Because of the California fires going on right now, we decided to leave Leavenworth Thousand Trails and head closer to our 'Fly Out' point in Spokane, WA We expect to get called out anytime. And the fact that the cell /internet service there was pretty spotty.
July 5th, and 78 miles later, we checked into Crescent Bar RV Park, a Thousand Trails campground we have stayed at many times. We are just going to spend a few days here and then head closer to Spokane. It is pretty warm and sunny here. 50 Amp FHU site is great cuz we are using both air conditioners here.
As we got parked, I took pictures of our campsite and updated our web page at www.thefergs.com. I have been doing this for the last 8 years. I have pictures of every place we have camped since we hit the road. I update the 'Where We Have Been' section of our web site. And the section 'Where Are We'. I also update the entry 'Statistics & Budget' too. This got me to thinking about the whole 'statistics' numbers since we hit the road.
So here we go....
The first RV we bought with the intention to hit the road full time, was a 2008 Cameo 32 ft Fifth Wheel. This was back in May of 2011. I hadn't quite retired from the phone company yet. But we were really into the planning phase. From the time we bought the Cameo fifth wheel, we have set up our campsite 411 times, in 8 different RVs, in 25 different states. Travelling in, or pulling our RV over 55,000 miles.
Here is a breakdown of the last 8 years.
The Cameo fifth wheel, we got in May of 2011, had it for 1 year, 6 months. In it we camped 23 times.
Next, we got a bigger unit, a 2009 Bighorn fifth wheel. We got this one in October of 2012. We had this one for 3 years, 6 months. We sold our house in July 2012 and we were now full timers. In the Bighorn, we camped 120 times. There were some issues with the RV frame, so it was time to try out a Class A.
Then we got a Class A March 2015, A 2008 Fleetwood Southwind. We had this one 3 years, 1 month and camped 164 times.
Then we bought a home base in Yuma, AZ. We decided to downsize a bit and traded the Southwind March 2018, for a newer, smaller Class A motorhome, a 2018 Thor Hurricane. Bad decision. Had many problems with it. Took 5 1/2 months to figure how to un-load it, but finally found a buyer. We did camp 25 times in it.
We stumbled onto a great deal, so in October 2018, we picked up another fifth wheel, a 2004 Arctic Fox (and Silverado). We had this one 1 year 3 1/2 months, and camped 33 times in it. Then we got a hankering to try something we have never had before.
November 2019, after selling out 5'er & truck, we picked up a 2001 Fleetwood Tioga Class C. After camping in it 9 times over a 8 1/2 month period, we sold it. After installing our batteries, inverter, and solar panels on each RV up to this point, we let it all go together with this one. Even though the rig ran great, it was pretty old, and I was able to turn a profit selling it.
Yes, it was a lapse in thinking, August 2020 we bought a 2010 Dutchman Sport travel trailer, and Nissan Titan to pull it. We only camped 13 times, but definitely enough to re-think our RV choices. It was during the 3 1/2 months we had the travel trailer, we came up with the plan to sell our house in Yuma, AZ, and get a full time RV and hit the road again.
It was December 2020 we picked up the 2016 Crusader fifth wheel. We had already bought a 2015 Silverado with the full timing plan heading forward. Installed more solar, inverter, and batteries for our new house on wheels. The house sold in February 2021.
Since the sale of our house, and we were back into the full time RV lifestyle, we have camped 25 times in ONE RV in the last 7 months. Houseless, but not homeless.
So...when we had our house in Yuma, AZ for 4 years, our 'part time' RVing consisted of camping 89 times in ... wait for it... 6 different RVs.
Now for some yearly numbers. Since we actually hit the road in our Bighorn fifth wheel in September 2013, our years on the road are from Sept to Sept.
Year 1 2013-2014 Full Time
9,252 miles
19 states visited
69 campsites
$ 7.16 Ave cost per night (because of all of our memberships/clubs)
Year 2 2014-2015 Full Time
8,830 miles
14 states visited
71 campsites
$5.96 Ave cost per night
Year 3 2014-2015 Full Time
7,802 miles
10 states visited
48 campsites
$3.44 Ave cost per night
Year 4 2016-2017 Full Time
8,610 miles
8 states visited
62 campsites
$4.18 Ave cost per night
Year 5 2017-2018 3 months Full Time, 9 months Part Time
6,647 miles
7 states visited
40 campsites
$4.93 Ave cost per night (not counting at the house)
Year 6 2018-2019 Part Time
5,884 miles
6 states visited
33 campsites
$1.40 Ave cost per night
Year 7 2019-2020 Part Time
935 miles (Covid!!!)
2 states
12 campsites
$0.34 Ave cost per night
Year 8 2020-2021 5 months Part Time, 6 months, so far, Full Time
7,074 miles
5 states visited
38 campsites
$1.16 Ave cost per night
There you have it. I guess I am just a numbers kinda guy. We keep track of everything.
The cost per night amount is what we paid out to camp there. We didn't count the various campground memberships and club costs. In the past years, we have had memberships in the following : Thousand Trails (& Trails Collection), Escapees, Good Sam, Harvest Hosts, FMCA, RPI, Elks, & Passport America. And we still have all but FMCA.
Smelling the roses....
The Fergs out .......
Wow…that’s a lot of turnover and experience in different RV’s. You must be able to do your solar installs in your sleep by now. 🤣 Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteYep, I enjoy doing the installs ... but I think I am retired now.
DeleteImpressive average nightly cost, anytime you can keep be below $5 is a win in my book!
ReplyDeleteI like to call us ... thrifty.
DeleteI didn’t know you had that many different rigs. Do you think this one will be your last? What’s a ballpark yearly total for all the memberships?
ReplyDeleteThis is the last RV. Of course, I have sais that a few times.
ReplyDeleteI just posted a campground/membership costs blog entry.