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Is the price of Gas an issue in 2023?

Gas and diesel prices have been on a roller coaster with Canada’s inflation for much of 2022. Will these higher prices impact your riding in 2023?

We all have a Budget

As snowmobilers, we understand our chosen passion is going to cost us a little money every winter. We do not begrudge ourselves for this pleasure, but most of us do have a budget. My budget like yours is truly affected by the price of gas.

Gas or fuel prices however are not the only cost when riding. We all have bought a Trail Permit, renewed our sled’s Registration and purchased appropriate Insurance. We have also invested in riding gear and accessories like trailers, and trucks and spent money on those “must-have snowmobile” goodies. But the cost of gas and diesel has maybe been the most impacted by inflation since we rode in the 2022 season.

Gas

Do you leave from your house every ride?

Are you someone who can depart from your own residence by snowmobile on every ride? If you do, count yourself as fortunate. While your gas expenses in 2023 may be higher than in past seasons if you are not filling your truck-trailer combo with diesel or gas every weekend, it will not be as noticeable.

Trailering your sleds to where you ride or want to ride is often necessary for many of us. Now we have the combined cost of fuel for our truck and our sleds. Gas has recently looked cheap compared to the price per litre of diesel.

Those of us who trailer also are those who often look to ride in far from home destinations. We load up the sleds so we can spend more time in the Region or Province we chose to visit. Therefore, we choose to not spend valuable time riding trails we have closer to our homes. All of us, will have to accept it is going to cost us more in 2023.

How far will your tank take you? 

All things equal your snowmobile’s tank will take you just as far today as it did last season. So, you can still ride your favourite trails and loops in 2023. It will just cost more when you reach the gas pumps.

We all spend our money on something and for me it is snowmobiling. Yes, I would like it to cost less when I fuel up but I am not at a stage where it will stop me from riding. I am not certain what the cost per litre for gas would have to rise to for me to stop snowmobiling.

Gas

Gas is more Expensive 

We can not sugar coat it, all fuel costs more in January 2023, than it was in January 2022. As per recent Statistics Canada data, the following numbers show what’s has occurred in one season.

In Quebec, QC a litre of premium gas was $.30 / litre more and diesel was $.95 / litre more at the end of December 2022, than in December 2021.

In Saint John, NB a litre of premium gas was $.39 / litre more and diesel was $1.23 / litre more at the end of December 2022, than in December 2021.

Gas

Money can always be an Excuse 

Let me say that at one point in my younger days – the early 20s – and while attending University I recall a period that was much graver financially. I owed at least one month’s rent, I was behind on my semester’s tuition and only had beverages in the fridge, not food. I did own a 1976 Mercury 340 Trail Twister. Reflecting back, it might have been the only thing I owned in those lean financial years.

Conclusion

I had the 340/Trail Twister hidden in a barn for fear they would sell it and use the money to pay my bills. I still have the Merc and I am still going to snowmobile in 2023.

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Picture of Ross Antworth

Ross Antworth

Ross Antworth Ross has been immersed in snowmobiles since he was eleven years old; Fifty-one seasons now. He retired in 2021 after a 26-year career in the snowmobile industry. He started as a volunteer and then accepted an opportunity offered to him by the New Brunswick Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (NBFSC). The Board of Directors asked him to lead them as their General Manager. He remained in the position for 24 years. When you meet Ross, it becomes instantly obvious that snowmobile, and all things snowmobiling, are still an intricate part of his life. His travels, his friendships, and multiple business, industry and political relationships span throughout North America, because of his passion for it. His sled; a 1973 Chaparral 292 cc Firebird entered his life when he was unable to play organized hockey as a young boy. His mom, unbeknownst to him, convinced his father to buy the new Chappy in the autumn of 1972. Ross has ridden a snowmobile every winter since and has owned at least one snowmobile of his own since he was 16 years old. He bought his first new snowmobile, a 1979 Arctic Cat Jag 3000, with his savings from mowing lawns at the church cemetery and pumping gas at the neighbourhood convenience store. His wife Clare believes he still owns every snowmobile he has ever bought! At first, he was not allowed to leave his parent’s yard, but he rode the Chappy so much that he created a track in the snow all the way to his father’s precious lawn. He was then permitted to ride further, which he has done almost every season since. Ross has always been adamant that he is a snowmobiler first and a Manager second. He knew that his innate knowledge of snowmobiling at the trail, both as a volunteer and user, was valuable and necessary to keep him grounded. Riding often helped him guide the NBFSC to make better decisions for New Brunswick snowmobilers. Going on rides was the best way to understand, connect, and keep current on the challenges and opportunities. Many winters he rode as many as 10,000 km of trails in North America. His riding took him to every Province in Canada (except Saskatchewan) and also into seven U.S.A. States. His personal favourite rides have been in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Gaspesie of Quebec, and New Brunswick’s Christmas Mountains. Retired now, he rides primarily in New Brunswick, Maine, Quebec, and the off-trail roads around his camp in central New Brunswick. Ross has had an NB Trail Permit since 1993 and an FCMQ Trail Permit since the early 2000s. He looks forward to sharing his insights, opinions and travels with our readers and followers from the snowmobile trails of primarily New Brunswick, Maine, and Quebec.
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