'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
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.