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Cost of your hobby

pitch
Explorer II
Explorer II
I am constantly asked by non Rv'ing friends and family how expensive this hobby is.
I did not figure the cost of the truck as I have always had one,I spread the cost of the trailer out over a guessstimated life of ten years. Nor did I depreciate either the truck or trailer as I tend to keep things till the wheels fall off.
Any way I came up with a ballpark of 1.25 per traveled mile of outing. More if it is a destination trip much lower for simple short camping.
If any of you have figured it out where do you come in at?
74 REPLIES 74

the_bear_II
Explorer
Explorer
I figured it up..... PRICELESS !!!

fla-gypsy
Explorer
Explorer
The cost? Are you kidding? The cost is insignificant compared to the benefit derived. The ROI is priceless!
This member is not responsible for opinions that are inaccurate due to faulty information provided by the original poster. Use them at your own discretion.

09 SuperDuty Crew Cab 6.8L/4.10(The Black Pearl)
06 Keystone Hornet 29 RLS/(The Cracker Cabana)

michigansandzil
Explorer
Explorer
I have added camping/RVing up for our family, but per year as opposed to per mile.

We both work and have school aged kids, so for us, it's a hobby; we still own a home, etc. We use the RV as a portable hotel to go to new exciting places, and we use it to go 15 minutes down the road for a weekend to sit by the fire with friends.

For us, we get 1-2 BIG week long trips out of state (ie-we just returned from 11 days in the Smokies), 1-2 week long trips in state on a great lake, and probably 6 weekend/extended weekend trips during the year.
All of the campsite rentals, gas, excursions (horseback riding, amusement parks, etc), camper payments and insurance for a year costs us about 4-5K. If we kept our old paid off camper, stayed only at state parks and didn't do excursions, it would be less.

Most people I know spend 1 week at Disney for the same price. I think we're making out in the deal.
2017 Coachmen Catalina 323 BHDSCK
2018 Ford F150 FX4
3 growing kids and 1 big dog

rickeoni
Explorer
Explorer
With my stressful job the 40 or 50 nights a year away from the phone, email and spreadsheets is priceless.
2008 F450
2007 Adventurer 85WS
2012 Haulmark "The Garage"
2016 Outdoors RV Glacier Peak 26 RKS

Community Alumni
Not applicable
As others have stated, it's a lifestyle. We live in our rv six months spread over a year and expenses associated with doing this are relative to living at home for six months.

Cost per mile is never a factor.

Kittykath
Explorer II
Explorer II
Since ours sits on a seasonal site, we usually end up comparing the cost of the camper + the site fee + storage to owning a cabin. The number comparison isn't apples to apples, but the feeling of having a slice of summer heaven is. The cost is worth it when I forget the math.

RollandB
Explorer
Explorer
It's our way to enjoy traveling and seeing new places. We spent the $$ some do flying to a resort for a week or two. The only place I need to fly to is Hawaii since it's a bit tough to pull the trailer there.
2013 Yukon

2021 Coachmen Spirit 1943RB

Campfire_Time
Explorer
Explorer
I've done rough calculations. And I do count the cost of the truck because if we didn't RV, we probably would have a car with a 4 banger in it.

We've bought our trailers new and have kept them for 10 years. Even then we've gotten 50% of the original cost back on them. Taking that number, the cost of gas over and above what not having a truck would be, and the cost of sites, it comes out to somewhere around $80-$100 a night. Not cheap, but no worse than staying in rooms for vacations. And far more fun!

Its tough to compare though. We've done a couple of vacations where we've stayed in really nice places, once at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite for our 25th anniversary. Far more expensive than we normally do. And I know a lot of people who will spend 5k for a week in an all inclusive resort just to sit on the beach for a week.

Bumpyroad wrote:
I think it is meaningless to equate the cost per mile. Per night/day of camping/RVing would make more sense.
bumpy


I agree.
Chuck D.
“Adventure is just bad planning.” - Roald Amundsen
2013 Jayco X20E Hybrid
2016 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab Z71 LTZ2
2008 GMC Sierra SLE1 Crew Cab Z71 (traded)

FlatBroke
Explorer II
Explorer II
A few years ago I quit buying, just gotta haves, piece of mind, cheap insurance and wow that's neat do-dads. Sold a lot of that krap I never used. Cleaned out the storage bay of all the stuff. Had to be a gazillion dollars worth. Now our "hobby" is more enjoyable and less expensive. Now I have real PEICE OF MIND!

Hitch Hiker
"08" 29.5 FKTG LS

Bumpyroad
Explorer
Explorer
I think it is meaningless to equate the cost per mile. Per night/day of camping/RVing would make more sense.
bumpy

Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Explorer II
For us, RV'ing is not a "hobby", it's our way of life. We've found over the years that living and traveling in our coach costs us little more than staying stationary at our cottage.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

ryegatevt
Explorer II
Explorer II
dbbls wrote:
All hobbies cost, but if I can afford it I do it.


Ditto!
Steve & Bev
2005 Roadtrek 210
Tess, our Sheltie

camperpaul
Explorer
Explorer
For us full-timers, it's not a hobby; it's a lifestyle.
Paul
Extra Class Ham Radio operator - K9ERG (since 1956)
Retired Electronics Engineer and Antenna Designer
Was a campground host at IBSP (2006-2010) - now retired.
Single - Full-timer
2005 Four Winds 29Q
2011 2500HD 6.0L GMC Denali (Gasser)

dbbls
Explorer
Explorer
All hobbies cost, but if I can afford it I do it.
2011 F-350 CC Lariat 4X4 Dually Diesel
2012 Big Country 3450TS 5th Wheel

Dick_B
Explorer
Explorer
No and probably never will. I like to sleep at night!
Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
2011 3/4 T Chevrolet Suburban
Equal-i-zer Hitch
One wife, two electric bikes (both Currie Tech Path+ models)