Camp fees

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TonyL

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We recently completed nearly 12 months by RV in the US and Canada and thought it might be helpful for anyone planning touring there what it could cost for camp fees.
We keep a spreadsheet of costs we incur on our travels and have just added up what we spent for camping. All our costs include what we spent on propane for heating and cooking, fuel for the generator to keep the batteries charged when either the solar couldn't keep up or we were not on a hookup and everything we spent on campground fees.
We camped everywhere from full luxury campgrounds with pools, clubhouses and full hookup, to free camping at casinos, rest areas and BLM dispersed camping areas.

For the Western side of the US, we had a total of 169 nights and averaged $12.91 per night.
For Canada, we had a total of 89 nights and averaged $30.30 Canadian per night.
For the Eastern side of the US where free camping is not so abundant, we had a total of 92 nights and averaged $13.28 per night.

Hope this helps.
 
We recently completed nearly 12 months by RV in the US and Canada and thought it might be helpful for anyone planning touring there what it could cost for camp fees.
We keep a spreadsheet of costs we incur on our travels and have just added up what we spent for camping. All our costs include what we spent on propane for heating and cooking, fuel for the generator to keep the batteries charged when either the solar couldn't keep up or we were not on a hookup and everything we spent on campground fees.
We camped everywhere from full luxury campgrounds with pools, clubhouses and full hookup, to free camping at casinos, rest areas and BLM dispersed camping areas.

For the Western side of the US, we had a total of 169 nights and averaged $12.91 per night.
For Canada, we had a total of 89 nights and averaged $30.30 Canadian per night.
For the Eastern side of the US where free camping is not so abundant, we had a total of 92 nights and averaged $13.28 per night.

Hope this helps.
Tony, do your totals include the nights you boondocked?
 
For the Western side of the US, we had a total of 169 nights and averaged $12.91 per night.
For Canada, we had a total of 89 nights and averaged $30.30 Canadian per night.
For the Eastern side of the US where free camping is not so abundant, we had a total of 92 nights and averaged $13.28 per night.
It would help to know where you stayed as the daily rate indicates a pretty significant amount of dry camping.
 
Kirk, to list all would be extensive. Suffice to say we try and avoid full service "resort" type sites as we never use the facilities, but we did treat ourselves over Christmas and New year at a lovely site in Bullhead city. That was offset by a month at Quartzsite that only cost $80 for fees.
Passport America is an absolute must in our opinion, and we actively search for those first if we want hookup.
Then there's the site at Deming NM where full hook up was less than $13 a night thanks again to PA.
We have a book about Casino camping that lists those with free overnight stays.
Dry camping is our preference, not that we're tight but why pay for something you don't need?
Leaves more funds for the fun stuff like eating 😁
 
I would be afraid to keep too close of a record. It's like buying fuel, It's all part of the adventure. When/if it gets to be too much, we will hang it up. But not today...
We too Marty.

OTOH I somewhat applaud folks who have the discipline to camp on price and, like Tony, succeed (and are happy with the result).

In 30+ years of RVing, we've never chosen campgrounds based on price. Doesn't mean we've never boondocked, stayed in a family member's/friend's driveway, or stayed at 'inexpensive' campgrounds. Similarly for overnighting aboard our boat - berthed at a marina or yacht club, or swinging on the hook.

There are places we've consciously avoided overnighting, such as a rest area, truck stops, or WalMart/Cracker Barrel.
 
Kirk, to list all would be extensive. Suffice to say we try and avoid full service "resort" type sites as we never use the facilities, but we did treat ourselves over Christmas and New year at a lovely site in Bullhead city. That was offset by a month at Quartzsite that only cost $80 for fees.
Passport America is an absolute must in our opinion, and we actively search for those first if we want hookup.
Then there's the site at Deming NM where full hook up was less than $13 a night thanks again to PA.
We have a book about Casino camping that lists those with free overnight stays.
Dry camping is our preference, not that we're tight but why pay for something you don't need?
Leaves more funds for the fun stuff like eating 😁
Tony, any idea of the number or percentage of your nights were boondocked/free vs paid?
 
Our 169 nights averaged at $32.63 per night in 28 locations. Including 4 nights in a hotel at the start in Boulder City,as the trailer was getting a repair, 4 weeks in the Tetons, 3 nights in Yellowstone and 24 nights in Vegas. These were by far our most expensive spots.

Probably a lot less than we normally spend. We were really enjoying staying in some of the cheaper places as they tended to be pretty quiet and also picturesque.

We tend not to stay in car parks etc. We have stayed in a couple of the casino places but found them to be a bit noisy and Steve struggles to sleep if not quiet.

We were definitely keeping a closer eye on costs this year due to expensive fuel and food and the very poor exchange rate.
 
I would be afraid to keep too close of a record. It's like buying fuel, It's all part of the adventure. When/if it gets to be too much, we will hang it up. But not today...
The main reason for keeping a spreadsheet was to be able to advise potential future tourists from the UK and other "foreign" countries what they could expect costs to be. Whilst we appreciate everyone's idea of RVing will be different, having some idea of costs help.
We know fairly accurately how much fuel we use and what it costs. It does make for some interesting viewing, consider that in the dark early months of 2020, diesel was available as low as $1.60 a gallon compared to around $5 when we left recently.
 
Tom, in answer to your question, we spent 64 out of 169 nights in the West free camping. No free nights in Canada, and 12 nights out of 92 free camping in the East.
I'll let you do the maths as to actual percentage.
 
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