2021 Cost For Full Timing

**Steven@147** · 12-30-2021, 04:27 PM

Was just looking at the end of the year 2021 costs for us full timing. Kind of eye opening to see where all the money goes, but we are "Lovin Life". This year we started out in South Central Texas as usual, went to Disney FL with the kids and grands, then up to Indiana and Ohio then down to the Smoky' s and Tennessee, then back up to Ohio and now we are back in Livingston Southeast Texas. Stayed in lots of different type campgrounds and Disney Ft Wilderness was expensive, but the average for the year wasn't bad. Lots of diesel fuel ran through the truck and some repair and maintenance to the truck and RV. Of course food/grocery/entertainment and dining out is always our weak spot, we eat, drink and site see well!

Anyways, totals for the year
Camping includes site and electricity if separate, for the year $9993 works out to 27.41 average cost per night for the year.
Truck Repair/ maintenance $ 1507 and diesel fuel cost $3861 - we probably ran way over 4000 miles towing the RV. I don't track yearly miles separate. The most we paid for diesel was $3.75 / gallon on this trip back to Texas. Next year on the western trip will be even more!
RV repair and maintenance $1308 (brakes, bearings, brake drum, water pump etc, and propane tank refill costs $485.
Food, entertainment dining out - grocery $7366, Entertainment $1078 and dining out $3543. We also had misc expenses that don't fit into a category I track separate like cloths, shoes, coats, stuff- that was $2956. Bought some expensive hiking shoes!

Well another year in the books full timing. This is our second year. Total miles on the RV at this point is right at 8000 miles since new two years ago. She's holding up well, although some of the roads we have been on jarred and bounced the crap out of the rig!

I'm adding some more detail to help explain some of the cost.

Truck repair we had to replace the windshield, rock chip that cracked the window all across the bottom $600. SafeLite came to our campsite and replaced it. We also had to replace both batteries in the truck. The case on one of them cracked near the terminal and was corroding the terminal. Other than that it was oil changes and transmission fluid and filter change.

RV - we had to replace the right front brake assy. At the time is was difficult to get fully loaded brake assemblies so I ordered 4, now we have 3 spares. I also ordered spare bearings and seals to have just in case. The water pump didn't go out but we were dry camping for an extended time, wife wanted us to have a spare just in case. So some of the RV repair and maintenance cost was for spare parts.

LP Propane - Was sure expensive early last year during the Texas snow bowl in February. Then at the end of this year December LP rose to over $4.30 per gallon at tractor supply. We use LP some to cook as well as heat.

**Dakota** · 12-30-2021, 05:15 PM

Thanks for the breakdown on costs! We are a year or so away from full timing. Nice to get an idea of what others are spending.

**Second Chance** · 12-30-2021, 06:58 PM

We treat expenses a bit differently... I don't include any expenses that we would have normally incurred living in the stix 'n brix: groceries & toiletries, restaurants, insurance, health care, entertainment, etc. - we would be spending on those things whether we were full-time or not. The total for everything allocated to "Full-Time Lifestyle" (I do all this meticulously in Quicken and download transactions from all banks and financial institutions):

12/01/2020 - 11/30/2021
Total: $24,257

Major sub-buckets include:

Parking & camping fees: $9,781 ($26.80/night average)
RV (includes payments, maintenance, upgrades, repair): $8,148
Self storage (the stuff we wish we hadn't kept): $2,221
Tow vehicle operation (truck is paid for, includes fuel, maintenance, repairs if any): $1,872
Electric (when charged separately): $259
LP: $145 (wintered in northern Maryland last year)

After 6+ years on the road, we've gotten our groove and these expenses - plus inflation - have been pretty consistent the last four years or so.

Rob

**orbiker** · 12-31-2021, 09:36 AM

We have been full time for a bit over 2 months. We are close to where our home was in Springfield, Oregon and waiting for my wife's retirement at the end of January 2022.
So far the cost for the rv park is HIGH. $750 + 90 for electric for Nov. then we moved to a less soggy park and it's more. $785.00 + metered electric.

After my wife's retirement, we are going to workamp at Umpqua Lighthouse for all of Feb and March. That will help with the monthly average a bit.

How are you keeping the monthly average cost down Steve and Rob?
KEN

**Second Chance** · 12-31-2021, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by orbiker

... How are you keeping the monthly average cost down Steve and Rob?
KEN

As far as RV parks and campgrounds go, we spent a lot of time stationary during the pandemic - including nine months of the period in my numbers above. Much of our time is also spent at military facilities - much of the pandemic on Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. APG raised their monthly rates significantly a couple of years ago, but it's still less expensive than nightly rates at commercial RV parks. En route, we don't worry too much about the cost of one- and two-night stays. They average out in the big picture. In summary, weekly and monthly rates can really help lower costs if you plan ahead (more and more necessary these days!).

Unless it's warranty work or requires tools or equipment I don't have, I do all the work on the RV myself. The one area where we hope to reduce expenses in the coming year is to clear out our climate-controlled storage and lower that cost. We could have repurchased almost everything in there with what we've spent storing it the last six years!

Rob

**orbiker** · 12-31-2021, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by Second Chance

As far as RV parks and campgrounds go, we spent a lot of time stationary during the pandemic - including nine months of the period in my numbers above. Much of our time is also spent at military facilities - much of the pandemic on Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. APG raised their monthly rates significantly a couple of years ago, but it's still less expensive than nightly rates at commercial RV parks. En route, we don't worry too much about the cost of one- and two-night stays. They average out in the big picture. In summary, weekly and monthly rates can really help lower costs if you plan ahead (more and more necessary these days!).

Unless it's warranty work or requires tools or equipment I don't have, I do all the work on the RV myself. The one area where we hope to reduce expenses in the coming year is to clear out our climate-controlled storage and lower that cost. We could have repurchased almost everything in there with what we've spent storing it the last six years!

Rob

I almost cried a few times when having the garage sales. We pretty much just gave it all away.

The last garage sale is funding the camp sites for Nov, Dec and January. KEN

**Second Chance** · 12-31-2021, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by orbiker

I almost cried a few times when having the garage sales. We pretty much just gave it all away.

The last garage sale is funding the camp sites for Nov, Dec and January. KEN

I'll repeat a little anecdote here related to "the purge." When we were clearing out the house and getting rid of (almost) everything, I came in from working in the garage, passing through the kitchen and dining room and headed for the bedrooms in the back of the house. As I got to the living room, I found Laura on the floor with a box in her lap quietly weeping. I asked, "What's the matter?" She looked down into the box and said, "Michael (her son) gave this to me." The fact that the knick-knack had been in the box in a closet was evidence that it had not been out on display for the five years we had been in that house. All I could say was, "I know - it's hard, isn't it?"

Six or eight weeks after we hit the road, Laura asked if I remembered the incident. I said I did - very well. She asked, "What was it I was crying over?" Neither of us remembered what the particular object was. Eventually, we came to the realization that we had been serving the stuff, rather than the stuff serving us.

Rob

**Steven@147** · 12-31-2021, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by orbiker

We have been full time for a bit over 2 months. We are close to where our home was in Springfield, Oregon and waiting for my wife's retirement at the end of January 2022.
So far the cost for the rv park is HIGH. $750 + 90 for electric for Nov. then we moved to a less soggy park and it's more. $785.00 + metered electric.

After my wife's retirement, we are going to workamp at Umpqua Lighthouse for all of Feb and March. That will help with the monthly average a bit.

How are you keeping the monthly average cost down Steve and Rob?
KEN

A lot of places we have stayed were monthly for a lower rate. With the exception of Disney, most of the campgrounds were between $475 - $500 per month for FHUs but at least 25 miles or more away from big cities or attractions. Galveston on the coast was $600 per month which included electric but that was in Jan/Feb and before they switched to a KOA affiliation and upped the cost to $700. All of the parks were very nice parks. The longest we stayed at any one park was 3 months. We have also stayed long term at Escapee's Parks at a lower rate (Livingston TX / Knoxville TN). We stayed at State Parks in Ohio and Texas for up to two week stretches and are much lower costs.