coach vs motels

[Gardner Yeaw]

I try not to think of the coach as a destination vehicle but rather
a touring vehicle. When possible we plan stops where we can spend
some time doing something and then move on.

We went to Maxton last week, around 1230 miles round trip ($642 in
fuel). We left in the afternoon on Wednesday and stayed in a Wal-Mart
for the night. We got to Maxton Thursday ($10 total for the three
nights)and left on Sunday afternoon. We stayed in a campground near
Washington (Way over priced, $56) and headed for Mt. Vernon on
Monday. It was raining and there were 10 or more buses full of kids
unloading when we got there. So much for the touring Mt. Vernon that
day. We headed home. So, $708/6 days = $118/day. We didn't have to
dine out and so there were no real food expenses above what we would
have had at home. Since it was a rally we had pot-luck meals two
nights, but our contributions were not very expensive and I wouldn't
consider them expenses above normal.

Now $118 a day isn't bad for a vacation. Of course I am not
including the yearly expenses of owning the coach and such, so
truthfully it costs a bit more. But, I prefer to go in the coach than
deal with the airports, taxi's, and hotels.

Gardner
78FC33




--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Dorn Hetzel"
wrote:
>
> And of course if we flew we'd want to rent a car when we got there,
instead
> of just
> driving around in our bus
>
> Also, living in Atlanta airfare is expensive and we're within 1000-
1500
> miles of a lot
> of the country
>
> DH
> 77FC35
> 30230
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 12:10 PM, Ryan Wright
wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 12:05 PM, Dorn Hetzel
>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hmm, with my wife and four kids there aren't a lot of places I
can buy
> > six
> > > airplane tickets to for the cost of driving there in my bird
> >
> > Well, I don't have four kids. Everyone's situation is
different.
> >
> > Still, if you were flying cross country - from my location in
> > Washington State, to get to Disney World, United is $285/person
round
> > trip. So, $1710 worth of airfare. Driving would be 2,925 miles
> > according to Google Maps. My PT-40 gets 5mpg on a good day, but
I'll
> > bet your FC gets 8, so we'll use 8. So you'll eat 366 gallons of
fuel.
> > At $4/gal that's $1,464 each way ($2928 round trip), plus meals
for a
> > week's worth of driving, campgrounds (if you use them), etc.
Lodging
> > wise, you'd spend $75/night to park the coach in a campground
near the
> > resort, or $200 night for your average hotel. On a 7 day stay the
> > hotel will cost you an extra $875 vs. your coach - still not
enough to
> > make up for the fuel.
> >
> > So, even your 6 member family would still be ahead, financially
> > speaking, to fly, given a cross-country vacation. Still, I'd
much
> > rather spend the extra money and take the coach.
> >
> > -Ryan
> > '86 PT-40 8V92
> >
> >
>