Fuel Cost and Car Tax.

[Kevin_5072507]

I have not been using my van on bank holiday weekends latly, mainly due to difficultly in getting a pitch, i know i should book way in advanced, but another factor is the rising fuel costs are keeping us at home.

I tow a 12year old Ace Orbit with a 7 year old 2.0 Nissan Max, which is due to get hit next year with the rising cost of road tax. I can not afford to change the Nissan, so i will have to think about my future in caravaning.

My family and i have been caravaning for many years now, and have enjoyed many weekends away, plus some great holidays in Europe.

What i would like to know is , are there any other people like me who due to the fuel rising costs and road tax, are not even contemplating getting there van out for a bank holiday weekends or for there main holiday.

I would like to know from campsites owners if the rising cost in fuel is affecting there business, and what effect is this going to have on our hobby.

 

[Damian]

The answers to your question are contained within the thread below: Is our pastime in its last legs

 

[Gumbo]

Hi Kevin

I think ALL CC site had Full Signs for the last Bank Holiday Weekend. It looks like a lot of people aren't bothered, what would be interesting to know is how far people now travel to sites !!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pulsynetic]

Hi Kevin,

Your not alone although we choose to stay at home over bank holiday periods, as for one thing its crazy on the roads and you can bet your bottom dollar that the weather will do its usual. Today especially has been a real dilly.

Yes the rising cost of fuel to us, not big earners, is a real big issue, so much so, that we sold the one and only new van we bought in 2001 in over 25 years of caravanning. One reason the cost of towing it and second, it was nothing but trouble from the day we bought it. Thought we had bought a van that was last for years, 7 years later we sold it on, had a real guts full of it.

Only managed to buy it, because my wife had a serious back injury and had a little compensation, so used a big slice of it to buy a new van, big mistake. Van now gone, along with a big slice of her injury money grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr but my wife's injury isn't and never will be 24/7 pain, it never stops.

So in order to enjoy our passion of caravanning, we bought a little Esterel folder. Wow what a difference in towing, piece of cake, don't really know it there. Its 25 years old and still going strong, we have made some changes to it, to suit our needs. My wife made new curtains and seat covers and I have done a few jobs on it. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles like a modern up to date van, but everything is there for the basics. Our very first caravan was a 1971 I think second hand Mardon with gas lighting and a couple of 12 volt strip lights and we had great fun in that van, even the kids remember it with fond memories

So the Esterel as old as it is, is more up to date than the Mardon and so we will continue to still have great fun.

So my advice is take a look around for a folder, they are better than you think, the modern ones made in the later part of the 1990's are very nice with hot water, cassette loos etc etc and you will save a fortune in towing costs.

Regards,

GP.

 

[JohnM20]

Are our 'government' cynically hoping that we might miss something. They have 'delayed' the rise in fuel duty of 2p until October. How good of them ! But what about all the extra VAT they have had since the start of the year ? The VAT on the 25p extra that we are paying at the pumps gives the government an extra 4

 

[Meister]

John,

Simple answer to your question "Do they take us for mugs?"

YES

Steve

 

[trucker]

Kevin, if you are not intending to holiday at all if you did not have the caravan than yes it would be worth getting rid what with insurance and storage (if you dont store at home) however if yo still intend to holiday, you still need to use the car, you still need to pay a "pitch price" even if its a hotel room or a static hire at a far higher cost.

I personaly will not give up my holidays however pricey fuel is so will not give up the caravan.

Kevin

 

[andrew1608]

I have now had to give up towing, i am a lone caravaner and was doing my calculations last year i went from edinburgh to york and a return trip cost me around

 

[mickk]

Hi Kevin

the rising costs are hitting most of us vanners & small business as well as large companys, perhaps we should put our extra expenses on our tax returns like the robbing MPs do, I am self employed & I could not get away with some of what they claim for? but all the parties are the same who ever kicks this taxation grabbing goverment out, so we will never win.

Mick K.

 

[Oldfogey]

A lot of people (here and elsewhere) want the Government to "do something" about fuel prices.

Personally, I'm not sure that they can.

Say they cut 20p off the tax. What would happen?

Well, the price would instantly drop by 20p; but for how long?

I believe that having broken the

 

[Ken_374329292]

Can anyone explain why diesel is now about 15p a litre more than petrol when a year ago it was the same price as petrol. I know diesel costs more to produce and that our unelected chief of thieves taxes it at the same rate as petrol but 15P ? come on !!

 

[ThePlotter]

Diesel is actually cheaper to produce,and of course a diesel will run on many things including old chip shop oil.

The government a few years ago declared Diesel was 'greener' than petrol so loads switched to diesel,the government then declared it was not greener so put the duty on diesel as a higher % than petrol so as the price goes up because the duty is a % the gap widens.They now admit that diesel is greener,and of course more to the gallon means less gallons bought so they will maintain the differential.

 

[Gumbo]

Diesel is a cut in the refining process of Crude Oil, You get more Petrol than Diesel from a barrel of Crude. So you need to refine according to supply and demand. Higher demand for Diesel means you have to produce more Petrol, which currently has a lower demand. So you end up with tanks full of Petrol with no market so Diesel has to wait.

Rob-Jax will either shoot this down or confirm it.

 

[Andrew._374353608]

Are our 'government' cynically hoping that we might miss something. They have 'delayed' the rise in fuel duty of 2p until October. How good of them ! But what about all the extra VAT they have had since the start of the year ? The VAT on the 25p extra that we are paying at the pumps gives the government an extra 4

 

[Thorpedo]

Kevin

Like yourself, I very rarely book sites in advance as I like to be certain of the weather befor I commit.

I can always find space somewhere, I managed to get into CC site at Baltic Wharf - Bristol this weekend on a last minute booking but I reduced from 5 to 3 nights as this paid the extra fuel and increased Bank Hol costs.

I live just 200 yards from a large commercial site in devon. The number of Tents and Caravans on the site last Sat (Bank Hol wknd) was dramatically down on previous years.

Obviously the weather forcast played it's part, but with the Govt taking money out of circulation with higher car tax, huge increases in fuel costs and no evidence of sites keeping prices down, I'd be very worried if I was a site owner.

 

[Avril_374306697]

Like you Kevin we have not been using our caravan nearly half as much as we used to. Our 6 year old Nissan Terrano is to be hit hard with the road tax up from 210 this year to 300 next and then a whopping great 425 in 2010 but who else will want to buy it we will lose so much it brings tears to my eyes the best of it is we only use the car to tow the van it does very little solo mileage spends most of it's life in the drive collecting bird sh*t along with the van but very little other cars will actually tow our van. We are taxed thru the nose at source and then plough all of our hard earned cash back into this economy when we holiday as we never go abroad. Working out the sums we only caravan for 3 weeks in the year so it does not make economical sense it looks like we'll be reverting back to canvas and a more economical estate car!! Serious when you can't actually do what you like in life without being penalised by the government.

 

[RogerP]

Like most I'm being hit by rising costs and whilst not happy by this I weigh up the pro's and con's to see what has to give.

Well caravanning wont give , why?

well for many many years my wife and I could not afford holidays , until 4 years ago our last holiday was our honeymoon 14 years ago.

Now , taking into account all the associated costs of the van , suitable car (which incidently I still need the car for every day life) running costs , insurance etc etc we now get 4 weeks holidays a year plus however many weekends away.

At what costs , well based on the weeks we've got booked this year ;

-

 

[MartinJ]

Personally I think Roger is just about spot on with his comments.

I see its in the news this week about the end of the so called cheap flight's era due to rising fuel costs, so the money spent on package holidays is bound to increase as well.

Add to that the thought of airport delays, unknown accomodation standards and all the other reasons I dont like package holidays (too many too list here) then I thinke we will keep the caravan thanks.

 

[emmitdb]

Greetings All,

On the subject of car tax, can I urge all out there to surrender their car tax on the last couple of days in August and then immediately apply for a 6 month tax disc to replace it.

That disc will run out on 28th Feb and you will be able to get another 12 month disc for

 

[Dustydog]

Excellent calculation Roger.

Like Martin I feel you have this on the head.

We've been lucky over the years travelling the world although we very clearly missed out on Great Britain.

We use our caravan as often as possible but now try and stay away a lot longer than before.

Our biggest cost is diesel so the longer you ae away the more economic the trip becomes. Other than site fees, our food and bar bill are not much than at home.

The garden is watered automatically by our irrigation system and our kind neighbours cut the grass and feed the fish.

Air travel bores me now, all that security and waiting around. Quite right because my safety is at stake but even air travel is going up.

I suggest to BigGordie that all us caravanners who use British sites should get a substantial tax discount on the basis we ae putting our hard earned savings back into the British holiday economy rather than Greece or Spain.

Del

You suggestion sounds too good to be true. Do you think it will work? I'm up for it. Nice one mate.

Cheers

Alan

 

[emmitdb]

Excellent calculation Roger.

Like Martin I feel you have this on the head.

We've been lucky over the years travelling the world although we very clearly missed out on Great Britain.

We use our caravan as often as possible but now try and stay away a lot longer than before.

Our biggest cost is diesel so the longer you ae away the more economic the trip becomes. Other than site fees, our food and bar bill are not much than at home.

The garden is watered automatically by our irrigation system and our kind neighbours cut the grass and feed the fish.

Air travel bores me now, all that security and waiting around. Quite right because my safety is at stake but even air travel is going up.

I suggest to BigGordie that all us caravanners who use British sites should get a substantial tax discount on the basis we ae putting our hard earned savings back into the British holiday economy rather than Greece or Spain.

Del

You suggestion sounds too good to be true. Do you think it will work? I'm up for it. Nice one mate.

Cheers

Alan

Alan,

Don't see why not.

In my case I am delaying paying the Government an extra

 

[emmitdb]

Like you Kevin we have not been using our caravan nearly half as much as we used to. Our 6 year old Nissan Terrano is to be hit hard with the road tax up from 210 this year to 300 next and then a whopping great 425 in 2010 but who else will want to buy it we will lose so much it brings tears to my eyes the best of it is we only use the car to tow the van it does very little solo mileage spends most of it's life in the drive collecting bird sh*t along with the van but very little other cars will actually tow our van. We are taxed thru the nose at source and then plough all of our hard earned cash back into this economy when we holiday as we never go abroad. Working out the sums we only caravan for 3 weeks in the year so it does not make economical sense it looks like we'll be reverting back to canvas and a more economical estate car!! Serious when you can't actually do what you like in life without being penalised by the government.

Avril,

See my comments about your car tax and, as our american ggas guzzling cousins say"Do the math"

Regards

Del

 

[Oldfogey]

it certainly does work. At any time you can send your car tax disc back for a full refund of any COMPLETE months left

I bought and taxed my car in April, so I will be renewing it by this method with 10 months used, in time for the next budget.

Furthermore, we have 2 cars, so anytime we are not going to use one of them for a full month, say we are going away in the van for several weeks, leaving one car at home, we send back for a refund, declare SORN (i.e certify that the vehicle will be kept off road), and then re-tax it on return.

And of course we always tax for a year in order to avoid paying the premium for a six month disc.

 

[rob_jax]

Frank,

"Diesel is a cut in the refining process of Crude Oil, You get more Petrol than Diesel from a barrel of Crude. So you need to refine according to supply and demand. Higher demand for Diesel means you have to produce more Petrol, which currently has a lower demand. So you end up with tanks full of Petrol with no market so Diesel has to wait.

Rob-Jax will either shoot this down or confirm it."

You are right. The refining of crude oil will release around 25% more petrol than diesel - and that's before using other parts of the refinery to make petrol from cracked heavy oils.

And with the popularity of diesel engined vehicles, there's a Global imbalance between supply and demand - petrol no problem - but the demand for diesel is just about level with production.

So even if diesel costs the same as petrol to produce - the global price of diesel is high because of demand and this sits on top of high crude oil prices...

Diesel will remain at a premium until more production comes on-line - it doesn't matter if Saudi pumps more crude from the ground (OK it does - that will have an influence on crude oil prices) - there is no spare refinery capacity to produce more diesel.

Robert

 

[Gumbo]

Thanks Rob,I knew of the imbalance between Petrol & Diesel you have cleared it up in a concise way