Friday 09th of May 2008 18:01:07 PM

Heaven Help Us

Alaska Gas Prices sore leaving drivers wondering as the higher and higher it goes, just where it will stop, nobody knows. Rumors of 4+ dollars per gallon, shortages at the pumps, and long lines at the stations with gas are circulating everywhere. Already, fuel in areas of Canada are exceeding 6 dollars per gallon in US dollars.

What’s a family to do attempting to get along on an average income today? Food prices are skyrocketing, services are all raising their prices to cope with higher operating costs, cities have raised the costs of camping, boat launching, parking, and just about every other conceivable necessity. Just to park at the overlook and watch the sunset is $10.00 these days.

As the Alaska & Alaska Highway gas prices sore upwards, travelers will need to be more diligent in their choices of places to visit and most importantly places to stay. Reservations at the most well known campgrounds and RV parks will be highly recommended to avoid spending needless hours on the road in search of an empty campsite.

Plan on stopping around 5PM to avoid the after 6 rush of RV's pulling into the campgrounds looking for a site for the night.

Now that the summer camping season is upon us and the shock of this summers ridiculously high gas prices are pretty much getting digested with the aid of mass doses of Pepsid AC, I figured it must be a good time for a refresher course on some sure fire ways to get better gas mileage during your vacation to Alaska. So at this point, let's take a moment to look at the areas under our control in saving money on a trip to Alaska.

First, The Obvious

• We have all heard it before, running the correct tire pressure saves fuel and this is a good time to check on this. Look at the sidewalls of the tires for the correct inflation pressure. Inflate the tires to the upper limit for maximum efficiency.
• Ensure that all your RV is running at it's optimum efficiency. Dirty oil, clogged air filters, warn plugs or plug wires and poorly tuned engines all increase your fuel costs. By keeping your RV well tuned, you can cut your fuel consumption by up to 10 percent.
• Front End Alignment or wheel alignment can drastically effect your fuel useage. Have this checked at the beginning of every year or if you begin to feel under or overstear problems.
• Be a smooth driver: Not maintaining a relatively constant speed and braking hard decreases your gas mileage. Use your cruise control on the highway to help maintain a constant speed and take it slow and easy on starts and stops. Keep your speed under control as RV’s with their large frontal and trailing areas create an enormous induced and parasitic drag, thus they use more fuel at higher speeds where these factors have their most influence.
• Avoid Quick Starts and Stops. Both rapid acceleration and deceleration waste gas, anticipate ahead and accelerate to speed slowly and smoothly. Also, slowly come to a stop at stop signs and turnoffs because that’s just as bad for your gas mileage.