Question on Full time it

[Barbaraok]

Originally Posted by KC

Cost of staying at a average campground, what do you spend on fuel (either gas or DP).

KC

Again, the cost of the site has nothing to do with fuel for the rig. That's a traveling cost that you control by deciding when to move and how far to move. This summer we moved once every 2 weeks, often less than 50 miles, so we went all summer on about 50 gallons of diesel for the motorhome, so about $150 (we were in the PNW.) The car, we did lots of running around, so $60/month or so. And during that time the out-of-pocket site costs were zero, because they were all membership parks.

[BillJinOR]

Originally Posted by KC

Thank you for all the good info. Im just looking for cost of gas staying at a average campground. Not the fancy Resort. I have my insurance cost and health care covered all ready. As we get closer Ill have a better idea on Cell/internet/TV costs.



Thanks everyone

Cost of gas? Are you talking about propane for heating and cooking etc?

[MikeO58]

We have been traveling full time since June of this year. Left Palm Springs and went east to Florida. I would say an average days fuel cost has been between 150 and 200 dollars. We drove for two days then parked on average 10days.

[JRPA]

We have been living full time in our Class A for about a year and a half. We post a detailed monthly expense spreadsheet each month on a youtube channel if you want to have a starting place to figure out your budget.

The main item that may be different from you is we stay about 85% of the time in Thousand Trails campgrounds.

https://www.youtube.com/justpassingthru

[grindstone01]

You first should make up a master plan and decide what kind of RV life are you wanting. Questions to ask might include:
- How long do you plan to full time?
- Do you have a exit plan?
- Is your plan to be on a extended vacation like visiting tourist spots and frequent moves, or do you plan to stay in one CG for a longer period say a month?
- Do you prefer CG facilities w/entertainment provided or rather self entertainment style like hiking?
Only you can decide your RV life style and then research the cost/budget involved.


We have been full timing for 6 years and prefer to visit public CG's for a month or longer. So our master plan became a goal to volunteer in each of the lower 48 states. This led us to camp hosting which has the benefit of keeping our CG expenses low, under $1k/year. We also like to be kept physically busy and public CG's usually have unlimited projects to tackle that we can chose from based on our interest. Our fuel cost is low, ($2k/year) since we only average 5-6 moves a year and our local travel/touring is usually by motorcycle.

[Dmrad]

Getting an idea on costs is sooooo variable!!! We hardly ever boondock and we've been full timing for 17 months. I think we've boondocked a total of 4, maybe 5 times. We usually spend between $45 - 55. per night on a campground. We have a Good Sam membership and KOA membership. We don't stay at what we would consider fancy RV resorts (like $100+ per night) but we avoid the slummy ones too. We are more middle of the road campground type people. We bought a Good Sam campground catalog and they rate the campgrounds on several different aspects one of them being cleanliness of bathrooms. We have found if the bathrooms are rated a 8.5-10 the campground is usually up to our standards. We enjoy full hookups with a cable hookup. We have our own internet. We go out to eat 2-3 times a week. We do a lot of activities while we travel and see the USA. We usually stay in one spot for 1-3 weeks at a time.

So you see our budget is going to be much different than someone who boondocks a lot and who hardly ever goes out to eat. At most campgrounds if you stay a week you get a cheaper rate than nightly, if you stay a month you'll get a cheaper rate and if you stay multiple months it'll be cheaper even yet.

[KC]

Originally Posted by grindstone01

You first should make up a master plan and decide what kind of RV life are you wanting. Questions to ask might include:
- How long do you plan to full time?
- Do you have a exit plan?
- Is your plan to be on a extended vacation like visiting tourist spots and frequent moves, or do you plan to stay in one CG for a longer period say a month?
- Do you prefer CG facilities w/entertainment provided or rather self entertainment style like hiking?
Only you can decide your RV life style and then research the cost/budget involved.


We have been full timing for 6 years and prefer to visit public CG's for a month or longer. So our master plan became a goal to volunteer in each of the lower 48 states. This led us to camp hosting which has the benefit of keeping our CG expenses low, under $1k/year. We also like to be kept physically busy and public CG's usually have unlimited projects to tackle that we can chose from based on our interest. Our fuel cost is low, ($2k/year) since we only average 5-6 moves a year and our local travel/touring is usually by motorcycle.

Great advice, In the winter we plan on staying in one place for some time, each year we will try a different place (no snow). During the summer we will do some driving to see the US.

[Dan McMartin]

I can dispel a few myths. You won't necessarily save a bunch of money. Camping costs and fuel replace rent or your mortgage, to some extent anyway. You swap gas and electric bills for data plans. You can save money...or spend a lot more...but it depends on your current expenses and what you're willing...or not willing...to sacrifice.

Second, you control many costs. In a sticks and bricks your rent/mortgage doesn't change. Your utilities are mostly fixed or only change a little with the seasons. Living on the road, you can control what you pay to camp and what you pay in fuel. Travel far and stay in fancy RV parks paying the nightly rate, you'll spend a lot. Stay put for weeks or a month at a time, travel shorter distances between stays, use camping discounts or memberships and you can have little to no money going out for camping and fuel.

Build a budget, be realistic and check that against the many resources on the internet (including asking specific questions here). You'll be wrong but you'll be close.

[timjet]

The cost of full timing really depends on how you do it. On the bigger class A's at current fuel prices figure $.50 per mile. If you drive a lot and want to see the country it's gonna cost you more than if you sit in one campsite for a month or more.

The other variable is campsite costs. You can stay at most public parks for up to 14 days. Most public parks are very reasonable costing $10 to $40 per night and in my opinion give you the best value for the buck. Private campgrounds are cheaper by the month and depending on your tastes can be dirt cheap or very expensive, anywhere from 10 to 100 or more per night. If you're trying to do this cheap you won't be staying at Camp Wilderness.

Food, and medical costs will probably be the same as your sticks & bricks. However you won't have to maintain a house, just an RV and again depending on your rig can be cheap or not so cheap.

Most costs when RVing can be controlled so you'll figure out real quick how much they will be. Just know when you're done full timing, your rig will be worth almost nothing and that house you sold so you could go full timing is probably worth a bit more than what you sold it for.

[TechWriter]

Originally Posted by Ret.LEO

I see fuel gas/diesel being the largest expense.

Not if you're under 65 and have to purchase your own health insurance.

OP, what will your health insurance situation be when you retire? Medicare? Other?

[Barbaraok]

Tim,

I disagree on public parks giving the best bang for the buck in a lot of cases. Especially state parks - first they are reserved up the first week in January for the whole summer. Second, at least for motorhomes, you get charged extra for having a car unless you buy an annual state pass. We do like Corps of Engineers (COE) parks and when in the midwest those are the ones we try first. Also look at city/county parks and/or fairgrounds; some can be quite reasonable.

We utilize membership parks to keep our nightly costs under $15/night when interspersed with regular parks. We try to use PPA whenever possible when moving from one area to another.

Of course we've only been doing this since 2006 so what do we know.

[TJFogelberg]

Originally Posted by Dan McMartin

I can dispel a few myths. You won't necessarily save a bunch of money.
Build a budget, be realistic and check that against the many resources on the internet (including asking specific questions here). You'll be wrong but you'll be close.

I did a financial analysis (everyone's situation is going to be different) comparing the costs of going FT vs HT (Half-time). There wasn't enough of a cost savings to justify dumping the S+B and going FT.

Most folks fail to account for accelerated depreciation on their rig when used FT, cost to store furniture and other items (or replace when coming off the road), higher insurance on the RV, increased campground and fuel costs, and increased maintenance on the rig. Also, the costs to buy and sell S+B.

Everyone's situation is different. If you selling a 5 bedroom house with 5 acres with plans to downsize later, things will look different.

We are already in a low maintenance town home that we REALLY enjoy. And it was low cost to begin with. No mortgage. Updates and maintenance up to date for retirement, so little coming down the road.

No hassles getting rid of stuff, selling, etc. It was a relief to realize our HT plan was financially prudent and easier.

If living in your rig 365 turns you on, go for it. Just don't kid yourself that it is some sort of panacea.

[timjet]

Originally Posted by Barbaraok

Tim,

I disagree on public parks giving the best bang for the buck in a lot of cases. Especially state parks - first they are reserved up the first week in January for the whole summer. Second, at least for motorhomes, you get charged extra for having a car unless you buy an annual state pass. We do like Corps of Engineers (COE) parks and when in the midwest those are the ones we try first. Also look at city/county parks and/or fairgrounds; some can be quite reasonable.


Snip

By public parks I meant all of the above, and I agree COE are some of the best value available.

You must live in Michigan, it's the only place I've been that charges for a tow car, though there are probably others.
Some state parks do fill up and reservations are necessary during peak times, but try upstate NY or Michigan after labor day and you will be pleasantly surprised. In my experience most state parks in the mid west are not full on weekdays.


The camping experience to me is a site with trees, a lake or river view and perhaps a mountain view. Not all at one site of course but fairgrounds, casino's, and many private parks are simply gravel or dirt parking lots, not what I got into RVing for.

[Ramets]

In our case I wanted to be debt free when we hit the road. We had Medicare & a supplemental. I planned on a budget of $5,000 a month, BUT we NEVER came close to that amount. I never really kept track of how much we spent, but if I was going to hazard a guess, I'd say approx. $3,500 a month. We did everything we wanted to do for over 6yrs., and that includes spending an entire summer in Alaska. We ended with a healthy savings after we were done full timing. You'll always save by spending 4-5 mos. staying in one place during the winter months. We still travel, but now we do it only a couple months a year.