First I want to go over a few key points on why I want to do this monthly RV cost review.
- I have not found any Full-Time RV living cost breakdowns
- Keep me accountable
- Track my true RV costs
- Show others it might be an option to not only accelerate their FIRE journey but build a more intentional lifestyle.
True Costs
- RV Payment $0
- Paid the RV off
- Truck Payment $0
- Paid the truck off
- RV Insurance Payment $0
- Paid for 12 months in November 2020.
- RV Registration $0
- Truck Insurance $0
- Paid for 6 months in June 2021
- Truck Registration $0
- Campground Site $820
- RV Internet $50
- Propane $0
- Gas $0
- Misc $235
Monthly Total – $1,105
2021 Total – $11,760
Total To Date – $28,873
You can find a list of all the RV gear we love here. Let’s not forget our list of RV maintenance supplies here.
RV Lifestyle Thoughts
I’m still loving this lifestyle and seem to more and more everyday. There are a few big projects coming up that I have to do. One is I found a small leak in the slide out. That leak caused a small portion of the wood floor to rote out. So I have to cut it and replace it with a new sheet of plywood.
Besides that, I still have some more tweaks to do on the solar. I plan to tackle these projects in the coming weeks if possible. Once the solar tweaks are done I won’t have to get on the roof at every place we go to plug in the wires for our solar setup.
A few things I’m still working off the good old checklist…
- Clean up wires in cargo
- Maybe run wires from the roof through the ceiling
Clean up roof wiresInstall new 200-watt panel
In case you missed it here is last month’s breakdown. Keep on the journey and path!
RV Value
I have now lived in my RV for 19 months! It seems like just yesterday I was moving into this lifestyle. I have learned a lot about myself, sustainability, freedom, and being resourceful on this path. Some days it has been hard and other days I could not imagine going back to what most call a “normal” lifestyle.
The value has been more than just the money I have saved. As you can see above over 19 months it’s costs me almost $29,000. Breaking that down that is about $1,500 a month. But remember I have always over estimated all my costs. I even included costs that I would have no matter if I lived in a house or apartment. Now where it gets fun is this is not accounting the value of the RV. Right now it’s valued at suggested retail of $31,300 according to NADA. The average value is $25,400 and low being $21,000.
This does not include that it is renovated and includes a washer and full off grid solar setup. So If I use the $29K as my cost and subtract the low value of $21K it’s cost me $8K to live this lifestyle for 19 months or $421 a month. This includes all RV costs and over estimated at that.
The longer I live in this RV the lower that monthly number gets.
More Than Money
Yet it’s not all about the money for me. Yes I have loved investing more money every month. Truth be told this lifestyle has been amazing. Some days suck when I have to fix something or do a little TLC on the RV. RV’s are made very cheaply so things tend to break. I have learned to upgrade them when they break or before they break.
Even with that there are more fun and good times than bad. I love the adventure and easy traveling part. It’s travel hacking to the extreme. No matter where we go I will always have my bed, kitchen, bathroom, shower, washer and solar to live off grid. That is so freaking nice! Even when we go out to the middle of the forest in the mountains we bring our home with us.
My only hope is more people open up to the possibility of alternative lifestyle to have a better quality of life and lower cost of living.