With gasoline prices hitting all-time highs, Jeff Redmond says heB次元官网网址檚 planning to stay closer to home when RV camping this summer.

The owner and general manager of Bucars RV Centre in Balzac, Alta., says recreational vehicles are still one of the most affordable ways to travel as a couple or with a family once hotels, gasoline prices or airline costs are factored in.

B次元官网网址淲e laugh that RVers are the ones that are winning,B次元官网网址� Redmond said in an interview this week.

The cost of gasoline declined slightly before this May long weekend, the unofficial kickoff to summer camping season, but analysts say summer demand in coming weeks has the potential to send prices even higher.

Redmond said that could influence where he travels this year.

B次元官网网址淭he Okanagan Valley is a place I like to go B次元官网网址� and thatB次元官网网址檚 a seven-hour drive, so maybe I am going to go to Pigeon Lake or Gull Lake (Alberta), which is an hour-and-a-half drive,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he good news is that I am still going.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e able to alter our plans and to work within our budget.B次元官网网址�

Redmond said he has heard a similar sentiment from customers. Some are staying closer to home. Others are planning to stay longer at one campsite.

B次元官网网址淵ou park the larger trailer at a permanent campsite, or at your friendB次元官网网址檚 cottage, or at the old family farm, or at a winery in the Okanagan B次元官网网址� and you donB次元官网网址檛 tow it,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou hop in your family car and you go back and forth. You have a built-in, very affordable B次元官网网址� off-the-grid cabin that is extremely efficient once you get there.

B次元官网网址淟ots of people are no longer towing.B次元官网网址�

Rob Minarchi is vice-president of sales at ArrKann Trailer & R.V. Centre with outlets across Alberta. He said thereB次元官网网址檚 been a lot of demand for RVs since the start of the pandemic and it hasnB次元官网网址檛 slowed down this year.

B次元官网网址淢ost (people) are upgrading, as crazy as that sounds,B次元官网网址� he said from Edmonton. B次元官网网址淪ome people are selling B次元官网网址� because circumstances have changed but, for the most part, they are just trading in for different units.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of new RVers who came to the market when COVID first hit B次元官网网址� but they didnB次元官网网址檛 know exactly what they wanted.B次元官网网址�

Those customers, he said, are trading in for units that better suit their needs.

Minarchi said he hasnB次元官网网址檛 heard about anyone getting rid of an RV due to high gas prices.

B次元官网网址淲hat weB次元官网网址檙e seeing is a lot of people are just camping a little closer,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚f they were going to do a five-hour trip, now they are going to do a one-hour trip B次元官网网址� I think it actually ties in a little bit with COVID and staying close to home.

B次元官网网址淭hey found so many hidden gems locally B次元官网网址� in the last couple of years that they are OK to do that.B次元官网网址�

Some campgrounds are starting to notice some changes.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e had a few people cancel,B次元官网网址� said Scott Kast, owner of Tomahawk R.V. at Lake of the Woods in Ontario.

But, he said, gas prices are a minor factor in those cancellations.

B次元官网网址淲e do get a lot of Americans here. One thing holding people back is vaccine mandates,B次元官网网址� said Kast.

Another campground manager told CKPG radio station in Prince George, B.C., that some people travelling from farther away have cancelled.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of people are wanting to stay local,B次元官网网址� said Bobbie Carpino, who runs the Salmon Valley campground.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e seen cancellations from folks coming in from the States heading up to Alaska, as well as folks coming in from the Lower Mainland.B次元官网网址�

The price of fuel could add $100 or $200 to the cost of an average camping trip, Minarchi said.

B次元官网网址淚t feels like a lot when you are at the pump but B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 still affordable to do it,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淥ne less restaurant that you eat out at pays for the difference in your fuel for the whole camping trip.B次元官网网址�

Some RVers, he said, are adding solar panels and buying generators to make it easier to camp off the grid B次元官网网址� including on Crown land. Others are parking their RVs at permanent sites for the entire summer.

B次元官网网址淭hey are still camping, so thatB次元官网网址檚 good.B次元官网网址�

Redmond said the pandemic encouraged many people to get outdoors in their RVs, on a mountain bike or with a set of golf clubs.

B次元官网网址淚 am a guy that went and bought a new bicycle and thereB次元官网网址檚 no way IB次元官网网址檓 selling my bike. ItB次元官网网址檚 been awesome to get on the trails and get reintroduced to that,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淭here (are) lots of people, their lives got in the way of our great outdoors. They are stepping back now and saying, B次元官网网址榃ow, that was greatB次元官网网址� and they are going to keep doing it.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址� Colette Derworiz, The Canadian Press