Over the past few years I have been reading a lot of blogs from people that live full time in their RV's. I am trying to get a sense of the actual costs of this lifestyle. I understand that the more money you have, the more you spend. We don't have a lot of money and will need to keep a close count on it, but it appears to be something that is doable.
I went over some figures from the actual living expenses of Howard and Linda Payne, from Rv-Dreams.
They document every expense and have complete records for 4 1/2 years. That gives me a pretty good idea of the cost to actually live full time in a recreational vehicle. Of course we will have differences in actual expenses depending on how much or little we travel and how much or little we decide to work camp. At this point, we are thinking of doing quite a bit of work camping, as long as it still leaves us time to explore each area we will be staying at.
I have come up with some initial figures but need to tweak them a little more to make sure I am accurate. Some things I can only guess on until the time comes. One of them is RV insurance. It will change/increase when we become fulltime rv'ers, but I'm not exactly sure how much.
It's just another step in the process...run the numbers.
I am also trying to get a sense of all the things we will need for the motorhome, like solar power, new window awnings, etc.
A week or two ago, I walked around the house and gave everything a once over, thinking what would go with us and what would not. It may be a tight fit to get all of our stuff inside the RV!
What I need to do now, instead of writing on this blog...is go clean out stuff and start tossing junk!
I did this last night..I wrote the what in this house..and where it would go in the House on wheels.The rest I need to finish packing up.80% of the house is packed up..it's just that some of the stuff in storage has made it back in the house..lol I re-arrange the House on Wheels yesterday. Walker likes it.so I guess it is time to start stocking up the groceries and the other stuff.The budget..wow..Haven't even thought about that..lol
ReplyDeleteGood luck..Cindy and Walker
Yup, we are doing like you, figuring and planning.
ReplyDeleteWe invited all of our grown kids to pick out stuff they want when we sell the house. Most everything is spoken for and what is left will go on Craigs List or Ebay.
Bit by bit, our plans are taking hold already. We are solaring up, adding a catalytic heater, spare tire, organizing bins in the storage areas and figuring out the best arrangements in our rig for fulltiming.
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/
Reading other blogs to get an idea of expenses is an excellent idea. Your costs won't be the same, but it will help to get some ideas for what to anticipate. I think our full-time RV coverage costs around $900 a year (that is based on the cost of the RV when we bought it). As you know, your state of "residence" is going to also be a factor. Our coverage also includes a "full replacement" clause for a couple of years. If I can get my printer to scan, I can email you a copy of the policy to look at.
ReplyDeleteThis lifestyle is definitely costing us more than we anticipated. RV Park fees are so much higher than I expected. However, being a 40' MH is partly to blame for that. I have tons of info on free or less expensive places to stay - but not for rigs this size. We need "level" sites or we would have a problem with breaking jacks (Roger has decided he was the cause of our jack problems). We don't have or want solar options so we need 50 amps - another expensive option in an RV Park. Having said all that, I know we could easily adjust our budget by doing workkamping during the months we aren't in Florida. It's an easy lifestyle to add income if necessary - assuming your health stays good.