Gas prices deter RVers

Stewart "Stu" Brown and his wife Barbara arrived Sunday night to this year's motor coach rally in Brooksville and noticed one obvious difference from past events: fewer crowds.

With gas prices topping $3.50 per gallon, it's not too hard to figure out the reason, they said.

The Browns left Naples early Sunday morning for their four-hour trek to the Southeast Area Family Motor Coach Association Rally.

"Burning nine miles to the gallon, it's eating us alive," Brown said.

The Browns have one of the smaller motor coaches, a 26-foot "Class C" RV that he said averages about 11 miles to the gallon.

But others have bigger behemoths that get half as good mileage.

Gary Davignon of Fruitland Park, Fla., has a 35-footer and spends $300 to fill up his 80-gallon tank.

"You just don't go as far as often," Davignon said of his road travels.

But Robert Young, standing near his 34-foot "Class A" rig, said gas is not a concern for him.

"If you're going to worry about what kind of gas mileage, you shouldn't have a motor home," said the North Port RV owner. "It takes the fun out of it."

And fun seemed to be the watchword of opening day at Wednesday's event, as RV enthusiasts spent time inside the vendors' booths, visiting some of the snack bar kiosks or just sitting in lawn chairs talking with fellow enthusiasts.

People wore name tags bearing their home states. Some gathered near a converted runway on the airport grounds and awaited a volunteer-driven golf cart to take them from their parked home to a booth on the far end of the grounds.

Many signed up for one of the several seminars pertaining to safety or the latest in RV trends.

Airport manager Don Silvernell said rally-goers spend big bucks at local restaurants, shops and gas stations and contribute to the local economy.

Past rallies have netted Hernando County $10 million or more.

Stu Brown, 78, said even with the higher gas prices, the RV life is too addictive to stop.

"This is like a cult and you get hooked into this," he said.

Brown, who retired after 22 years as an internal auditor, said he's had five motor homes and a trailer in the past 40 years.

"We'll probably do this until we die," he said.

This year's rally runs through Sunday.