Budget considerations.. Possibly taking the plunge

rockportrocket wrote:
Wow, I guess I am under a wrong impression. Full timers moving every 2-5 days? That sure describes a vacationer to me. 50 bucks a night for parking? that's 1500 per month. How many can really fulltime with that kind of budget?

We average about $20/night but we've met lots of folks who wouldn't blink an eye at $50/night. They are more common than you might think.

Moving 50-100 miles every 2-5 days is a nice relaxed pace that we enjoy.

I believe you are thinking of snowbirds who set up shop someplace for 3-6 months at a time. Nothing wrong with that but much different in my mind to full timing (Not to start a war over the definition of full timing). We occasionaly stop for month but by week 3, we are getting itchy to move on.

Unless we are in transit we stay at least a month. In transit we use Passport America whenever possible.

Our average cost for the last eleven years has been less than $10 per night and that includes electricity which it an extra charge by many RV parks when you rent by the month.

We find that RV parks back east and in FL in general are much more expensive than out west.

For example a couple of years ago a month in a nothing special RV park in Webster NH was about $800 per month but did include electricity.

In AZ we pay $160 per month with electricity being an extra charge and costs us about $50 to $60 per month more.

Wow, I guess I am under a wrong impression. Full timers moving every 2-5 days? That sure describes a vacationer to me. 50 bucks a night for parking? that's 1500 per month. How many can really fulltime with that kind of budget?

As a fulltimer, there are many ways to save on your costs of parking your RV...

When we fulltimed, we averaged $350/$400 month..

Some do it by workcamping/volunteering for their site..

We bought a Campground Membership and used those for $10 day, and stayed monthly a some parks.. We also drycamped/overnighted which was free..

On the road, we talked to other fulltimers that knew the area we were going and informed of us places to stay..

As a fulltimer, We were NOT on vacation, and our goal was to stay in
fair-weather year-round, and take in the sites before moving on..

$0-50 is a pretty common range with some special areas much higher (ie: florida keys).

It all depends on where you want to stay.

We average about $30-$35 per night unless we go to the Northeast or California.
We use Corps of Engineers Parks, get them half price with America the Beautiful Pass. We use Passport America for half price camping. We do use KOA's pretty often which bumps up the price. Get their Value Card and you get coupons for free camping. If I can find a suitable campground in the area for less, we take it. It seems to average out. We move around a lot so monthly rates don't work for us. We do use weekly rates if they offer them. Some parks give you one day free if you pay for 6. In Florida in the winter the monthly rates go from $500 up to $800 or $900 per month and you pay your own electric. So depends on when and where you go.

Charlie, your park fees are going to be dependent on a number of things: location, time of year, commercial or government parks, length of stay, and any membership discounts you may hold.

I've stayed for 4 days at a RV park in Townsend, GA for $25/day. 6 months later, same park, I stayed a month for $325/mo plus electric @ $.13 per/kwh. I've been in the Keys at the rate of $90/night for a few days. Best to travel the popular area during their shoulder season. Currently, I'm in an adult park on the St. Johns river about 450 miles south of ya. The rate is $350/mo FHUs with everything included except the clothes dryers. Yep, the washers, cable, and good working WiFi are included...lol.

State, City, and County parks in the east are running between $12-$28/night as a rule. The good State of Florida extends 1/2 price camping at SPs to it's residents at age 65. I got my Federal America The Beautiful "geezer" pass at age 62. It also provides me with 1/2 price camping at most Federal parks. The C.O.E. parks are outstanding. Last summer, I traveled from Thompson, Ga to Clemson, SC staying in C.O.E. parks along the Savannah River for 2 weeks at a time. Took me about 3 months to cover the 120 miles. With the "geezer" pass, my nightly fees ran about $11/night.

I'm content with over-the-air TV channels in the government parks. I carry a monthly WiFi plan with Verizon and augment that with a campground WiFi if it's up to snuff. All said, I budget about $500/mo for camping fees. When I was younger, I didn't mind boondocking for 5 or 6 days and blacktop parking overnight while in route to a destination was a given. But, I'm getting a little long in the tooth to maintain those habits. Hope this is food for thought.

mark5w wrote:
Campgrounds in PA run from $25 for state parks and for private campgrounds anywhere from $35 to $48 for EWS. Discount at some with Passport America, Good Sam's, AAA and military. At Rv shows you could get brochures or even easier check online for pricing. There is off season pricing also.

I also have a Thousand Trail Zone pass for 1/2 the US. Cost $525 a year which gives you 30 nites free and $3 nites after the first 30. Check out Thousand Trails for info. We love it.

Biggest expenses are diesel and site rent. We usually get diesel about once a month and spend $350-$400 doing so. We move locations every 5-10 days. We spend a lot on camp sites. We were just in the Lake George area for $79 a night. Was there for 12 nights. We have paid over $70 a night at a KOA before. I know many others pay much less, but we struggle to find parks that are big rig friendly, without extensive tree issues, etc. Wish we could reduce the nightly fees, but not sure I see that happening soon.

A lot of that depends on where you intend to go, how long you will stay, and what amenities you expect. I budget 400.00 per month. Out in Calif , I bump that to 650.00 per month. I stay at least a month as I am not out to see the u.s. in my Chevrolet.

Up east, oh no, Ive been there , done that, so I don't budget for that. If you expect 5 star resorts, expect to pay for em.