Will Gas Prices Kill Long Distance Chasing?

[Mikey Gribble]

I just filled up at $3.30 a gallon. That is ridiculous. I am a lot more careful on what I chase because of the increased expenses, but gas prices are not going to get me to stay home on a good tornado day regardless of the distance. Once we start getting up into the $5 range I might start rethinking long road trips though.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

I'm one of the lucky ones that has a job as a tour guide. The gas does hurt tour companies a bit, but overall it's not a huge burden. On a tour with 10 guests, a rise of $1 per gal. only comes out to an extra $38 or so per guest based on a vehicle that gets 12 mpg. What hurts more is the little mom and pop tour operations that keep popping up every year with a couple folks simply trying to cover their costs, in which case they can charge rediculously low prices vs. a for-profit operation. I digress...

I likely won't give up my spot chasing with the drastic increase in gas price. I usually give myself a 300 mile radius which I won't chase outisde of anyway. My biggest concern is my daily 80 mile round trip for work...that's where the hurt is going to start. I can't wait for class to start again in the fall so my commute is limited to biking to class and working 2 or 3 days/week.

 

[T. Mosley]

Whoops

Sorry to be so unresponsive; I was away for the weekend.

For Adam and others who interpreted my use of 'amateur' as a potential slur or insult, I rush to say that David Drummond and others are correct. I meant 'amateur' as one who is not paid or reimbursed in any way for his or her chase efforts, as opposed to someone who is, like Warren Faidley. I apologize if my verbiage was misconstrued.

And it is hard to argue. For most of us, the 'amateurs', chasing is a seasonal hobby or a passion at best. Fine if one can afford it, but....

But you can't keep a good man or woman down, and I am glad to see that carpooling is already being considered by so many. Maybe a good thing would be for all to share their own tips on chase economy. Would this be worth a new thread?


P.S. To David and others of like mind, thanks for speaking up. I do appreciate it.

 

[J Gontesky]

To answer the thread title in a word: no.

When people are willing to spend thousands on gear, hundreds on recurring costs (cell phone lines, data network accounts, etc...) they won't flinch at the price of gas.

Chasers of 20-30 years ago did it with a car, a map, and maybe a radio. Now people spend thousands to tens of thousands on gear - even those that aren't reimbursed for the experience. Cost has very little to do with who chases and who doesn't, in my view.

Just look at how chasing has boomed in recent years, even in light of how much more expensive the average chaser's gear bag has gotten.

 

[Richard Halter]

I get to chase only so often

If I can only get out to the plains every 3-4 years, and I chase with at least one other person, it's not going to stop my chasing until it becomes so expensive that I can't make it after sleeping in the rig instead of a hotel, and living on baloney sandwiches and jugs of filtered water.