Full time RV costs can range so much, it can be hard to give an accurate number, but you can have a framework to start calculating your numbers.
This is what we actually spent in April 2022. I’ll go into detail on why each was what it was and any fluctuations we found.
| Category | Spent in April 2022 |
| RV and vehicle costs | $1,380 |
| Camping costs | $76 |
| Groceries | $504 |
| Phone and internet | $225 |
| Fuel | $199 |
| RV miles driven | 566 miles |
| Memberships & Tolls | $50 |
| Entertainment/fun/eating out | $533 |
| Health insurance | $422 |
| Various normal expenses | $181 |
| Total spent | $3,590 |
A few notes – I’m not including the costs of our businesses (because that can vary greatly and you may not be running a business out of your RV) or our rental (previously our home). These are just our full time RV costs for the month.
Where were we:
We started the month in Blairsville, GA at Trackrock RV Park. We moved to Forest Lake in Advance, NC for about 8 days and then finished the month at Chesapeake Bay in Gloucester, VA.
What did we do:
We mostly hung out at the campgrounds. This has been a habit for us to really crank out work during the week and sometimes explore on the weekends. This has helped us also cut down on our fun spending and lower our fuel costs. I took a girls trip to St. Augustine near the end of the month.
RV and vehicle costs
This includes the payment for our truck, which is $979.35 each month and our rig, which is $399.88 per month. We have a seven year loan on the truck and a twenty year loan on the RV.
Camping costs
This was $76 for the month. We stayed in Thousand Trails campgrounds most of the month. The $76 is our monthly cost for our annual dues.
Groceries
Our groceries were $504, which is pretty normal for us. This does include shopping at Walmart, which sometimes includes purchasing things for the RV such as toilet paper.
Phone and internet/hotspots
We spent $225 on our phones and internet. We have an unlimited plan through Verizon for our phones which is $113.35. We have a 100 gig hotspot plan with T-Mobile which is $57 a month and a 100 gig hotspot plan with Cricket which is $55 a month.
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Fuel
We paid $199 for fuel this month. We moved twice and Bret had to drive to the airport twice. About a 3 hour drive all told. We also drove into Richmond, which was a 2 hour round trip.
Memberships
We spent $50 in memberships this month, which was all adding to our mail service account with Escapees. They will scan our mail and we’ll periodically have them mail our mail to us.
Entertainment/fun/eating out
We spent $533 on fun this month. I went to St. Augustine for a girl’s trip celebrating a few of our 40th birthdays this year. I did use points for the Southwest flight. We’ve used Southwest credit cards for years to earn free flights.
Health insurance
My health insurance was $422 for the month.
Various normal expenses
Total spent was $181. This included me signing up for a 5k, some sporting gear (new shorts for Bret) and food purchases (gels and what not for hikes). I tend to just toss everything that doesn’t fit into a category in here. So a trip to Target may be groceries, clothes, and fun, but it ends up here.
As I’ve been looking back over our expenses building out these “how much does it cost” posts, I’m realizing that this month was pretty par for the course and maybe even a little cheaper. Even though I took a trip, and we did a little bit more driving than normal, our fuel wasn’t as much.
I want these posts to help guide you as you plan to hit the road full time, to see other budgets when you’re already full time or show you that maybe this isn’t the life for you. Did I answer all your questions? Do you have any more? Let me know in the comments below!