The cost of budget tornado chasing with a partner?

[AndreasWinsnes]

Is the following budget realistic if I find someone to share expenses:

Motels such as Days, Super 8 or Motel 6: $65 / 2 = $33 a night = $1000 a month.

500 miles a day x gas @ $2 gal. = $1500 / 2 = $750 a month.

Cheap food: $6 a day = $200 a month.

I live in Norway, so need to find a local resident with a car, in KS or OK, who is willing to share expenses. The car needs oil and maintenance, so how much will that cost each month?

Any other expenses while chasing (not counting airplane tickets and backpacker insurance)?

l'm used to travel on a shoestring budget, so will keep it as simple as possible. Can easily sleep in the car or in a tent, but have read that many prefer motels after a long day of chasing, and that hail can destroy a tent, so the above budget is based on staying in a motel every night.

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

Conservatively, I would add at least 50% to this planned budget.

For instance, I'm a fairly limited chaser when it comes to distances traveled, but I've easily had $200 days for just fuel on active days.

I also sleep in my car on occasion...and while it works, it sucks.

And $6 day on food...no chance. Not even close. While you can pack a lunch, even a bottle of water is a dollar at a gas station, and you want way more than 6 of those for a hot day on the plains.

 

[Jon Strebler]

If you plan on chasing for a month and don't have a specific person to split costs with that will be traveling with you, then I'd think your costs are going to be significantly higher. It might be very difficult to simply find a local person with a car that will split costs for that length of time. If they are local then they most likely will be chasing on active days only, leaving you on your own for most of the time.

Also, the hotel costs are optimistic because most of the time you don't have a wide range of choices depending on where your chase day ends up. I would estimate that daily cost closer to $80-100.

Food will also cost you significantly more than $6 a day, think closer to $20 and that is still pushing it unless you plan on starving yourself for a month.

Even with factoring in some days that you can split costs, I don't see how you could spend less than $1000 a week if you're doing a chasecation type deal.

Add in that you don't have a guaranteed car to use, rentals might come into play and that adds costs quick.

 

[Sean Ramsey]

All that has been mentioned plus turnpike costs, bumps in gas prices ($2 is really a low mark, can't expect it to stay there forever...I'd budget at least $3 to ensure you are covered), some kind of entertainment on down days, etc. The expenses pile up fast.

 

[Dan Robinson]

$200/day is a good baseline. Some days may be more, some less.

 

[Todd Lemery]

Not trying to poop on your parade either, but unless you are the luckiest person in the world, there will be expenses that sneak up on you and are hard to budget for. Things will break, get lost or suddenly be needed that you never planned on. It just happens. Everything from a lost charger to unexpected medical expenses will inflate the final number of whatever you safely budgeted for.
That being said, you can't put a price on it!

 

[AndreasWinsnes]

Thanks for advice. I can afford a larger budget, but prefer to keep it low.

Here is my new budget then:

Motels
15 x $100 / 2 = $750 each
15 x $66 / 2 = $495 each
30 days = $1245 each

Gas
20 miles x 25 gal. x $2 gal. = 500 mi. for $50 a day x 30 = $1500 / 2 = $750 each per month.

$2000 a month per person for both gas and motels.

Gas will probably stay around $2 gal. AAA says that all signs show that fuel costs will be low in 2016:

http://time.com/money/4114842/gas-prices-cheap-2-gallon/

I'm from Norway, and our country depends on exporting oil, so have read that Norwegian oil analysts and economists predict a weak Norwegian crown compared to the US dollar in the next years, which means that gas will most likely be cheap in the US for a very long time. On the other hand, if gas prices get higher again, the Norwegian crown will be worth more too, so I can afford gas in both cases.

Is it correct that most chasers will not travel more than 20 000 miles each season, as stated in this thread:

https://stormtrack.org/community/threads/cost-of-chasing-per-day.7277/

500 miles a day, on average, which is 15 000 miles a month, seems realistic in terms of these state area distances in miles (lenght and width):

Kansas 417x211, Oklahoma 478x231, Nebraska 430x210, South Dakota 383x237, and 90 miles from OK south border to Dallas, and about 109 miles from Amarillo to OK west border.

Of course, if you are up north in South Dakota and have to travel fast to catch a major storm near Dallas, it will be around 1000 miles in one stretch, but I guess that will not happen very often. So on average, is it reasonable to assume that 500 miles a day is sufficient to travel around in Tornado Alley?

I have travelled on six continents, for several months each time, often on a very low budget, so I know from experience that I can keep expenses to a minimum.

Is there a 2016 Chase Partner Thread one can join? I'm not hundred percent certain that I will travel this season, but if anyone with a car is interested in sharing expenses, for a week or more, this is relevant information about me:

very experienced backpacker, studying philosophy on a PhD level, driven by curiosity and adrenaline, so not a boring person, but have narcolepsy, so like to chill and take it easy. As a scientist I'm an agnostic, but have a basic open-minded attitude toward life, and therefore have friends in almost all ideological and political camps, from liberals to very conservative people.

 

[Jeff Duda]

I would say that an average of 500 miles per chase day is pretty reasonable for a month of chasing. Keep in mind that how much distance you cover also depends on which events you choose to chase. In May and June you can almost always find SOME area where there is enough CAPE and shear for severe storms, but 1) the area might be very small, 2) the actual CAPE and shear values may be only minimally sufficient for severe storms, and 3) the area may be very far from where you are. Choosing to sit out lower probability, lesser magnitude, or more distant chases, on average, save you money. Typically what will happen is there will be strings of days (maybe 2-4 at a time) where there will be a good chase potential across the country interspersed with strings of down days where there is really no appreciable risk anywhere within reason.

Also, regarding hotel accommodations: I think that, with a good effort and watchful eye, you can use priceline.com to get rooms for cheaper than advertised. You'll probably have more luck looking for rooms near larger cities, but if you're willing to drive an extra 100-200 miles after the end of a chase, you could almost certainly wind up near a larger city on every chase. I'd start your bid at something very cheap, say $30, and increase $10 every time you don't get an offer up to whatever threshold (say $60) then go up in $5 increments until your bid is either more than you'd care to spend or you get an offer. I would think you could find some rather cheap hotel rooms for as little as $35/night in some places, although the quality would probably not be awesome. Also, watch out for bedbugs. Not sure if that "epidemic" is still a thing, but you can always check the bedbug registry before committing to a particular hotel.

 

[Greg Campbell]

One option to reduce lodging costs is to tent camp every so often. There are a fair number of county parks, state parks, national parks, and national forest and grasslands that provide a free or cheap place to set up camp. You'll enjoy some surprisingly pretty places, and escape the 'Motel Grind' that gets old in a hurry. Of course, data services are limited, so I wouldn't suggest doing this the day before a system is scheduled to arrive....

While there may be some restrictions, most National Forests and Grasslands allow free 'dispersed' camping in the wilderness. The formal campsites are generally $10 or less. Our Nat Forest system is rather fractured, so you'll need to search specifically for a given state: "National forest camping Nebraska" and try substituting 'grassland' for forest.

http://www.forestcamping.com/
https://freecampsites.net/

http://www.nps.gov/index.htm

 

[Quincy Vagell]

There are a lot of variables to consider, but I think you've come to a pretty good assessment so far. Here are my thoughts:

Housing/lodging/etc.
If you can find a friend who has family or a place to crash somewhere in the Plains/Midwest, that can significantly cut down on costs (even cutting out 5 hotel stays in a month can save $250-$500). I was going to post my budget numbers from this year, but it wouldn't be fair, since I spent some time in May with my Aunt in Oklahoma City and would occasionally crash at a fellow chaser's or friend's house for a night. As for hotels, I've compiled a list of nice hotels/motels in chase territory that are mostly under $75/night (many $50 or less) and there are far more than the ones I have reviewed. If you chase with a partner, you can increase the budget, but split a room two ways. Do keep in mind that budget hotels/motels can be very hit and miss, so always try to read reviews prior to booking or check out a place in advance, if time permits.
If things work out, sometimes you can book a particular spot for a few days in a row, maybe even a week. By doing this, you can often save even more (I booked a motel in Kansas this past June and received 50% off for booking multiple nights).
Verdict: I would say $75/night is a safe estimate (cut in half for two people), but you can easily do better with some research.

Vehicle/gas/food
The vehicle you chase in is huge, with respect to gas milage. My vehicle (Toyota Camry) averages 35-40 mpg, which can be close to twice as fuel efficient as SUVs many chasers use. The tradeoff is that traction on dirt and other roads may be compromised. For oil changes, if you get a relatively new car to rent (or otherwise use), I believe oil changes are only necessary every 7,500-10,000 miles.
I don't mind keeping food costs to a minimum. A lot of hotels (even the cheaper ones) will have something to eat for breakfast, if not a full continental breakfast. I pack energy bars and fresh fruit and lunch/snacks. During most chases, you may not have time for dinner, but when there is time, I try to keep the fancier meals for celebrating after a good chase. It is tempting to try out restaurants in different cities around the country, so I'm not sure how realistic it is to really keep the food budget down to a minimum. (I end up splurging more as the chase season goes on, plus your body eventually wants something more substantive, especially if we're talking about several weeks to a month or more)
Going back to fuel economy - this is something that goes "under the radar." The speed limit on most roads across the Plains ranges from 70-80 mph and you'll start losing fuel economy substantially, especially over 70 mph, in most vehicles. If it's a travel day and I don't need to rush to get anywhere, I don't mind driving close to 65 mph to save fuel costs. It may not seem like much, but when you drive tens of thousands of years every chase season, it does add up. I've gotten over 700 miles on one tank of gas, but struggle to get over 500 miles if I'm driving at higher speeds and/or doing a lot of city driving.
Verdict: You may want to compromise for a vehicle and get something that's reasonable on gas, but also handles well in dirt/muddy conditions/etc. GasBuddy is a great app to find cheap gas. For food, I find it's best to buy things prepackaged, it's cheaper, saves time (less stops) you won't be tempted to eat out (or stop for junk food) if you have food in the vehicle.

Driving distances
I think the 500 miles per chase on average is a fair estimate. While you may get some setups where the same state or general area is targeted a few days in a row, there will be days where you may have to drive 500 miles to get into position and then a few hundred miles more that night to set up for the next day. (I've chased in Minnesota and needed to get to central Illinois the next day, or started in New Mexico and went all the way up to the Dakotas for the afternoon) An average vehicle may get 25 mpg (low estimate), so do the math according to the vehicle.
Verdict: Plan on 500 miles per chase day, on average.

Vehicle repairs/other costs that can come up
If the vehicle is newer, repairs will probably not be a big issue. However, keep in mind that flat tires can happen at any time, especially when you may be driving through questionable roads and debris. The longer distance associated with regular chasing may increase your odds of getting a flat. Busted windshields from hail are another consideration. Although I do my best to avoid large hail, I've been dinged even while a few miles away from a storm. I've also been hit by rocks from other vehicles in back-to-back chase seasons. Good car insurance will cover most or all of the glass replacement cost, but if not, that cost is going to be at least a couple of hundred dollars, per instance.
Verdict: Consider car insurance and avoid large hail, if possible.

I think $2,000 is a generous budget for a month if you split the cost with another person. It also helps if you're with someone who's either familiar with the area, and/or an experienced chaser. Then you may save even more (less out-of-the-way driving, knows good/affordable hotels, may have a place to crash on occasion, etc.)

 

[Dan Robinson]

While it's true there are many ways to save money, some of those might really impact the enjoyability of your trip. Every one is a trade-off. You have to decide whether saving the $20-$50 a day is really going to be worth the hassle, discomfort and inconvenience. For example, I'm mostly over trying to find the low-budget motels. In practice, it's really hard to find hotels under $50 (after taxes and fees) anywhere. I can't remember the last time I even saw a place under $40. They're out there, yes, but very few and far between. I wouldn't plan on being able to find one every night, or even most nights unless you want to drive for 2 or 3 hours to the next city.

At the end of the day, I most want to find a decent meal, work on video/photos (if I got anything good), get a good look at the data for the next day and try to get to sleep, all ASAP. Trying to scrounge for exceptionally cheap hotels always adds another hour or two to that process, that's time I could add to my night's sleep. In the end, for me, it's too much stress late at night, driving from place to place, going another hour to the next big town, and ending up in an uncomfortably run-down place in the end anyway, for a little more than you wanted to spend at that. Just conceding the extra 25-30 bucks a night makes the process so much easier and painless, and has improved the overall quality of my trips.

In the end it's personal preference and I guess for some, necessity. There are a lot of ways to save, but you need to weigh on whether those things will add degrees of misery or logistical problems to your trip. If you have a fixed budget and absolutely have to save X amount of dollars a day, that's one thing.

I will say that if you're young (under 25), a lot of the money-saving things are probably more doable. 35 and up, and those things get harder and harder to tolerate. I used to sleep in my vehicle routinely, but in recent years, I've started to pay dearly for doing that with all sorts of aches and pains afterward.

 

[Quincy Vagell]

Those are fair points and I think age and motivations have something to do with it. I know some younger chasers who will sleep in their car. I won't do that, the only exception is if I have an overnight drive to get into position, then for safety I may crash an hour or two at a rest stop.

In my case this year, I went into full-time chase mode, leaving a prior career and was otherwise unemployed. I tried to cut as many corners as possible to chase for essentially four months straight, while still enjoying the experience. For someone who is vacationing/chasecationing for a month or less, if there's more flexibility for a budget, then there's no reason to run yourself into the ground.

Another good point is being able to have time to review/edit/upload footage. I know many chasers will say that they are so caught up in everything, including driving and trying to find hotels, that they lose time that could have been spent working on photos/videos. (Not to mention, some cheap hotels may not even have WiFi access, so good luck getting footage online in that case) There's also a trade-off if one chases for a long period of time, do they eventually pass up on certain events to catch-up/regroup? Over the course of a month, there are bound to be some quiet days, but also some stretches where you may easily be steadily chasing for 5-7 days straight. That can get very tedious for some.

On the flip side, it's easy to kick oneself if you passed up on a marginal event that produced a highly photogenic tornado, or otherwise overperformed.

I some that some chasers will end up passing up on events for costs and hopefully some of the ideas we've shared in this thread will help chasers get out more, who want ideas on saving money.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Another thing to keep in mind is that staying a month in hotels, you may want to stick to a certain chain and earn points & elite status so you can accrue free nights as well. This adds complication, but can save you money overall. I stay almost exclusively in Hilton branded hotels (Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Double trees, etc) and end up paying closer to $100 a night and sometimes even more than that depending on where I end up (Colorado always seems to be ridiculous) but I accrue points based on the fact that I'm a diamond status (30 stays in 1 year) and pay for my rooms with my Hilton American Express. These points can be 3000-5000 per night, and some rooms can be had for as low as 10,000 points. As you can see, a free room or two a week can quickly make these attractive options.

I have a friend that comes every year from Finland. This year he will be here for a little over 3 weeks and I expect he'll spend at least 2000 euros. Things come up. Last year it was a broken rear window on Canadian, TX day. In 2010 I was out $400 after we drove into a farmers field to escape tornadoes.

Food will easily cost $20-50 a day depending on where you eat, especially if you don't want packaged food. Keeping things cold requires a cooler and ice, which will cost money too.

Gas should likely stay below 2.50 a gallon in most places, but you never know when you'll have to get a tank of gas out in the middle of nowhere and prices are 40 cents higher. So lets say gas prices on average budge back up to 2.50 a gallon, you may end up with some $3 gas in your tank pretty easily depending on where you end up. So while your concession of your currency going up vs the dollar is right, you still have to figure in taxes (they are different per state) and convenience factor to a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

I would say the best option is to over budget. Lots of things can come up, and if you're concerned about money you will end up ruining the end of your chasecation when you are out of money or over budget.

 

[Todd Lemery]

A quick idea for hot food when you are out in the middle of nowhere that can save money also. You can wrap hot dogs, burritos or many other items in tin foil and heat it up or keep it warm by lifting your hood and finding a nice cozy spot to set it on top of your engine. The engine heats up your food for you. Something like a pack of hot dogs with a bag of buns can go a long way.

 

[AndreasWinsnes]

Thanks for tips and helpful advice! I will bring along at least a $1000 extra just in case my planned budget is not enough.

Totally get that chasers who have been through many seasons prefer to use more money on comforts. But since it will be my first time, I think the excitement of just seeing a tornado will keep me happy for weeks. Again thanks for help!