harper223
West Texas
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Joined: 09/11/2008
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Our family of 4 (2 small children, but 1 of them is a boy - so he eats 2x what she eats) has had it with two things while traveling to AND staying at our destinations:
1) The cost of eating out for 4 people, let alone 1- has become way too high. I wonder how many folks calculate this cost when they go camping? We didn't until recently, and were stunned.
2) The quality of food at these places has become _______ (insert bad word here). My mother-in-law tells me she could get a burger, coke, and fries back in the day for under $1, and she says it tasted so much better with better ingredients. Plus many places were diner-style, not fast food- which is total JUNK. Yes, I bought my fair share of Whoppers and Big Macs in college, but they were having burger wars back then and you could get one for $1.00, so I would load up.
We will be pulling over and eating from now on. There is simply no reason to eat this stuff anymore, except on occasion- and mainly for the kids, like a happy meal or something. I can prepare something much better anyway.
Rant over. Camp ON!
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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We DO keep track of food expenses but never count it as a travel expense since we eat the same way when at home. Might eat out once or twice a week whether at home or in the RV. Pretty much the same for personal needs like toiletries, clothing, entertainment etc. The only expenses we COULD are those that we don't have when staying home.
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downtheroad
Pacific Northwest
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Joined: 02/18/2003
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We don't "eat out" when traveling with the trailer.
We are not fond of generally unhealthy, expensive "road food" and prefer pulling over and going into our rig for a bite and a break.
As skip said..you gotta eat...costs the same on the road or at home.
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FXSTOHIO
Ohio
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Joined: 01/27/2009
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We never pay any attention to the cost of food but there is only the two of us and two cats. You are right the cost of food in most places has gone up a lot over the last few years. We eat mostly in the camper and only average about one meal a day at a fast food place.
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sonicsix
Jerry n' Cynthia
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We very, very rarely eat out so it costs the same at home for us as it does in the camper. We stock up the camper with regular groceries so we always have something to cook, stuff to make sandwiches and water/tea to drink. Fast food places, Cracker Barrel, restaurants, etc are just too expensive for what you get so we do not patronize them.
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syvjeff
Santa Ynez, CA
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I'm working hard to save up for a TT or a TC and when it comes to traveling, food costs is one of the things I'm accounting for. I've sadly learned over the years that food expense is almost as much as getting a hotel room. When it comes to my trips in life, I'm a weekender so if you have a hotel room and two days of eating out and you do this once a month - the cost of everything is double the amount of of owning an RV and having your own groceries.
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pasusan
PA
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Joined: 05/13/2009
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FXSTOHIO wrote:We never pay any attention to the cost of food but there is only the two of us and two cats. You are right the cost of food in most places has gone up a lot over the last few years. We eat mostly in the camper and only average about one meal a day at a fast food place.
One meal a day? 
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hotbyte
Barnesville GA
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Joined: 08/31/2004
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We bring groceries and, for most part, eat at camp site. Often our only time to eat out is on the return trip. We've eaten in camper so much by then the break is good.
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campin4kids
Indiana
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Your Mother in Law is right. I'm only 45 and I can remember fast food tasting so much better then how it does today. Todays food is full of filler and mystery garbage. I used to work at Wendy's when I was 15 (had to get a work permit) and I loved the food there even though I worked there. Thats the era when they had a wonderful salad bar. Where did those go anyway? Now its just not the same. They did something to the meat. Changed it somehow. I just don't enjoy eating out like I used to. Mc Donald's meat is different too.
We try to take what ever foods we would eat at home with us when camping. We used to spend money on special things but even that got way too expensive. So we try to eat as normal as possible when camping. Just one less expense.
Happy camping.
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smkettner
Southern California
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The meals are generally way too large at a restaurant. Order one meal for the two adults and one for the kids to eat. Or two adult meals and share with the kids. Only one plate should have fries for all to share. Order just water for the meal and have your can of soda or give the kids some juice afterward. Skip expensive add-ons like 75cents+ to add cheese on the burger. Even less food is needed when you are just sitting in the vehicle traveling.
That is how we generally do it. And maybe we splurge a bit only once toward the end of the trip.
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