Cost Per Night on the Road

[vito98103]

Here's a question for all of you full-timers (or mostly full timers) out there:

What is your average cost per night to park; thinking a combination for most of free (Wallyworld parking lots, boondocking, etc.), public (local, state and federal campgrounds) and RV parks?

We'll be in a 28 or 30 ft, probably a Flying Cloud, if you're wondering.

Thanks

[mandolindave]

And I am not qualified to answer. The only campground I stay at was free of charge to my group of musicians. I work/camp at many of the Bluegrass Festivals. Most of the festivals I pay to attend end up costing around $100, for tickets and four days of camping included. Some double that. Some of the big Rock festivals can cost way more.

But two of the expert gurus of boondocking that I followed, averaged about $8 a night, averaged over a year. You would have to be making an effort to get away that cheap.

But there really is no way to answer the question…It would be up to you, and your camping style. Keep in mind that you may want to go to campgrounds, one or two nights a week to dump, get water, and charge.

[Bill M.]

I have only ever spent one night for free. We probably average 25 a night when traveling. Higher on the road and lower at usfs campgrounds when we get there.

[Mrjkq]

My time on the road usually averages $45 per night, but that reflects where we go & stay. Throughing in some boondocking would reduce that greatly.

[AWCHIEF]

I recently made a month long trip to the Keys. Most private and state parks in the range of $25 to $70. Military and federal camps around $14 with discounts.

[PKI]

Brother likes State and Federal parks. Out West, they found pricing from $8-20. As they moved East, the prices went up a bit. Our experience is that full and partial hookups at state parks are in the area of $40. We have found that our best rates come from half price Passport America sites. We have had a few Walmart, Cracker Barrel and rest area nights while traveling. That reduces the average. The folks who take advantage of BLM property and dry camp a lot reduce their overall cost considerably. Good luck with your investigation. Pat

[kb0zke]

Overall, our cost is about $10/night or maybe a bit less. Of course, that includes the five months in Stillwater for free, the three weeks in Big Cabin, OK for free, and two six-week projects that were free, plus the three two-week RV Care-A-Vanner projects that included free camping. We also take advantage of the "geezer pass" that gets us a 50% discount at COE and Forest Service campgrounds. We've used PA a couple of times, too. State parks are often good bets for lower costs. We generally avoid commercial campgrounds (personal preference).

Oh,yes. Those "free" three weeks at Cabin Diesel? The camping was, indeed, free, because we spent $7000 there for repairs. Camp Foretravel was also free camping,but the service and remodeling ran $5000 for the five days.

Many of us full-timers volunteer some time in exchange for a free campsite. We've spent a month at a very nice State park as campground hosts, and we've spent the past month here at Heit's Point as volunteers - with free FHU (50A) and meals!

[BoldAdventure]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Great question. It would be neat to know.

[OTRA15]

FWIW on the thread about going to Alaska this summer, the figure of $1.00 per mile was mentioned as a good ballpark estimate for the overall trip.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...a-148809.html\

A different broader issue than the daily overnight costs here, but the thread is worth a gander IMO.

FWIW

[AtomicNo13]

Were entering our 5th year on the road.
our figures show our daily lodging at $6 a night and $1.03 per mile.
These figures reflect lots of free overnight stops, coe parks, misc parks, and of course don't deflect food, insurance, maintenance or Bourbon.

[kdickinson]

we like the pay parks that monitor traffic in and out and provide a little additional security. We also like having a store on site if we need it and when possible a pool or other recreation. But that is just us. We pay $35 to $70 per night for a spot depending on location and time of year. In addition I pay a dog-sitter $50 per night to stay at our house and watch the house and our pets when we are gone. I'd have to buy food and "adult refreshments" camping or at home but add another $25 - $30 per day to feed the hordes with high quality steak & chicken and plastic cup quality wine or beer.

[Floatingair]

Originally Posted by vito98103

Here's a question for all of you full-timers (or mostly full timers) out there:

What is your average cost per night to park; thinking a combination for most of free (Wallyworld parking lots, boondocking, etc.), public (local, state and federal campgrounds) and RV parks?

We'll be in a 28 or 30 ft, probably a Flying Cloud, if you're wondering.

Thanks

My RV Park is $400.00 per month with all utilities paid.

[LOGRIDER]

Kind of depends on you and where you camp.

No doubt you have checked out Aluminarium, at www.aluminarium.com. They are full timers and post their daily averages and also include how many days are paid camping as opposed to free.

Check it out, these folks are fun to follow as they travel the country.

As I understand it they also manage the Campendium site, which is way cool too!

www.aluminarium.com

[graysailor]

Update to date numbers are 593 nights averaging $30.99 per night. All have been in descent parks with no National Parks or Walmart parking lots. My latest stay has been for 3 months so I received a steep discount coming to around $20.00 a night. With a long term stay of a month or so electricity is extra which has been about $50.00 a month.

[m.hony]

We are part-timers/sometimers.
Cost per night has crept up to about $22 average.
We stay mostly at state parks and corps of engineers parks with occasional stays at a forest service park or a privately owned park.

[Bev1940]

I spent 10 days on the road going from Barrie Ontario to Berwick Louisiana from Dec 28 to Jan 6 for $130.00 . 1st and 2nd night was free at CanAm in London and at Airstream Jackson Center OH 3 nights at Elizabethtown KY $22.per night one night in AL $20 and 4 nights in Mystic Springs Airstream only park FL $11 per night, I thought it was a good deal to have all hookups as well.

[AnnArborBob]

In our experience, the nightly cost of camping varies all over the map, from $0.00 to over $100.00!!!

Weekly and monthly rates can reduce your cost significantly with decent places out west during prime winter season generally costing between $750 and $1,000/month; Florida monthly rates during the season range from $1,000 up to $2,500!!! Off season rates in both locations can be a lot less.

As far as nightly rates are concerned, we find that public campgrounds (i.e., city, county, state and federal) tend to range from around $10 per night up to the low $30 range with most in the $20's. Usually the higher prices reflect full hook up sites (or in California where even a site with no hook ups can run $50/night.) California, Oregon, Washington State and public campgrounds east of the Mississippi River tend to be higher than in other parts of the country. The Golden Age Pass (62 year old plus) and the Federal Interagency Pass (available to everyone for $80/year) are worthwhile as they will get you a 50% discount at most federal campgrounds.

Casinos are all priced over the place, some are free, some charge a nominal amount ($15 or less) and others charge private campground prices.

Nightly rates at private campgrounds are generally higher than at publicly owned campgrounds (of course these sites nearly always come with full hookups.) We find that nightly rates in private campgrounds tend to be around $40 to $50 (with much higher rates in Florida during the peak season and in certain special situations such as in downtown New Orleans.) Sometimes we will run into a private campground with rates in the $30's.

Walmarts, Cracker Barrel and other similar retailers that allow overnight parking but do expect some form of patronage of their respective businesses.

Boondocking in the desert or other permitted location is generally free.

We've spent over 90% of our time in publicly owned campgrounds or boondocking over the past nine months and are finding that our average camping cost has been around $500/month.

[K3ors]

A real newbe here! Been a popup guy for years but finally got a 19' Bambie. Curious about protocol for the nights at Wally World and Cracker Barrel. Obviously you ask for permission but being a bit timid, what do you say?

[FCStreamer]

Originally Posted by K3ors

A real newbe here! Been a popup guy for years but finally got a 19' Bambie. Curious about protocol for the nights at Wally World and Cracker Barrel. Obviously you ask for permission but being a bit timid, what do you say?

"Excuse me, it is OK for me to park overnight in your parking lot?"

It helps if you see others already there. If not, you would be breaking new ground. A trail blazer!

Also, watch this video. I found it very informative.

https://youtu.be/sVvScIscBdo

[Rich W]

We are not full timers but we spend 3 months in the southern states, mostly Florida, in the winter. State parks are in the mid to upper $20s but some states offer senior discounts with conditions (if you are a resident of the state or if your state will reciprocate with their residents on a discount).

We've stayed at Cracker Barrel and Wal-Mart. The wife can sleep through a hurricane but I was a nervous Nellie, especially at Wal-Mart. So now we just use a smart phone app or Google search to find a CG. Cracker Barrel is better but do a Google search on staying at any store, restaurant etc. There's a lot of information available.

Federal CGs vary from the pits to heaven but the price is low and with a Senior Pass you pay only half. We've come across some city/county CGs that are very nice and reasonable (cash or check, no cards) and some that were the pits.

We set a limit on what we will pay, highest is mid 20s. We've paid as low as $10 for Federal, $9-15 for city/county parks. I divide our trips into ~300 mile legs and make a reservation for the night before we set out. I have searched for a spot at the end of the day and didn't like what we found. We don't like using our AS bathroom and rely on facilities. We were in Arkansas and checked 4 local places, all about $23, none with a bathroom. So now I research before we leave and have someplace to go to each night.