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Old 03-16-2014, 12:16 PM   #1
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Full time RVing cost

I know if you have to ask maybe you can not afford it. but I have to ask if anyone has a list or budget for full time RVing?
I'm having a full time discussion with my wife as to the budget of full time.
There is fuel, food, maintenance, camp grounds, registration, clothing, cleaning supplies, club registration, insurance on the RV and car. I'm sure from talking to other Rver's that a house is much more costly. I have seen a list or budget some place. can any one direct me to the right place?

Thank you all in advance.

Bob Foisy
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Old 03-16-2014, 12:26 PM   #2
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Many helpful hints and tons of good info in here. Full-Timers - iRV2 Forums
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Old 03-16-2014, 02:56 PM   #3
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Hi Bob,
You ask a perfectly valid question. The lifestyle can be lead to adapt to practically any finances available. The "cost" question has been asked before and the results can be found using the search window at the top of the page.

example
https://www.google.com/search?q=full...v2.com&spell=1
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Old 03-16-2014, 05:54 PM   #4
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You can get a wealth of in formation with regards to cost of full timing from www.rvdreams.com. This couple writes a blog that they share all their financial information.
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Old 03-16-2014, 07:44 PM   #5
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After 5 months, I have a definitive answer........ More than you plan for. Make a budget, add 20%.
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Old 03-16-2014, 08:01 PM   #6
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I think a good starting place is living expenses of $1000 per month. Your travel expenses are pretty much at your discretion. Then there is medical, insurance, equipment maintenance, and misc which in total depend upon how much you have left and your personal needs and expectations. If you get rid of your stick house then I think you can come close that budget. Some get by for a lot less and some do not come close. It depends upon how you manage.
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Old 03-16-2014, 08:16 PM   #7
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I kind of figure full timing will cost less than living in my S&B house. Just my property taxes alone exceed 5 figures annually. I'm going to have insurance, medical, etc....whether I'm full timing or not....so that's a wash. The utilities here are outrageous......so I know an RV Park would be less. I know there are a lot of considerations, but they differ for each and everyone of us depending on style of living, area of the country we are in, etc....BUT we all should go into full timing with as much knowledge as possible and our eyes wide open.

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Old 03-16-2014, 08:27 PM   #8
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Lots of good information on RV-dreams.com. Howard and Linda also offer seminars on different aspects of full time living in an RV.
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Old 03-16-2014, 08:30 PM   #9
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I'm not a full timer yet,but it looks like to me if your not really careful your first year could really hit you hard,your going to want to see everywhere,do everything,eat at all the nice places,and I think it could all add up real fast.But there again,if you got the money,and plenty of it,go for for it,thats what retirement is all about.
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Old 03-16-2014, 08:39 PM   #10
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A reliable full timer posted a while back. Food per month, about $1000. Fuel about $1000 and campgrounds about $1000. This will very and can be higher or lower, depending on where you camp, what and where you eat, and how much traveling you do. Then throw in medical, rig insurance and all other expenses, which would probably be another $1000 easy. I would say 4 to 6 thousand easy. Or it could be less, just depends on your lifestyle.
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Old 03-16-2014, 08:43 PM   #11
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Welcome to the forum and best of luck in your pursuits.

Your question is really too broad to have a direct answer.

I know of those who have spent $10K/mo while living on the road, but many on this forum report living happily full time on a fraction of that. It's all in your expectations and means.

I'd suggest that you work out a budget for living which doesn't include anything to do with the RV. Then, determine how much you have left to support an RV... including CG fees, fuel, insurance and maintenance.

From there, the clarity of the dream sharpens a bit and you can begin to figure out what you should be looking at.

Best of luck.

Rick
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Old 03-16-2014, 09:51 PM   #12
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As others have said, it is one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions and it is something only you can answer but only after you have full-timed for a few months.
Just a couple of examples of how different the costs can be.

We usually boondock so the cost per night approaches zero. At the moment my choice of site is a casino parking lot while I wait for some mail to arrive. Zero dollars per night and the meals are cheaper than we can prepare ourselves. Don't drink and certainly don't play the pokies so it is not costing much. Others I can see in the distance are in a swish resort RV park paying $??? per night.

I never pay to dump and take on water because there are plenty of places that provide a free service. Some sell fuel so I repay the favour by buying fuel there. Others are happy to pay $10 or $15 for the same thing.

My motorhome is second or third or fourth-hand, is in perfect mechanical condition and has all the comforts I need. Others feel the need - and can afford - to buy a brand new motorhome. That difference alone might account for $200,000+++ which stays in my pocket.

We kept our house and rented it out fully furnished and the rental income pays for all the insurance and registration costs and storage costs for our motorhomes. This way we keep the equity and have an income. Others sell up and have no equity but may still have an income on the investment.

Operating costs can vary hugely but one of the best ways to keep costs down is to keep the daily distance driven as low as you need to.

Best you can do from info provided by others is to use it as a source of ideas so you can make sure you take all possible and relevant factors into account and try to put your own costings on them. Even then there are going to be huge uncertainties and one of the worst - catastrophic breakdown or major health problems can only be handled with appropriate insurance and a nice big emergency bank account.

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Old 03-16-2014, 11:33 PM   #13
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Some full time spending $800 or so and some full time with a monthly budget of over $5000 and they still think it's not enough.

Spending $20 - $100 a night for a spot can have costs going way out of hand. Usually the cost goes down if you spend a week, usually it ends up being buy 5 days and get 2 free. If you want to have the CG costs go down even further then spend a month at a time at one. Costs for one CG I know is $45 a night, $225 for a week and for a month it's $525. And that's with FHU and everything included in the price.
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Old 03-16-2014, 11:51 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Foisy View Post
I know if you have to ask maybe you can not afford it. but I have to ask if anyone has a list or budget for full time RVing?
I'm having a full time discussion with my wife as to the budget of full time.
There is fuel, food, maintenance, camp grounds, registration, clothing, cleaning supplies, club registration, insurance on the RV and car. I'm sure from talking to other Rver's that a house is much more costly. I have seen a list or budget some place. can any one direct me to the right place?

Thank you all in advance.

Bob Foisy
Before going full time I was renting a 3 br apartment in St Petersburg FL for $1200/month. We bought a cheaper 13 year old RV and moved in. With $200/month storage we were doing a little better than the apartment most of the time. It depends, of course, on where you are staying. If we didn't have the storage it would have been a lot better... you can save a lot if you can part with all that stuff...$200/month for the 4 years we've been full time is getting close to $10k now.

Now we've upgraded to a newer DP, and bought a new car and our costs are quite a bit higher..., but only because we did that.

Good luck, however you do it, you'll love the life...
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