We are in Tucson AZ and will be here for 4 days visiting friends who used to live in Jojoba Hills and doing some touring in places we have been before.

So far this year we have driven just over 10,800 miles in the coach and I have bought 1308.05 gallons of diesel fuel for $4,124.61. The average price per gallon was $3.15. I have not bothered to note the actual price per gallon for each purchase,  but the information is readily available since I have purchased all of my diesel through a trucker discount program (TSD) which provides a record of pump price, discount, fees and net price paid.  The average MPG is 8.28.

As I was looking at my next two fuel stops I see $3.90 in Arizona and $4.70 if I should need to purchase fuel in California. These are trucker’s discount prices at major truck stops. Question I am asking myself. Do I plan on filling the tank before parking for 5 months in California or do I go in half empty in hopes that diesel prices will not continue to escalate? It is reputed to be better for the fuel to store the tank full. The tank holds 100 gallons of fuel. 

Although campground prices have escalated as well, the cause is different and the impact is less. HoweverweI have spent over $5,000 on campsites  About $26 per night including no cost nights spent moochdocking  boondocking or staying at Harvest Hosts sites – I have not counted the cost of goods purchased at those sites as camping costs. I would have bought wine anyhow. There were several sites that cost over $100 per night! Location, Location etc.

If you add modifications purchased and maintenance performed the cost of this life style really does mount up. This is not a complaint, the cost of maintaining a fixed home is also rising and even though the value is rising, a replacement home is also rising. Given the shortage of parts and workers, the value of our “depreciating asset” has risen also, should I choose to consider that as an offset. If you care to know, I paid about $250K for the coach in May of 2012 and the Bluebook today is about $140K.

These numbers are among the most common questions I get when I meet RV wannabees, especially those who think it is a less costly life style than renting or owning a house.  Also the curious are interested in the costs. Clearly our choices including the kind of RV and where we stay and how much we move impact those costs. 

I have been tracking these numbers since our first trip in the summer of 2001 in Goliath. They are all on separate sheets in a single spreadsheet workbook. I am not generally OCD and I even stopped photographing every site we camped on many years ago. Somehow tracking these numbers satisfies my need to track something. 

I hope you haven’t been bored if you even read this far.