With the price of gas and food soaring, our financial lives have taken a big hit. Now is a great time for RVers to review and enact some cost-cutting measures. There are always ways to cut back, whether we enjoy them or not. RVing often means living a more focused, concentrated life, which includes the negative as well as the positive aspects.
RVs, however, give you some options that people in foundation homes don’t have. For example, with a bit of research, you can move to a place where prices are lower. Or the weather is warmer—or maybe cooler. You can plan on a period of boondocking. Or work camping. Or just plain staying in one place for a while. Nevertheless, what you are generally not able to do is stock large amounts of supplies. Tanks need refilling, and there is only so much storage space.
We have collected some tips for reducing your expenses. Even if these appear obvious, we believe in the benefit of a recap.
Camping Sites
- Get a campground pass. You have a variety of choices (for example, Escapees Passport America, Good Sam Club) , including when you pay (monthly, annually) and they range from $45 a month and up. Not only do these provide discounts at campgrounds, but also services (mail forwarding, roadside assistance) and education in the form of workshops and classes, and a community of like-minded people. You also have the option of parking overnight at businesses such as Wal-Mart, Cabelas, Cracker Barrel.
- Moochdocking or boondocking. Moochdocking is parking on private property with permission. Your family’s or friend’s home. Interestingly enough, you can also get a moochdocking pass (Harvest Hosts, Boondockers Welcome) to give you access to private spaces all over the US.
- Work camping (AKA workamping): many national forests and parks will trade camp- ground access for work in the area. Work can be seasonal or short term, full or part time. A search will give you many options to find and sign up for these jobs.
- Extended stays also reduce camping charges, and a handy side-effect is lowered fuel bills.Peak seasons are more expensive than other times of the year. Avoid the crowds with some boondocking time.
Fuel and Maintenance
- Discount programs come in a variety of forms: loyalty programs. Credit card rewards, and as part of other discount passes, such as Good Sam. Diesel-fuel programs (for example, Open Roads) are available, but, as always, read the fine print in any discount pass or program.
- Save gas with good tires and keeping your speed under 55 mph. Plan ahead to fill the tank in the lowest priced stations by using GasBuddy on the Internet or app to find them. Carrying extra gas cans, carefully stored, are handy for those lower-priced stations.
- Do it yourself repairs and maintenance are easier than ever before with the wealth of information on the Internet. Performing regular checks—again the Internet has numerous checklists—will save you many surprise repairs that may pop up. The law of averages, of course, works against you for these: repairs and accidents in expensive locations are not uncommon!
- Consider adding solar panels.
Internet Accessibility
- No longer a luxury, Internet access has become an essential part of life on the road. Getting weather information, gas prices, campground reservations, or even roadschooling for the kids—it all requires the Internet. And that’s not even addressing remote work and family contact!
- T-Mobile offers Binge On, for streaming video, as part of the “Simple Choice” plan. Another option is to do your downloading—carefully!– from free wi-fi sites. Not every place will allow large downloads and you’ll need available storage space, so do your research.
- Stay at Riverbound to enjoy high-speed internet thanks to our dedicated wi-fi tower which delivers 30mbps to each unit.
Best Budget Advice
Purchase a site at Riverbound Custom Storage & RV Park! You can park for as long as you need, with a covered pad and extra storage space that can be converted into a man-cave!
Near Lake Havasu City, AZ, you are within easy reach of a city and all that offers. And close to all the recreation you can handle. You can rent a site, but your best savings is from a site purchase (which you can rent out if you want). Our community is growing every day, so come join us all Riverbound and Lake Havasu City have to offer until it makes sense to start traveling again.
