The elephant is back in the living room...

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
Have your sister move to monticello.
It is a few miles more driving, but we sleep there for free, she cooks all the meals including packing lunches and making trail snacks. I pay only for my fuel. Even though I usually break stuff and that is expensive:).
 

ChestonScout

opinions are like Jeeps..
Location
Clinton, Ut
Heres an idea....Call the news and the UHP and annouce that you are going to Take Back Utah and protest gas prices and get a bunch of rigs together to drive to Moab for EJS in a Convoy. Meet at the capitol and make it a parade. If the cops try to stop you, get Cheston to crush the squad car.




I would LOVE to crush the squad car!!!




I just cant afford the fuel to get to the capital :-\
 

Cody

Random Quote Generator
Supporting Member
Location
Gastown
I get about 15-17 highway mpg on my v8 ZJ on 35's and I drive it to/from wherever I'm going. I got better than that in my dodge CRD when I towed though, and if I go to Moab to do trails (maybe 2x's per year), I like to tow if it's at all possible. I stay in a condo usually for Moab and eat out every night. If I wanted to camp and cook meals I would go do so someplace much further from the crowded Moab area. If I'm camping, I'm going to get as far away from everyone else as I can.

Honestly, if an extra $20-40 in trip expenses is going to make or break your trip, you probably aren't in a position financially to justify the trip at all.
 

ret32

Active Member
Location
Midvale
Thanks to the chaos in the middle east, oil hit $105.00 per barrel today. Diesel here in Cache Valley is already 3.70 per gallon and rising. I have a trip planned for Moab this spring but am seriously debating if I can afford to go. What are you all doing? Do you just cut back on eating out down there? Go camping instead of motel? Any ideas or suggestions to save some cash so you can still wheel and have some fun?

This is not a complaint thread per say, just need some opinions on how to get by.:sick:
I already do EJS and Moab as cheap as is humanly possible, so I have almost no room left over for cutting back. Also, I don't tow, so no savings available for me there. But here is my list of the top 5 ways I save money during EJS:

5. Camp at Sand Flats - The $10 camping fee (or is it $12 now?) includes entrance into the Rec Area. You know you're going to do at least one trail up there anyway, so save some money and get it included in your camp fees, which are already cheap. You're saving money by saving money!
4. Spring a little extra money for dry ice in your cooler - Dry ice can keep your stuff frozen solid for 4 days or more which means that (a) you can bring more food from home and it won't get all gross so you're likely to actually eat it and (b) no runs to the store for ice (no store = less chance of spending money that's not in your budget).
3. NOBODY except the driver gets out of the vehicle at gas stops - fuel quickly and get back in without letting the wife/kids/yourself wander the store for snacks, all your snacks should be purchased on a budget before the trip, if people need to pee or stretch their legs, do it at a rest stop or a city park where there is no opportunity for impulse spending.
2. WHEN you go out to eat (and you will, so you might as well budget it so you can monitor yourself) go at lunchtime or an early dinner (before the rush), the menu is typically cheaper outside of the benefit of avoiding some of the crowds. Try to eat like an AARP member.
1. Drive in the early, early morning - go to bed at like 8pm the night before (rig fully prepped and packed), then get up and start your drive at 2am or 3am, the lack of traffic at that time of day is a big plus. If you're a faster driver, you will save a lot of fuel by not having to pass people. If you're a slower driver, you will save fuel by avoiding the peer pressure from tailgaters to speed up on the 2 lane sections of road.

And here's one bonus tip. If you must stay in a motel/hotel, stay in Green River - even at 10mpg and $4 per gallon, you'll still save money driving into town each day rather than paying for comparable lodging at Moab EJS rates
 

roverrocks

Active Member
Location
Montose,CO
I just go and will go whatever the costs will be for gas. What little sanity I have requires wandering the outdoors and traveling far from the masses on a regular basis be it wheeling or hiking. I'm quite assured that I will not be dying rich anyway so I will go places with my last dollar. We all need to more fully explore and use the places near where we live too. This will save $. I definitely do. There are many places within 50 miles or even 10 miles of where I live that I need explore rather than always thinking of far off places.
 

jeep-N-montero

Formerly black_ZJ
Location
Bountiful
I just go and will go whatever the costs will be for gas. What little sanity I have requires wandering the outdoors and traveling far from the masses on a regular basis be it wheeling or hiking. I'm quite assured that I will not be dying rich anyway so I will go places with my last dollar. We all need to more fully explore and use the places near where we live too. This will save $. I definitely do. There are many places within 50 miles or even 10 miles of where I live that I need explore rather than always thinking of far off places.

Dude, you live in Montrose, you don't have to ever leave to have fun. I miss living and playing in Colorado.
 

roverrocks

Active Member
Location
Montose,CO
Dude, you live in Montrose, you don't have to ever leave to have fun. I miss living and playing in Colorado.
During the long winters with the high country deep in snow from Fall through at least late May I do. Besides I love the deserts of Utah. I love the desert more than the mountains. I am lucky to live in Montrose though and I know it.
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
I already do EJS and Moab as cheap as is humanly possible, so I have almost no room left over for cutting back. Also, I don't tow, so no savings available for me there. But here is my list of the top 5 ways I save money during EJS:

5. Camp at Sand Flats - The $10 camping fee (or is it $12 now?) includes entrance into the Rec Area. You know you're going to do at least one trail up there anyway, so save some money and get it included in your camp fees, which are already cheap. You're saving money by saving money!
4. Spring a little extra money for dry ice in your cooler - Dry ice can keep your stuff frozen solid for 4 days or more which means that (a) you can bring more food from home and it won't get all gross so you're likely to actually eat it and (b) no runs to the store for ice (no store = less chance of spending money that's not in your budget).
3. NOBODY except the driver gets out of the vehicle at gas stops - fuel quickly and get back in without letting the wife/kids/yourself wander the store for snacks, all your snacks should be purchased on a budget before the trip, if people need to pee or stretch their legs, do it at a rest stop or a city park where there is no opportunity for impulse spending.
2. WHEN you go out to eat (and you will, so you might as well budget it so you can monitor yourself) go at lunchtime or an early dinner (before the rush), the menu is typically cheaper outside of the benefit of avoiding some of the crowds. Try to eat like an AARP member.
1. Drive in the early, early morning - go to bed at like 8pm the night before (rig fully prepped and packed), then get up and start your drive at 2am or 3am, the lack of traffic at that time of day is a big plus. If you're a faster driver, you will save a lot of fuel by not having to pass people. If you're a slower driver, you will save fuel by avoiding the peer pressure from tailgaters to speed up on the 2 lane sections of road.

And here's one bonus tip. If you must stay in a motel/hotel, stay in Green River - even at 10mpg and $4 per gallon, you'll still save money driving into town each day rather than paying for comparable lodging at Moab EJS rates


that's some of the best advice I've heard, thanks for sharing that. I save money by not going on EJS weekend :)
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
Agreed, I would hate to spend the money to go down and waste 5 hours on what is normally a one hour section of trail.

avoid the RR4W runs and it's really not busy(i think labor day and turkey day were more busy). we've been doing that since they started this deal and i have no complaints. i go because i like seeing all the rigs down there, chatting with people about their rigs etc.

i've gone every year since '02 and it's a tradition i intend to keep :D
 

ret32

Active Member
Location
Midvale
I go during EJS for both reasons, crowd AND solitude. I normally go Saturday/Sunday of Easter weekend. Saturday, I'm there for the crowds and the excitement and the parade and to watch people try and break stuff. Sunday, I'm there for the solitude. On Easter Sunday I go do a trail on my own. I almost never see a single other vehicle on the trail on Easter Sunday; it's like a ghost town.
 
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meach4x4

Member
Last year, I drove the JK and pulled my 5x8 converted cargo trailer to camp in. I take it a little easier out on the trails than when I used haul down my CJ in a Freightliner with a 26 foot box, so I have less breakage.

This year, I have a dilema, tow the camp trailer... or tow the Tracker with the JK. We'll see how capable the tracker is by EJS, then make a decision.

Gil
 
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