Fuel prices are the highest since 2008.The Dyrt, a camping app that claims to have the most active online camping community, has found that record-high gas prices in the U.S. will affect the plans of more than 60 percent of RV and other vehicle campers in 2022.
The Dyrt surveyed members of its community who said their primary mode of camping is RV, camper van, trailer, overlanding, truck camper or rooftop tent campers, and the majority said they will alter their plans this year due to high gas prices. According to its 2022 Camping Report, 57 percent of people who tried a new form of camping last year opted for RVs and camper vans, making these the fastest-growing types of camping.
“Camping with RVs and camper vans has increased dramatically in popularity in recent years, more so than any other type of camping,” said The Dyrt CEO Kevin Long. “Depending on which part of the country you’re filling up in, and obviously the size of the gas tank, the cost for a fill-up could be $500 or more. That would make a lot of people think twice about their plans. If someone recently bought an RV, they’re not going to just park it all summer. But maybe they’ll save that cross-country roadtrip of a lifetime for 2023.”
According to the survey, the most popular solution was simply to camp closer to home – 23.6 percent of respondents said that would be their approach. Following that, 19.7 percent of campers said they will camp the same number of nights but drive to fewer total destinations or do less sightseeing around where they camp. Others plan to camp less this year – 10.3 percent slightly less and 6.9 percent a lot less.
“We live in southwest Missouri. We were going to go to the high points of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee,” says The Dyrt user Grant Maledy, who owns a camping trailer. “But with gas hovering around $4-something a gallon, we ended up going on a little backpacking trip 20 miles south of here in Busiek State Forest.”
