RVers ride out fuel price hike.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

If he's running on empty, Bill Phillips easily can spend more than $600 to fill the fuel tank of his 45-foot-long Legendary Prevost motor coach.

"It heats up my credit card," he said.

But Phillips said the high cost of fuel is not about to deter him from seeing the country behind the wheel of his luxury RV, which gets about 6 miles per gallon when he's towing his Cadillac Escalade. The retired contractor from Clearwater, Fla., was parked recently at the Premier RV Resort in Coburg with his wife, Shaaron, and their three toy poodles, Cory, Cody and Rocky.

"You don't like the higher prices, but you don't buy the kind of rigs we drive and stay home because gas is up a quarter a gallon," he said. "It doesn't really affect my travel. You just ride and bitch, I guess."

No motorist likes paying $3.40 or more for a gallon of fuel, but RVers feel the pinch especially hard when they buy fuel for vehicles that get about 8 mpg. Still, RV owners say they're committed to the lifestyle and that, while high gas prices may change the way they travel, it won't keep them parked at home.

One factor in favor of many RV drivers is that diesel fuel, at least right now, is cheaper than gasoline: The U.S. average is $2.80 per gallon vs. $3.23 per gallon for gas.

For local RV makers, fuel prices are a key component of consumer confidence, along with interest rates and the stock market, and can influence sales. Monaco Coach, for example, in its most recent quarterly report, warns investors, "We may experience a decrease in sales of our products due to an increase in the price or a decrease in the supply of fuel." Such factors "could significantly affect our business," the report states.

But the local manufacturers say rising fuel prices, while far from a welcome development, haven't had a big impact on sales or production so far.

The industry as a whole has been sluggish for a while, and locally, the transportation manufacturing segment, which includes RV makers, lost 500 jobs over the past year, according to the state Employment Department.

"Generally speaking, there's no question fuel prices affect the industry adversely," said Matt Howard, marketing director of Country Coach, the Junction City RV maker. The cost of fuel is often a "top of mind concern" for prospective RV buyers, he said, "but it's not a prohibitive factor. They still buy a coach but they may choose to drive it fewer places."

Craig Wanichek, spokesman for Monaco Coach Corp. in Coburg, said the company doesn't think fuel prices will hurt sales of its higher-end motor homes.

"The person that has been traveling in a luxury, Class A motor home is going to continue to do that," he said. "Our customers, even with the increase in fuel prices, are still enjoying the lifestyle. They might have changed what they're doing a little bit - taking fewer trips or shorter trips or staying longer - but they're still RVing."

At the same time, the company has been developing lighter-weight, more fuel-efficient and less expensive motor homes to respond to market demand, he said.

Marathon Coach occupies a rarified niche in the RV world, building Prevost conversion coaches at its Coburg plant that sell for $1.5 million to $2 million. The company hasn't seen much effect on its business from fuel prices so far, said Steve Schoellhorn, president and chief operating officer.

"By our calculation, our average customer will spend about $1,000 to $1,500 more on fuel than they did a couple years ago," he said. "If you enjoy the RV lifestyle, that's not going to stop people."

But someone thinking of buying his first RV may think twice, he said.

The sticker shock of higher fuel prices is not as dramatic for RV enthusiasts as outsiders may think, said Bob Livingston, group publisher of Trailer Life, MotorHome and RV Business magazines. If the price of fuel is 25 cents more per gallon than a year ago, that equals about $125 a month for an RVer who drives 6,000 miles a year, he said.

"It sounds to me like one really nice dinner for two people per month you have to give up."

Shannon Nill, general manager of Guaranty RV Center in Junction City, said he's been trying to shift the mix of inventory at his dealership to include smaller, more fuel-efficient coaches.

But he sees no signs that enthusiasm for the RV lifestyle is waning.

"The parks are as full as ever," he said. "Our service department is absolutely maxed out right now, which tells me tons of people are getting their coaches brushed up for camping season."

Back at Premier RV Resort in Coburg, RVers said they were committed to their lifestyle, even if it means cutting back on their mileage.

Gabe and Ann Ramirez of Crescent City, Calif., are retired Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who tow a 25-foot Airstream trailer behind a Ford F-350 pickup truck. High fuel prices caused them to shorten a trip planned for this summer across Canada, but they're still traveling. Ron Surmick likes to say he's from "Anywhere, USA," because he and his wife sold their home and travel full time in a Country Coach Intrigue. He said higher fuel prices mean they might stay in one spot a little longer than they used to.

"We might stay a week instead of three days," he said. "That's a positive thing," because they get to a know a community better.

Stu Gillette, a retired aerospace engineer, sold his home in Colorado four years ago and travels alone in a 32-foot Winnebago. The price of fuel definitely has him rethinking his travel plans, he said.

He had planned a major trip into Canada and Alaska last year, but decided to take shorter trips in Oregon instead, he said. If fuel prices keep going up, he said, he may choose to spend next winter in Oregon rather than driving south to warmer climes.

"I debate about selling my motor home," he said, "but I really like this lifestyle."