Total cost per mile vs mpg

[PS56]

Originally Posted by PS56

Travel Trailer
32,000 Base Price
2,240 Tax
2,000 Upgrades

Ram 2500
46,000 Purchase Price, Includes tax

82,240 Total Investment

(15,000) Sale Price of TT after 5 Years
(25,000) Sale Price of Ram after 5 Years

42,240 Net cost after 5 years

8,448 Avg Equipment Cost/year

Travel Trailer
250 Registration
500 Maintance
1,000 Insurance

Ram 2500

500 Maintance
1,200 Insurance

Gas 12,000 miles
1,800 Gas Towing 10mpg/$3.00/gal/6,000 miles
1,200 Gas Driving 15mpg/$3.00/gal/6,000 miles

6,450 Annual operating Costs

42,240 Equipment Cost 5 Years
32,250 Operating Costs 5 Years

80,940 Total 5 year Cost
30,000 6,000miles per year towing

2.70 Cost per mile

80,940 Total 5 year Cost
60,000 12,000miles per year towing

1.35 Cost per mile

LP Gas
Electricity
RV Parks


Did you do your math this way? The less you drive the higher the cost of ownership per mile.

I think your numbers are low.

I realized I forgot storage in the equation.

1,800/yr adds .30 and .15 respectively or total 3.00 and 1.50

[Isaac-1]

I incorporate the direct cost per mile into our travel planning, ie fuel and know wear factors, tires, etc. but do not include cost of ownership stuff, this is partly because most of our trips are at least 1,000 miles in length, often over 2,000.

[tcgoetz]

I can see figuring total cost if your want to compare RV recreation to some other forms of recreations, but I wouldn't do it by cost per mile. Cost per day camped makes more sense to me.


You can compare cost per day camped to cost per day for a two week European vacation or something like that.

[xkimo]

Smiles per Gallon . This is a lifestyle which if you constantly worry about the cost , well it might not be for you .
Smiles , per gallon .

[Dr Obbins]

New to forum and learning about the RV way of life. I see many 1/4 million dollar RVs rolling down the highway leaving $100 bills blowing in their wake behind them like leaves on a fall day. These folks are blessed and good for them.

Then there are others like me. It is not "If I have to ask, I can't afford it", rather "How can I make this work with what I have". Coming from purchasing and project management, I need a realistic total cost of an endeavor before I commit. 10mpg vs 11mpg is a 10% difference, which equals 10% more miles that can be driven for the same cost. Or that 10% savings can be budgeted elsewhere. From that point of view, total cost per mile and/or total cost per day is good information. Miles driven and days used can be estimated per year. Even if the end result is sleeping in a tent while I travel, sure beats growing old and sitting still on the couch watching TV.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by wadeswink

i suggest we should worry about the total cost per mile in our RVs not mpg.

If you want something to worry about, take the out-the-door price of your motorhome and divide it by the number of nights you've stayed in it.

We've had ours a year and a half and since we winter in it, about 1/3rd of the total nights have been in the motorhome.

Excluding the cost of fuel, maintenance, tolls, campground fees, insurance, and anything else we would not spend if we just had a house, we're under $800 per night!

So we're now close to "The Four Seasons on Maui" per-night cost but still well above "Disney World on-site hotel" per-night cost.

Of course, if I rationalize further and assume we'll recover 50% of our purchase price when we sell this thing, we are about at the "Disney World on-site hotel" per-night cost...

But...that also means that the cost of our real home's per-night cost just went up by a third because it's vacant for a third of the year now.

Math sucks.

Ray

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by NXR

If you want something to worry about, take the out-the-door price of your motorhome and divide it by the number of nights you've stayed in it.

We've had ours a year and a half and since we winter in it, about 1/3rd of the total nights have been in the motorhome.

Excluding the cost of fuel, maintenance, tolls, campground fees, insurance, and anything else we would not spend if we just had a house, we're under $800 per night!

So we're now close to "The Four Seasons on Maui" per-night cost but still well above "Disney World on-site hotel" per-night cost.

Of course, if I rationalize further and assume we'll recover 50% of our purchase price when we sell this thing, we are about at the "Disney World on-site hotel" per-night cost...

But...that also means that the cost of our real home's per-night cost just went up by a third because it's vacant for a third of the year now.

Math sucks.

Ray

But generally it does not Lie...............

[jcmerry]

Originally Posted by wadeswink

i suggest we should worry about the total cost per mile in our RVs not mpg. We spend extra money buying small diesels because of mpg. i have neighbor with a Winnebago 25' class A, whos total cost per mile is over $1/ mile, Where mine in a 27' Coachmen class C is under .75 cents/ mile. His is higher initial cost, insurance, taxes, and maintenance. 'and did i say the local Ford dealer does my maintenance, vs who knows on this unusal diesel. maybe an even better criteria would be access to reasonable maintenance.

Being on a limited budget and not able to spend how I want, I have had to watch where the dollars go. This includes doing some repairs myself and living with a budget scaled MH, etc. But I am camping and going places and enjoying the MH life. If I was only concerned with the cost aspect of this wonderful lifestyle, I would have missed out. The same logic applies to having 3 kids, and college, and grandkids, etc. If I thought about the cost of being married and having a family before diving into it, it wouldn't make sense. Luckily it is well worth every dollar invested in both lifestyles.