The other day I visited a website written for RV’ers that was referenced on a blog I usually read. I had to check it out, of course.
The website had a lot of good topics and much of it I enjoyed. The authors had recently interviewed 41 RV’ers and published a book entitled Retiring to an RV. They had also done just that .. retired to an RV. We all have different opinions and it was fun reading the opinions of others. We all do it differently … RV’ing, that is.. Sandie and I had just been discussing how expensive RVing can be. Then, this topic pops up indicating how fulltime RV’ers are saving
bunches of money because they have drastically reduced their costs. Huh?
Of course, you CAN save a bunch if that is the purpose but so many of the costs associated in living in the home you left are replaced by other costs maintaining, upgrading and traveling. Then, if you consider that the “home” on wheels, drastically depreciates over time instead of appreciating, I think many probably spend more. However, I’m not writing a book so my opinion isn’t really going to be one that pulls folks in to buy it either.
After working for years and years, many RV’ers just want to play a while. With a little gypsy blood and the travel bug, moving around in an RV might just be the thing. And, not necessarily as a money saving idea but it could be if someone wanted to work at it.
The website gave some suggestions on how to actually save money on a month-to-month basis. It had some great suggestions. However, one was to consider solar panels if they were trying to save money. Huh? This is not an inexpensive add-on. As a matter of fact, it would take a good deal of up-front money and quite a few years to even recover the cost … if ever. There are generators, additional batteries and all kinds of little expenses needed to save money. However, if you’re not counting up-front money or amortizing it over the life of the RV, then, the monthly out-go would be reduced. Not a good way to calculate costs I would think.
Of course, there are those RV’ers who work as camp hosts in different parks around the U.S. to not only save money but to earn money. This gives them an opportunity to travel, see new areas and still be paid to do so. That’s not a bad deal for a retiree or even for someone who wants to travel and not be stuck in one place working.
Everyone has a different idea of how they plan on riding out the final years of their lives. If just
a roof over the head is all that is necessary, then go for it. You certainly can save a bunch. You can park on public lands and not pay overnight usage fees or pay very nominal fees. If services or amenities aren’t important, there are lots of places one can be.
$10 a night – County Line, WA -----
I also found other parts of the website where our opinions differed. As an example, this website also indicated that electricity is usually included in the cost of the site. Huh? That’s true for some of the older parks, federal, state and county parks but not the usual for many other parks. And, of course, location makes a difference. So many of the parks today have installed meters to track the usage of electricity. If they don’t have meters, they will many times charge an extra fee to cover their electrical costs. Some parks increase the daily rate but if you are there for a week or more, an electricity fee is tacked on. 
All the SKP parks charge you electricity from day one. Many, if not most parks in Arizona and Texas – winter destinations ,– charge you for electricity. However, again this does depend on where you stay. If trying to save costs, one should be aware of these additional fees that might be added on to the nightly fee. And, speaking of fees, the charge can be $5 per night (less on BLM land) to over $100 a night for upscale RV resorts.
The website also indicated that money can be saved on clothes and food. Huh? How is that? Actually, I think food is more expensive while the clothes probably would stay the same. If you’re moving around in an RV, you’re going to find all these unique restaurants you haven’t tried yet. And, if you find them, you have to try them. At least that’s our motto. Even if you do eat in, you can’t take advantage of sales on groceries because you have no room to store food. You can’t cook in as large quantities and freeze as you might have otherwise considered. Thus, I think food is much more expensive. And, you’re not always in a location where they have a Winco!
Communication may be much more expensive. The cheaper land line can not be considered
because only a cell phone will work if you're constantly moving. The costs of our internet and television increased. Once we hit the road our monthly costs zoomed up. Internet requires special equipment including antennas, aircards and amplifiers or repeaters. Then, we had satellite television to add including the initial cost of the automatic antennas. What about the locals? That’s an extra fee per year to get the local feeds from the east coast and west coast. Rabbit ears or a wingbat antenna would definitely be cheaper but not something we would be interested in. We didn’t want intermittent service but something we could depend on. Others even have satellite antennas for the internet .. again, not a cheap item.
Another discussed topic was membership parks. Membership parks always are a big discussion point between RV’ers. For some they work wonderfully and for others they wouldn’t work at all. It depends on the lifestyle and where folks are going to be. The discussion of members
hip details regarding Thousand Trails (TTN) was not correct. And, this is one of the biggest problems with reading opinions of others on membership parks. A lot of assumptions take the place of fact.
--- BLM land
According to the writers, members are only allowed to stay at the TTN parks for two weeks and then have to leave the TTN park system for a week. In addition, they also said members were only allowed to stay a certain number of nights at the TTN parks and then were charged extra each night beyond that number. Huh? I’m sure this assumption was based on their own membership which would have had to have been an older version but they didn’t do their homework on current memberships. There are so many types of memberships one can buy and some will allow you to stay 3 weeks, 4 weeks and now even 5 weeks before going directly into another park without any time out. Our membership allows us to stay in a TTN park 365 days a year without paying any additional fees. I don’t know about the details of the other membership parks they mentioned but if they were so wrong on one I know about, I would question the details on the others too.
RV Lifestyle Experts is an interesting website with lots of good information. Another website I have enjoyed is RVing Central. Their idea is to provide information for retirees who are touring the USA, folks who are working in different locations and RVing just for leisure. Check it out too.
Can someone reduce their costs if they really want to? Of course, they can. Take a look at a couple of the photos above. Some get by pretty inexpensively if that’s what they want. Again, it depends on services and amenities desired … just like any other home. Many RV’ers have spent more money on their home with wheels than they ever did on their home without the wheels. And, they have the equipment inside to prove it.
RVing and traveling have not necessarily been less expensive for us or for many of our RV’ing friends. As a matter of fact, it probably would have been cheaper to just settle down in the place we retired from. However, after being on the road for the time we have, I’m not sure that’s something we ever want to do unless we have to. Our origin
al idea was to be in places at the right time to never have to use the furnace or the air conditioner. We wanted perfect weather. It hasn’t worked out that way though.
--- Thousand Trails – Seaside, Or
Actually, it’s the people who have made the difference more than anything. Remember, relatives we’re stuck with but we get to choose our friends. The RV’ing family is definitely a different breed. They’re exciting, travelers, explorers and most are very social people. For many it’s the adventure that has pulled them in. And, we’re thrilled to be a part of them … well, most of them we’ve met that is.
Now I could go on and on about the people we have met but this blog is long enough. So, I’ll just say ….. to be continued …… and rattle on about that topic another day.
Is Retiring to an RV Cheap? From Just Wanderin' Reposted with permission.
We love to hear about your RV'ing adventures,
