Greetings from South Korea!How much does it cost to live on the road for at least part of the year? My husband is set to retire from the military in a few years and we are trying to figure out how long we have to work after he retires to save up enough to go on the road for at least a couple of years. I have no clue on how much to budget per month for expenses. 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. My husband's parents have a farm in Kentucky that we plan on using as our home base. 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 from the military. How does living out of a small TT being towed behind a Toyota pickup truck compare to going on a road trip in a Honda CR-V and staying at motels/hotels in terms of cost? We are looking at spending at least $35K, including the cost of a tow vehicle to start out. We are trying to see even if RVing is worth it financially for us. We want to see the lower 48, Alaska, Canada and maybe Mexico.Thanks,Red

There are too many variables going on here. As far as "cost" : travel all the time? Gas and nightly fees. Then you have tourist attractions. How about repairs? Flat tires?...all this to take into consideration. Places like WaltDisneyWorld, the national parks, (Grand Canyon, etc.. ,etc.) are wonderful places to visit...and you can stay there for days......but they arn't cheap. Food: Just like staying in a house...gotta eat.What some folks do is become "workcampers". Work at campgrounds for a few days a week in exchange for a free site. Work down south for the winter, go up north for the summer. Campgrounds are always advertising for folks.As far as a "small" trailer and a "small" truck, living in it for weeks on months on end...can crease "space problems" (My wife and I had some at first...but we adjusted to it...and THAT was in a 33 foot motorhome while on the road for 7 months) so really, don't think "small"...in my opinion.RVing full time or even months at a time is a great way to go. But it ain't necessarily cheap. Whatever you decide....g'luck!

I have no idea actually. But I DO know that now that we have all the extras purchased (generators, inverters, etc) we are putting money in savings. In fact, we're putting the equivalent of our house pmt in savings. We are full-timers and we dry camp a lot.

You will always have the basics follow you wherever you go..Insurance, food, fuel, cell phone, laundry, propane...but where you can save is by workamping. Why pay (on the average) $600 a month to stay in a campground. Monthly rates are cheaper than daily/weekly rates. He can work at the campground while you do your paying job work. There are a variety of positions all over the country....we work in the North for the summer, Arizona in the winter....seasonal snowbirds. Join www.workamper.com and they will send daily job openings for you to choose from

You are talking 10-15 years from now. No one can predict the cost of gas or campgrounds now for that far in the future. And really, that is where your expenses come in. Today, a couple can do it as cheaply as $300/month for gas and campgrounds or spend $2000 a month for the same. It is all in the way you travel and how you camp.

I camp at discount places such as NP, COE, BLM C2C ARO. I dry camp a lot. I assume you can military camp. I do not eat out. For the last 6 years I average about $10K to $12K per year. I have been to AK and Newfoundland. I have a TT.I have a friend who likes full hookup and uses mostly private campgrounds and sees all the commercial sites. They eat out most of the time to see the sites. They have a large MH. They spend about $40K per year for two of them.Food and clothing and "junk" will be much less than in a S&B. No place to put the "toys" and "junk".

How Much Does it Cost to Live on the Road? | Good Sam Community

JoeGood988
Explorer
Jan 24, 2016
You will always have the basics follow you wherever you go..Insurance, food, fuel, cell phone, laundry, propane...but where you can save is by workamping. Why pay (on the average) $600 a month to stay in a campground. Monthly rates are cheaper than daily/weekly rates. He can work at the campground while you do your paying job work. There are a variety of positions all over the country....we work in the North for the summer, Arizona in the winter....seasonal snowbirds. Join www.workamper.com and they will send daily job openings for you to choose from
amandasgramma
Explorer
Jan 24, 2016
I have no idea actually. But I DO know that now that we have all the extras purchased (generators, inverters, etc) we are putting money in savings. In fact, we're putting the equivalent of our house pmt in savings. We are full-timers and we dry camp a lot.
jerseyjim
Explorer
Jan 24, 2016
There are too many variables going on here. As far as "cost" : travel all the time? Gas and nightly fees. Then you have tourist attractions. How about repairs? Flat tires?...all this to take into consideration. Places like WaltDisneyWorld, the national parks, (Grand Canyon, etc.. ,etc.) are wonderful places to visit...and you can stay there for days......but they arn't cheap. Food: Just like staying in a house...gotta eat.
What some folks do is become "workcampers". Work at campgrounds for a few days a week in exchange for a free site. Work down south for the winter, go up north for the summer. Campgrounds are always advertising for folks.

As far as a "small" trailer and a "small" truck, living in it for weeks on months on end...can crease "space problems" (My wife and I had some at first...but we adjusted to it...and THAT was in a 33 foot motorhome while on the road for 7 months) so really, don't think "small"...in my opinion.
RVing full time or even months at a time is a great way to go. But it ain't necessarily cheap. Whatever you decide....g'luck!

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