Maintenance budget?

[kb0zke]

This may not be the best place for this question, but I didn't find a better one, so I'll ask it here and the moderators can move it if they want.

How much should we budget for trailer maintenance when we're full-timing? Assume that we will have a mid-90's 30-34' Airstream with no slide. We haven't made any decisions yet, but that's what we're looking at for an Airstream. Assume that the coach is in average condition.

This figure should include regular maintenance (lube, minor repairs, etc.) as well as money set aside for the big expenses (new tires, new batteries, new hot water heater, etc.). I don't need figures for the truck, just the trailer.

Thanks.

[Goal15]

DreamStreamR did a breakdown on their blog recently of what their expenses have been fulltiming versus when they lived in a sticks and bricks house.

Dreamstreamr Odyssey | Chasing 75 Degrees

Look for the June 15 entry on their journal.

Hope this is helpful

Dana

[Jammer]

Much depends on your standards (will you be replacing carpet and upholstery when it looks worn?), how much you move (tires and brakes wear with the miles, and things like the tongue jack and shore power cord wear each time you set up and break camp), and whether you're boondocking (with attendant reliance on the batteries and water pump, which are otherwise mostly unused).

Also, whether you will be paying other people to fix things, or just buying materials and handling the repairs yourself.

I would offer a suggested figure of $2000 per year, for an older unit in good condition, so that you're starting with everything working properly.

Older units that have been sitting for a while can have accumulated problems that don't quite manifest themselves until after a period of use, so you would want to set some extra $$$ aside if that's your situation.

[purman]

We new some folks who had property in Montana and Arizona. They lived off of $25,000 a year for 3 years with a camper on the back of their truck. Not sure how much was maintenance on truck and rig. After 3 years they had enough and bought a place again. They did a lot of traveling from Baja to Alaska.