There can be little doubt that climbing fuel prices have forced changes in some travel plans and do add some expense to any trip, but many RV owners say we should try to keep the increased costs in perspective.

It's hardly a news flash that the price of both diesel and gasoline has been fluctuating lately. Having risen to record highs, fuel prices have ridden a roller coaster that has some buyers worried.

To put things in perspective, we took some numbers from the owners' surveys and plugged them into the price of fuel. These numbers may not fit some owners, but they do represent the variance in the cost of fuel annually for the average owner.

Thus, the average gas burner will consume about 563 gallons per year averaging 8 miles per gallon. The average diesel pusher will consume about 944 gallons a year at 9 miles per gallon.

RVers don’t move around every day, so the cost of fuel isn’t as significant as it is with many other motorists. Most drive to a campground and then stay a while. A round-trip of 200 miles only costs about $20 more at $2.50 a gallon than at $1.50 a gallon, and that extra expense won’t keep most RVers home.

When you look at what a small increase actually adds to the cost of an entire trip, it puts fuel price increases in perspective

RVs, and vehicles towing trailers and fifth wheels have become much more fuel efficient in recent years. We will figure out how to cut out the extra bucks some where else, like eating fewer meals outside.

For many of us we want to travel to see as much of this country as we can while we are still in good health. We'll just have to budget a little more carefully. We hate when gas prices go up. But we’re not going to cut out our travel completely. If we have to cut out something else, so be it. Maybe it is time to plan on taking shorter trips and budgeting more for fuel costs.

Even if gas prices go up another 50 cents a gallon, for 350 gallons (an average of 3,500 miles) that's only another $175 for the trip. No sense in canceling a family vacation for $175.