Our regular Wednesday article (depending on availability of Internet connection)
Early in our RV blogging, we received several requests for information about the cost of living in an RV full-time or for extended travels. Other than saying we recommend living within your resources, that’s tough to answer, and we can speak only from experience, not as financial advisors.
Keep in mind that a three-day weekend in DisneyWorld can cost more than a month in a nice RV park. The obvious rule here is that you have to decide how you want to spend your money, i.e., setting a budget and staying true to what you decide.
That said, let’s begin with the most obvious expense: With our four-wheel drive diesel we get about 10.5 miles per gallon. If I decide to drive to the nearest grocery store for the Sunday paper (cost $1.75 or more) and the grocery is 2.5 miles away or 5 miles round-trip, I’ve spent about $3.25 for the newspaper, which I try to justify by saying coupons in the paper will defray the cost. If I buy coffee while I’m at the convenience store, well, the price goes up from there.
If you know how much money you have to spend on fuel each month and you know your mpg and the cost of a gallon of fuel, you can figure out how many miles you can drive in a month to stay within the budget. Don’t forget to include in your fuel budget visits to town for supplies, groceries, entertainment, etc.
Are you willing to stay at BLM sites, which are probably the least expensive camping choices other than your sister’s driveway, or do you want a utopian resort with lavish facilities? Your preference and/or your budget and the choice of RV have a bearing on your camping alternatives.
What you drive, of course, makes a huge difference in your expenditures. Consider the lifestyle you want while traveling and buy the rig that is most appropriate. A weekender with two kids and a dog can have a great time in a pop-up. But if you want all the comforts of home compacted into 300 or so square feet, you’ll probably need to spend more in initial costs plus operation and maintenance. Keep that in mind when you visit your friendly RV dealership. It’s a buyers market in these economic times, but the expenses don’t stop when you drive off the lot.
So far, our biggest maintenance expenses have been tire replacements on the trailer and the truck, and the cost of our summer’s caravan rip to Alaska. Diesel fuel eats heavily into our budget, but it’s an expected expense.
We eat in fast-food restaurants once or twice a week at the most. Sub shops and pizza places these days are in fierce competition, which we use to our advantage. Once or twice a month, we use special offers to go to fancier restaurants. If you’re inclined to eat every meal out, consider that you’re probably paying more in tips than we spend on food in a week.
How many T-shirts with a moose or an amusement park ride do your need? Where will you put them, particularly with all those hats that remind you of favorite stops cluttering up your bedroom? When the shopkeeper asks us where we’re from, it leads us to say, “As full-time RVers, we can’t buy anything.” And you know what? They don’t really care. They’re just glad to talk to somebody who shows an interest in them. Oh, and they’re glad to tell you where not to eat in town and the most interesting spots to visit.
In essence, we don’t think anyone is in a position to answer your question about cost of RVing except you. If you know how much you want to spend, you can figure it out.
Here are some common expenses to consider:
1) Payments on your rig, if any
2) Insurance
3) Cost of fuel
4) Repairs and maintenance (often depends on the quality of the coach and driving conditions) including tires, and cleaning products
5) Camping fees: $0 for boondocking to $125 per day in Key West … and more in some resorts. National parks and forests with no hookup and Corps of Engineers Parks with partial hook-ups run from $6 to $10 a day using the America Pass/Golden Passport. Alternating between full and no hook-ups, we usually stay in a range of $400-600 a month. If you sign up with an RV resort company, that can be a monthly or yearly charge, plus unscheduled related charges.
6) Propane and firewood
7) Food, not too different from home, except that many RVers seem to indulge themselves by eating out more often as a reward for their lifestyle. Include beer/wine/liquor in your budget, if that applies.
8) Health & beauty aids, etc., should be about the same as living in a house.
9) Regular (non-souvenir) clothes, a minimal expense
10) Communications and TV/satellite radio costs (probably similar to at-home costs)
11) Computer-related costs: Internet fees, WiFi on the road, new programs, repairs – most of which are the same as in a house.
12) Activities, entertainment, events. Golf, fishing, white-water rafting, music events, street fairs, hobbies you didn’t have time for at home, etc. Being nature-loving campers, we frequently “entertain” ourselves by hiking or putting our chairs by a lake or river and reading,
14) Books, DVDs, CDs: We visit used bookstores, thrift shops and movie rental stores that sell previously viewed movies. We stay very entertained, or, in other words, we live by the “Never Bored RVers” slogan.
15) Tolls (set your GPS to avoid them if you have more than two axles)
16) Postage
A major item in how you use your financial resources is whether you keep your bricks & mortar home, if that is even a choice in this economy. We talk with lots of people unable to sell their property, who either have a relative live in and take care of their homes or lease them. Several own farms they lease out. If you keep your house, you need to factor those costs into your budget.
Where will you save money if you free yourself from your house attached to solid ground?
– Property taxes and homeowners insurance
– Clothes
– Utilities, exterminator, school fund-raisers, etc., etc.
– Gardening supplies (a hard one for many people to give up!)
– The usual maintenance and repairs
Life in a Recreational Vehicle is not for everyone, to be sure, but we admire people willing to give it a try.
From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
P.S. Another expense you might be able to control with self-determination — We don’t really want to give a sermon about the cost of smoking cigarettes, but at our per-mile fuel cost, we can travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific on what many smokers would pay for about 12 cartons of cigarettes.
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Michelle
This sounds exciting to travel the country and take your time. I LOVE to travel and have been to all of the states except 8. I would love to take a year in my RV and check out the country before we are too old to do it up right. One child in college now, one is a senior in high school. We hope to try this in the next 4 years.( We have to have a real home for the kids to stay at when they come home from college.) Is it easy to get part time jobs on the road or do the KOA work camper deal if you need some extra cash? If I could think of something that I could make decent money on my own from my RV, I’d be ready to sell my house and hit the road when the kids are done with college – any ideas?
marianj
Great Blog We have considered full timing but cant pull away from our house and life here in Alaska. We do live in our 5th wheel for about 5 months of the year. We travel about 5 or 6 weeks then go to The Rio Grande Valley for 3 or 4 months. We pay $350 a month at a Resort Park. We love it. They call us Winter Texans. It is warm Most of the time. Marian
hal mcclamma
To: Charlie Weaver
Re: Replacing carpet
We have a sheet vinyl wood grain in our 36′ Class A. Decently attractive and a cinch to keep clean. Flexible enough that cracking is no problem (10 years old and looks new) You can throw 2 or 3 small rugs on it for decorating contrast. I can’t help you with the slide – you may be forced to keep carpet there on the front edge and under the table.
Lee
Full timing at $131.35 per day?
I’ll throw this out as perhaps of some value to someone. We did one lap of North America a couple of years ago in our 37′ Georgetown, class A, gas motorhome. For us it was full timing for two months. I kept very close accounts of everything we spent. We were out 59 days, and covered 9,750 miles at an average of 7.5mpg. We were not towing but in two places where we stayed a week or so, rented a car, that cost is included in our total. We own the Georgetown, so no loan payments.
We stayed in full hookup RV parks every night. No WalMarts, no state parks. We did try to shop for groceries and other supplies at WalMarts or Costco. We had routine oil and filter service done twice and one furnace repair. We prepared almost all of our own meals. Had dinner as guests with relatives only a few times, and had carry in several times. We did laundry once a week in the coin op machines where we were at the time.
Our AAA insurance just for the motorhome and the roadside assistance is $1.68 per day so $99.25 for the trip. I factored that into our total and came up with the total cost of the trip per day of $131.35. That’s everything, RV parks, food, dog food, gas, propane, service, laundry, souvenirs, and repairs.
I have not included the cost of our mobile phones or health insurance as we’d have those anyway. This does leave out all the overhead associated with our home which would be eliminated if we were full timing.
So, I don’t know, that may be high for full timing but for us it was a low cost two month vacation. Compared to flying, driving, staying in hotels, dinning in restaurants, etc. I think it’s very reasonable. If we were full timing at the same level of expenditure, it would be an annual budget of $47,942.75 which is way less that what we spend in our home. It also no doubt misses a few things that full timing would entail like buying clothes.
Hope this is useful to someone.
Alice Wildermuth
Using the local library is definitely an option. Just remember to include the cost of the library card/s in your budget. Even if you don’t use the library much, it is a nice donation to the library as most are strapped for cash, especially in small, rural areas. The librarian is usually very friendly, too, and a good source of information on the local area.
Charlie Wheeler
Has anyone redone the floors in their class a? We need to replace carpet in our 36 ft Intruder . We would like to replace with wood.
hoppe
p s ; Don’t forget to put your cable or dish, and telephone on ‘vacation’. This could be another couple hundred dollars a month. It’s amazing how much we spend to live ina land based house.
hoppe
In this economy it may not be appropriate to try to sell your land based home. Options, I’m not a Full Timer, but have a couple of helpful hints. I have a second home which is an RV in an RV Park read CHEAP. Yep it’s now appropriate to refer to me as ‘Trailer Trash’. It’s located on the confluence of a Creek and a River in Colorado, so it Must be Winterized in the winter. A much easier process than Winterizing a house here in Colo where we have real winters.
When leaving your ‘land’. Winterize it. This may or may not require ‘freeze proofing’ it depending on it’s location. But DO shut off the water, no more worries about exploding washer hoses, pipes, etc. Turn off the gas, at least the appliances with pilot lights. Electric? Throw the breakers if not needed. Maybe do a formal shut off to avoid line charges etc…. Remember, if it freezes there to add RV antifreeze to the “P” traps and commode bowl and tank, washing machine, drain hotwater heater, blow water/icemaker in frig, also dishwasher. WINTERIZE IT just like you would your RV.
Another option is to empty it and rent it out. Wether you manage it yourself, ‘another worry’, or put it with a management company ‘a bit less worry, but possibly less income’. The additional income will allow a more liberal budget for your RVing travels.
Shutting down your house is a project, but do able. Not for the faint of heart. or for short trips, but add up your utility bills and see if it makes economic sense. At least till the market comes back and you can peddle it at a more reasonable price.
Just options!
Jerry
I highly recommend visiting http://www.rv-dreams.com for more on this subject. Howard Payne has a great posting about startup cost and real living expenses. There are plenty of workkamp opportuities along the way that one can live on lease while on the road than what it cost to live in sticks/brick locations. Prepare a realistic budget and live within the budget.
charles
No one has mentioned using a local library when staying in a particular spot for a month or more. Is that an option? chuck
Karen
For Jeff Barouch – I love this site for finding used book sales-
http://www.booksalefinder.com/
It has all kinds of sales listed , some ongoing , some big yearly sales. A lot of them are library sales where you can get newer books in good condition very cheaply.
Jeff Barouch
Barry & Monique,
This is not a comment, but rather a question. You mentioned stopping at used book & DVD stores. Are there any particular ones that cater to RVers? If so, could you compile a list of them. It would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Jeff Barouch
mr-whit
WOW!!! What a great post. nothing trying to be sold, just GOOD infomation. THANK YOU – whit
GK
I think its worth emphasizing an earlier comment about trying to see everything in a month. I’m not full-timing yet, and I do want to do One Lap of North America one summer, just to do it. But I definitely think a better approach is to go to a region an explore it. This gives you a chance to see the area and stay relaxed, rather than feeling rushed because you’ve had to build a tight schedule that can be upset easily by weather and other uncontrolled events.
Mike
It will be 5 years in January, we love it. It takes alot of adjustment to get used to the RV life but we think it is worth it. Most of you know the daily rate is more expensive than the weekly rate and the monthly rate is even cheaper (per day). We eat most of our meals at home and enjoy the good food. We visit the area we are in with our small 4 wheel drive pick-up. We are retired but both of us are under 60 years old and believe we have made the right choice for us. Our budget and our retirement funds are more than adequate for our lifestyle.
Linda
Don’t forget work kamper opportunities. In exchange for 3-4 shifts per week, you can usually get your site free. KOA.com and Workamper News are good places to find opportunities. You do have to be willing to stay a while, usually several months.
Drew
Don’t forget to factor in your medical coverage/expenses. This is a big deal for us.
Drew
Jim Wheeler
Longer stays in one spot usually result in lower site fees–weekly/monthly rates. Also usually means less fuel.
E. Robert Bunten
I’ve been full-timing for 13 years now and am in my 14th. year. The more stationary you are the cheaper. If you do weekly /monthly rates and plan travel so that you are not doing 2-3 day stays, you will save money. Fuel is the largest cost component when traveling. I have found that you can stay in pretty nice parks for 500-600 a month. Another thing to remember, if paying for electricity ise your propane, if not use their electricity. An efficient tow vehicle saves money when you are running around. Off season rates can be used with some careful planning especially in the winter, when many areas are quite cheap and still mave mild climates. The cost of you RV is a given as is insurance etc.
I don’t know any full timers who still maintain traditional homes. Why would you when your full timing? Many newbies try to see the US in a month. This is incredibly inefficient, expensive and tiring. A seasonal approach works pretty well and you can cover different areas much cheaper and certainly less rushed.
Talk to full timers whenever you can-most have some really great places to go and know of many reasonable rv parks. My best wishes to any who try it.
It is not for everyone-go for 6-9 months, at the end if you say “I want to go home”
your not full time material. If you say “I have to go home” that is because you have to deal with the reality of still owning a home.
Jim Etenburn
Some other things you do not have to pay are sewer/water, electric is cheaper, gas is about the same. The big ones for me were the property taxes and the insurance on the house. Saved a bundle there. Cloths was another one. When I retired, I began wearing jeans, shorts and t-shirts. Sandles or tennis shoes. All much cheaper than a suit, expensive shirts, ties, dress shoes, etc. I usually go to a location, get a monthly rate, stay there and see all the sights I can drive to and back within a day. Sometimes stay a night at a motel but that is not the norm. I love the people I meet and can not imagine any other lifestyle for me. I am a widower and just go where I want, when I want. I visit my kids/grandkids for a month at a time in Florida, Kentucky and Texas. I am enjoying my retirement the way I want. The kids already know they may not inherit much, if anything at all and they are all okay with that. LOL…..
teri
We thought we would love living in our RV (37′ Georgetown) also. However the space rent is really high. When you put the space rent with the cost of the RV we could be living in a 200k house.
Carl C
I’ve been full-timing for 8 months now.
I spent the first 5 months (Jan-May) in the Adirondacks. The temps got well into the negative teens. Heating was expensive! I spent ~$1500 for three months worth of propane and electricity; turns out the site was bad for electricity (resulted in blowing an electric blanket – bring “fireworks in the bedroom” to a whole new level. 😛 Rent there was $300/month.
Now, I live in a Trailer Court and the rent is $250 per month.
Summer months to cool (2 Air Conds + elec): ~100/month.
I love living in my RV. ~$400/month for my 2005 35 footer.
Insurance is $66/ month.
Fuel? Don’t ask! Phew – that’s my biggest fear – actually driving it somewhere! LOL
Gary
The first thing to do is to consider why you RV. Is it to show off? Is it to see and travel? Is it to holiday? Is it because you want to ,or need to? We RV’d in Europe for over ten years and it was cheaper than staying home.. Let the house do it’s thing. Keep the taxes paid, the heat on low and turn off everything else. Don’t think about it, just do it. You need to have a budget, yes, and keep with it. Sometimes you want that jacket or the special hat. Forget it if it is not in the budget. It doesn’t matter the size of your budget, just the control of it!! Have fun and enjoy the wonders that are around every corner. We drove one 20 minutes and found the perfect spot. Stayed two weeks, free. Water and a dump were there too. Just look at all there is!! Good travels.
hal mcclamma
My wife enjoyed fulltiming before she died. If married, both of you must enjoy the lifestyle or it won’t work.
Our lifestyle was to find a nice non-resort campground fairly near groceries, Wal Marts, etc and make that our home base and mailing address. Monthly rent included cable, wi fi and water. Electric was metered. We had no desire to see the country from sea to shining sea but could find many beautiful and interesting destinations within a day or day and a half. State and federal campgrounds were very modest in costs. Doesn’t cost any more to eat in an RV than in a house. They mow the yard. Lot rent is the same with a new bus as a 10 year old Class A. To full time you must have at least the main slide out. A washer dryer combination is nice but not essential. The most significant factor in your monthly cost is the monthly payment on your coach and whether you have disposed of your house or made it self supporting. You save fuel money if you have a small car for local driving that can be towed. But…the cost of the car is a consideration. All in all I am now able to save a little money each month which I could never do when land based. I (we) unplug at least once a month for a week or two and go somewhere – where depending on how much money I have to spend.
It is the most gratifying, satisfying way of life I can imagine.
Dick Boak
We drive a 2008 Sierra 3/4 ton 4×4 diesel and pull a 32′ 5th weighing about 10,000, we average 14 -15 mpg. On a 6 week trip with about 4500 miles and RV parks every night our average is between $100 and $125 per day. We rarly eat out preferring home cooked and we don’t spend alot on knick knacks. Savings can be made if you are staying in parks longer term such as the 7th night free etc. Hope this helps.
John Heggen
Could you stop the pop up to subscribe. It makes no sense if I’ve already subscribed and you are sending me the daily updates/
John