2022 Recap in my 36C

[ependydad]

I'll admit, I'm a numbers geek. I've done these run downs for each year from spreadsheets I keep. This is 222 nights of camping from mid-May to the end of this month in our Precept 36C that we bought/took possession of in April.




Nights/Duration:
- Locations: 36 (with some repeat visits)
- Nights camped: 222
- Average per night: 6 night stays
- Longest stay: 21 nights
- Shortest stay: 11 single night stays

Campground Type:
- Thousand Trails: 79 nights, $5.61 average (membership dues/nights camped)
- Private parks other than TT: 58 nights
- Moochdocking: 56 nights
- Public (state, COE, city/county, BLM boondocking): 24
- Parking lots: 3 nights
- Harvest Hosts: 2, $81.19/night average (membership cost, amount spent at the location)
- Storage: 11 nights @ airport parking lot, $168 for truck and camper (not counted in camping nights)

Costs:
- Per night average cost: $25.08 (campground fees + misc costs)
- Total spent: $5,568.61
- Non-TT/free Average: $50.86 (public & private park nightly cost for nights not spent in TT, moochdocking, HH, or boondocking)

Misc costs:
- Thousand Trails dues - $442.98
- Harvest Hosts - $76
- Boondockers Welcome - $22.94
- Dump stations - $24.41
- Cancellation fees - $20.00
- Mistake reservation that wasn’t cancelled - $65.00
Motorhome Driving Miles
- Total: 6,988
- Average: 194
- Top 3 Longest Days: 428, 413, 353

Fuel:
- Fill-ups recorded: 27
- Total gallons: 1,112
- Average gallons/fuel-up: 41.18
- Miles recorded: 6,528
- Average miles/fuel-up: 272
- Average MPG: 6.6
- Highest MPG: 8.1
- Lowest MPG: 5.4
- Average cost/gallon: $4.07
- Total fuel: $4,530.98
- Oil change: $175

Starlink:
- Nights setup/used: 153-ish

[Jopopsy]

If you're going to spend the kind of big bucks on a rig like you did, THIS is the way to use it !!! That's awesome !

[Foretm]

I catch so much grief from the DW on my spreadsheets, so I'm glad to know I have a soul brother out there doing the same thing. Similar story, but we are not full-timers just like to travel as much as we can, and I work while travelling/volunteering.

Nights - 185
Average - 7.11
Longest - 93 days (Bahia Honda volunteer)
Shortest - 8 - 1 night stops
Average cost per night - $48
Fuel stops - 29
Total fuel - 1,364.85 gals
Avg Gallons per stop - 59.3
Avg cost/gal - $3.886
Mileage - 7.57 Avg (6.77 - 9.14)
Miles - 10,374
Generator - 43.1 Hours

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Jopopsy

If you're going to spend the kind of big bucks on a rig like you did, THIS is the way to use it !!! That's awesome !

We're loving it! The rig wasn't cheap and neither have been the upgrades. But it's been great getting out and traveling again.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Foretm

I catch so much grief from the DW on my spreadsheets, so I'm glad to know I have a soul brother out there doing the same thing. Similar story, but we are not full-timers just like to travel as much as we can, and I work while travelling/volunteering.

Nights - 185
Average - 7.11
Longest - 93 days (Bahia Honda volunteer)
Shortest - 8 - 1 night stops
Average cost per night - $48
Fuel stops - 29
Total fuel - 1,364.85 gals
Avg Gallons per stop - 59.3
Avg cost/gal - $3.886
Mileage - 7.57 Avg (6.77 - 9.14)
Miles - 10,374
Generator - 43.1 Hours

I don't know that we're fulltimers ... I mean, we still have a house we can go back to. But by the time it's all said and done, we don't think we'll be back to the house until September-ish. So.... yeah. lol

I'm interested to see that our fuel mileage is pretty consistent. I don't think I ever saw into the 9s like you and we've actually almost entirely stopped running the generator while we drive. But, I have added crazy wind drag with my solar array on top.

[David_ski]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I'll admit, I'm a numbers geek. ...

Nights/Duration:
- Locations: 36 (with some repeat visits)
- Nights camped: 222
- Average per night: 6 night stays
- Longest stay: 21 nights
- Shortest stay: 11 single night stays

Campground Type:
- Thousand Trails: 79 nights, $5.61 average (membership dues/nights camped)
- Private parks other than TT: 58 nights
- Moochdocking: 56 nights
- Public (state, COE, city/county, BLM boondocking): 24
- Parking lots: 3 nights
- Harvest Hosts: 2, $81.19/night average (membership cost, amount spent at the location)
- Storage: 11 nights @ airport parking lot, $168 for truck and camper (not counted in camping nights)

Misc costs:
- Dump stations - $24.41

Motorhome Driving Miles
- Average: 194
- Top 3 Longest Days: 428, 413, 353

I too am a numbers guy. This is good stuff. Thanks for the running summary of your trip, and also your solar setup. I have some questions that pop up from your data.

We don't have the flexibility yet for 222 days away with elder parent responsibilities. We purchased our 2019 5th wheel in September and I have been going through the 5'er doing upgrades in preparation for upcoming trips this winter, spring and summer. I am still working through my Solar, inverter, battery storage needs. It depends on our targeted ratio of boondocking to full RV hookups.

You certainly got your value out of the TT membership. With your extensive solar setup, you can certainly boondock for several days, and I am not surprised your are not needing the generator much when driving.

Q1: I know these are different types of accommodations, but how would your rate TT, HH, vs public parks?
Q2: What is your preference order?
Q3: Did you have any problems getting reservations at any of your intended destinations?
Q4: How far in advance did you work on next stop reservations?

Your average miles was 194, with just 3 days over 350. A lot of folks say plan for a 300 mile max per day with the 3+3+3 rule (3 day minimum stay +300 miles day + 3 arrive by 3pm).
Q5: What is your comfort range for driving?

I am amazed you only have spent $24 and change on dump stations. Right after we purchased our 5'er, I went to a public dump station to do an initial flush that was near my house that cost me $20. I now have a macerator that I can dump at home for free.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by David_ski

Q1: I know these are different types of accommodations, but how would your rate TT, HH, vs public parks?
Q2: What is your preference order?
Q3: Did you have any problems getting reservations at any of your intended destinations?
Q4: How far in advance did you work on next stop reservations?

Your average miles was 194, with just 3 days over 350. A lot of folks say plan for a 300 mile max per day with the 3+3+3 rule (3 day minimum stay +300 miles day + 3 arrive by 3pm).
Q5: What is your comfort range for driving?

I am amazed you only have spent $24 and change on dump stations. Right after we purchased our 5'er, I went to a public dump station to do an initial flush that was near my house that cost me $20. I now have a macerator that I can dump at home for free.

Q1&Q2: honestly, that’s a lot like asking if I like appetizers, steak, or ice cream best. TT gives me a very low cost method of staying. So long as my electric is good, water is good, and sewer (if I have it) takes what I dump down it, I consider that a fine enough stay. I’m very lenient for $0/night. HH is honestly the one we use the least. Our travel plans rarely have us traveling back to back days and if I am, I’m likely trying to “make time” and then the “arrive during business hours” code of conduct is more of an issue since we aren’t morning people. But, our stays have been mostly pleasant when we’ve stayed at them. They aren’t destinations- so a step above a random parking lot but not a nice park. Public parks are probably my favorite- more space but often limited hook ups. And other private parks serve a purpose when they’re where we want to explore.


Q3: mostly no issues getting reservations where we wanted to stay. With TT, I almost always book as far as my reservation allows and then I’ll cancel/change if my plans change. There are no cancellation fees. I did have to piece a reservation together a time or two- make some early days and then keep checking back for days on either side, using the online chat to get the reservation modified. For private parks, we got pretty lucky and always found what we were after. For public parks, I pay for WanderingLabs and used it a time or two to get alerted to reservations opening up.


Q4: I had most reservations for 3-6+ months ahead of time. I tend to make long range plans and play games with the change and cancelation fees. But, this coming year, we are going to be focusing more on boondocking and I’m not making as many reservations as year’s past. We’ll see how it goes!


Bonus Q: I seem to have used 4 dump stations. First one was $5 and the remaining ones were about $6.50. Otherwise, I used full hookup campsites at the next park I was going to. I’m sure that’ll go up this coming year.

[Big1]

I would love going on a long trip like this, maybe one day.

[Foretm]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I don't know that we're fulltimers ... I mean, we still have a house we can go back to. But by the time it's all said and done, we don't think we'll be back to the house until September-ish. So.... yeah. lol

I'm interested to see that our fuel mileage is pretty consistent. I don't think I ever saw into the 9s like you and we've actually almost entirely stopped running the generator while we drive. But, I have added crazy wind drag with my solar array on top.

Not sure why, but thought you were. We too have a home to go to, but try to spend about 6 months away each year if possible. I believe that 9+ was something of a unicorn, only one in the data set. I do recall that day was cold, so no chassis air or generator, going from Billings MT to Yellowstone, so not sure if wind was in our favor or what. Once we got off I-90, we were poking along at 45 or so on the back roads, so maybe that helped? I want to add a few solar panels, nothing crazy just enough to feed my inverter when we're not running the engine or genny. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

2023 has us at Bahia Honda for 4 months, then a couple small trips to Florida SPs in the panhandle (Topsail & St. Andrews), but looking to do a 3 month trip out west again in 2024 like we did this year. Hoping to hit Crater Lake, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Yosimite, Grand Canyon North rim, and whatever else we can fit in.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Big1

I would love going on a long trip like this, maybe one day.

We love it. We fulltimed from 2015-2020 and mourned getting off of the road. But, it was the right choice at the time.

Originally Posted by Foretm

Not sure why, but thought you were. We too have a home to go to, but try to spend about 6 months away each year if possible.

2023 has us at Bahia Honda for 4 months, then a couple small trips to Florida SPs in the panhandle (Topsail & St. Andrews), but looking to do a 3 month trip out west again in 2024 like we did this year. Hoping to hit Crater Lake, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Yosimite, Grand Canyon North rim, and whatever else we can fit in.

We were fulltime for 5 years and I still seem to identify as such. Though, being on a 15 month trip is as close to fulltiming as you get.

We have a week planned at Bahia Honda in October. A buddy and I are going to bike the Florida Keys over 3 days. My wife will retrieve us at each stopping point and will drop us back off to resume it in the mornings. We usually stay down at Fiesta Key or Sunshine Key, the Encore properties simply because of price with our Thousand Trails membership.

We are in the southwest this early part of the year. Our route is looking pretty drunken with calendar pins requiring us to be stupid places (starting in Death Valley, 2 weeks in Vegas, then Dallas, then Kanab UT, then Oklahoma City, then Oregon, then Palm Springs). Each one is about a month apart.

[Boiler01]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I'll admit, I'm a numbers geek. I've done these run downs for each year from spreadsheets I keep. This is 222 nights of camping from mid-May to the end of this month in our Precept 36C that we bought/took possession of in April.




Nights/Duration:
- Locations: 36 (with some repeat visits)
- Nights camped: 222
- Average per night: 6 night stays
- Longest stay: 21 nights
- Shortest stay: 11 single night stays

Campground Type:
- Thousand Trails: 79 nights, $5.61 average (membership dues/nights camped)
- Private parks other than TT: 58 nights
- Moochdocking: 56 nights
- Public (state, COE, city/county, BLM boondocking): 24
- Parking lots: 3 nights
- Harvest Hosts: 2, $81.19/night average (membership cost, amount spent at the location)
- Storage: 11 nights @ airport parking lot, $168 for truck and camper (not counted in camping nights)

Costs:
- Per night average cost: $25.08 (campground fees + misc costs)
- Total spent: $5,568.61
- Non-TT/free Average: $50.86 (public & private park nightly cost for nights not spent in TT, moochdocking, HH, or boondocking)

Misc costs:
- Thousand Trails dues - $442.98
- Harvest Hosts - $76
- Boondockers Welcome - $22.94
- Dump stations - $24.41
- Cancellation fees - $20.00
- Mistake reservation that wasn’t cancelled - $65.00
Motorhome Driving Miles
- Total: 6,988
- Average: 194
- Top 3 Longest Days: 428, 413, 353

Fuel:
- Fill-ups recorded: 27
- Total gallons: 1,112
- Average gallons/fuel-up: 41.18
- Miles recorded: 6,528
- Average miles/fuel-up: 272
- Average MPG: 6.6
- Highest MPG: 8.1
- Lowest MPG: 5.4
- Average cost/gallon: $4.07
- Total fuel: $4,530.98
- Oil change: $175

Starlink:
- Nights setup/used: 153-ish

Awesome report out. Appreciate the numbers and seeing how others travel/use their rigs I would reciprocate, but I don't keep records and just go for our trips (far fewer nights in the rig and miles than you have). Thanks for sharing.

[Big1]

Originally Posted by ependydad

We love it. We fulltimed from 2015-2020 and mourned getting off of the road. But, it was the right choice at the time.



We were fulltime for 5 years and I still seem to identify as such. Though, being on a 15 month trip is as close to fulltiming as you get.

We have a week planned at Bahia Honda in October. A buddy and I are going to bike the Florida Keys over 3 days. My wife will retrieve us at each stopping point and will drop us back off to resume it in the mornings. We usually stay down at Fiesta Key or Sunshine Key, the Encore properties simply because of price with our Thousand Trails membership.

We are in the southwest this early part of the year. Our route is looking pretty drunken with calendar pins requiring us to be stupid places (starting in Death Valley, 2 weeks in Vegas, then Dallas, then Kanab UT, then Oklahoma City, then Oregon, then Palm Springs). Each one is about a month apart.

I envy you but I guess everyone can't have fun, enjoy your life now because tomorrow might not never come.

Our motorhome is at the dealership getting warranty work done they are almost done but a few items they have to get approve from Jayco.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Big1

I envy you but I guess everyone can't have fun, enjoy your life now because tomorrow might not never come.

Our motorhome is at the dealership getting warranty work done they are almost done but a few items they have to get approve from Jayco.

Honestly, that was a huge reason why we went fulltime in 2015. My daughter had cancer at 1 year old back in 2005 and then my Mom died at age 53 in 2011. The whole "tomorrow isn't promised" rings true for us. I'm able to work my 9-5 job from home and while we travel, so it's the best of both worlds for us.

As for warranty work... I'm honestly a bit jealous. I have a small laundry list of things, but arranging for warranty work while on a long trip is a huge pain in the butt!

[Big1]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Honestly, that was a huge reason why we went fulltime in 2015. My daughter had cancer at 1 year old back in 2005 and then my Mom died at age 53 in 2011. The whole "tomorrow isn't promised" rings true for us. I'm able to work my 9-5 job from home and while we travel, so it's the best of both worlds for us.

As for warranty work... I'm honestly a bit jealous. I have a small laundry list of things, but arranging for warranty work while on a long trip is a huge pain in the butt!

So sorry for the lost of your mom, she was young so how your daughter doing now? That is pretty good that you are able to work while you travel, the wife and I are both retired but we both have a big commitment to the church, we both are pastor and are able to go a few times a years.

Our last long trip was when we went back to N.C to see my mother from the PNW area and man that was one long trip we were gone for about 45 days but we made it back home. I don't know if I could do full timing though buy anyway let us know on your next big trip.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Big1

So sorry for the lost of your mom, she was young so how your daughter doing now? That is pretty good that you are able to work while you travel, the wife and I are both retired but we both have a big commitment to the church, we both are pastor and are able to go a few times a years.

Our last long trip was when we went back to N.C to see my mother from the PNW area and man that was one long trip we were gone for about 45 days but we made it back home. I don't know if I could do full timing though buy anyway let us know on your next big trip.

Thanks for the kind words. My daughter is a happy go lucky 19 year old now. She just moved out back in October, which was actually part of the impetus of the trip- one last summer hurrah with her and moving her out to California. We're one of the blessed ones- no side effects and no long term effects.

The trip continues on. We left southern California for Death Valley. Spent a week out there dry camping.



And now we're in Las Vegas for 2 weeks. No real fun pictures from here yet and the campground is super tight. I meant to stay just 2 days, top up batteries, waters, flush tanks, and then head back out boondocking but it's been crappy weather since we got here and my heart's just not into moving. We'll probably sit for the 2 weeks here (price is right- $0/night with Thousand Trails).

And then we head to Quartzsite for a week to catch up with friends and maybe attend a hangout with a group.

[Foretm]

Originally Posted by ependydad

The whole "tomorrow isn't promised" rings true for us. I'm able to work my 9-5 job from home and while we travel, so it's the best of both worlds for us..

This is the same situation we're in. Both my parents and my wife's parents had grand plans to travel when they "retired". My dad passed just before retirement in 2019, so my mom has no desire to travel without him. My in-laws retired early and don't have the money to do anything, so they sit home all day looking at the 4 walls.

My wife and I decided to travel now while we have the health and can afford it. I've been working remote for 18 years now, and my wife sold her business in 2020, so we go when we want and come home when we please. We're very blessed in that regard.

Glad to hear your daughter made a full recovery and is growing up and moving out. Some exciting times now and in the future. My son is 28, and its very cool how the relationship changes when they become an adult.

[Big1]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Thanks for the kind words. My daughter is a happy go lucky 19 year old now. She just moved out back in October, which was actually part of the impetus of the trip- one last summer hurrah with her and moving her out to California. We're one of the blessed ones- no side effects and no long term effects.

The trip continues on. We left southern California for Death Valley. Spent a week out there dry camping.



And now we're in Las Vegas for 2 weeks. No real fun pictures from here yet and the campground is super tight. I meant to stay just 2 days, top up batteries, waters, flush tanks, and then head back out boondocking but it's been crappy weather since we got here and my heart's just not into moving. We'll probably sit for the 2 weeks here (price is right- $0/night with Thousand Trails).

And then we head to Quartzsite for a week to catch up with friends and maybe attend a hangout with a group.

Sir, I don't know you but other than here on the forum but when I read your reply post I was so, so glad to hear that she is doing well.

My heart goes out to you and your family, I have a daughter, she is my baby girl but now my baby girl is 30 years old but she still daddy baby girl, she is my heart but right now she is, let's say out there in drug we haven't seen here in about a year and a half now but I long to see her back, one day soon those.

Stay safe sir, there a lot of bad people out there who would love to prey on other people, I had a situation the other week but I want get into that now but please be safe, but have fun. Thank you for the pics, it is awesome just take it easy.