Costs of things

[Jayco-noslide]

During our 40 years of camping; recently in a used 30 ft. Class C, we have always been cost conscious about everything from the purchase price of the RV to campground fees. But after totaling up the massive amount of money we've spent on this 15 year old MH over 7 years just on repairs, etc.(actually the depreciation on it isn't too bad) I think we need to put some costs in perspective. For example whether we pay $15 or $35 for a night or spend an extra $100 on gas it's all peanuts compared to all the costs of the motor home. Next time someone tells you how cheap they can travel in an RV, tell them to add in all the cost referred to above.

[time2roll]

I do better by not keeping records. I just pay as I go.
Periodically check fuel mileage to confirm engine is running normal but I don't track the money.

[aguablanco]

docsouce wrote:
We called it a season last weekend (finished winterizing yesterday). We had a very enjoyable season. This is a breakdown of our basic costs for the season:
Total Miles: 6560
Cost of gas: $2,123 (this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual
and the average cost per gallon was $2.59
RV park cost:$1785 (51 nights at average $35 per night)
Total basic cost(Gas and camps only)$3908 or $105 per day
Not included: food, occasional t shirt, supplies, or whatever.
This falls in line with our last 4 years since we started this wonderful hobby. Making plans right now for another 10 week cross country trip next summer. Laying out our back road route and began to set cash aside for this run already. The wife and I truly enjoy the road less traveled.
Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.

Your $105/day is a bit higher than my totals but close enough to not matter. Since we cook most of our meals in the trailer, and we have to eat whether we're on the road or at home I only count meals eaten out as an additional expense. A decent motel/hotel in, or near, any National Park is certainly much more than $105/day. Add in eating out and it will start approaching $200/day, or more. Bought my small trailer used and do all of the maintenance myself. My only extra expense is the difference in mileage between towing, which averages 15 mpg, and not towing 32 mpg. Both figures are highway driving. Granted I didn't pay six figures for my trailer, so depreciation is nearly a nonissue. We average about 5000+ miles per year and, at least for us, it is way less expensive than using hotels and eating out. Plus we get to see some amazing sites and spend time together. Oh, and the dogs love it too.
I have to say that, in our case at least, it is cheaper to take the RV out for 5-6 weeks at a time than it is to travel any other way when exploring.

[jjrbus]

docsouce wrote:
We called it a season last weekend (finished winterizing yesterday). We had a very enjoyable season. This is a breakdown of our basic costs for the season:
Total Miles: 6560
Cost of gas: $2,123 (this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual
and the average cost per gallon was $2.59
RV park cost:$1785 (51 nights at average $35 per night)
Total basic cost(Gas and camps only)$3908 or $105 per day
Not included: food, occasional t shirt, supplies, or whatever.
This falls in line with our last 4 years since we started this wonderful hobby. Making plans right now for another 10 week cross country trip next summer. Laying out our back road route and began to set cash aside for this run already. The wife and I truly enjoy the road less traveled.
Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.

I have been looking at newer small Class B+ with the V10. But 8 mpg, ouch!

[docsouce]

We called it a season last weekend (finished winterizing yesterday). We had a very enjoyable season. This is a breakdown of our basic costs for the season:
Total Miles: 6560
Cost of gas: $2,123 (this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual
and the average cost per gallon was $2.59
RV park cost:$1785 (51 nights at average $35 per night)
Total basic cost(Gas and camps only)$3908 or $105 per day
Not included: food, occasional t shirt, supplies, or whatever.
This falls in line with our last 4 years since we started this wonderful hobby. Making plans right now for another 10 week cross country trip next summer. Laying out our back road route and began to set cash aside for this run already. The wife and I truly enjoy the road less traveled.
Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.

[ron_dittmer]

jjrbus wrote:
then there are the dishonest shops. I wanted to get an AC expansion valve replaced 3 years ago and took it to the local AC place as I did not have time to mess with it. They gave me a $1200 estimate. TWELVE HUNDRED US DOLLARS. So I changed plans and did it myself, total cost less than $100 and at most 4 hours work.

Your story is common and remarkable. Like you, I do everything I can myself. Not just saving really big money, but unlike a shop on the clock, I spend the time taking care of all the details so it's done as best as possible.

A 10 minute oil change and a 30 minute wait for a set of tires, are simple examples of advertised short cuts.

If paying for services, day care would have raised our children, we could not own a motor home, the cars we drive, nor the house we live in. Our standard of living would be pitiful and retirement a pipe dream. And worst of all, we would never have been in a position to be charitable with our resources, both with time and money.

[Dusty_R]

Since I was about 14 I had wanted to learn to fly. Maybe 25 years ago I started taking flying lessons, got 3 hours in, was enjoying it, but decided that spending money traveling with our mh was better spent. With a mh you can travail in almost in weather, and stop anywhere.
With a small air plane you can only fly from airport to airport. And once your at an airport you are limited as what you can do.

Dusty

[jjrbus]

Cost of things! Google cheap and you will find my picture. I dislike staying in hotels and detest using public bathrooms, the real biggie is I like to take a nap when I want to. So I spend the money.

I have a 94 Toyota and if I had to pay people for repairs I would have to let it go and stay in hotels, and nap in the car. Repairs are not bad enough, then there are the dishonest shops. I wanted to get a AC expansion valve replaced 3 years ago and took it to the local AC place as I did not have time to mess with it. They gave me a $1200 estimate. TWELVE HUNDRED US DOLLARS. So I changed plans and did it myself, total cost less than $100 and at most 4 hours work. This is fresh in my mind as here it is 3 years later and I am in the middle of replacing the valve again.

I full timed for 10 years and was able to live very inexpensive even with the loss of about $40,000 when I sold the RV. That was a bus conversion I had built myself, sweet machine. Things I learned, the friends I made doing that and the experiences of RV'ing I cannot put a dollar amount on.

Being cheap is tough, sometimes I do myself a disservice by trying to save a $, I have to watch that. You know that feeling you get when realizing that $12 was spent on gas to save $8 on a campsite.

[sgfrye]

bobndot wrote:
We rv because we travel with a dog and hate sleeping in beds that hundreds of other have slept in before us. We like having our own bathroom that's usually available 24/7 when we travel. Needless to say, we have not thought about how much it cost.
When people ask us we ballpark our mpg, repairs, food, camp fees and other rv related expenses. When the bill comes, we simply pay it and don't think twice.

same here only we have 4 small dogs that travel with us

[valhalla360]

Depends wildly on how much you use the RV. I suspect many use it 5-6 weekends and a 1 week vacation per year...yep, it's wildly expensive way to travel.

But for those who plan to utilize it a lot, the costs come down very quick.

The other thing is to look at the type of RV you buy and how much maintenance you can do yourself. A big DP MH where you outsource everything to repair shops, it's going to be very expensive. A small bumper pull travel trailer pulled by the 1/2ton pickup you already have for other reasons and you do most basic maintenance yourself...it can be pretty cheap.

[T18skyguy]

I think there are a lot of people in California right now that find their RV priceless. I was there in 1994 just 3 miles from the epicenter of the Northridge earth quake. It struck at night, and I remember my neighbors got in their cars to keep warm. I was so glad we had a 1983 Alfa Gold 29 foot travel trailer. We lived in it for weeks. Really saved our bacon.

[DutchmenSport]

dieseltruckdriver wrote:
....If our sticks and bricks burned down, our life continues as normal in our 5er. Probably better since we both prefer to be in it instead of the house anyway.

Now THAT has to be the absolute best statement I've heard in a long time.

When we purchased this house, we selected the property so we could use the camper freely on it. House is secondary. I tease my wife often and call our camper, NOT our home away from home. Instead, "our home AT home!"

We choose the camper over the house. House and property is a convenience to park and live in the camper without restrictions. Still, to own the property to park the camper is not cheap either.

[Bordercollie]

As an 80-year old builder and flier of model airplanes, RV'er, guitar plunker and indulger in other hobbies and pastimes, I often counsel beginners about the initial and continuing costs of any worth-while hobby. Most of us have limited finances so most of us eventually invest in a motorhome that suits our desires and needs as well as possible within our financial limits. I advise beginners to save their money until they can buy good equipment and afford incidental expenses such as AMA membership insurance, club dues, and the cost of models, replacements and ground support equipment. Getting a good start in any hobby is important to having success and maximum continued enjoyment for the money and effort invested. I hope this makes sense:-)

[dieseltruckdriv]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Unless you are full time RVer and have no true stick-n-brick home any more, RVing is a hobby. Some call it a "lifestyle." I like to call it a "lifestyle", but really, it's not essential for my existence. If I lost the 5er, tow vehicle, and every physical item associated with the camper right now, I would still be fully functional in my stick-n-brick home. SNIPPED

We have the opposite opinion. If our sticks and bricks burned down, our life continues as normal in our 5er. Probably better since we both prefer to be in it instead of the house anyway.

The house is a mile from work for both of us, so we can't really do any better than that!

[Lwiddis]

Why should we leave our daughter any money? lol

[js218]

Purchased my rv to travel, been on the road for 3 years doing an occasional layover at 3 properties I own in Nevada, Vermont, and Pennsylvania biggest cost for me is fuel currently have 165,350 miles on the rig. Is it expensive that all depends on what you can afford. I'm enjoying my rv to its fullest capabilities.