Is $700 IN GAS for driving RT Canada-FLA too much?????????????????????

[drag n' fly]

Drag N Fly
Driving to Anaheim:
I drive about 80mph, something tells me I'll be slowing down this time.
We usually leave mid Friday afternoon (I have to work but boss usually says to go early), stay in Great Falls or Chateau, MT overnight, stop at Walmart in Butte for a stretch & cheap sandwich supplies. Stay in Provo, UT Sat night, hit Anaheim or San Diego Sunday around supper.
I stop for lots of pee breaks & usually throw a couple hours worth of gas in at the same time. Kid is always hungry and needs a burger, sub or taco everytime.
I really don't mind the driving. Except for vegas to LA, this stretch is is torture. Between the heat & the fancy wheels going way way over the limit and of course it's always on a Sunday when everyone is racing home.

Snap you have that down to a science. I will make sure to copy and paste your post I have drove through Vegas a couple times also. Once you get past the lights it is like driving through Saskabush
Disclaimer: Saskatchewan is a lovely province with wonderful caring people. No harm or offense was intended!

 

[F4disneyfan]

Ooooh ooooh, I wanna play too.
What if the door blows off your plane, and you are stuck at the airport for a day, waiting for another flight....that takes time from your vacation.
What if your discount airline goes bankrupt, and abandons you in Florida, while you have to wait for a new flight with a different company....that adds expense to your trip.
What if border traffic/guards hold you up, and you miss your flight, you get stuck waiting for another flight....that takes time from your vacation.
What if your budget airline can't fill seats, and cancels your flight, and you end up waiting for another flight....that takes time from your trip.
What if the airline loses your luggage, and you have to spend the first day getting clothes, etc....that takes time, and adds expense.
What if your flight gets delayed, and you miss your connection, leaving you stranded, waiting for another flight.....that costs time.
What if stuff goes missing from your luggage, causing replacement costs.
What if you purchase souveners, and your luggage becomes over weight, causing you to pay for additional baggage.....more cost.
The first seven actually happened to family and friends.

'What ifs' can happen any way you travel.

A flat tire......45 minutes and maybe $75

An accident...always possible, but so is a plane crash.

Wear and tear....we sold our van after our first drive down, and the additional 4500km cost us ..........nothing. We leased our next vehicle, and after 3 trips, the wear and tear cost.....again nothing (we were well under mileage)

Increased gas prices....kind of noticing the same with flights, since they too require gas.

I agree Digs I find you can incur more lost time and expense with air travel than car travel not to mention the initial expense is usually much more than teh driving expense. I always love the wear and tear argument.

 

[Csaks]

I also agree with Digskat.

Either mode of transportation can be a pain for different reasons. Didn't a bunch of people here get messed up last Dec. because of a snow storm in Buffalo and they were stranded for a day at the airport? Thats my worst fear or an airline overbooking a flight like they do on that A&E show.

The flat tire thing bit us last year on the way home. Ran over something in the Virginia's in the pouring rain, late at night at around 4 Celsius. Other than a wild cold after the fact and a couple of hundred bucks to replace the tire here at home, no big deal. I had the same thing happen two years before 10klms from home. Cars are going to break 5 minutes from home or half way to Florida. If you are that worried about wear and tear on your car than leave it in the driveway and don't drive it, it's going to happen one way or another.

Either way has their ups and downs, I will not say one is better than the other. Each family needs to discover what is best for them. For us it comes down to time, a 7 day stay I would fly but I have 16 days off so driving this upcoming trip is the mode of transportation and becomes part of the vacation and taking the G5 will be better on the pocketbook.

 

[digskat]

we have driven down 4x as a family, I have done it once before marriage, and my wife has driven down a dozen times before she knew me. It hasn't always been perfect, but there have been few issues. Four years ago our alternator went, in Tennessee, and we were delayed for 3 hours, and we spent $135 to get back on the road. We did meet some great people, and saw some of the hillside areas. The same year, my in-laws flew to Miami, for their cruise. As they taxied down the runway at Pearson, the door fell of the plane (I kid you not). They were taken off the plane, and told to wait for repair.....then another plane......then sent to a nearby hotel over night. They lost 12 hours. A co-worker stayed in Cocoa Beach for a week, and was stranded for 5 additional days, when the Airline filed for bankrupcy and cancelled flights. He paid $250 each for a return flight on another airline, and over $700 on accomodations.
Last year, a disk went on our axle rod a week before we left. The other went when we reached Ocala. It was covered under warranty, and we lost 2 hours, as we arranged for a replacement car, and a dealership to repair our truck.

 

[binwinbinwin]

Any idea on what gas is now in the US for a gallon of regular?

 

[digskat]

fuel cost calculator has Michigan/Ohio at $4.05 on average, and $3.96 from Kentucky down. Gas buddy has Tennessee at $3.88, and every one but Michigan under $4.00

 

[Cottager]

I looked at Spirit for Oct to Tampa to go see the HABS play the Lightning and man it was still over 400 from Detroit to Tampa and home for 1 person and out of Pearson it was 878 to fly return for one person. That is way more than my gas to drive to and from Disney. Especially when you add in another 5 people you have to get there and back.

Are you referring to last October? Just as an example, doing a quick search this October 14 to 21, 2008 on Spirit Airlines, non-stop, return, from Detroit to Tampa for 6 people is $834.00 all taxes in! ($708 + $126 taxes)

10/14/2008 NK635 Detroit (DTW) to Tampa (TPA) 1:00 PM-3:40 PM Deluxe Leather 983
10/21/2008 NK644 Tampa (TPA) to Detroit (DTW) 4:10 PM-6:45 PM Deluxe Leather 983

 

[F4disneyfan]

Are you referring to last October? Just as an example, doing a quick search this October 14 to 21, 2008 on Spirit Airlines, non-stop, return, from Detroit to Tampa for 6 people is $834.00 all taxes in! ($708 + $126 taxes)

10/14/2008 NK635 Detroit (DTW) to Tampa (TPA) 1:00 PM-3:40 PM Deluxe Leather 983
10/21/2008 NK644 Tampa (TPA) to Detroit (DTW) 4:10 PM-6:45 PM Deluxe Leather 983

No this was for this coming Oct actually.

 

[binwinbinwin]

Here's a great website to calculate your car's fuel consumption http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm.