'The costs are just extreme': Campers staying closer to home amid soaring fuel costs
Using a trailer or an RV is an easy way for people to get out of the city and into the outdoors, but with soaring gas prices, the cost of driving with one has gone up drastically.
Wanting to enjoy a nice summer weekend, Slawec Gusniowski decided to take his trailer to Birds Hill Park.
It's only about a 15-minute drive from his home, a lot closer than his usual campsites in the Whiteshell.
"That'd probably be now about $200 where it used to be about $100 to pull the trailer there and back, so you could definitely see it," said Gusniowski. "Even Birds Hill Park, I mean, by the time I come back, the costs are just extreme."
With gas prices above two dollars a litre, it's a common theme for campers inside the park.
"Absolutely, I mean pulling the camper, you get less fuel mileage, and now with the prices of gas, it just costs that much more," explained Dwayne Ammeter, who also brought his trailer to Birds Hill Park.
According to GNR Camping World, RV sales are not down, but consumer trends are shifting.
"People are downsizing out of big full-size trucks going into smaller mid-size SUVs to pull, if they are still going to pull around, and there's a ton of trailers that have really tailored themselves to that niche market as well," said Trevor Olynyk, a sales manager at GNR Camping World.
Another rising RV trend is seasonal spots where trailers stay year-round.
Olynyk said many customers are now buying campers and getting the company to haul them to a permanent spot.
At Poplar Forrest Lodge and Campground near Selkirk, the rise in seasonal camping has changed their business model.
"We used to have tenting sites there and transient sites, and those are becoming seasonal now. We've got three in there, and there's only three left," said Peter Tomko, the owner of the campground.
Tomko said with seasonal camping, people can build patios for their trailers and also enjoy a tight-knit community.
As for those still hauling their trailers, there's no getting around the extra price of gas.
"Lot of adjustments, but we still want to make sure we have fun during the summer," said Gusniowski. "So probably less trips than last summer, so that's, you know, that's one thing that we do."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.