The gas thing..

Marscrumbs · Post by **Marscrumbs** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:57 pm

I've been to many annual events out here in the desert this year where people are talking about calling it quits for next year.

Talk about the American Dream evaporating. Has this fuel inflation downsized anybodies BM theme camp plans or even made them change their plans about going? Has greening takenen root in your Theme camp. Will there be more art free bumms?

I wasn't planning on going this year even before the economic meltdown, but I have an old propane powered Ford truck dying to be turned into an DMV that could get me there.

Post by **AntiM** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:20 pm

In order to tow the trailer which carries out camp infrastructure for eight or more people, we will have to use the SUV. You want towing with conventional fuel, you're going to sacrifice mpg. Basically, we're just going to suck it up. Right now it is $75 to fill the tank, I'm thinking it will be neat $100 a pop in August. Four fill-ups usually, two out and two back, plus the prefill and post fill. $600 in gas money give or take.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:26 pm

I never have sat around until things got bad..

The only thing the down turn has me doing different is driving electric more..

Cut your waste in everything you do and buy and the money for BM will appear

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:14 pm

Our plans have not changed one bit because of the price of gas. Granted we will have to spend more to get there but our camp has actually grown despite the cost of fuel.

Greening has not infiltrated our camp, thank allah. Greening Burning Man is such bullshit anyway. We are driving hundreds of miles into the desert to set shit on FIRE! Carbon emissions are the least of our concerns. Since when is burning man envirowacko domain?

Dont' get me wrong, I am all for saving the planet, reducing our pollution, etc, etc, etc but to think that burning man is the platform to do that is ludicrous at best. And if you say that I can buy Carbon Credits then I am going to shoot you (oh wait, I can't bring my guns to BM anymore).

Note: take the above text with some kosher salt, it's the rum talking.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:54 pm

The one thing that pisses me off about last year's fucking "green" theme is all the emphasis on being "green" ever since, as if it is one of Burning Man's original core ideas. Dan's right, it's bullshit.
I'll be driving my motorhome and big trailer from Seattle at about 5 or 6 miles per gallon, and I'm bringing 4 generators.
Thousands of people are going to come from all over in trucks and trailers and busses, to burn stuff.
Your average pro football game is far less "green", when you figure the number of people that attend, the jet fuel for the teams, etc. and no one ever mentions it.

I guess fuel is gonna be $900, maybe $1000 for the trip this year. When it's $2000 I'll throw in the towel.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed May 28, 2008 8:57 pm

I still like travelng about town electric.. Fuck those oil companys

I want to spend my $$ on toys for me..

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Wed May 28, 2008 9:24 pm

It hurts to do the math, but.....

http://koa.com/fuelcalculator/

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:27 am

14 tanks of gas for the whole trip. Yikes. Between eight and nine hundred for me, barring pipeline shenanigans, war with Iran or just the outright greed of middle-of-nowhere gas stations along I-80. (I remember being FURIOUS about having to Suck It Up and pay THREE #@!! THIRTY @#!! FIVE a gallon at one remote fuel outpost in Nevada...hope they're stuck in the past THIS year!)

EspressoDude · Post by **EspressoDude** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:38 am

take your extra $$ and by stock in EXXON, and TEXACO/MOBILE.

an old bumper sticker in Texas:

IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN OIL WELL, BUY ONE NOW!

Minimize your driving the rest of the year, plan multi-stop trips, turn the thermostat down to 65 or lower, and wear more clothes when its cold. Don't use A/C....go nekkid..

Quit commuting to work..telecommute....

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:22 am

SISTER MARY ANN'S GASOLINE

Sister Mary Ann, who worked for a home health agency, was out
making her rounds visiting homebound patients when she ran out of
gas. As luck would have it, an Texaco Gasoline station was just a
block away.

She walked to the station to borrow a gas can and buy some gas. The
attendant told her that the only gas can he owned had been loaned out,
but she could wait until it was returned.

Since Sister Mary Ann was on the way to see a patient,
she decided not to wait and walked back to her car.

She looked for something in her car that she could fill with gas
and spotted the bedpan she was taking to the patient.

Always resourceful, Sister Mary Ann carried the bedpan to the station,
filled it with gasoline, and carried the full bedpan back to her car.

As she was pouring the gas into her tank,
two Baptists watched from
across the street.

One of them turned to the other and said,

'If it starts, I'm turning Catholic.'

Lifeisshort · Post by **Lifeisshort** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:40 am

Our RV commute is roughly 7 hours to Black Rock. Last year it cost roughly $1200 for fuel. It will most-likely be twice that this year.

I wait the entire year for this event and don't care how much it cost! The price could triple, even quadruple and I will still go.

I never have "Buyers Remorse" when it comes to the Burn !!!!!!

Intubater69 · Post by **Intubater69** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:54 am

Detroit to BRC and back in a F150? Figuring 950-1000$.
And thats with a tailwind.

StevenGoodman · Post by **StevenGoodman** » Thu May 29, 2008 3:49 pm

Given that my truck sits at Burning Man for 10 days using zero gas, and I am sleeping in a tent without A/C, I don't feel too bad about the drive.

I spend more on booze than I do on gas...although this year it will be close.

Martini Steve

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Thu May 29, 2008 3:56 pm

Lifeisshort wrote:Our RV commute is roughly 7 hours to Black Rock. Last year it cost roughly $1200 for fuel. It will most-likely be twice that this year.

Wait a minute... that's more than I spent coming from Seattle at 7 MPG.
Last year $1200 should have gotten you 400 gallons of gas. 7 hours each way, averaging 50 MPH, is only 700 miles. That would mean you got less than 2 MPG. You'd have to have a hole in your gas tank, even in a large motorhome pulling a trailer, to get THAT bad MPG.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu May 29, 2008 4:28 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:
Lifeisshort wrote:Our RV commute is roughly 7 hours to Black Rock. Last year it cost roughly $1200 for fuel. It will most-likely be twice that this year.

Wait a minute... that's more than I spent coming from Seattle at 7 MPG.
Last year $1200 should have gotten you 400 gallons of gas. 7 hours each way, averaging 50 MPH, is only 700 miles. That would mean you got less than 2 MPG. You'd have to have a hole in your gas tank, even in a large motorhome pulling a trailer, to get THAT bad MPG.

How many gallons would it take to bring your Peter to Burning Man?

thisisthatwhichis · Post by **thisisthatwhichis** » Thu May 29, 2008 4:58 pm

Yup, it's gonna suck this year for gas expenses....... I'm planning to budget 4.50 a gal...... And a top off at Bruno's for 6.00 a gal.....

But, what the fuck ya gonna do.............

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu May 29, 2008 5:43 pm

thisisthatwhichis wrote:Yup, it's gonna suck this year for gas expenses....... I'm planning to budget 4.50 a gal...... And a top off at Bruno's for 6.00 a gal.....

But, what the fuck ya gonna do.............

I drive a 1990 VW van.. It come up with a little knock with this corn gas..Put in cooler plugs.. Come out with a little better MPG around town..Have not run on the HWY yet.. Then it could be the new muffeler and after plug.. IT was so rotten it fell apart in my hands..

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:46 pm

unjonharley wrote: How many gallons would it take to bring your Peter to Burning Man?

It would get about the same MPG as the motorhome/trailer, it would FLY up the hills with it's big Cat motor, and would generally kick ass... but there's no way in hell I'd subject it to the playa! I'm not even taking my pickup there again. It's too harsh on nice stuff.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:49 pm

Heh Heh... Come on Cap'n!! if we used the 2K mark, we'd have to call it quits this year. I get done paying off last year's trip about the time the next one rolls around and it's still cheaper than most other vacations that many people take.

And, uh... Lifeisshort?

I'm not buying that you're fuel bill is 1200 clams for a tiny little 7 hour drive. We drive almost 40 hours one way and will be hitting $1800-2000 this year on fuel. Do you just sit and idle all week?

I said in early May that I was planning on $5 a gallon for August. That's when Diesel was at $4.12. It was $4.69 today. Itâ€™s $4.84 in Battle Mountain right now. I'm now betting on $6 a gallon.

Let's see... Diesel truck with trailer getting 15 mpg. 5000 miles round trip = 333 gallons of fuel x $6 = $2000. Ouch.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:50 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:

Nice...

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:09 pm

LeChatNoir wrote:
Captain Goddammit wrote:
Nice...

To bad the driver/ower is so ugly

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Thu May 29, 2008 9:07 pm

That's why the windows are tinted.

fciron · Post by **fciron** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:14 pm

I don't get the obsession with being 'green' one week a year. I am trying to cut down on expenses and waste every single day.

That way, when something special comes around I can go for it.

Also, when I drop my speed from 75 mph to 60-65 mph I get a 20% increase in fuel efficiency. If you're coming from the East please wave as you go by.

Lifeisshort · Post by **Lifeisshort** » Fri May 30, 2008 2:16 am

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Fri May 30, 2008 5:59 am

Well, the Pete 359 is burning biodiesel. There's a station here that is holding the price just under regular diesel.

Post by **AntiM** » Fri May 30, 2008 6:36 am

Nice Peter!

Alas, mylarry is a company driver and doesn't have the option of taking his rig anywhere. They pay for the fuel, not him. Volvo Heavy Haul, gets around 6 mpg, governored at 62 mph.

Marscrumbs · Post by **Marscrumbs** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:44 pm

[quote="Intubater69"]Detroit to BRC and back in a F150? Figuring 950-1000$.
And thats with a tailwind.

:cry:[/quote]

OP here again. I got a F150 too. It's an old '75 and fortunately I don't live in Detroit. And it has a 110gal propane tank I filled last winter. Still I can get there from where I live with my Honda CRV on one tank of gas but no toys...gasp. Why go if you can't bring alot of shit....

**burn** · Post by **burn** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:36 pm

Try this website -
www.gasbuddy.com

Enter in your zip code and it will give you the cheapest gas in your area.
It can be the difference of $.30 a gallon.

burnbaby

scotto · Post by **scotto** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:50 am

robotland wrote:(I remember being FURIOUS about having to Suck It Up and pay THREE #@!! THIRTY @#!! FIVE a gallon at one remote fuel outpost in Nevada...hope they're stuck in the past THIS year!)

http://www.nevadagasprices.com/

ALtehleghumper · Post by **ALtehleghumper** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:34 pm

This is the first thread I wanted to reply to because we are planning to take a Tacoma Prerunner from Tampa Florida all the way there. Eight people + camper and all. Gas was an issue at first then "carpooling" cured that. Go with it. Teamwork or some shit? :mrgreen: :booze: