2017 - By the Numbers

25 Jan, 2018; Quartzite,AZ

Year 2 of full-time living in my trailer

I haven’t included costs for groceries, entertainment, internet, phone, clothing etc because I think these costs are not unique to full-timing and should follow pretty much whatever I spent when I had my home.  The one exception is groceries; I find that the food selection is poorer and the grocery costs can be significantly higher outside of big cities.  So, stock up on your favorite foods before you head out for those scenic locales.

So, in 2017, this is what I tracked:  (If you don't care, just enjoy the pictures)

• Trailer Miles: 6,478 – A little less than last year's 6,775 but in the same general ballpark.  I'm finding that I like traveling less and enjoying each stop more.

• Gasoline: $2,227  -  Gas last year was a little less $2.014 - probably more sight-seeing this year. I get about 15 mpg while towing – so fuel is a major expense.  While camped, I have the car to drive around for errands and sightseeing, so I go through some gas that way too.  When I’m not towing, the Honda gets about 22-27 mpg.   Gas prices vary from place to place – I use the Gas Buddy app on my phone which really helps me avoid stupid errors (I try to be careful about where I gas up – especially near state lines where prices can vary by $.75/gallon from one state to the next!).

• Total nights: 365;  My first complete year in the trailer (last year was 10 months).  My percentage of dry-camping and boon-docking is still less than I had imagined.  Mostly this was due to spending several months in an RV park near Portland while I took care of business and visited friends and family.  Also, I spent a few weeks in Santa Fe and a month in Tucson.  RV parks are pretty much your only choice near cities.
• dry-camping nights(no hook-ups): 162 (about 44%);  This metric really tells me how well my solar solution is working - I stay warm, everything works and I can still keep all my electronic devices powered.
• Boon-docking nights (free -  or under $5 -  on public lands): 127 (if I include the LTVA's, where the cost is minimal, otherwise 90 days for truly zero cost).  

Made from beach litter

• Length of stay:  My preferred method of travel is to have short travel days with multiple nights at one location (ideally 1-2 weeks).  I like time to really explore each new area.  I'm still spending more days traveling than I'd like - although maybe that's just because, so far, my migration goes from British Columbia to the Mexican border.
• 1-3 days: 10%
• 4-7 days: 28%
• Over 7 days: 62%

octopus tree on the Oregon Coast

• Campground Fees:  $5,590, for an average of $15.20 night.  Luckily, I had budgeted $20/night, so all the days with full hookups didn’t break the bank.  This is still higher than I'd thought it would be  - those months in RV parks really add up!!  Several months in the desert drive the cost back down. 

• “Utilities” (propane, sewer dumps, fresh water, laundry) – My costs for propane and laundry were just about what I had expected; but dump fees and fresh water costs were much lower than I had expected.  Primarily, this was because I spent so much time at RV parks and campgrounds that included dumps/water in their camping fees.
• Propane and electric: $162 (usually $10-12 to fill a 20# tank)
• Laundry: $150 - wow, this seems like a lot (usually only a load or two, every 2 weeks)
• Fresh Water and Dump fees: $64.  Dump fees are anywhere from $5-10 every 2 wks if not included in campground fees.  Usually, in the Southwest, you can buy 5 gallons of Reverse Osmosis fresh water for $1.00.  Deep well filtered water is available for 5 gallons for $.25-.50.  Sometimes I get the Well water (it tastes OK but has minerals and salts that I’m not too sure about) but usually I spring for the RO water.  I think I use between 30-40 gallons every 2 weeks.

• Misc Full-time Costs:
• Mail service and mail-forwarding:  I have a UPS Personal Mail Box that costs $120/yr.  They will forward my mail to wherever I happen to be.  An envelope or a box and USPS priority mail usually cost around $20-25 and I try to get mail forwarded monthly.  I was on the road traveling so much, I got my mail forwarded only about 4 times last year – I was back in Portland a few times throughout the year and picked it up in person then.  So, I only paid about $200 total for mail forwarding and box rental.

• Storage Unit:  When I sold my house, I put some things into storage.  I have a 10x10 locker and paid $216/month for it.  One thing about storage units – the monthly rental fee just keeps going up!  Mine went up 22% in the first year!! 

Last full moon of the year!