Budgeting for Camping

four22 wrote:
I'm new around here and have been reading alot. My wife and I hope to purchase a travel trailer in the next year or 2 to start spending more time away with our children.

Couple of questions....

How much should I budget for a monthly long weekend with the family?
What are some suggestions of what to look for in a TT with 2 small children?

I'm hoping to stay around the 30' range and no more than 7500-800 pounds. We definitely want a bunkhouse to grow into.

Looking forward to some of the shared knowledge here.

Thanks!

Let me make sure I'm reading your question correctly. You are asking about a once-a-month long weekend {for a monthly long weekend with the family?}. Long weekend as defined as perhaps a 4 day weekend, ie, Thursday through Sunday or Friday through Monday?

If this is correct what I'm reading, that you're asking about 3-4 days out per month, then it's a matter of how far from home you want to go, what sort of place you want to stay (amenities vs bare bones), do you plan to cook on-site or go out for meals, and what sort of sightseeing do you want to do. You're going to have to eat meals regardless if you're in your trailer or sitting at home, meal planning is really not much different than what you'd do at home with the kiddos.

An example of expenses: recent trip for 2 taken to the mountains about an hour west of where I live, a full tank of gas ($30), groceries ($50) plus what was in the fridge, adult beverages ($20), and campground fee ($26 for 2 nights with a senior pass, would have been $52 for two w/o it). This was in a national park campground, which had been reserved and paid for in January. Similar costs if we had been to a USFS campground, which we actually did the weekend prior, for about the same cost. If we had decided on a commercial campground, the cheapest in our destination area (Estes Park CO) would have been $40/night for water/electric, no sewer. Higher side in the same area would have been $60+/night for FHU. This is in the mountains of Colorado, so the costs for the destination are going to be higher, but the basic costs for food, etc are fairly stable.

Since you're in SW Ohio (based on your profile info) your costs may be higher or lower depending on where and how far you go.

As others have pointed out, there's fixed expenses, regardless of whether you go anywhere, or the unit sits in your driveway or storage yard. Travel trailer insurance, as previously stated, will likely be in the $200-$300/year cost. If you're planning on financing the trailer, you can write off the interest on the loan as you would your mortgage for tax purposes. Do you plan to buy new or used? That's another factor, where to start, if you're going to buy a new trailer. Best bet is probably to do a lot of internet surfing for various floor plans that you like, or just do some tire kicking at a local dealer. You may also find a used unit at a dealer that appeals to you.

Whatever you decide, it's a great way to spend some quality time with your family. Both my kiddos were infants when we started camping, in a popup, and it's time of some wonderful memories. Hope you'll be able to make some wonderful memories with your family!

Expect to pay a wide range for the sites; from $10 or so at National Forests to over $50 for private RV resort type parks and everything in between. Average for us is around upper 20's per night but we prefer state and national parks and have the senior pass. You can control food cost by whether you eat out or do your own cooking. Paying for tourist attractions can add a bunch or you can hike, fish, etc. You will use a lot of fuel when on the road but you can control that too to some extent. Compared to hotels and resorts and eating out 3/day you will save a lot if you don't count the cost of the RV.

Your insurance rate will vary depending on where you live and your driving record, etc. I'm in Alabama and my 2007 TT cost me $130 a year.

I'm one of those folks who never left the driveway without knowing where we were staying, maps, budget for food, activities, misc. Yes, the DH has already told me I'm a bit OCD, the in the longrun he feels better as well. Neither of us like surprises. Suggest you make a preliminary plan, mapquest it, look online for camping facilities in the area and rough that in. Figure 10 mpg unless you're going to be in lots of hilly mountainous areas, then go with maybe 8. Are you going to eat all meals in the trailer? If not, base it on what you'd spend on average. I planned menus and figured the costs and plugged it in. After everything was said and done, for a month long trip, I'd add maybe $500 for misc and be happy if you bring it home.

Knowing where you're thinking of going will help get you some ballpark figures. We also tended to stay in State Parks. There are some Federal, but most often don't even have water to the site.

BTW, you're going to need to do laundry along the way, so plan on that. We generally tried to do no more than 300 miles a day, sometimes more like 250. Remember that it's a vacation, not a race. Allow yourself time to enjoy.

Look for low price campgrounds like state parks and corps of engineers parks. They usually have at least water and electric hookups and dump stations. Usually less than $30 per night. If you go to Jellystone, KOA or commercial campgrounds with lots of amenities it can run $100 per night but they do have lots to keep the kids busy. There are some beautiful corps of engineers campgrounds near Bowling Green KY. Look for them on www.recreation.gov I also use www.woodalls.com and www.rvparkreviews.com to locate campgrounds.

On the other hand, the big cost of RVing is usually the fixed cost of owning the RV: license fees, insurance, maybe storage, annual maintenance, and cost of money which includes depreciation and either interest on a loan or lost income on the money that could have been invested (not much return today, but it has been higher).

Since my RV cost $60,000 when I bought it, depreciation and lost earnings were high, pushing fixed costs to at least $3000 a year the first few years, so if I used it 100 days a year, that's another $30 a day. Those costs are down as the value goes down, but if $1500 a year and I only use it 10 days, then $150 a day.

Many private RV parks have weekly and monthly rates which are less than daily rates.
Might buy a campground directory and make a few phone calls.
Also go visit some parks and talk to the campers. They are quite willing to share their knowledge.

You may call me if you wish.

Where are you going and how far is it?

One of the places I go is a lake 16 miles from home, at 8 MPG it costs me $10-15 for fuel (counting the trip to RV storage and back). I spend $8 a night for the campsite.

Another place is a city park 40 miles away, $5 a night for the parking spot with hookups, $25 to $30 for fuel.

A favorite place on Grand Lake is 80 miles way, $30 a night, $50 to $60 for fuel.

Most distant place we would regularly go is a golf resort 160 miles away, $35 a night (plus greens fees) and $100 to $120 for gas.

Those are the place I choose to go. I've had nightly site fees as low as $0 (one night or two nights free in a city park) and as high as $150 at family resorts at major destinations like Disney World, or near big cities like NYC. Commercial parks catering to families might be $30-$80 a night in less popular places, and I've paid $16 to $35 a night to use state parks.

Food costs what food costs, whether camping or at home. I get by on $120 a week for groceries, for myself. When my wife was alive, it was about $180 a week for groceries, and taking her out to eat at least one meal five days on the average, so another $120 to $150 dollars at the cheap local restaurants we visited (big chain places, bar food, or fancy locals can cost a lot more).

Activities? We generally didn't buy any, but you might look into cost of things like boat rentals, amusement park fees, and so on. I've been to family resort campgrounds, and while some had separate amusement park or activity fees per person, others added it to the campsite price whether you used it or not.

We just finished a two months tour of 8500 mile, 5500 of which were towing miles.

Stayed at a mix of state parks and private campgrounds throughout IL, MO, TX, NM, AZ, NV and UT. From the day we left home with the TT and TV loaded for the trip, our cost was $90.00 a day, that was total expenditures, gas and all.

There are only two of us and our dog, we pack our lunches or eat in the TT at a rest stop. We mostly hike or sightsee with the TV. The DW puts something's in the crock pot for supper when we get home.

If we go to a state park and stay, it is cheaper because we do not burn gas sightseeing.

Yor expenses may be more because of your kids.

Insurance figure $200/year and it will likely be a little less.