RV Expenses

I just completed my maiden voyage in my new-to-me Sprinter van RV. I tallied up my expenses for the trip which included 3461 miles of travel over 4 weeks, 2 of which were spent at relatives so that wasn't really traveling. Including gas, food, pet food/litter, etc, I only spent $900 on the trip and that includes some restaurant tabs I picked up for the relatives. I spent another $1000 on one time equipping expenses (things like dishes, silverware, electrical cords & water hoses, hooks, velcro, etc.). So while that does not include the cost of the van, the actual traveling was very cheap.

I only paid for one campsite the whole time, altho I looked at several but figured a parking place, picnic table, and water just was not worth $15 - 20 a day when I could park for free elsewhere and I wasn't going to stay in the area anyway. Maybe I'm just cheap.:LOL: The Forest Service has a real scam going now that they have those "camp hosts" who do little but the price for parking at a pit toilet and water camp site was ridiculous at $17 a night. I remember when it was either free or just a couple of bucks and I got all the "services" the "camp host" provided without one. I found one lovely little derelict state park in KS by a dry reservoir that I had all to myself and it was free. That was a nice spot.

It was slower traveling in the van than a car but much more comfortable. Some of that was me fumbling as I learned how to use the van. By the end of the trip, I was very comfortable driving it but there was a bit of getting used to it which also slowed me down. I also had some of the daily rituals in better shape using the van facilities which does take some getting used to. I managed to be able to use the van with no hookups for a full 4 days before having to dump and get more water. I still have 2/3 of the propane left.

I took 2 cats along who hate each other but they were surprisingly easy travelers once I got some of their "issues" sorted out. Among the lessons were that cats need head room for their litter boxes and I had to set up a crate with a separate litter box/water/food to achieve peace. THere was a detour to a laundromat due to learning these lessons.:whistle: It was great to have them in tow because it made the trip without tethers to home - paying for a sitter/worry about them/needing to get back at a specific time to retrieve them, etc. so I could indulge whims as they occurred to me.

For one, the van was perfect. Easy to drive and park (22' long), decent mileage (20-25 mpg depending on driving speed), and just enough room. I don't think the extra living room a larger rig provides is worth it for me.

This week, I use it to help a friend move. I just cleared out the back end which has the benches/bed area. I think it will work well for that task too as there is quite a lot of space to carry stuff remaining.

When I'm ready to relocate, the van will give me a lot of options as I'm pretty sure now that I can live in it quite comfortably for an extended period. It makes me want to take more trips.
 
You have any pics of the "Sprinter van RV" - I don't know anything about these things... thanks
 
Sounds like a big success. That 20+ mpg, especially.

BTW, do you feel you need to include food, pet food and litter and other "I'd have to buy that even if I were back at home" items in your RV expenses? If not, you numbers are even better.
 
Awesome Tesaje! We are planning we purchase a Sprinter van RV and travel with 2 cats as well, so your experience is of particular interest to me. Did the cats suffer at all from the cramped space? Were they able to each settle in their own little private corner without fighting for such a small territory? While you were driving, did you keep the cats in crates?

I would love to see pictures of your van!
 
You got terrific gas mileage, it seems to me, and your overall expenses were remarkably low! Congratulations and I'm glad your maiden voyage was such a success. :)
 
Didn't I hear that if your traveling Walmart allows you to park in their lots for free at night?
 
'PS. Of course when comparing RVs to a 2nd home'

Actually, my parents have taken their trailer to the same part of Colorado each summer for the last few years, and have noted that the cabins along the road have a regular procession of for sale signs - owners use them a few years and then put them back up for sale.
 
skyvue said:
Didn't I hear that if your traveling Walmart allows you to park in their lots for free at night?
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Yes, they do except in towns that have ordinances prohibiting them. Pretty good place for an overnight as they have parking lot security too.

Rich_in_Tampa said:
Sounds like a big success. That 20+ mpg, especially.

BTW, do you feel you need to include food, pet food and litter and other "I'd have to buy that even if I were back at home" items in your RV expenses? If not, you numbers are even better.
Click to expand...

I just tallied up all my costs during the trip without regard to what I would be buying at home anyway. So yes, it was cheap. I bought ice that I would not have if my refrigerator were more reliable, food that my cats don't ordinarily eat and probably more litter than I would have used at home due to frequent changes because of the small space. If I were not staying with relatives, I would have spent a bit more at laundromats besides the emergency stop.

FIREdreamer said:
Awesome Tesaje! We are planning we purchase a Sprinter van RV and travel with 2 cats as well, so your experience is of particular interest to me. Did the cats suffer at all from the cramped space?
Click to expand...
It isn't all that cramped for cats. Much more so for people :LOL:. They were more nervous about a new place and moving than the van. They quickly looked at the van as their safe haven and had no interest in leaving it until the end of the trip. They liked the wells formed by the step and closed door - until I opened the door and they had a sudden exposure. I had each of them spend some time in the van parked with me before the trip so they would know it some before we took off. Both wore harnesses and leashes the whole trip.
Were they able to each settle in their own little private corner without fighting for such a small territory?
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These two enemies have drawn blood so to my surprise, the most aggressive thing the evil male did was park himself in front of the female and stare at her. I stopped that in short order and he didn't do it again. On the way back, the male was up on the counter (hard to stop that in such a small space) and the female wanted to look out the window. She jumped up there right next to him, looked at him and hissed then calmly sat at the window and looked out (as if to say to him: " I still hate you!"). He did nothing.
While you were driving, did you keep the cats in crates?

I would love to see pictures of your van!
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Both of these cats have a history of hating to be confined in crates. I started with the female in a crate and the male loose. I intended on trading crate time between the 2 but she seemed pretty calm so I let her loose too. The male spent most of the driving time on my lap or a step well and sometimes on the dash. The female liked a different step well and the back benches/bed. The 2nd day was when we had the litter-box troubles. After that, the female rode in the crate the rest of the trip. I took her out for walks on the leash. They both spent some time looking out the windows then slept.

She got a 10 day respite from her enemy in my mom's backyard and a crate at night. On the trip back, she started the first day in the bigger crate but with it set up and her own box/food/water bowls, she was much calmer so I let her ride free the last 3 days with no problems. By that time, she wanted to go out at stopping points and explore so I put her on a leash to do so or for a walk. The male did not voluntarily leave the van until the last 2 days when he walked for a bit on a leash. He has not been leash trained like the female so that was a big plus. That also meant I had to be sure they didn't go out on their own which I didn't have to worry about earlier.
Delawaredave5 said:
You have any pics of the "Sprinter van RV" - I don't know anything about these things... thanks
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Here ya go - my van on the trip, at a camp with cat on a leash, and a cat on the dash. There was little obscuration from that.
 

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Glad to hear that your trip was a success. In fact, I would have kept goin', to Alaska or Banff at least :D

One thing for sure is that the class B RVs have excellent stealth factor. It seems to me one can park innocuously in the cities, trying to blend in and not stand out like an RV. Now that I know what to look for, I have seen many Sprinter-chassis commercial cargo vans on the road and the RV version appearance does not look too different than those.

About Forest Service campgrounds that charge for no service, just a spot to park, yeah, it bothers me too when I do some research on the Web. But though my RV is small compared to others, it's still 26ft long and I will be towing a toad. :facepalm: Parking is not as easy as a single vehicle. Will see if I am going to trade this whole setup in for a class B after we are on the road for a month. :)

... I'm pretty sure now that I can live in it quite comfortably for an extended period. It makes me want to take more trips.
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One sure hopes so. You are not going to put it on blocks after just this trip, right? :D
 
Tesaje said:
I just completed my maiden voyage in my new-to-me Sprinter van RV. I tallied up my expenses for the trip which included 3461 miles of travel over 4 weeks, 2 of which were spent at relatives so that wasn't really traveling. Including gas, food, pet food/litter, etc, I only spent $900 on the trip and that includes some restaurant tabs I picked up for the relatives. I spent another $1000 on one time equipping expenses (things like dishes, silverware, electrical cords & water hoses, hooks, velcro, etc.). So while that does not include the cost of the van, the actual traveling was very cheap.
Click to expand...

Tesaje said:
I just tallied up all my costs during the trip without regard to what I would be buying at home anyway. So yes, it was cheap.
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You do realize that

$900 x (52 weeks/year)/(2 weeks) = $900 x 26 = $23,400/year

That's not very expensive! Sounds like you could do a lot of traveling in your RV if you want to, without worrying about the cost. :) I'm sure there is maintenance and other costs, but still.
 
Isn't it great when it all comes together like that! A lot can go wrong in a "maiden voyage".

Wow - my Jeep Liberty doesn't even get your gas mileage. grrrrrrrr!

Audrey
 
Grats on your awesome rv, and your successful shake down cruise.
 
Sounds like you had a great maiden voyage in your new to you RV. Hope you have many more and enjoy your new RV on many more trips. :)
 
Tesaje said:
It isn't all that cramped for cats. Much more so for people :LOL:. They were more nervous about a new place and moving than the van. They quickly looked at the van as their safe haven and had no interest in leaving it until the end of the trip. They liked the wells formed by the step and closed door - until I opened the door and they had a sudden exposure. I had each of them spend some time in the van parked with me before the trip so they would know it some before we took off. Both wore harnesses and leashes the whole trip.

These two enemies have drawn blood so to my surprise, the most aggressive thing the evil male did was park himself in front of the female and stare at her. I stopped that in short order and he didn't do it again. On the way back, the male was up on the counter (hard to stop that in such a small space) and the female wanted to look out the window. She jumped up there right next to him, looked at him and hissed then calmly sat at the window and looked out (as if to say to him: " I still hate you!"). He did nothing.

Both of these cats have a history of hating to be confined in crates. I started with the female in a crate and the male loose. I intended on trading crate time between the 2 but she seemed pretty calm so I let her loose too. The male spent most of the driving time on my lap or a step well and sometimes on the dash. The female liked a different step well and the back benches/bed. The 2nd day was when we had the litter-box troubles. After that, the female rode in the crate the rest of the trip. I took her out for walks on the leash. They both spent some time looking out the windows then slept.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tesaje. I am so glad to hear that cats can adapt pretty easily to the RV lifestyle. There is hope for mine, I think, as all they do all day is look out the windows and sleep anyways...

Your Sprinter van is beautiful too!
 
I see a LOT of cats traveling in RVs. The few that come outside tolerate harness-style leashes. I think the "cosiness" of an RV does appeal to many cats. It's amazing how many can handle a vehicle in motion, but I've also heard of sailboats with cats, so apparently enough cats make good travelers. I suspect many of the cats "hide" somewhere safe when the vehicle is moving, but that otherwise it is not a stressful experience.

Many cats seem to LOVE perching in an RV window, watching the goings-on in a campground safely behind glass. It's so cool, and you see this fairly often.

Our cat couldn't tolerate being confined in a carrier (we could hold her) or any type of vehicle motion, so taking her with us on the road was never an option. But with everything I have seen RVing, I've tend to believe that she was an exception in that respect.

Audrey
 
nun said:
RVing in real style

Volkner Mobil Bus
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Style costs too much money. Also, it is too big for ease of boondocking.

RonBoyd said:
Buffalino: Squeezing A Lot Into A Tiny RV

cornelius comanns: bufalino

While it appears possible to do laundry and cook, there is no information regarding washroom and toilet facilities. I, also, didn't see pricing anywhere.
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That 3-wheeler looks like a version that is sold in some countries, by the same Italian company I believe, to haul merchandise or passengers. Some even had a smoky 2-stroke engine. :nonono:

tuk-tuk-l53-3-wheeler.jpg


The way the stock market is going, I wonder how long until we sell the house and live in our class C. Perhaps I can get that 3-wheeler for my son. He can park innocuously on college campus and use the bathroom facilities there. :whistle:

And if one needs a toad to go with that 3-wheeler, I have a suggestion that I have posted earlier: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/car-to-solve-us-energy-problems-44457.html
 
Here's the Mini Mate, advertised as a motorcycle-towable trailer.




And for bicyclists with strong legs, there's this.

Camper-Bike.jpg
 
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