DOES THIS BUDGET SOUND REASONABLE?
Planning my first MH trip, 4-5 months. I'll be alone. I'll have at least $5000 emergency cash and will be recieving about $2300 per month while I'm on the road. Guessing 1000 gallons of gas at $5 /g...
Forum Discussion
We made a trip from NJ to CO, UT and WY last year. We were away 63 days and traveled 8,560 miles. I keep our financial data in Quicken, so have pretty good data on actual expenses. We spent a total of $6,183 for the trip. This does not include food, as I figure that we would be spending the same amount for food if we had stayed home.
We spent $3,117 for 882 gallons of gas, an average cost of $3.53/gallon. Our average gas mileage for the trip was 9.7mpg.
We spent $1,535 for 62 nights of camping. Half of the nights were spent in private campgrounds and the other half in either National Park, Forest Service or State Park campgrounds. National Park and Forest Service campgrounds averaged less than $10/night with our Senior Pass. We also had free entrance to the National Parks with the Pass. Private campgrounds ranged between $23/night and $63/night. We don't overnight at WalMart or rest stops.
We spent $478 on RV maintenance and various supplies, such as propane, etc. We had no mechanical breakdowns.
We spent $976 on souvenirs, park information books, trinkets, etc. We could have spent a lot less.
To round it out, we spent $76 on tolls.
IMO you are being very conservative figuring $5/gallon for gas. I can see $4 or a bit more this Summer, but not $5. If you have a smart phone, use Gas Buddy to search for low gas prices when you need to refuel.
Try to reserve your emergency fund for actual emergencies, such as mechanical breakdowns. Make sure your RV is in good condition before you leave on the trip.
You will know in the first month or so if you are able to live within your means, so you could always cut the trip short and head for home. Fuel cost will probably be the largest expense, so limiting travel will stretch your $$ over time. On the other hand, it always seems that we drive more miles than we had originally expected on our trips.
We spent $3,117 for 882 gallons of gas, an average cost of $3.53/gallon. Our average gas mileage for the trip was 9.7mpg.
We spent $1,535 for 62 nights of camping. Half of the nights were spent in private campgrounds and the other half in either National Park, Forest Service or State Park campgrounds. National Park and Forest Service campgrounds averaged less than $10/night with our Senior Pass. We also had free entrance to the National Parks with the Pass. Private campgrounds ranged between $23/night and $63/night. We don't overnight at WalMart or rest stops.
We spent $478 on RV maintenance and various supplies, such as propane, etc. We had no mechanical breakdowns.
We spent $976 on souvenirs, park information books, trinkets, etc. We could have spent a lot less.
To round it out, we spent $76 on tolls.
IMO you are being very conservative figuring $5/gallon for gas. I can see $4 or a bit more this Summer, but not $5. If you have a smart phone, use Gas Buddy to search for low gas prices when you need to refuel.
Try to reserve your emergency fund for actual emergencies, such as mechanical breakdowns. Make sure your RV is in good condition before you leave on the trip.
You will know in the first month or so if you are able to live within your means, so you could always cut the trip short and head for home. Fuel cost will probably be the largest expense, so limiting travel will stretch your $$ over time. On the other hand, it always seems that we drive more miles than we had originally expected on our trips.
