Budgeting for Camping

All great information so far.

Roughly how much does insurance for a trailer run a year?

We (2 Seniors) figure on $100 per day but we always stay at private campgrounds and usually eat lunch at a restaurant and occasionally supper out as well.

It depends on how you camp and what you do and is in reality impossible to answer. However, food, camping fees, fuel, entertainment, and miscellaneous expenses I would figure $100 per person.

Don't forget that your budget needs to include any of the following which are applicable to your situation: storage fees for the TT, insurance for the TT, and TT vehicle license fees. These will be charged whether you just park the TT or go out often and use it.

As to your question of what to look for in a TT for small children: safe sleeping space (bunk rails?), safe stairs and ladders.

I've camped extensively with children from my own 6-week-old infants to my currently adult grandchildren. At least until kids approach the adult stage, plan on extra parental vigilance. There are so many wonderful unfamiliar things and places that they will want to investigate. No leaving them alone in the TT for even a short time. No "I thought you were watching them" situations. Watch out for camp area traffic, wild animals, uncontrolled tame animals, etc.

Have a great camping life! You'll be building many memories with your children. Don't wait too long to get started on this.

It really does matter what type of camping you want to do. Aside from the cost of the RV and Tow Vehicle (& fuel) it can be fairly reasonable. State parks in my part of the world offer many amenities at a reasonable cost (<$30 a night) and your food cost is the same if you eat at the campsite.

On the flipside some RV resorts in this part of the world can approach $100 a night. That's a big difference. Regardless of cost the memories are priceless.

One of the things the DW and I do when it comes to food is to take what we already have in the freezer and pantry and just get a few things that we may need. We figure it was food that we were going to use at home anyway but instead will just use on our trips. We like to camp at SPs instead of private campgrounds. State parks are cheaper than the private CGs that are in it for a profit. Depending on what you want to do once you get to the CG will determine how much $ you'll spend. If you're just going to take advantage of what the CG has to offer you will get off cheaper than if you go on excursions, theme parks etc. Cost will be solely up to your family based on what you all want to do. Whatever you decide, remember you're making memories for your entire family that will last a life time.

10 MPG... really depends how far and often you plan to go.

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will get lots of answers. We camped in tents when our kids were young except when we used my dad's motorhomes (he had several over the years). We went from tents to a hybrid when my knees got bad enough that I didn't want to sleep on the ground. We moved from the hybrid to our TT when we wanted to stay longer and wanted to be more comfortable.

The amount to budget is very open. If you camp in a national forest or boondock then the cost of fuel and your food is basically it. If you stay fairly close to home and cook in camp like you cook at home the cost difference is negligible (if you don't have monthly trailer payments :) ). If you stay in state parks the cost is fairly low. In NM the rates vary from free to $18 depending on the amenities. If you camp at an RV resort you could spend over $50 per night. So the cost varies depending on what you want. Sorry, I can't help with a bunkhouse trailer as I have never owned one but I'm sure many will chime in. At any rate, camping is a great way to get closer with your kids and I know you will enjoy it.