Why Is It Cheaper?

[JandC]

A younger co-worker called me the other day from Illinois. I hadn't talked to him since retiring 7 years ago. He is now getting ready to retire and they want to full time in a fiver. We couldn't talk very long but this morning I sent him an email with a few pointers. One thing I suggested was to either join or at least start reading this forum since it is the best one I have ever found.

The one point I really could not nail down for him was the overall expense of full timing compared to owning a home. I know you get rid of any house payments, property taxes, utilities, etc. But is that about the only thing that saves you money? Between diesel fuel and campground fees we averaged around $900 to $1,000 a month. Food and many of our other expenses did not change much. Why did we start having so much more money in savings at the end of each month while full timing?

[DQDick]

For us, full timers insurance is still cheaper than house insurance and of course we are insuring less. We also spend a lot less on clothes than we used to.

[uhftx]

I saw on here the average was approx 115/day depending upon your lifestyle. could be more or less depending on climate and where you stay.
That is what I am making my presumptions upon when I retire.
Just what I have read here. Of course fuel and living expenses do not decrease so it can escalate from there.

[RKassl]

I have often wondered about this too. Everyday as a FT you have to stay some place and unless you live in a Walmart Lot don't you generate expenses this way, as in camping fees?

[richfaa]

Full timing should be less expensive but it depends on your financial conditions. We are long time and spend at least 9 months on the road. We have no Mortgage .We do pay Ohio income tax, property tax, Home insurance. RVs and trucks paid for. When doing the homework full time /longtime the Insurance was not all that much less as for some reason insurance companies charge more if you are full time. We would also insure less. House utilities are greatly reduced as we spend the winters in mild climates.


We decided after the first year that the full time lifestyle was not for us and we could work the finances and keep our S&B.


Most full timers spend long periods stationary to cut down on cost. Choose the lifestyle that meets your needs . We are all different.


We know fulltimers that rotate between Arizona winters and Ohio Summers approximately 6 and 6.They drive to Az park it then drive back to Ohio and park it. Their expenses are far less than ours.

[RKassl]

Rich, I agree with you 100% We Long time like you, we are out for 4 to 6 months a year now that we are both retired. From the onset I knew that the FT life style was not and would never be for me and the wife. I NEED my stick home, I need to get out of the trailer. Saying this, if the FT lifestyle meets your needs that is just wonderful.

[Carl n Susan]

Howard and Linda Payne are full timers and members of this forum (albeit not too active). They have a blog about their fulltiming experiences and are the only ones, to my knowledge, who provide a complete discussion on fulltiming, including their monthly/annual budgets for the last 9 1/2 years.
http://www.rv-dreams.com/site-map.html

[richfaa]

The full timing experience is a great lifestyle but just not for everyone .We have been long timing since 2006 and it has been a great experience .We love living and traveling in our Montana's. We also love to get back to the 2200 sq Ft S&B .Helen loves the yard, gardening. We like the city, friends, Family. We are as active as we can be in the community. We always have been. The Montana is right here on the property and we can hook up and be gone in a short time. This summer we did the NE rally and then a tour of the N.E States. We have traveled over 100K miles since 2006.We love our RV and the travels we also love coming back to the S&B.We see our travels coming to a end in the not to distant future and it will be a seamless transition. We will just return to the S&B and stay.We have been near 30 years Rv'ing and went through 6 RV's not counting tents and pop ups. It has been a great adventure and we have been fortunate to be able to live the best of both lifestyles sine 2006.

[bobandbrenda]

We went full time about four months ago after our house sold and are saving about $80 to $85 a day. We also joined Ocean Canyon Properties which also includes Coast to Coast so if we plan accordingly our camp ground expenses are minimal. We wish we could have gone full time but having to sell properties and commercial ventures took some time. No more yard work, home upkeep and pool maintenance is great!

[mazboy]

Come to our full time forum at the rally.
F/T varies sooooo much. One example, if you buy private medicall insurance you could be spending $1000-2000 a month. Yes, a month.. $24000 a year!
Eating out a lot another $1000+
High end campgrounds can run $100+ a night. Key west cost $2000 a month. But rural campgrounds can be $400.
If you move around a lot figure $2000 for fuel.
It just depends.

[cpaulsen]

We fulltime but we do it as Camphosts. No nightly fees...water/sewer/and electric free. We travel from park to park and stay usually 2-3 months at each one. The ost money we spend is dining out.

[shovelhead86]

We are also park hosts. We do it in State and Federal campgrounds. We summer somewhere in the north and spend winters in Fl, Tx, or Az. Eating out is our greatest expense and our waistline says we could do less of that. I love the full time lifestyle. I'm presently writing this from my daughters house (ex my house). We will be heading to ocala Nat. Forest in Fl at the end of the month. Where do you host at?

John and Jackie

[David T. MacNeill]

Originally Posted by cpaulsen

We fulltime but we do it as Camphosts. No nightly fees...water/sewer/and electric free.

Not to hijack the thread, but where can I find out more about camp hosting? Is there some organization or forum where hosts congregate and find hosting gigs? Of do you just call KOA headquarters and tell them you want to host?

[jlb27537]

David, look here. https://www.workamper.com/

We work camped for several years, however, if you go this route, make sure you interview the campground owners and ask for references from them, get names and numbers of previous years workers.

Some campgrounds have a complete change of help every season while others have the same folks coming back year after year.

Ask if they issue a 1099 for the campground site, do they have workman comp in case you get hurt on the job. We know of campgrounds that issue a 1099 for the site value on a nightly rate, you end up paying taxes on money you never got. The campground gets to write off the value of the site.

[cpaulsen]

Originally Posted by David T. MacNeill

Not to hijack the thread, but where can I find out more about camp hosting? Is there some organization or forum where hosts congregate and find hosting gigs? Of do you just call KOA headquarters and tell them you want to host?

I know almost all state parks have a website for volunteering. And most have where and when camphosting is available.

[cpaulsen]

Originally Posted by David T. MacNeill

Not to hijack the thread, but where can I find out more about camp hosting? Is there some organization or forum where hosts congregate and find hosting gigs? Of do you just call KOA headquarters and tell them you want to host?

Also.....seeing you are in Idaho.....thee website has all their hosting openings listed

[kdeiss]

You have to remember to factor in the depression of the rig that is big number.A brick and mortar in most cases appreciate l

[JandC]

Originally Posted by kdeiss

You have to remember to factor in the depression of the rig that is big number.A brick and mortar in most cases appreciate l

It is true that your S&B generally goes up in value and of course your RV is tumbling down. Down here in SW Florida, depending on your exact location and price point, your home could have been averaging an annual increase in value of 8% to 12% the last few years.

I guess the conclusion we came to was did we want to continue to pay the expenses of home ownership and only live in it 6 or 7 months a year. It takes a week to reopen the house when we return and gets things back to normal. Even though the house isn't that old it seems I am always doing some type of maintenance, plus still visiting the RV and taking care of it.

The DW had two knees replaced at different times a few years ago. One was done while we were in the S&B and one was done while we were full timing in the Montana. She said the recovery was much easier living in the Montana because everything was closer and easier to get to.

Everyone's situation is different. There are probably full timers out there traveling the U.S.A. on a budget of $25,000 a year and others needing $200,000 to get through a full year.

[mazboy]

cpaulsen just gave another example of 'full time' camping.

bottom line it just depends.

[RKassl]

I guess this is case of either you love FT or you don't. If you do more power to you, it's you who need to live with your decision. One thing nobody has talked about is the increasing need for health care as we all age. I have had many surgeries and there is no way I would have recouped in a trailer. I have met many FT folks in our travels they are happy and that in the end is what's most important.