Budgeting for Camping

four22 wrote:
My "minimum usage" idea is a 7-10 day vacation once a year and 1 long weekend a month. Storage around here runs 50-75 bucks a month so not too bad.

Sounds like my "budget" is mileage divided by 10 plus camp site fees which is what I was roughly figuring.

I can remember camping at Lake Erie every summer growing up. My parents didn't have a lot of mine but we had a camper and an outside adventure drive. By far the best vacationing memories I have from my childhood.

My parents took 3 weeks in August to travel from PA to SC and even FL..

Our first trip was in a 1968 Mercury station wagon.. Packed us six kids in that wagon and one huge tent on the top rack..

Then 1970 Dad bought a F100 and put a camper shell on the back, made some bunks and a fold down table.. Usw kids road in the back..

1972 brought us a slide in camper and us kids got to ride in it.. Was fun adventure since we could get in the bunk over the cab and look out the big window!

Mom and Dad didn't have a lot of money to spend, we seldom ate out during those trips. Often just pulled over to the side of the road and Mom would put together a meal.

Now, I am the only one in my family that actually goes camping. For the most part, we really do not spend much more than what we do at home. We bring a lot of food, cook at our campsites and sometimes as we run out of milk, bread or a few other items we go to a local store.

So, really if you treat it like you are home for food you will not have a lot of food related expenses..

Camp sites and fuel are going to be your main costs.

Camp sites as others have mentioned can vary wildly from $10 per night upwards of $100 per night at in season peak times..

Fuel, figure 8 mpg-10 mpg towing.. Towing really takes a bit out of the mileage so you may as well get used to spend more and stopping more often.

As far as "waiting till they are out of diapers" I say NONSENSE!

Kids adapt pretty well and if you find decent campgrounds they will have a pool and some playground equipment for the kids..

MY DD was in diapers on many trips before we bought a trailer.. We survived that and moved to a TT and we have survived the4 diaper thing in a TT..

We did not let a kid in diapers stop us from traveling to hotels or even camping..