Camping by the numbers

[Sjm9911]

Ok , so just pondering some things on my drive home in the rain today. And just did some quick math. I know we own campers for enjoyment and not to really save money, but i was just seeing roughly how much im spending. It would also be intresting to know how many nights people usally get out a year. So post that info if you can. These are rough numbers for ideas only, and are over stated.
The numbers:
Used camper aprox 10,000$ tax etc.
Camp ground nights a year 35
Cost ave per night 100$
Yearly maintenance 1000$
Cost the first year per night = 414
Cost per night year 3 = 224

So its not bad. Thats where i am the last 3 years. After 5 years 180 night
Not included : food , we eat at the camper most meals so, same as home. Fuel , we would need to get to the destination anyway and dont think it is really much better millage towing or not in the truck. TV , i would and did have a giant truck because of my size, so not included as i would have ot anyway. The 100 a night is avrage as disney is included at like 180 a night, we split resorts and state parks so some are 50 or less a night some 100. 1000 a year in maintenance, is for that and the odd thing you have to have for the camper and a tire here and there, sealent, battery etc. I figure some years you spend more then others, but 1000 is a good start. Insurance isnt included but is only 120 a year.

So , for me , definitely worth it for the 2 sometimes 3 of us. If you buy new, cost obviously goes up, maybe 2x. But the longer and more you use it the cost per night goes down.

We all know camping is expensive, and we can do it cheaper, but its still a vacation. I like getting out 5 to 6 weeks a year. And we do a lot of week long trips. I feel like im getting value for my money. Now if i only used it for 2 weeks out of the year, i dont think the value woyld be there.

Did i leave out some stuff, probably, but this is just to get a figure thats in the ballpark.

 

[PaHunter]

We had been using our fifth wheel pretty often, and had a ton of nights scheduled for this year. This year got hosed, so my cost per night this year would be way high. But looking forward to next year and many nights under the stars....hey wait we own a motorhome, can't see the stars. Ok, many nights enjoying the peace and tranquility...if only the drunk people would have gone to bed 4 hours ago.... Ok, well at least we get to sleep in our own bed, in our own little house regardless of where it is parked, come on next year.

 

[loves to dive]

We've had our 5th wheel for about 2 1/2 years. Bought it new and bought the dually new. We were going to have a buy a new truck that year anyway but the dually was a tad more expensive. Makes pulling the 5th wheel easier. Paid cash for both. First year we took maybe 2 or 3 leisure trips (including Fort Wilderness) and a couple or more trips to visit hubby's parents where we have power and water in their yard (50 amp even so we can run both ACs) then maybe 3 work trips for hubby. Puppy and I went on those trips and just hung out at the campground and explored.

This year we have used it 5 or 6 times for hubby's work trips, two were to Bradenton/Sarasota Florida, life is rough. Again, puppy and I tagged along. Most were 3 nights, some 4 nights, one 6 nights. We have also done 2 or 3 trips to hubby's parents, one to do maintenance on the RV (washing and waxing) where we had easy access to unlimited water. We store it in an outside gated facility and we don't have water or electricity there. We are going to try to get in a couple more trips for leisure this year and will go back down to hubby's parents.

I'm guessing we average about $100 per night at campgrounds, not counting hubby's parents house. We always stay at full hook up sites, with the exception of a couple of state parks. At hubby's parents there isn't a dump but we can dump the gray water in their woods and there is a little county park down the street where we stop on the way home and dump for free.

We did put new batteries in last year, came with two small ones, hubby replaced those with 3 marine ones. We will probably upgrade to lithium next year, which will be expensive. We are also going to put on a quick start for the AC and an inverter so we can run at least the ceiling fan if boondocking. Maintenance wise, we haven't really had to do much. We've done the usual lubing of sills and slides so the cost of those cans of lube. We had to buy some new stripping for the top of the slide toppers, maybe $20 for that. We had to replace one AC and the TV antenna last year but that was due to hubby having a fight with a live oak in St. Augustine, both the live oak and the AC and TV antenna lost the battle.

We think it was well worth the cost just for this year alone. Hubby had a lot of out of town travel for work this year and being able to pull our house with us and him not have to worry about staying in hotels was great. Saved his clients some money too since they pay for hotels and campgrounds are a lot less. He doesn't usually have to do so much but he has one huge client that has multiple locations and all were upgrading their IT.

 

[team bradfield]

We've had a fifth wheel since 2001. Our kids grew up camping, the memories of our vacations are priceless, couldn't imagine any other way to travel, 4 out of our 6 kids have campers now and join us. DD # 3 still tags along with us, DD #2 is eyeing up some Class C's, we camp local also, along with vacations. local CG is only $22 a night and 6 miles away, so we are there every week, 2-3 nights in the fall, unless we are at the fort!

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I am afraid to run the numbers, pretty sure when its all in the trailer will be more than other modes of travel. We are used to the convenience of RV travel and really dont want to do it any other way.

 

[Sjm9911]

I know, i did say we dont camp because its cheaper. Lol. I was just curious as to what my stuff was. Someone asked me if it was worth it, and how many days do you use it anyway. So, i decided to find out. I was surprised by my numbers. Others who have bigger RVs, will not have anything close to my stuff. But its not a compatition. I was just curious and had too much free time as usall.

 

[bama_ed]

I'm not sure how to allocate the cost of a fixed asset depreciating on a straight-line basis into a per night number. Guess I could figure it out but I think about camping by the numbers a different way.

With my original pop-up, a Jayco 12 foot highwall with a slide out dinette, we bought it new and held it for 10 years and over 200 nights. At the 150 night point, by MY numbers, it had already paid for itself. Since we were state park campers mostly with a Fort trip thrown in most years, my estimate was that we saved $100 per day in room/food costs versus a hotel room and more eating out. Campsite plus groceries from home (with a few restaurants sprinkled in) was $100 per day total savings than a hotel room and 3 square meals a day (growing kids, ya know ).

We might have taken a hit for gas due to lower mpg towing but my inexpensive popup paid for itself when comparing the same number of nights camping versus hoteling. One could argue that we were able to get more nights camping because of being more affordable per night (total cost spent on vacations being the same, not the number of nights).

But let's all agree it's a lifestyle choice. I like sleeping "at home" while I'm on vacation.

Ed

 

[Sjm9911]

Lol , if you sell now you'll make money. You also will overpay for a new camper! I toyed with the idea of selling. I could sell now and for a 50 percent profit. Seems the stright line of depreciation is tossed out the window with the covid.

Yes , i do like having my own traveling hotel room. Or camper, depends where i go. It is a lifestyle choice, and i find it way more relaxing, no hustle or bustle and campers are , in my experiance, nice people. i do also find i get out more, as you said, state campgrounds are a good allternative for a quick and easy getaway.

 

[Teamubr]

I like to play the numbers game too, but something that is difficult to quantify are the intangibles.

We all know the Fort offers a unique experience staying on site, "in the bubble", compared to any other WDW resort. How do you value that? We also get to stay places non-RVers don't have access to. The lake side sites at your local SP/COE. All the remote out of the way places where the closest hotel, Air B&B or condo is miles away. Being closer to the "outdoors". (Although DW thinks that's not a plus.)

Those are the things I have an RV for. Can't put a price on it for the numbers other than "priceless".

j

 

[Stork]

I try not to think about it. I'm a firm believer in, "if you can't stand the answer, don't ask the question."

For us, it's all about the bass...I mean, the fun. I can't think of any friend I know of who keeps track of their expenses of golfing, boating, flying their own plane, scuba diving, etc, just to be a more informed recreational participant. I really don't want to know what my enjoyment is costing me. As long as the checks don't bounce, I'm okay with that.

 

[serenitygr]

Lol you guys will run me out of the campers group once you hear my story
Bought our fifth wheel new 5 years ago now- paid it off over the next three years. We’ve used it exactly twice- for two vacations to the Fort. This does not factor in the times I just go sit in it and pretend I’m going to the Fort. I don’t want to calculate my cost per night ha! But I will say this- the new camper smell it still has is priceless

 

[bama_ed]

Lol you guys will run me out of the campers group once you hear my story
Bought our fifth wheel new 5 years ago now- paid it off over the next three years. We’ve used it exactly twice- for two vacations to the Fort.

Hey I got no problem with that. And STILL the smell too? <chef's kiss>

Bama Ed

 

[jbrostek]

Our cost per night right now is very high. We sold the old 5th wheel and bought the new one right before the covid shutdown, it was 40k more than the last one. Then it sat in our driveway until June for first use. We got in 3 trips that year and end of season. This year I have used it for the track and family camping about 10 times for a total of 30 days. I have at least 4 more race event weekends plus a trip to PA in October and a trip to either Charlottesville or Luray in early November.

Now I don't have a lot of costs associated with race weekends, if I have to pay for power its 20 bucks for the weekend for 50A. I don't have dumping fees as I can dump at home, so my only expense are the RV vacation trips. The track nights included quickly drops my cost per night down in the 250 a night range. Now I look at the costs for a week in Hatteras, a walk or beach front is 400-600 a night so around 3-4k for a week, with the RV that was 1k for the stay. Even Disney, if we where to stay near MK the cost per night is 400-500 a night for a room if not higher, and FW while getting a little price happy is still around 1/4 of that.

On the memory side I think the RV has its place. We as a family enjoy the camp fires, hikes, nearby state parks (when we can't fit in one I am perfectly ok with a full hookup nearby.)

 

[mickeyfan0805]

I've run the numbers many times, and there are a lot of intricacies that complicate things in a hurry. The figures fluctuate based on how far we travel, how long we stay in particular locations, how much cooking we do vs. eating out, etc. In general, I've found that, with our style of travel, roughly 21 days is our 'break even' number. This is the point at which it is 'cheaper' for us to stay in our camper than to use hotels for the same trips. For the most part, we do that and more.

Where it gets tricky is in the non-camping comparative. Generally, it would cost us more to do everything we do if we did hotels instead of camping. That said, if we didn't have the trailer, we likely wouldn't do all the things we do. So, in the end, we are probably spending more but getting more.

That said, with the kids getting older, the number of camping days is quickly declining, and the next few years are likely to look very different!

 

[Sjm9911]

I get that, my daughter is way more into glamping then camping now. And shes only 9. Its my fault as i spoil her.

 

[friendofeeyore]

It is hard for me to see RV's driving down the road of life. Arnold & myself loved when we could take the camper out. Especially to "The Fort". I loved the fact that I knew you had slept in my bed. Now, since my camping days in the RV are over. I will have to use cabins or hotel/Motels. So far, I have not done that. Have as much as you can & care less of the cost. You are making memories with your kids, grandkids that will last forever. Be safe!

 

[Stratman50th]

I'm pretty sure we have never done the numbers thing. We check fuel mileage at every fill up but that's just to see how we are doing. I've said this before, and sometimes I feel bad, well, not too bad really... We are not campers. I've done the tent thing in my youth, not because I enjoyed it necessarily but because location necessitated it. My wife is not a camper in any stretch of the imagination.
We bought the coach because it was a better idea than a condo in a fixed location. I'm finished with flying commercial and I am done staying in hotels. We use it as our home away from home, a place to go back to after a day of sightseeing or being a tourist. Park close and use the car to do the local traveling, same as we would a hotel. We tend to stay at resorts. I like water, sewer, and 50 amp on a flat paved pad. I also want good water pressure... That's a thing LOL. I've spent $35 a night and $1,500 for a week. We don't mind if it's a nice place with amenities. We've spent more at hotels in Disney and had to buy food too.
I know what tires, batteries, and service has cost me but I don't keep a spreadsheet. If I can't remember I go into the file and pull a receipt. Sometimes I admit to having sticker shock but you need tires. Need batteries, the list goes on if you want to go someplace.
The only numbers I know for sure is we get 9.5 to 10mpg, regardless of towing or not. This actually came from boating. We had a 35' that you could sleep on. Basically a camper on the water. We wanted to travel as we got older and the problem with a boat was you needed water going the same place you wanted to go. The RV was the next logical step. Now we're hooked.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

I'm pretty sure we have never done the numbers thing. We check fuel mileage at every fill up but that's just to see how we are doing. I've said this before, and sometimes I feel bad, well, not too bad really... We are not campers. I've done the tent thing in my youth, not because I enjoyed it necessarily but because location necessitated it. My wife is not a camper in any stretch of the imagination.
We bought the coach because it was a better idea than a condo in a fixed location. I'm finished with flying commercial and I am done staying in hotels. We use it as our home away from home, a place to go back to after a day of sightseeing or being a tourist. Park close and use the car to do the local traveling, same as we would a hotel. We tend to stay at resorts. I like water, sewer, and 50 amp on a flat paved pad. I also want good water pressure... That's a thing LOL. I've spent $35 a night and $1,500 for a week. We don't mind if it's a nice place with amenities. We've spent more at hotels in Disney and had to buy food too.
I know what tires, batteries, and service has cost me but I don't keep a spreadsheet. If I can't remember I go into the file and pull a receipt. Sometimes I admit to having sticker shock but you need tires. Need batteries, the list goes on if you want to go someplace.
The only numbers I know for sure is we get 9.5 to 10mpg, regardless of towing or not. This actually came from boating. We had a 35' that you could sleep on. Basically a camper on the water. We wanted to travel as we got older and the problem with a boat was you needed water going the same place you wanted to go. The RV was the next logical step. Now we're hooked.

Well said, Don. We are much the same way. I, too, track mileage, but for me it's to know that I'll make it to the next gas stop.

 

[Stratman50th]

Well said, Don. We are much the same way. I, too, track mileage, but for me it's to know that I'll make it to the next gas stop.

Yeah, I'm not that satisfied my fuel gage is all that accurate!

 

[Sjm9911]

The fuel is the one thing i dont keep trck of , lol. In jersey you can not pump your own gas, so i pay cash. When i travel its the credic card, and i dont look. I do fill up at the 1/4 tank mark. I get 14 mpg normal, and 12 mpg towing. So its basicly the same.