Cost of living in the road

[4x4ord]

I'm kind of wondering if there is a direct correlation between the value of a person's rig and the cost of living. I'm wondering if it could be something as simple as 35%.

So those whose rig is worth $300,000 might have about a 105,000 lifestyle where as it might cost $210k per year to live for those who are living in a $600,000 rig. If your unit is worth $100 k can you live on $35 k? I think it is of some value to have an idea otherwise I might think I can afford say a 500,000 unit and after purchasing it come to realize I can't really afford the $165000 per year it cost to live the lifestyle that goes with it. What are your thoughts?

[SpeakEasy]

This whole discussion is very interesting from an educator's point of view. I have taught a number of research courses in which we discuss "correlation." The common use of that term, and what many here are using it to mean, implies a cause-effect relationship. Correlation is NOT necessarily a cause-effect relationship. We can find many things that are correlated in which one of the two things does not cause the other. In cases like this there is often a third thing that causes both of the other two things. In this case a frugal mindset might cause a person to seek an inexpensive RV AND a lower cost of living. The cheaper RV doesn't CAUSE the lower cost of living. The frugal mindset causes both.

It's a good object lesson in this important concept.

Tons of research that you read about in the media is research that has found a correlation between two things. Almost always people misinterpret this as a finding that one of those things causes the other. Very little of the research you read about in the media has actually examined to see if there is a cause-effect relationship. That's much harder research to conduct.

-Speak

[rgatijnet1]

4x4ord wrote:
I'm finding the responses quite intetesting.Do those of you who responded think the same way regarding a house. For instance if you drive by a 3 million dollar home do not assume the occupants of that house are living quite a different lifestyle than the occupants of the $300,000 smm house 2 miles down the road?

Interesting comment. I live in a nice house but I also occasionally drive through a neighborhood that includes multi-million dollar homes. From time to time I will see a house with the garage door open. Their garage is neat and EMPTY. I then get back to my house and see all kinds of stuff in my garage. I can just barely get a vehicle in there.
My conclusion is that the people that own those expensive homes cannot afford STUFF, hence their empty garage. I, on the other hand, have so much stuff that it overflows in to my garage. :B

[4x4ord]

I'm finding the responses quite intetesting.Do those of you who responded think the same way regarding a house. For instance if you drive by a 3 million dollar home do you not assume the occupants of that house are living quite a different lifestyle than the occupants of the $300,000 house 2 miles down the road?

[Bill_Satellite]

4x4ord wrote:
I'm kind of wondering if there is a direct correlation between the value of a person's rig and the cost of living. I'm wondering if it could be something as simple as 35%.

So those whose rig is worth $300,000 might have about a 105,000 lifestyle where as it might cost $210k per year to live for those who are living in a $600,000 rig. If your unit is worth $100 k can you live on $35 k? I think it is of some value to have an idea otherwise I might think I can afford say a 500,000 unit and after purchasing it come to realize I can't really afford the $165000 per year it cost to live the lifestyle that goes with it. What are your thoughts?

NO! There is NO % correlation between the price of the RV and the cost of living on the road. There might be somewhat of an increase in your camping costs and a slight difference in your fuel costs but most of that is entirely up to you. How you like to spend your nights will have the most effect. If you plan to buy a 500,000 RV and stop only at high end RV resorts your costs will be substantially higher than someone who buys a 500,000 RV and avoids those kinds of places like the plague (me!).
How many miles you travel will make a big difference but that has nothing to do with the price of your rig. If you get 2-4 MPG less but drive less it's a break even. You are 100% responsible for your expense and you can choose to control them......or not.

[Dutch_12078]

PastorCharlie wrote:
A happy, enjoyable and fulfilled life is not determined by the abundance of things one own or the amount spent on living.

I think we all might take some lessons from Warren Buffett on living modestly no matter how much money you have. The current third richest man in the world still lives in the house he bought for $31,500 in 1958, and drives a 4 year old Cadillac XTS for example.

5 of Warren Buffett's most frugal habits

[NCC-1701]

I agree with what pretty much everyone else is saying...the RV doesn't HAVE to drive the cost of living. That said, certain things will be more expensive...insurance is an example. Clearly, if you want to insure the reasonable value of the RV, it's going to cost a lot more to insure one that is $600,000 than one worth $50,000. Maintenance is also a consideration. IMO, the basic maintenance on a gas coach is not too much different than on a full-sized gas pickup truck, if you do it yourself. However, on a DP, you generally measure your oil changes in gallons rather than quarts. Filters are much bigger. Transmission changes are a couple of filters and gallons of expensive fluid. The air filter on mine runs around $100. Many more grease points to take care of...if you do it yourself, not a big deal...but if you're paying someone to do maintenance...all those extra touch points are more time, and that's money. Generally bigger tires, and on the biggest coaches, more of them, which cost more when the time comes to change them out.

So to put it another way, I believe the "cost of ownership" of a DP is more, and all other things equal, you will need a little bigger budget. Other things not equal, like spending a few more nights boondocking, etc. and you could save that money.

[4x4ord]

PastorCharlie wrote:
A happy, enjoyable and fulfilled life is not determined by the abundance of things one own or the amount spent on living.

Even though I agree with you to a point, the question then becomes, what are we all doing with RV's and all this junk we don't need?

[PastorCharlie]

A happy, enjoyable and fulfilled life is not determined by the abundance of things one own or the amount spent on living.

[Old-Biscuit]

Does it matter how others live.......really?

Give up that 'Keeping up with the Jones's mindset' and do it YOUR way.

[Lwiddis]

“Very likely to be true of early baby boomers who were raised by depression era parents. ”

If I could just sell that ball of tin foil M&D had.

[Lwiddis]

IMO the bigger the rig the more likely the owner will stay at private RV parks which cost more than public facilities and dry camping. And they use more fuel.

[jorbill2or]

I think you could make a general correlation but as said The lifestyle dictates more than the RV. Sure Having a new $600000 RV indicates you may have the net worth/ income to be very active with either resort living or constant travel, golf, touring and dining out. I would also be surprised to see someone with that level RV with 25,000 budget, at least it would not be the normal.
I do think the % isn’t “fixed “relative to the RV. it declines as the max budget is reached I’ve met several full timers with big ticket rigs snd lifestye and would guess their budget to be around 100-130 grand. Not 200 While the sky’s the limit certainly I would think realistically the range falls between there and the 20,000 range no matter 65g RV to the 1mil rig. I’d suspect many folks live in a modest rig and have a large living budget by choice.
Sometimes the cover doesn’t reveal the book and that’s just fine

[coolmom42]

4x4ord wrote:

gafidler wrote:
my class A cost $65,000 and I spend $25000 a year on the road..YOUR COSTS WILL BE DIFFERENT. Happy Trails

It would surprise me to hear people say they own a $600,000 rv and live on $25 k per year. However I do realize there might be people who live on $250,000 annually and choose to own a $65,000 rv.

Some people GET that kind of money because they live a very modest lifestyle, even with good income. Very likely to be true of early baby boomers who were raised by depression era parents.

[4x4ord]

gafidler wrote:
my class A cost $65,000 and I spend $25000 a year on the road..YOUR COSTS WILL BE DIFFERENT. Happy Trails

It would surprise me to hear people say they own a $600,000 rv and live on $25 k per year. However I do realize there might be people who live on $250,000 annually and choose to own a $65,000 rv.

[10forty2]

Wow... if that's the case, I'm gonna be living pretty cheaply..... LOL!

Seriously, though, I'd be willing to bet that there is some small correlation there, but for the most part, one's lifestyle will be determined by how they want to live...not how much their RV costs. I can see that if you have a $1M or better RV, you'd probably tend to be in more expensive RV resorts than in State Parks. And I suspect the cost of maintaining a $1M RV is much more than mine...but, again, I think lifestyle is dictated by desired circumstances and not the RV. The RV would be an indication of one's lifestyle, not the other way around.