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144 days in a 18 foot box

Dennis_Smith
Explorer
Explorer
Well me and the wife did it 144 days in our little 22 foot (18 foot box) Fun Finder. We left Colorado Springs on 2 May, Headed north, Ended up traveling through 10 states covering 20847 miles. We kept track of just about everything we spent, the wife typed up a spread sheet and here are the results if anyone is interested. We Moved 44 times longest spent was 10 days, a few at 1 day but the average was about 4 days. We stayed in KOAโ€™s, national parks, military campgrounds (I am retired Air Force) city run, private campgrounds and a couple of dumps. We do not overnight at Walmartโ€™s or any free campgrounds. The longest we dry camped was 7 days. We try and make reservations at least 2 stays out, we just like knowing were we are going to stay We have three house batteries so electric was not an issue. The most we spent was $66, the least was $15 for camping. We canoed in every state but Oregon. So here are our totals by trip and daily average. Miles 20847, 145, camping $4749, $33, Gas $4399, $31, Groceries $1630, $11, Restaurants$3517, $24, Propane $62, $.43, Misc, $3063, $21, Museums $616, $4. I am over 62, so entry into national parks is free, we saw 41 parks, monuments, battle fields etc . We enjoy eating out so we do. We spent a total of $18,036, or $125 a day. That is what we budgeted for and what we spent. We could save money by not eating out as much, but other than that I donโ€™t think we could cut our budget and see the sites we want to see. The tire pressure monitor caught it and we didnโ€™t have to change it. A few loose screw etc in the camper but nothing we had to fix then. The only thing we would change is remove the sofa in the slide and put in two nice chairs. But we canโ€™t figure out how to do that. The built in DVD on the 12 volt Television did quit working so we will replace that, we do like to dry camp and have our movies when we want one. Had a friend stay in our house and covered the utilities, and mailed us our mail 3 times. We used our discover card 95% of the time and our debit card when they donโ€™t take discover. I paid the bill on line once a week, just to keep track of our expenses. It was a great trip, we saw a lot of stuff and really enjoyed our self. We DO NOT WANT a bigger camper, we pull with a gas Ford F250, crew cab with a topper on the back. We love it lots of room and lots of storage in the back. We are planning for next year and headed east this time. Our average gas mileage was 12. That is towing and not towing. Hope you find this interesting we had fun doing it.
25 REPLIES 25

Dennis_Smith
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for a great report! I love seeing the numbers [emoticon]
When the wife and I go out for a weekend or even week, by the time we have picked up food and trinkets it usually ends up at about $125 a day and I know we could get it lower but its good to see a couple PRO's getting the same round numbers [emoticon]


Don't think we are PROs just learning as we go. Have learned a lot just reading this web page. The big thing is get out there and do it.

RockfishJim
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for a great report! I love seeing the numbers ๐Ÿ™‚
When the wife and I go out for a weekend or even week, by the time we have picked up food and trinkets it usually ends up at about $125 a day and I know we could get it lower but its good to see a couple PRO's getting the same round numbers ๐Ÿ™‚

Dennis_Smith
Explorer
Explorer
Got out out log and map quest. We pulled the trailer 7145 miles. Average about 9.4 pulling the trailer and a hair over 12 without. Longest day was 465 miles from phoenix to Albuquerque when we were headed home. Shortest day was 17 miles in Spokane moving to the campground on the army base.

Drbolasky
Explorer
Explorer
Fabulous trip report - you have done what DW & I envision doing maybe five years from now. Glad to hear you had a good time and travelled safely. Well done!

Doug, Linda, Audrey (USN) & Andrew


2008 Sequoia SR-5, 5.7 L, 2000 Coachmen Futura 2790TB Bunkhouse, Dexter E-Z Flex Suspension, Reese W.D. Hitch/Dual Cam Sway Control, Prodigy Brake Controller, McKesh Mirrors
:B

Dennis_Smith
Explorer
Explorer
No typo that is what we drove. We go see something each and every day. A couple of times we had to drive a couple hundred miles, ie get up at 4 and be there at 8 when they open. I need to do the math on how far we pulled the trailer, but just guessing I would say close to 10,000 miles. The west is a really BIG place.

bucky
Explorer II
Explorer II
Over 20,000 miles? Is that a typo?
Puma 30RKSS

hl_remington
Explorer
Explorer
Thank you for your post

_1nobby
Explorer
Explorer
Nice trip, Dennis. Thanks for posting....but where are the darn pics???
:):)

Dennis_Smith
Explorer
Explorer
The question was asked how we make reservations. The national parks and military campgrounds we had to make at least a month or so out. If we didn't do that we would never get in them. All the others we use the internet. Google Campgrounds and the city where we want to be. Got a good list doing that. We look at the reviews and try to figure out if its good or not. We stayed in one north of Seattle, and one is Sacramento, that we wish we had not stayed in. We were looking more at locations for them then anything. Never felt unsafe, just not the kind of place we wanted to stay in. The cleanest nicest was in Bakersfield, CA.

Rbertalotto
Explorer
Explorer
FANTASTIC! Thanks for doing this.
RoyB
Dartmouth, MA
2021 RAM 2500 4X4 6.4L
2011 Forest River Grey Wolf Cherokee 19RR
520 w solar-200ah Renogy Li-Epever MPPT

CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Explorer III
Glad you had fun. Hope you took pictures and will let us see some of them.

lbrjet
Explorer
Explorer
Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing.
2010 F250 4X4 5.4L 3.73 LS
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equalizer E4 1200/12000

bobndot
Explorer II
Explorer II
DS, tnx for taking the time to post your trip.

Here are some 'how to' pics for a recliner upgrade.


http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f65/changing-out-jackknife-sofa-for-two-reclining-chairs-t-286sr-1...

colliehauler
Explorer III
Explorer III
Money spent $18036. memories priceless.