What is the cost of RV living?
It costs as much as you want it to cost.
How’s that for an unsatisfactory, nebulous answer?
And yet it is the truth! Allow me to explain.
Part-time RV living vs full-time RV living
It should be obvious, but it still bears mentioning, that part-time RVing is less-expensive than full-time RVing. When you add up the cost of a weekend RV trip vs the cost of a three-month RV trip, it doesn’t take a math major to see that the longer you are on the road, the more it will cost you.
But all of the costs associated with RVing are dependent on a number of factors. If you take your RV to a campground and leave it there for the entirety of your vacation, your gas consumption will be much less than if you drove that RV around several states in the same period of time. If you drive a Class A motorhome, which gets you about five miles per gallon, you will spend more than if you tow a small, fifteen-foot travel trailer, or if you drive a converted VW van.
Boondocking vs full-service parking
If you have a self-contained RV, one with solar power, a bathroom, shower, generator, etc., and you choose to boondock, your expenses will be quite low. Conversely, if you pay for full services at an RV park, you will be paying $50-$100 per night for electricity, water, and sewage disposal.
It feels like we are stating the obvious when we say that camping out of a tent trailer, in a state park at $25 per night, will cost less than parking a Class C in an RV park at $50 per night, but it needs to be stated because the term recreational vehicle means so many different things.
BYOF vs paying top dollar for food
Prepare all of your food and take it with you (BYOF) vs eating out while RVing is obviously cheaper. Eating at restaurants while on vacation is fun and rewarding, but it is also very costly, and it adds up very quickly.
Entertainment almost always costs extra
The incidental costs of an RV lifestyle can also add up quickly. If you take your RV to a park like Yellowstone, you will quickly learn that almost everything costs money. It is hard to pass up those gift shops. It is hard to pass up the mementos of a great trip. It is hard to NOT spend money. At the other end of the spectrum, boondocking on BLM land, going hiking, sitting under the awning of your RV reading a book, none of that will cost you extra money, so it all depends, again, on what kind of RV living you are planning on doing.
The bottom line about RV living costs
Sorry, but there is no definitive answer to the question asked at the beginning of this article. Your kind of RV lifestyle will determine how much you spend. It is estimated that living full-time, on the road, in an RV will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $30,000 per year, about equivalent to living in a stationary home full-time, but again, those kinds of estimates depend almost completely on what kind of RV lifestyle you plan on adopting.
Whatever you choose to do, hopefully you will totally enjoy RV living. It is, after all, intended to be relaxing and enjoyable. It is intended to improve the quality of life for you, and all you to be a part of the wonder of it all.
Happy Trails!
Thank you, Liz, for sharing that memory. For sure, we will find ways to cut costs. We are very good at squeezing the last ounce of value out of any commodity. lol
My parents had an RV for many years. I remember my mother buying an extra tin of food each week and putting it in her holiday store.
We spent our annual holiday in France eating tinned food from the UK. She bought fruit and veg in the markets out there. We had the occasional meal out as a treat. She reckoned that that was how they afforded the holiday, by cutting costs wherever they could.
Irish, I think that’s going to be our approach. Maybe once or twice a week, eat out, and the rest of the time eat “in.” We have to treat ourselves with something special from time to time, right?
I agree with you, Bill, I do have it made. Thanks my friend.
Regardless of what it may cost you, Bill, it sounds like you have it made. Enjoy the trips, my friend!!!
As you say Bill the cost of RV living depends on a great many things and can be as expensive as you want it be! I think having a nice balance like eating in part of the week and eating out (again depends on location and cost) is a nice balance. Thanks for sharing your post and have a great week!!