Motorhoming and Global Warming
By Barry Murray
A few weeks ago our motorhome was being “professionally” filled at a gas station in urban Portland, Oregon, one of two states that requires attendants handle the complicated task, and having nothing to do while the cents on the pump flew by in an expensive blur, I was approached by an environmentalist who sweetly wondered if she could ask a few questions. Having mentally classified her —mostly by clothing— as a Sierra Club-ist wanting to beat me over the head, I agreed, provided I was granted the same privilege in return.

True to form I had correctly predicted to myself that her first query would have something to do with my, “feeling guilty for using so much gasoline in a time of global warming?”

I answered by suggesting that thanks to a well cared for engine, with an aftermarket Banks system, propery inflated tires, and sensible driving, that we most likely got almost the same mpg she was experiencing with her SUV.

More importantly, I had the pleasure of informing her in an even holier-than-thou rational sounding voice, that we lived “full-time” in our motorhome, which also was an office for an online “publishing empire” that did not cut down trees for scenic calendars and magazines. 

Suggesting we intelligently explore the truth of the situation through the logic of simple arithmetic, I asked how many gallons of fuel she used commuting to her place of employment per month.  I also asked her to add her husbands total. And, as it happen they owned another 4WD vehicle so the nanny could drive the kids to the very expensive private school that had a “whole earth,” playground. This totaled a conservative, agreed upon, guesstament of 100 gallons per month for the household. I suggested that as we rarely traveled more than 500 miles per month, flitting 50 miles per move from one idyllic outdoor experience to another, perhaps ten times per month, that our gasoline consumption was far less than the average rush hour commuter, and some months, half of theirs.

Which is why I started in next focusing on their collective carbon footprint, which included a 3,500 square foot house.  When asked about the actual heating and cooling costs, her insistence that it was a well insulated  ‘green’ dwelling still couldn’t come close to the 25 gallons of propane we consumed per month in the winter to keep —even with slides extended— our 325 square foot very comfortable. The fact that we try to follow a simple 70º Rule helps. This, we learned from a couple in a Moab, Utah RV park was if it is hotter than 70º, head north; cooler than 70º, turn the thermostat dial down by heading south.

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