounds, or Escapee parks, but it’s sure a nice place!

We don’t have any real plans for today. We may visit some other friends in this area, or we may go out and do some exploring, or we may just hang out and do a whole lot of nothing. I’ll let you know what we decided tomorrow.

Thought For The Day – The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.

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In spite of noisy trucks coming and going, we slept soundly at the Georgia Welcome Center, and felt refreshed when we woke up yesterday morning. Before we hit the road, we turned on our Onan Quiet Diesel generator, and while Terry brewed herself a pot of coffee, I had a bowl of cereal, checked e-mail, fixed a typo in the blog, and logged onto Dennis Hill’s and Greg White’s blogs, to see if  either had updated them since the day before. Dennis hadn’t, but Greg did, so I was batting 50% for the day. For me, that’s darned good!

We pulled out of the Welcome Center just after 9 a.m. and traveled south on Interstate 95. The highway crossed over several rivers, some as wide as small lakes, and a lot of marshland. None of the bridges were high, most were the same level as the road, so I didn’t snivel even once!

Last year when we took this route, we traveled through road construction for several miles north of Brunswick, and it doesn’t appear that they have gotten much accomplished, because we again ran into construction in the same stretch of highway.

Traffic was heavier than the day before, and by the time we crossed into Florida, it was getting really busy, and stayed busy all the way to our destination.

We took the I-295 loop around the east side of Jacksonville, and I still didn’t snivel, even when we crossed this bridge over the wide St. Johns River, a major waterway in this part of the world. Maybe the bridge didn’t bother me because it was four lanes wide, and we were in the third lane, and maybe because it wasn’t awfully high except in one place.  The loop adds a few miles to the trip, but it’s a lot easier than dealing with all of the traffic in Jacksonville.

South of Saint Augustine, we pulled into the Flying J to get fuel, and our Rewards card wouldn’t work. This sign on the pump said the problem was due to “technology changes.”

Like the Pilot the day before, the pump would only let me put $75 worth of fuel in before it cut me off, and when we tried to pay for more, the message on the screen said to see the cashier. Terry went inside, and they charged $200 to our credit card. We didn’t need $200 worth, so now they have to charge the difference back to our card. The clerk did give Terry a discount off the pump price. This is getting to be a real pain. I wonder how many forms of ID they would require if I just paid cash?

Now here is an example of the kind of RVer that makes us all look bad. 12:30 in the afternoon at Flying J, and he has his jacks down, awning out, and satellite dish up. And he wasn’t even in one of the designated RV parking spaces! Why do people do that? When it comes to losing the courtesy parking so many companies offer, we are our own worst enemy.

Back on the road, we arrived at The Great Outdoors in Titusville, Florida a little after 2 p.m., and got settled into the lot our friends Peter and Connie Bradish own. Soon after we arrived, Connie came by to make sure that we had arrived safely. Thanks for your hospitality, dear friend.

It was pretty hot, and by the time I had the RV hooked up and Terry had things unpacked inside, we were both tired and hungry. We ran into town and had an early dinner at Sonny’s Barbecue, a regional favorite of ours, and then it was back to the motorhome to veg out the rest of the afternoon and evening. We’ll be here a week or so, and I hope to be able to get some pictures of the space shuttle launch, which has now been delayed until Tuesday.

While I was writing this blog post, I got an e-mail from Dish Network that they have settled their pissing match with Fox, and that our FX and National Geographic channels have been restored. Yay, I can watch Sons of Anarchy again! Of course, then I got a message from a fulltiming friend who uses DirecTV, who said the company told him his monthly fee for distant networks is going up.

Thought For The Day – When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.

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