Chickery's Travels

Chickery's Travels logo. A blue-green Earth globe with continents surrounded by dots with an arrow denoting movement or travel and "Chickery's Travels" as part of the dotted circle. Next to this is a photo of their blue and white Arctic Fox 5th Wheel with the awning out.
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  • Campground Reviews
    • Alabama
      • Gunter Hill Campground (Montgomery, Alabama)
    • Arizona
      • Best Campgrounds in Arizona
      • Aspen Campground (Payson, Arizona)
      • LazyDays KOA (Tucson, Arizona)
      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, AZ)
    • Arkansas
      • Catherine’s Landing (Hot Springs, Arkansas)
      • Downtown Riverside RV Park (Little Rock, Arkansas)
    • California
      • Best Campgrounds in California
      • Crescent City Redwoods KOA (Crescent City, California)
      • Sea Breeze RV Park (Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station)
    • Florida
      • Best Campgrounds in Florida
      • Blue Angel Naval Recreation Area (Pensacola, FL)
      • Jonathan Dickinson State Park (Southeast FL)
      • LazyDays RV Resort (Tampa, FL)
      • MacDill AFB FamCamp (Tampa, FL)
      • Patrick AFB FamCamp (Cocoa Beach, FL)
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, FL)
      • Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness (Orlando, FL)
        • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
        • Chickery’s Travels Podcast Episode 5: Fort Wilderness Campground Review
    • Maryland
      • Cherry Hill Park (College Park, Maryland)
    • Michigan
      • Port Huron KOA (Kimball, Michigan)
    • Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
      • Boondocking Near Las Vegas
    • Oklahoma
      • Oklahoma City East KOA (Choctaw, Oklahoma)
    • Texas
      • Best Campgrounds in Texas
      • Alsatian RV Resort (Castroville, Texas)
      • Maverick Ranch (Lajitas, Texas)
      • Texas Wine Country Jellystone (Fredericksburg, Texas)
    • Tennessee
      • Crossville I-40 KOA (Crossville, TN)
      • Midway RV Park (Memphis, TN)
    • Virginia
      • Fort Belvoir Travel Camp (Alexandria, VA)
    • Washington
      • Crescent Bar RV Resort (Quincy, Washington)
  • USA
    • Arizona
      • Apache Trail: A Crazy, Scary, Beautiful Drive
      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, Arizona)
      • Phoenix Faves
    • District of Columbia
      • Budget Friendly Fun in Washington D.C.
      • Favorite Hikes near Washington DC
      • Indoor Skydiving and TopGolf: Just Another Day of Family Fun!
    • Florida
      • Best Walt Disney World Festivals For Adults
      • Blowing Rocks Preserve – Jupiter Island, Florida
      • Bok Tower Gardens
      • Daytona Beach – The World’s Most Famous Beach
      • Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
      • Gasparilla – Tampa’s Pirate Invasion
      • 3 Days on the Nature Coast 
      • Florida Freshwater Springs on the Nature Coast
      • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
      • Kennedy Space Center – Cape Canaveral
      • Island Hopping at Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island State Parks
      • Must See Sights in St. Augustine, FL – America’s Oldest City
      • Navy UDT-SEAL Museum – Fort Pierce, Florida
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, Florida)
      • Sunny Sarasota
      • Tampa
        • Get Back to Nature in Tampa Bay
        • Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Spring Training in Tampa, FL
        • The 5 Best Beaches in the Tampa Bay Area
        • Why We Love Tampa
      • Tarpon Springs – The Gulf Coast Town with Greek Flavor
      • Top 5 Things to Do on Florida’s Space Coast
      • What Not to Do When Kayaking on the Weeki Wachee River
      • Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
    • Georgia
      • Visiting Atlanta? Don’t Miss These Civil Rights Museums
    • Illinois
      • One Day In The Windy City – Chicago Itinerary
    • Maine
      • Coastal Maine Vacation
      • Monhegan Island Maine
      • Two Days in Acadia National Park
    • Nevada
      • Planning an RV Trip to Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
    • Tennessee
      • Burgess Falls: 3 For 1 Waterfall Special
      • National Civil Rights Museum – Memphis, TN
      • Window Cliffs, TN – I’m Not Afraid of Heights, But I am Afraid of Falling!
      • WWII History in Tennessee
    • Texas
      • Best Eats in Fredericksburg
      • Enjoy a Bird’s Eye View of Texas Hill Country
  • RV Resources
    • 3 Simple Steps to Find the Best RV Campgrounds
    • 5 Years Full-Time RV: Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret
    • Boondocking – What We Learned From Our First Dry Camping Experience
    • Tips for Boondocking Success
    • Essential RV Gear
      • Essential RV Gear Guide
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • RV Must Have: Tire Pressure Monitoring System
      • RV SnapPads Product Review
      • RVLOCK Keyless Entry Door Handle Installation and Review
      • Shop “RV Local” With TechnoRV
      • Top RV Gadgets & Accessories
      • Internet Solution(s) for Full-Time RVers
    • Living in an RV
      • 9 Lessons From 2 1/2 Years on the Road
      • Biggest Regret Full-Time RV Living
      • Dealing with my Biggest Full-Time Travel Struggle, Missing Family While Traveling
      • Downsizing: 3 Areas That Make The Biggest Impact
      • Full-Time RV: 2019 Year in Review
      • Full-Time RV: 2018 Year in Review
      • Full-Time RV Travel – 2017 Year In Review
      • How Full-Time RVers Celebrate the Holidays
      • Living in a Tiny, Traveling Home
      • Making Friends (and reconnecting with old friends) While Traveling Full-Time
      • Pros & Cons of Full-Time RV Travel
      • Learn How to RV Full-Time
      • RV Organization & Storage Ideas
      • Short-Term RV Storage: Leaving The RV Behind
      • Top 3 Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret: 3 Years Full-Time RV Living
      • What We Wish We Knew Before Full-Time RVing
      • Why We Are Traveling Full-Time In Our RV
    • Maintenance Tips
      • DIY Power Upgrade – “Solar Ready” Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • Easy DIY Project to Protect Your RV Water System
      • An Easy Way to Protect Your RV Water Heater
      • Odor Free RV Black Tank Tips
      • RV Condensation: What It Is, What It Does, and How To Stop It
    • Must Read Books Before Becoming A Full-time RVer
    • RV Organization & Storage Ideas
    • RV Remodel
      • Planning an RV Remodel
      • RV Kitchen Cooking Videos
      • Painting Your RV Interior
      • Update the RV Kitchen – Backsplashes & More
      • Updating Your RV Window Treatments
      • RV Bedroom Makeover
      • RV Remodel Costs with Before & After Photos
    • RV Holiday Tour – Decorating Our Small Space
    • RV Hurricane Evacuation
    • RV Misery Can Be Overcome By The Generosity Of Others
    • Slow Travel
    • Small Kitchen Cooking
      • Cooking Videos
      • Eating Healthy on Travel Days
    • Staying Healthy
      • Traveling with Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, and Other Chronic Pain Conditions
    • Trip Planning
    • Traveling with Pets
      • RVing with Your Cat
      • Traveling with Restricted Breed Dogs
    • Why I Prefer RV Travel Over Flying
  • Travel Finance
    • 5 Tips to Save on RV Travel
    • 5 Ways to Fund Full-Time Travel
    • Full-Time RV Expenses
      • Annual Full-Time RV Expenses – The Big Three
    • Five Credit Card Strategies To Improve Travel
    • How Much Do Campgrounds Cost?
    • How Much Does it Cost to RV Full-Time?
    • How to Camp for Free
    • How to Start a Profitable Blog
    • How to Save Money on RV Fuel Costs
    • How We Earn A Living While Traveling Full-Time (And How You Can Too)
    • How We Paid $139,000 of Debt in 2 Years While Full-Time RVing
    • Learn How to Finance Your Dreams
    • The Top 7 Ways to Save Money While Traveling Full-Time
    • Roadmap to Financial Freedom
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report April 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report May 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report June 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report July 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report August 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report September/October 2018
    • RV Purchasing
      • Benefits of Renting an RV
      • Should I Buy A New or Used RV?
      • The True Cost of Financing an RV
      • Why You Should Attend An RV Show
      • Florida RV SuperShow 2018
    • Save Money Using the Public Library (On More Than Just Books)
  • Military Travel
    • Guide To Using Military Campgrounds
    • Health Care for Retired Military Full-Time RVers
    • Why Military Retirees Should Fly Space-A
  • Videos
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January 15, 2021 by Julie Chickery Leave a Comment

The Costs of RV Ownership

There has never been a better time for RV travel. With renewed emphasis on health and safety, people are coming to realize that an RV is the way to go. You can pay at the pump when you need gas, cook your own food, use your own bathroom, and even social distance around the campfire with others.

However, all this can only happen if you properly prepare for the true costs of RV ownership. So many people interested in RV travel with their friends and family only think about the cost of the RV, but there is so much more to it. The last thing you want to do is purchase an expensive RV and not have enough left in the budget to actually use it. Hopefully this article will give you an idea of how to budget for your RV adventures!  

The RV Purchase 

Obviously the first thing you’ll need is the RV or recreational vehicle. When I talk about RVs, I’m including fifth wheels, travel trailers, motorhomes, Class C’s, and vans. That is a huge range of vehicle type, which means there will be a huge range of prices. You can download our FREE 8-page RV purchasing guide to see an overview of each type and the associated price ranges. 

The answer to the question, How much do RVs cost? is actually another question: How much do you want to spend? That is because you might be looking at a $10,000 travel trailer or a $300,000 diesel pusher motorhome. Regardless of which type, it is not an insignificant investment. Before you even start looking at RVs, take a good honest look at your budget. A realistic budget will help you narrow down your search. After all, there’s no point in wasting your time looking at rigs you can’t afford. 

RV Insurance

As we’ve already pointed out, RVs are not cheap. You’ll definitely want to protect your investment. Unfortunately I can’t tell you how much insurance for your RV will cost. That is because RV insurance, just like automobile insurance, varies by state. 

When we first purchased a fifth wheel RV, we were living in Maryland. When we moved to Florida, the insurance on our vehicles, including the RV, increased dramatically because it is based on risk. And we all know that Florida is plagued by those pesky hurricanes, which increases the risk. 

Our best advice is to call 1-888-514-1116 for a quote from the Good Sam Insurance Agency. They issue policies through several different insurance companies and can help you choose the right one for them. 

Extended Warranties 

RV extended warranties are great because they can be used for a whole range of repairs after the manufacturer’s warranty has expired. If you purchase an RV at a dealership, they will always try to sell you an extended warranty. You should know that you don’t have to buy it through them. You can purchase one through a separate broker and it may even save you money. 

Companies like Wholesale Warranties provide fully customizable extended warranties for both new & used RVs. This means you can choose what best suits your needs from comprehensive to listed component and powertrain coverage. Call 1-800-939-2806 for a quote from Wholesale Warranties.

Preventive Maintenance

RV insurance and warranties cover accidents and breakdowns, but you are responsible for the day-to-day servicing of your RV. In fact, you must have your vehicle serviced according to the manufacturer’s requirements to qualify for insurance and warranty claims.

Common components that require regular maintenance include:

  • Batteries 
  • Generators 
  • Roof 
  • Tires, Bearings, and Brakes 
  • Water Heater 
  • Air Conditioner

If you can do the work yourself, you’ll save some money, but will still need to pay for supplies like oil filters, oil, anode rods for your water heater, and tools. If you want to pay a service center, be aware that the average hourly labor cost nationwide is $140 an hour. 

A note about RV tires. I’m sure you’re planning to enjoy many miles on your RV. You will need new tires, maybe as often as every three years. This can be pricey, particularly if you have a large diesel motorhome. Be sure to start putting a little money away for this each month so you are not surprised or sidelined by this major expense. 

Property Insurance 

Some states and municipalities charge property tax on recreational vehicles, rather than a flat fee for tags. Find out BEFORE you purchase an RV if this is the case and how much it is. In some states it can run approximately $4.50-$5.00 per $100 of assessed valuation. That can really add up especially when you consider some counties also have their own personal property tax to add on top of it. 

RV Storage 

If you have an HOA that prohibits parking your RV at your home, or if you live somewhere that doesn’t have room for it then RV storage is a consideration. Again, this varies depending on where you live. Many storage facilities charge based on the length of your RV. When we lived in Northern Virginia, we paid $150 per month for RV storage. In Florida, it was $65.00 per month. 

Fuel for the Road Trips 

Obviously you want to take your RV out on vacation. That’s the whole reason you got it, right? Unless you plan to do driveway camping, you’re going to need to budget for fuel. And RVs aren’t known for good gas mileage. A 28’ gas motorhome gets about 8 miles per gallon on average. If you have a towable, most trucks don’t get great gas mileage when towing. Our diesel truck gets about 11 miles per gallon when we’re towing our 30’ fifth wheel. 

Now figure out how much gas or diesel fuel will cost for the miles you want to travel on your next trip. Please don’t forget that just because it may be inexpensive near where you live, means it is inexpensive everywhere. We just about went into shock when we were traveling in California last year. You can use the Gas Buddy app or website to check on prices in different cities. The fuel line item can be one of your biggest. In fact, we wrote an entire article dedicated to how to save money on RV fuel costs. 

Campgrounds 

The last major budget item for RV ownership is campgrounds and RV resorts. Once again if you’re wondering how much campgrounds cost, we’ll have to reply it depends. There is a huge difference in price between a state park campground with no frills and an RV resort on the beach with all the amenities. 

We have dry camped for free (also known as boondocking), paid $20 a night at a state park, spent more than $100 a night at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground, and everything in between. 

Creating Your RV Budget 

As you can see, there are many variables involved in owning a recreational vehicle. Since they will vary by location and preferences, the important thing is that you do your research BEFORE buying an RV. 

Here’s why that is important: You head down to your local RV dealership and the first thing the salesman asks is, “How much do you want to spend a month?” He’s talking about the payment if you finance an RV. So let’s say, you have $500 per month available for an RV. You don’t want a $500 or you’ll never be able to go anywhere. If you have to pay $40 a month for storage and $60 a month for insurance, that only leaves you $400. Now consider how often you plan to travel, how many nights you plan to stay in campgrounds, how many miles you’ll travel to calculate fuel costs, and you’re monthly allowance has been further reduced. 

Hopefully, by going through this list and doing a little planning in advance, you’ll be able to purchase the RV that you can afford to own and operate!

Filed Under: RV Resources Tagged With: campground costs, cost of owning an rv, cost of RV travel, costs of rv ownership, rv travel expenses

February 5, 2019 by Guest Post 14 Comments

Full-Time RV Expenses

In this article we’ll share our expenses for the top three categories of campgrounds, fuel, and entertainment over an entire year of full-time RV travel. We’ll share the average monthly cost of each category and explain what occurred in the high and low months as well.

Full-Time RV Finance is designed to help you realize your full-time travel dreams. Over 25 video lessons, we will help you chart a course towards financial freedom, create a realistic full-time RV budget, and learn how to make money and save money on the road.

One question we hear often is, “Can you full-time RV for less than $1,500 a month?” The answer to that is maybe. I say maybe because it really depends on what your full-time travel dream is. If you want to stay at full hook up campgrounds or RV resorts, not likely. If you want to travel a lot of miles, that is going to be difficult as well.

The thing about budgets is that they are very personal. It all comes down to your wants and needs. In this article, we’ll share our expenses based on our preferences. The hope is that they simply provide food for though and help you create your own budget.

Campgrounds

Except for 2 short dry camping stints, we stayed exclusively in full hook-up (water, 50 amp electric, and sewer) campgrounds. We read reviews and try to find campgrounds or RV resorts that have good WiFi (to save on our hotspots), heated pools, and fitness rooms. 

This year we stayed in 18 different campgrounds: 11 Private, 5 Military, 1 Corps of Engineer (COE), and 1 Country Fairgrounds. We post reviews of all our stays on our YouTube channel. We also prefer to travel slowly and take advantage of monthly rates when we can. 

  • Total Campground Expenses for 2018: $9,139.13
  • Average Monthly Cost: $762
  • Highest Monthly Cost: $1500
  • This was at Fort Belvoir, VA in the Washington DC metropolitan area. While it was an expensive campground for us, it was worth it to attend our oldest son and daughter-in-law’s wedding! You can see our review of the campground here.
  • Lowest Monthly Cost: $495 We spent the month of July at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL. You can see our review of the campground here.
  • For those who don’t have the option to stay at military campgrounds, we’d like to give you an idea of the cost of campgrounds that anyone can enjoy. Our least expensive was a COE campground. They are federally managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and open to the public. We paid $13 per night at Gunter Hill Campground. On the high end of the spectrum, we stayed at the Tucson Lazy Days KOA for the entire month of December. We paid $821 for the month including our metered electricity.  

Click here to see all of the campgrounds we stayed at in 2018.

Fuel

We pull a 44’ Fifth Wheel with our Chevy 3500 HD Truck. We typically stay in place 4-6 weeks before moving which helps keep costs down, but the truck is also our only vehicle for local drives. 

  • Total Diesel Expenses for 2018: $6,038.28
  • Average Monthly Cost: $503
  • Highest Monthly Cost: $848 This was in June when we drove from Texas to Virginia for our son’s wedding. 
  • Lowest Monthly Cost: $301 This was in April. We were in San Antonio where two of our sons live. We didn’t travel much outside of the area and they often came and picked us up when we went places in the local area.

We also spent $298.28 on propane over the year. We stayed at full hook-up campgrounds in warm climates most of the year and predominantly used propane for cooking (stove top and oven) on a daily basis. A few of the summer months we didn’t have to refill our propane at all. The weather was unseasonably cold in Tucson this winter, so in December we paid $67.66 for propane to run the heater every night. 

Finally, we paid $228.54 for gas for our generator during the year. Normally we only run the generator 1-2 hours per month according to the regular maintenance schedule. However, we had to run it all day every day for a few weeks in May when we were dry camping during an unseasonably hot spring in Texas. 

Entertainment

Entertainment costs include things like museums, movies, parking, etc. Our total entertainment expenses for 2018 were: $2,663.64. 

  • Average Monthly Cost: $222
  • Highest Monthly Cost: $695
  • Lowest Monthly Cost: $62

Our highest month was in September. We were having work done on the RV and stayed in a resort in Orlando. While there we went to Disney and several other expensive tourist attractions. Our lowest month was in February. We spent some time at the beach in Florida and with the State Parks pass parked for free. Then we traveled to Texas for a conference, so we didn’t have too much additional time for entertainment. 

Total Expenses

If you add together all our expenses our average monthly cost to RV Full-Time this year was $4,022.32. Almost half of that was campgrounds, fuel, and entertainment. So what was the other half?

That is the real catch to full-time RV travel, there are so many other expenses that you don’t hear about from connectivity to maintenance and a million things in between.

That is why we created a program called Full-Time RV Finance to help others financially achieve their full-time travel dreams. Over 25 videos we help you chart your course towards financial freedom, create a realistic full-time RV budget, and learn how to make money & save money on the road. 

It is possible to have a more frugal budget. For example, you can dry camp, travel less miles, find numerous discounts, and employ a multitude of money saving techniques. We share many of them in Full-Time RV Finance and help you develop a realistic budget that you can live with.

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Learn how much it costs to live and travel full-time in an RV. We cover every expense for one full year of RV travel. We also explain variables that apply to motorhomes, fifth wheels, travel trailers and campers.

Filed Under: Full-Time Finance Tagged With: cost of RV travel, full-time RV expenses

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