FIRST TIME RV-ER QUESTIONS
Hi, Thanks for Reading; I am a wannabe full-time RV'er, and, I have some questions...Here goes! Okay, so, I am a low income adult with disabilities, living on social security. My apartment is bec...
Forum Discussion
mpac165,
I'm afraid I have to side with those recommending another option other than a motorhome. If you are going to "winter" outside in an RV, I think you are going to find out very quickly how expensive this can get.
If you heat your RV with electricity, you'll probably be using at least $5 per day, maybe up to $10 per day, just for electricity (depending upon your local rate). I think your "virtually free electricity" will disappear when someone realizes the electric bill just went up nearly $300 per month. How close IS this "friend of a friend"? :)
If you plan on heating with propane, be prepared. On one of our winter camping expeditions, our furnace used a 20 lb. tank of propane in less than 24 hours. (I was conducting a propane usage experiment.) Granted the outside temps dipped into the high single digits, but we were also supplementing that with 2 electric heaters.
Oh, and our rig has dual pane windows and is pretty well insulated. An older rig will probably have single pane windows and be insulated less.
For winter use, you have to make sure the fresh and waste water tanks are enclosed. If they are, many are set up so that warm air from the furnace will circulate through the bays to keep the tanks from freezing. However, this means you MUST use your propane furnace for at least some of your heating.
I think you would be best served with a trailer rather than a motorhome. Even with that, I wouldn't recommend that you live in it through the winter, at least not up north. Now, if you can winter down south, that's different. But up north, the heating bills will wipe you out.
And not to keep raining on your parade, but if you're concerned about toll expenses, that suggests to me that your finances are stretched too tight for this type of travel. But as a guide, from Massachusetts to Florida you could pay near $100 in tolls each way, or $0 in tolls, depending upon your route. Stay on Rt. 95 and expect to pay big $$$. We take an inland route and can do it only paying for the Tappan Zee Bridge on the way back home.
And just out of curiosity, if you are really concerned about $$$, why is California your final destination? There are a LOT of places to live cheaper (Massachusetts, though, isn't one of them. :) )
Sorry, I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's better you know what you're getting into BEFORE you commit.
Good Luck,
~Rick
I'm afraid I have to side with those recommending another option other than a motorhome. If you are going to "winter" outside in an RV, I think you are going to find out very quickly how expensive this can get.
If you heat your RV with electricity, you'll probably be using at least $5 per day, maybe up to $10 per day, just for electricity (depending upon your local rate). I think your "virtually free electricity" will disappear when someone realizes the electric bill just went up nearly $300 per month. How close IS this "friend of a friend"? :)
If you plan on heating with propane, be prepared. On one of our winter camping expeditions, our furnace used a 20 lb. tank of propane in less than 24 hours. (I was conducting a propane usage experiment.) Granted the outside temps dipped into the high single digits, but we were also supplementing that with 2 electric heaters.
Oh, and our rig has dual pane windows and is pretty well insulated. An older rig will probably have single pane windows and be insulated less.
For winter use, you have to make sure the fresh and waste water tanks are enclosed. If they are, many are set up so that warm air from the furnace will circulate through the bays to keep the tanks from freezing. However, this means you MUST use your propane furnace for at least some of your heating.
I think you would be best served with a trailer rather than a motorhome. Even with that, I wouldn't recommend that you live in it through the winter, at least not up north. Now, if you can winter down south, that's different. But up north, the heating bills will wipe you out.
And not to keep raining on your parade, but if you're concerned about toll expenses, that suggests to me that your finances are stretched too tight for this type of travel. But as a guide, from Massachusetts to Florida you could pay near $100 in tolls each way, or $0 in tolls, depending upon your route. Stay on Rt. 95 and expect to pay big $$$. We take an inland route and can do it only paying for the Tappan Zee Bridge on the way back home.
And just out of curiosity, if you are really concerned about $$$, why is California your final destination? There are a LOT of places to live cheaper (Massachusetts, though, isn't one of them. :) )
Sorry, I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's better you know what you're getting into BEFORE you commit.
Good Luck,
~Rick
