Gas Prices.

We cover a lot of miles with the Ship.

This weekend we are driving 224 miles each way to meet up with another ship.

The price of gas is starting to hurt.

When we planned our Summer Trip (1,500 round trip) I budgeted $3.00 a gal for gas. Right now it's that already. I will have to ask the parents to dig a little deeper.

How is the price of petrol impacting your programs?

Eamonn.

If you want to know the prices in your area, go to http://www.gasbuddy.com/. All prices posted are done by people like you & me. Extremely current & accurate.

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

Boy led does not necessarily mean "boys have license."

Freedom implies responsibility and stewardship, not license.

As a Committee Chair, I told my SPL at the Committee meeting before the Annual troop program planning meeting that "Freedom implies responsibility and stewardship, not license."

When they came back to us with a request for a 300 mile weekend campout, with no special attraction at the far end, we put the PLC on appetite supressants. Amazing what happens when we said they could not ask their parents for gas money for that trip, and that our fuel budget would be $35 per car.

They got the message.

There ARE close-in spots for camping and hiking to virtually everywhere in the Nation. Use those first.

(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

The expense budget for an activity is driven by the activity. If gas will cost $50 or $100 or $300, that becomes the expense. The income side of the budget is then set to cover the expenses.

Rather than nixing a PLC activity as too expensive, help them develop a balanced budget that will allow the activity to take place as envisioned. Let them see for themselves how much income they will have to earn to pay for the gas needed for a long trip. Let them decide on their own that a closer destination will cost less.

Am I understanding correctly, do your Troop's/Ship's allot gas money for the people driving?

So far it seems the only person in the Ship that is worried about the costs is me!!

The Scouts seem OK with paying whatever the costs are and so far the parents are not complaining.

We are very fortunate in that where we live offers a lot of opportunities for Scouting type activities, but sadly not a lot for the Sea Scouting activities which they want to do.

They know the costs involved with running a weekend away, they make the plans.

I did the Summer Camp plan as at the time we were not at a stage where the Scouts were ready to take on the task.

If the price of gas continues to soar?? I'm sure we will have to take a closer look at where we are going and why we are going there.

Still at the end of the day if what they want to do isn't on the doorstep we are going to have to do as FScouter says.

At this time we only have sailboats, I'm sure the Ships with large powerboats are feeling the pain of higher gas prices.

While I hate the idea of having to pay more and pass on the higher costs, I still whole heartedly believe that Scouts and their parents are willing to pay for a quality program. To not offer one because we are fearful of the cost is in fact short changing the Scouts.

Eamonn.

We do not figure in the cost of gas for weekend trips. We do not charge the dads to camp with us, figuring they are donating their time and their gas to the troop. We do reimburse drivers for Summer Camp (Almost 400 miles one way) and for High Adventure trips we drive to.

FScouter,

I don't disagree with you. However, our troop does their annual planning in May of each year. We are flexible and can/do change when required, but we do like to set and follow our plan. When you plan with gas at $1.95 per gallon and then half way thru your year it jumps to $3.00 per gallon, you plans kind of goes to pot. The troop does not pay for gas. The parents/leaders driving their vehicles do.

We are fortunate in that we have access to some private land just outside of town and the council owns a camp on the outskirts of town. We have places to go close to home if it comes to that.

Our troop has two crews going to Northern Tier this summer in three SUV's. Our SM is an engineer and likes to get things right the first time. He is quite experienced at planning high adventure trips. He began pricing everything out a year ago and put together a price a payment structure. He even built in a hike in gas prices just to make sure there was a cushion in the budget. There was no way he could even imagine at the time that gas would be heading towards $3 per gallon with no end in sight. He is now having to consider coming back and asking for an additional $30 to $40 per person just to cover gas if the prices don't come back down.

Am I understanding correctly, do your Troop's/Ship's allot gas money for the people driving?

I'm not sure I understand the question.

When we plan an event we make a budget.

For this weekend we are staying in the grounds of a church so there isn't any fees for camping. In June we are camping at Yough Lake Park, the camp fee is $30.00 per night. We plan to have 20 people so the camp fee is $1.50 per person. The person buying the food has a budget of $15.00 per person.

This weekend we have 15 people going in two vans. The gas is going to cost about $9.00 per person add in tolls and the final cost for the weekend is $30.00, which is a little more than the total but allows a little room for error.

If we have to rent vehicles we put that in the budget. Our local rate for a 15 seater van is $44.95 a day ($3.00 per person if it's full) They give us 150 miles a day and then charge $0.25 a mile. They claim that the van gets 22 -25 miles per gal. I think it gets about 18 miles per gal. With gas costing $3.00, it costs 17 cents per mile, depending on the number of people in the van is the final cost.

Eamonn.

SR540Beaver

We are in much the same situation, plans for summer were made back in December, the payment plan was put out.

I think to change things now would lead to some sort of mutiny -I'd end up walking the plank !!(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

SR540Beaver

IMHO FScouter is "spot on" -let the boys deal with the cost.

Plans are plans and are not set in stone...if some outside factor changes- the plan changes! If not you are only planning to fail...If gas goes up the price goes up, if food goes up the price goes up, if airfare goes up...you take the train (sorry). Why should your drivers have to 'eat' the difference? (these folks are very important) Let the scouts deal with it...in otherwords you play you pay...

There is a lot to be said for camping close (like living within your means) but some treks simply cost money to do... and everyone should share the pain....

Kittle- many units build cost of fuel (at least in part) into the cost of the event. Now days it is more important that ever...In our unit we decided years ago that any trip over 100 miles deserved a gas fee built into it...the same folks driving to every event carrying 3 to 6 scouts while other parents stayed home and watched the grass grow...can make for bad feelings...

For example- Next month for our Assateague Island trek- why should I 'carry' five scouts (none are my sons), and pull the scout trailer over 450 miles, pay a bridge toll and a vehicle park entrance fee ($10.00) my food fee and a camp fee, while another family "stays home" and "gets off scott-free" by paying a $10.00 camping fee and $15.00 for a weekend of food? Just because I am a scouter and have a big truck? keep doing this and before long no one wants to drive...heck, one year (long time ago)we had a driver simply stop coming, without saying anything. It ended up he was 'mad' that all the driving was costing him and his family hard earned cash while others were "free loading" and he was too embarrassed to bring it up....

In our troop we charge all campers (adults included) a gas fee, camping fee, food costs (etc.) and then return as much as possible to the drivers for driving...it is so much more "fair" than giving a driver a free camp out ($25.00 value) for $100-200 worth of gas or Diesel! Does it pay for 100% of the vehicle usage? No, but it helps more than a free camp site...

just my two cents

Anarchist

anarchist,

Maybe you missed this sentence in my post....."We are flexible and can/do change when required, but we do like to set and follow our plan."

SR540Beaver,

didn't miss a thing...but for the discussion sake I just wanted to remind the "lurkers" that as they say in the service "the plan is simply the 'where' you start from when everything goes to _____"(fill in the blank).

Some here seem to be surprised that units ask for gas money... for long trips...so I try to point out that plans are not sacred tablets...changes happen and that's life... thats all.

In a perfect world it would be nice to set and follow plans -perfectly...but you know, in 15 years of Cubs and B. Scouting I have yet to see any scout plan that didn't have at least one "hitch" in it, besides you plan for a year to trek out to the Boundary Waters...Gas goes to $3.25 do you really scrub the trip for another $40.-$50 per scout? Do you ask the Scouters to absorb it??? No you give it to the scouts and let them figure it out- boy led ... and still fun- Good Scouting...

And remember gas dollars go for a good cause... Wall Street along with Opec thanks you for them! Heck we'd just waste it on more coffee and cobbler, right?

TRA

Anarchist(This message has been edited by anarchist)

On the long trips for which I have been responsible, we estimated the fuel cost per head and then when the receipts were tallied, the participants split the actual cost - usually fairly close to the original estimate. If a parent or leader chooses to drive separately but this isn't required, then they are on their own nickel. If someone is asked to pull the troop trailer, they get full reimbursement. To be fair, we probably should reimburse on a per mile rate to cover wear and maintenance, but so far I'm the only one who has this perspective.

Gas is a small part of operating a car. At $3 per gallon and 20 MPG the cost of gas is 15 cents per mile. For tax purposes IRS has set the cost per mile to operate a generic car at 44 1/2 cents per mile.

Small part of the operating cost? Most important part of the cost! Ya ain't going anywhere with out it! And considering the cost of other maintenance items it's expensive when your break it down by the mile. And $3 a gallon ain't cheap considering the wholesale price is hovering around $2.15.

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10