How Much Does it Cost to Live on the Road?

I'm not a full timer, so my advice is limited and I'm just in the considering phase myself. But one thing to consider is size of your holding tanks and water tanks, not to mention inverter and electrical power. Why you may ask? Because RV parks can range in price from $25 to well over $100 a night at some places. You want to spend some time on the coast in Monterey and you may be paying $110 a night for hookups. So yeah there are monthly rates and a lot of variables too. But if you're ever tight on cash there are millions upon millions of acres of public land you can camp on for free.

I have a 35 foot diesel motorhome. I carry 100 gallons of fresh water, a 7500 watt generator, and a 2000 watt inverter. I can go find a spot in the national forest or on BLM land and set up camp and with a little water conservation I can easily go a week before I have to dump the tanks and get more water. I can run the generator a couple of hours a day burning about $3 worth of diesel fuel and I get all the power I need. That is unless you're someplace really hot and you need to run the AC's, then the fuel price could get expensive.

So the point I was making, a small trailer is usually not set up for extended dry camping, unless you are really used to going without some luxuries, like shower and power.

What works for one person may not work for you. A lot depends on how much you want to travel and if you stay in campgrounds or dry camp. You can also camp host or volunteer to help cut down on camping cost. Do a long of planning and I think one should be debt free as possible. If you go into it thinking that you are on a permanent vacation go can spend a lot of money fast. Full time Rving is a life style.

We are retired military, and we took the advice here. We were dreamers for years. SAVE, Save, and save. Use Tricare, and Va Delta dental. We work camp every season somewhere, and use as little as $500 a month including food and site seeing. While moving between season, we can go up to $2000 a month depending on where we want to go.

We spent 18 of 25 years overseas, so we want to see the USA. We work camp in different regions each time. We have been on the road for 4 1/2 years now, with no plans to stop. We purchased our rig when we had 2 years before retiring, buying a upper end used 5th wheel. After two years, we found the floor plan we wanted and purchased a new rig. Use Essex for finance, since they cater to full timers, use Escapees, and we used Texas as domicile.

Don't expect to make the same money while work camping, as you did before retiring. You're there to retire, not make a fortune. If you want high dollar for short period, do the sugar beets, Amazon, or Christmas Tree deals. But the whole point is to retire, not start a second career.

You will find many ideas and advice here, but the biggest is save and have no debt when you're ready to go. Good Luck

2gypsies wrote:
Personally, I think it's too soon for you to begin planning 10-15 years away. Many things can change during that time. For instance, you won't have the Toyota pickup anymore. :)

The best advice is to start saving now and plan to begin full-timing without any debt.

This is excellent advice. So many folks want to buy things now when they are still in debt on other purchases. Stop buying the toys and pay off your debts. Then you will be much better positioned for retirement.

LittleRed586 wrote:
Greetings from South Korea!

We will have my husband's military retirement and disability to live off of and I plan on teaching college classes online part-time while we are on the road.
Red

I'm curious as to how you can plan with any certainty on disability for your husband since he is still active duty. If he is disabled now, wouldn't he not be medically retired now from the military.

Cheap RV Living blog has lots of information about full timing, budgets, Boondocking, solar needs, etc. In today's blog post, he discusses his buddy uses a Toyota and slide-in, something to consider if you'd like Boondocking.

If your husband is a disabled veteran, you might want to get the America the Beautiful Pass, I believe it's called. It's the disabled veteran's version of the ole geezers (Senior Pass). You can use it for free admissions to Federal Parks and Museums and half priced campground fees, etc, and Corp of Engineer parks (COE). I'm sure someone can give you the url for more info on the many benefits of the Pass and I hope you'll check it out.

We are in our early/mid thirties, have no children and plan on hitting the road about five to ten years after my husband retires

It is good to plan ahead for things so that when that time comes you will be ready. Having said that, ten years out is a long time and lots can change in that time. When you get to two or three years before retirement then you can sharpen the pencil and get serious about what it will take to make your RV desires come true based on where you want to go and how you want to live. I suggest a lot of thought in the type of RV you plan to use as it will be your home. Some RVs are more for the recreational user for occasional weekends at the lake, others are built for full time living. I certainly would opt for an RV that is made for full time living if you can make that work. The last thing you want is for an RV to be in the shop getting fixed constantly since it was never really made for full time usage, is poorly insulated, cannot handle condensation, has marginal axles/tires, utilizes small fresh and holding tanks, etc. Do your due diligence as it will pay off for you in the long run. If you and your husband is handy fixing stuff that can pay major dividends in keeping the RV out of the repair shop.

Personally, I think it's too soon for you to begin planning 10-15 years away. Many things can change during that time. For instance, you won't have the Toyota pickup anymore. :)

The best advice is to start saving now and plan to begin full-timing without any debt.

Not a full-timer here, but have spent months traveling in our Class C. Talking to several different couples who do full-time, I will pass along some of their thoughts. If you enjoy your lifestyle now, you will want to maintain those interests. Do not plan to cut back or cut out things you really like to do. That said, if your basic habits like eating, working, remain the same, then realistically, your cost of living will remain about the same. You will likely spend about the same amount of money, but in different places. So, the first step in planning for future expenses, is to determine how much you are spending now, and where you are spending the money. In other words, create a budget. What you spend is not necessarily what you earn.

Once this is completed, factor in inflation approx. 3.5 percent a year until you reach retirement. Study that number and determine how you will come up with the cash to meet it. Examples include savings accounts, investments, annuities, bonds, etc. In some instances a part-time job will be necessary or work camping to achieve your number. Early planning now will help later. Good Luck.

You have a huge advantage over most folks. I've used Tricare Standard all over the country and never worried about going broke from medical bills. Don't forget the Tricare Dental for retirees either. Another added bonus is discounts for retired military. They seem to be everywhere now. The back of my credit card says "See Photo ID". When a cashier asks to see ID I present my military ID and frequently get surprised with a discount.