Gas prices may steer RVers toward home

HAMLIN, N.Y. – After 10 days parked in woods near the Lake Ontario shore, John Gerfen will pump 75 gallons of gasoline into his motor home this Memorial Day weekend, drive to his retirement home in Florida and try to keep his wanderlust in check.

“We have no plans to move any place until gas prices come down,” said Gerfen, 74, strolling around Hamlin Beach State Park while his wife took a nap. “At campsites, the three gripes I hear are fuel prices, the national debt and Iraq. Fuel prices are at the top.”

Of all the motorists upset about high gas prices, recreational-vehicle owners pay a heavy toll. Gerfen gets 8 miles a gallon in his 37-foot-long rig – for years his solution to roving coast-to-coast in comfort and keeping property taxes at bay.

The tenacity with which RV enthusiasts adhere to their freewheeling lifestyle isn’t likely to be shaken, industry officials say, because gas accounts for only a portion of their costs. But with pump prices peaking at a nationwide average of $2.06 a gallon, quite a few might rethink their summer schedule by keeping closer to home, eating out less or even postponing a trip.

“If you can delay your trip to Aunt Minnie’s house for six months, then you might as well because it’ll maybe be better then,” said David Humphreys, president of the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association in Reston, Va.