A Women's RV Forum run by Women RVer's!

Ok, so I have been more of a lurker....sorry. lol I just love reading all your posts and adventures. I am jealous!!! (did I spell that right?)

I don't have my RV yet, it is my biggest hope for retirement. I spent many summers in my 30ft Carriage years ago and miss it so much, but still working and caring for my mother with Alzheimers has put a big hold on life for awhile.

I know in time it will happen and that thought keeps me going at times. It scares me somewhat because for me to be able to take that step I would have to sell the house and give all the "stuff" up....the stuff part doesn't bother me as much as losing the security of having a home to come to when needed or heaven forbid, when the health and age get to me. I guess caring for my mom makes me look at things differently, but oh how I miss life in my RV!!!!

It was so much easier and carefree to me. Nights around my campfire, compact, convenient and away from everything.... or not!

Don't know why I worry, guess I was raised that if you had your home, and it was paid off, you were safe. You would never be homeless, cold or vulnerable. But on the other side, this big house will be more than I want to take care of later, its a lot now. I really don't want to be saddled with it when I am retired, and would love to have back the ease of my camper.

I guess I worry that if my health failed and I had sold everything to buy an RV, would I be stuck? Could I make it on my own then? Yes I have kids, and I could probably stay with them if it came down to it. But I see how caring for an elderly and sick parent takes over your life and I refuse to do that to them.

I am not so financially set that I can keep both the house and RV... I would have to sell the house to buy it. So if anything every happened, health wise or other, I would be S.O.L. lol

I know I cant be the only single woman that has this fear. So can you ladies share your thoughts and wisdom with me on how you handled it...especially if you were in the same financial lifestyle as I am.

You sound like an amazing bunch of ladies who are enjoying life to the fullest...keep it up!

Shelley, I just had to go back to read your intro thread.

I too am looking after my elderly dad and then plan on hitting the road eventually. I don't have an RV yet but do a little camping in the summers in my tent. So I am on here to learn everything I can before I get my RV. There is a lot to learn but you can ask anything on here or find it in the other threads and archives.

There was a recent thread about what our options are once we can no longer travel. I will see if I can find and post the link to it (or maybe someone else can, if I can't). It was a long and interesting thread.

My mom passed 6 1/2 years ago and she also had alzheimers, so I could relate to your amusing story about your mom not wanting to go to school. In their minds, they go further back in time as their short term memories get erased more and more. It is a very difficult thing for the family members to go thru, more so than the person themselves who has the alzheimers. I can look back and laugh now, but many times, those things weren't very funny while they were happening. It can be scary and heartbreaking. So I feel for you. Is there a support group near you or someone else going thru the same situation that you can talk to? Do you have other family members to lean on?

Hope you had a merry Christmas!

I have always worried about having a Plan B. I worked a second job for a long, long time to put money away for my retirement, and I also waited until I was 69 to retire. I'm not sure that waiting so long to retire was a good idea because I could have had health problems and never been able to do this.

I retired from my regular job, but I teach online part-time even now so I don't have to dig into those savings. I also put most of my furniture into storage so if I do end up getting sick or injured, I have something to fill a house or apt.

This is a very personal decision, but I think it is important to be realistic in your budget planning. These things need repairs and new tires and all sorts of maintenance things. (Just spent $250 on a new water pump and I have replaced two relatively new tires in the last year. One had a slit and the other was a blowout.) Can you really afford to do this? Can you work part-time online for a while during your travels?

Well, for me to be able to do this, I would have to sell the house. The way I think of it at times is will the money I spend to keep up this house, maintenance wise, be any different from what I would spend on living in an RV?

In the last 5 years I have put in a new furnace, hot water tank, new siding and roof. Did new carpet in the living room, dining room and stairways this year. And while it will be about 5 years before I could go full time, that will be about the time, with my luck, that the damn hot water tank, fencing out back, deck, windows and all the other stuff will start needing replaced. My home isn't a new place, but I have kept it in good shape. Its going to be too much for me to take care of as I get older.

Then to consider the cost of my house...the gas bill is close to $200 a month in the winter. Add, lawn service...which I get a great price on, and the other utilities, cable, internet, house phone, cell phone, tax, insurance, maintenance, etc ....could RV living cost more than that? lol

I don't mind doing the workamping thing while I am out there if my SS and retirement isn't enough. I do put as much as I can in the 403k thing at work also in hopes of getting as much as I can put away. Secretarial work doesn't pay great but I have been able to raise 2 fantastic kids and pay off my house too. Working on getting the new car paid off....oh heck, will probably have to have a new car about that time too, depending on what kind of RV I get.

My hopes are to sell the house, buy the RV, have some money left over to keep as a cushion, and live off the SS and retirement. Always wondering if this plausible?

I too thought of working till 69 or so, then thought of my mom who retired early and was glad she did. She never wanted to wait and then have the poor health clouding her retirement years before she could enjoy it.

Soooo, the head just keeps spinning with all the questions and possibilities! I am getting dizzy

Don't give up on your dream. I hope to one day be able to full-time, that's my dream. I heard someone, a long time ago, say that if everybody waited till they could afford to have kids, they might never have them. But you do what you have to do to make things happen, live life & make dreams come true.

Hello srbbear, I think you ask some very penetrating questions here. These are questions that I have wondered quite a bit about myself. I hope that everyone can "chime in" on your concerns.

I am not a full-timer, nor do I think I am the full-timer type. I am a person that likes to go for a while, but still have somewhere to come back to. This is one of the reasons (among many) that I decided to go with a van (my van blog is at the link below).

The basic arithmatic of full-time travel is rather daunting, at least to me. However, as I have not done full-timing, I might not be the best person to comment. But I can do math.

Here are some of the equations (and I am sure there are many more that I am overlooking here) that I have worked with. This is supposing that one has their RV already, owns it outright, and has no monthly RV payments, and no longer has the expenses of a stick home to maintain:

Average nightly campground fees - don't hold me to this, this is a ball-park type figure that I have researched out. Some places might be a tiny bit less, many will be a whole lot more. One can of course stop by the road side or in a Walmart parking lot for an over-night, or in the national parks, but here is the gist):

$25.00/night x 30 nights (average month of nights) = $750/month for camping fees

Say you travel 200 miles/day between camp sites. Say that your rig gets 12 mpg (some will get more than this, some will get less. I get around 18 mpg in my van if I take it easy). Say fuel cost is $3.75/gallon (fuel cost is relatively low just now, I have seen it recently as high as $4.25/gallon):

200 miles [divided by] 12 mpg = 16.7 gallons of fuel used. 16.7 gallons of fuel x $3.75/gallon = $62.63 to drive these 200 miles

With the above in mind, here is a basic scenario (also keep in mind that the above - and below - figures are pretty much low-end. Depending on the current economy, they can be MUCH higher):

Lets say that, for a particular month, a person stays in a campground for 25 nights, and stays at Walmart for 5 nights (total of 30 nights).

#1 25 x 25.00/night = $625.00 for campground fees for a month

Lets say that for a particular month, a person drives 2000 miles for that month (this is roughly only 500 miles/week - not very much, really):

#2 2000 miles [divided by] 12 mpg = 166.7gallons
166.7 gallons x $3.75/gallon = $625.12 for fuel for a month

So here is your basic/basic costs (not including basic maintenance - things like tire replacement, oil changes, inspections, insurance, vehicle license fees, dump fees, cost of propane, replacement of bits that break, food, water, motel fees when the RV is in for service, vehicle depreciation, $etc., $etc., $etc.,):

Monthly campground fees (as calculated at #1, above; and monthly fuel charges, as calculated at #2, above):

$625.00 camping
$625.00 fuel
$1250/month total [just to drive around and camp - nothing else]

Of course when (not if) the cost of fuel goes up, and when (not if) the cost of a night's stay at a campground goes up these amounts would no longer apply.

Again, as I say, I am not a full-timer. Those of you who are a full-timer, I would very much like to see the numbers that you use.

It is the numbers that tell the tale.

Another thing that I think about when considering selling the ranch in order to buy the RV:

That $50,000.00 (or whatever) RV will depreciate down to close to next to nothing in a few short years, even if it isn't used a lot. If it is used a lot, it will eventually need to be replaced (when it is also then worth next to nothing). Um. . . what then?

Enquiring minds want to know.

Anne

Anne, I see how those numbers can be scary, but from what I know, most full timers don't travel every day and have found that the campsites are cheaper by reserving them for a week or month at a time at a discounted rated. Also by using senior or disabled discounts, camping club discounts, etc. the rates can drastically go down. I know with Ronnie's disabled card, we get 50% off at COE, State parks, etc. making the rates be around $7-$10. per night. Just one example of, of ways to cut down on your expenses. I'm sure the costs vary differently from person to person, same as when you are in a home and what area of the country you are in and I'm sure others will share the ways that they make their pennies stretch.

Anne, VickieP is right about the discounted rates. We are currently staying in Ocala FL for $ 350.00/mos. Believe it or not, there are monthly rates less than that but depending on the amenities you want, you can pay well over $ 2000.00/mos. It just depends on what your needs are.

VickieP wrote:Anne, I see how those numbers can be scary, but from what I know, most full timers don't travel every day and have found that the campsites are cheaper by reserving them for a week or month at a time at a discounted rated. Also by using senior or disabled discounts, camping club discounts, etc. the rates can drastically go down. I know with Ronnie's disabled card, we get 50% off at COE, State parks, etc. making the rates be around $7-$10. per night. Just one example of, of ways to cut down on your expenses. I'm sure the costs vary differently from person to person, same as when you are in a home and what area of the country you are in and I'm sure others will share the ways that they make their pennies stretch.

Hi Vickie. Thank you for your response.

What is scary - to me - is someone contemplating a drastic lifestyle change (for example, selling their home to purchase an RV), basing their decision on generalities. It's the specifics that will bite in the end. They always do.

Life, and RVing, is, after all, a "numbers" game.

Since I am definitely a "numbers" type of person, the specifics of what campgrounds are less expensive when reserved by week/month would be helpful. How much less? Specific campgrounds/specific numbers or just specific areas of the country might be helpful.

I like to know the numbers. But that's just me.

I understand that it is unlikely that RV'ers travel every day, but the numbers I quoted (500 miles a week) was a way to display an equation (plus, for many, 500 miles a week might not be unreasonable). A person can use this equation to plug in their own numbers, to get an idea of what their expenses might be.

That's all.

I am not eligible for disabled discounts, but (for example) I stayed at Clearlake State Park (a California state park) http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=473 a few weekends ago (the day after Thanksgiving), and my "senior discount" put the nightly fee at $28.00/night (no hookups). Using the Passport America website (the 50% off people) to search out campsites in northern California and southern Oregon that I am interested in, these sites ranged from $17.00 - $22.00 night, with the 50% off.

It is likely that fees vary quite a bit between the eastern and western part of the United States, but when a person is full-timing they likely will not be confined to one area of the U.S., and might need to understand the different costs for different areas.

Numbers again.

Anne

Irmi wrote:Anne, VickieP is right about the discounted rates. We are currently staying in Ocala FL for $ 350.00/mos. Believe it or not, there are monthly rates less than that but depending on the amenities you want, you can pay well over $ 2000.00/mos. It just depends on what your needs are.

Interesting!

What is the name of your campground, and what amenities do you receive for $350/mo?

Thanks.

Anne

Thank you so much for taking the time to put together those numbers Anne.... I want to emphasize that nothing else is included in that base price.
I do not full time either, but have traveled enough that I know how expensive it can be. I do have a S&B also (but my RV is paid off, costs me $156 a mo. for indoor storage... cannot store it at my S&B) and my home is not paid off...and it is much too big for me to continue maintaining much longer. I do not wish to full time and like some women RVers on FB, don't know if I even want to continue RV traveling much longer anyway.... it's hard when you are alone & have no one to travel with....Would probably have a different outlook if I still had a husband... When I bought my RV I was so excited & thought the world was just opening up for me....well all these years (9) later, I don't feel that way anymore. Which for me says, Boy! am I glad I didn't sell my S&B back then, because I have that much needed home base today, (even with a mortgage!) I think my advice for those contemplating selling their home to buy an RV....is don't... for at least the first year. See after a year (or more) if the RV lifestyle really fits you... You can rent your S&B (using a trusted professional to oversee things while you're away) and get the feel of life on the road.
I give this opinion from my own experience & not for any financial reasons... I could afford to full time & keep my properties, I just choose not to. However, for those on a tight budget it can be a serious problem if things don't work out....
Check out what Anne has given examples of....be honest with yourself on costs etc. Make your decisions on common sense not just wants... I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings & hope I'm coming across with the best intentions... just remember this is all my HO...

The best set of specific numbers I've seen is at http://rvsueandcrew.net; pull down the 'Money' tab for very detailed monthly records.

She spends very little money, but she has methods that keep her costs so low: lots of boondocking on BLM/Nat'l Forest land; usually staying the maximum number of legal days in each free campground; rarely eating out or paying for entertainment. Not everybody would be happy with her style, but she clearly loves it!

I find it enormously encouraging to see that someone can travel full-time while spending very little money. I think the trick must be deciding what style of rv-ing suits you, then seeing if you can afford it.

Darn, lost my post. There are lots of RV parks in Texas for $350-$400 per month which include pools, laundry rooms, etc. The Senior National Park pass (62+) reduces camping costs in many places including the COE parks that VickieP mentioned. I've also stayed at some very nice Passport America parks for half price. Some states also have senior cards for lower cost camping (often 65+ for state residents). I don't think that too many full-time RVers stay in a different park every night (at least after the first year, lol). Weekly and monthly rates are generally much less expensive than overnight charges. California tends to be on the high side for camping, gas, etc. The Midwest is less expensive generally. There are a lot of well known RV bloggers who publish their expenses monthly (RV Sue being one of them). They generally run anywhere from $1000 (very low end) to $3000 or even higher depending on the lifestyle (how much you eat out, do touristy $$ things, expensive high end resorts, etc).

There are singles groups like WINs and LOWs as well as some Escapee groups for singles who like to travel with others. There really are a lot of choices out there for full or part-timers.