Cost of caravanning

lyn-n-ken · Senior Member

RE: Cost of caravanning

Happywanderer · The Master

I have never free camped by know people who have (I haven't started travelling yet). Not all free camps are over night, some can be 2 or 3 nights, some can be for a week. If you don't have a budget that allows for CPs why not free camp, thousands do it every day without any harm coming to them.
You can move from one to the other doing freecamping the majority of the time and only need to go into CPs for a freshen up when needed.
How can it not be practical.

jimricho · Guru

If you save 10 cents a litre by carrying a jerry can, that's only $2.... you can't even buy a beer or an ice-cream or a cup of coffee for that! Anyone whose finances are that tight should consider other options for keeping within their overall budget.

It's my view that jerry cans are only appropriate when there's a range issue, eg long runs between filling opportunities and/or strong headwind conditions.

Anyone contemplating using jerry cans should familiarise themselves with the precautions needed especially in relation to spillage & vapours, fuel cleanliness, and static electricity issues. (Details of these go beyond the scope of this thread.)

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Over the years we have met/heard of people who proudly say how much their rig cost, (usually a very high figure) and that they spent that much to enable them to freecamp. I often wondered about the economics, but then its a lifestyle question too.
We never camp for more than a few days in a row, but even those few days means we have to carry solar panels/battery (Could have chosen a genny, same weight but means carrying fuel too) and portaloo, a shower tent, extra water etc... if you have a shower in the van it might mean also having grey-water tanks.... more weight.
Really its about lifestyle, we love our bush-camps, but enjoy the conveniences of a caravan park too.

Ron and Shirley · Senior Member

Our choice is to bush camp though we do go to Caravan Parks from time to time, usually the no thrills independent country ones nowadays. Bush camping is not for everybody and we would not recommend it just as a means of saving money.

The economics of bush camping is relatively straightforward and the cost of your solar setup can be recovered over time. It just all depends on how long you spend in the bush. There are plenty of wonderful bush places throughout the land where you can stay for lengthy periods before moving on to the next spot.

Just as an example if you take the average cost of a Caravan Park to be say $25 per night then over a 6 month period, staying in a Caravan Park say only once per week to do the washing and restock the pantry, then that is near $4000 saved. If you factor in cheaper park fees sure it will take longer to recover the solar costs. I have seen some on other Forums extend this "logic" further such that they cover the cost of their expensive van (now home) over the 10-15 year period that they plan on being on the road full time.

$4000 will buy a pretty good basic solar set up. Off course if you have plenty of electricals eg sat TV, computers, washing machine, etc etc that you need to run virtually every day then a larger more costly solar system would be required.

A genny is required to boost power when the sun does not shine, so there is another up to $2000 to factor into the overall. Cold weather may require the fitting of a diesel heater, another around $2000.

We spent the above $8000 extra above the cost of the van so we can enjoy the sight, sounds, smells, and freedom of the bush escaping from the trappings of city life eg TV, computers etc etc. Sure $8000 buys a lot of Caravan Park time, about a years worth at $25 per night.

We have nearly recovered this outlay over the four years we have had our van, and we are not on the road for lengthy periods, we just use it a lot in short burst, at this stage.

For us, excluding the cost of our house, we live just as we do at home so our main extra expense on the road is fuel. In November we had a trip (roughly 800km round trip) with 4 days near Elmore Vic (good bakery) then 4 days at Nyah (near Swan Hill Vic). Both bush camps were by a river and the overall cost was a tank full of fuel plus what we spent at the bakery every day and a couple of butches. One of the cheapest trips we have ever had, as usually we will purchase all our supplies in nearby towns supporting those communities that provide the "free camps".

JayDee · Guru

Hi to all on the thread.
The cost of caravaning can be rather expensive, that is why we mix Free Camp with C.Parks.We are pretty much self sufficient as we have:-
Full ensuite van.
2000 Watt Gennie, 120 W solar ( Portable), TV Sat Dish with Foxtel box, Waeco style fridge freezer and believe it or not also a twin tub wash machine. Our gennie can power us up for all the above, including the van A/Con system, whilst bush camp. But water is our biggest problem, as we only have a 55 litre plus a couple of those supermarket 20 Litre containers. So we head for a day or two to C.Park for washing.
Ok there was initial capitol outlay, but we will get payback in no time, as next month we are off on our 3-4 month trip to Tasmania.
Our recent trip to Longreach worked out at $40 a day for fuel and C.Park mixed with free camp. But we were not totally set up for bush camping, as we are now. Of course you have the food and entertainment and beverage costs on top of that, but that is a fixed cost when at home.
We do enjoy the comfort of our home A/Con albeit so expensive during summer, hence our trip to Tasmania durng the Queensland harsh summer. We are budgeting that this trip should see us save something like well over $500 for the Quarter on electricity. Plus the profit from selling generated power from the roof solar we installed 3 months ago, back into the grid system .

But above all...set up a budget, so at least you have some idea of the future costs. That $500 saving is in our budget. It helps subsidize the return trip for the van on the Tasmania Princess.
Jay&Dee

jimricho · Guru

Free camp/caravan park camp is very much a lifestyle thing as is how much one spends on a rig. I rarely free camp as I'm not set up for it, but I do occasionally bush camp. (The nights not spent in caravan parks in my earlier post on this topic were mostly in private accommodation)

As a solo traveller I enjoy the company in Caravan Parks, especially on extended stays.

I must say however every time I see a post from Ron and Shirley I do admire the picture of that idyllic campsite.

lyn-n-ken · Senior Member

well guys,
seems so many diferent opinions ,
but it seems to me if you have to spend all that money on genny's/solar panals and you need them for your tv and computers and foxtel etc then its not free camping,
if i were to free camp it would be the gas stove and a good book.
call me old fashion, but getting away and relaxing is not doing what we did when we still had a house. that takes it back to the sort of lifestyle you want i supose, think of the extra cost on petrol all that stuff is costing you. and the more
bits and pieces you have the more that can go wrong.
we dont go off road or bush we still see plenty of oz, (its not practicle for us to do so).
and if you can afford all that stuff why not stay in motels and resorts (tongue in cheek).
anyhow to each his own.
lyn

Happywanderer · The Master

As you say, lyn, If you can afford all that stuff why not stay in motels etc.
But is it really necessary to have all that stuff. I'm in the process of now seriously looking for a campervan and I wonder just how much I really need, to be able to free camp most of the time and frequesnt CPs when its time to freshen up, so to speak.
I don't think I need a genny but am hoping the van I find has some solar panels already fitted. It will have a portaloo but no shower etc etc.
I really just want the basics for comfortable travel.