Life on road not gonna be cheap

[JuliaAnne2018]

I'm not sure for whom life on the road is cheaper. I don't think it's going to be for me. I mean, I was inspired by the video I saw this past weekend about a lady who has a dog that lives in a car and only makes $800/month. Dunno how she lives so cheap if she has a dog.

Having a dog is going to be expensive. I don't want to get rid of her though. I discovered it's going to cost me just as much to live on the road as it would to stay in my apartment.

The only reason I am doing this is for the experience of it. I probably will have to sleep in a tent instead of my car.

Julie

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[Almost There]

What makes you think that living on the road is going to be expensive just because you  have a dog?

Is it that you're planning on having to stay in campgrounds so you  have electric? If so, campgrounds can be as inexpensive or as expensive as you choose - want to stay right on the ocean in a privately owned RV resort - $$$$$$. Stay in a state park a little ways from the same beach for less than half the price! Pay the monthly fee and stay a while - a whole lot cheaper than paying by the night! The choice is entirely yours to make!

Plan your route properly and you won't even need the campground with electricity! Why - because when you're boondocking, you're mostly living outside and you're moving with the weather. It's entirely possible to stay within a 250 miles radius in AZ (very little gas used) for 12 months of the year simply by going up and down in altitude. Sea level in the winter, 3 to 4,000 feet in the spring and fall and up to 8,000 in the heat of the summer.

If you want to do a lot of travelling, then the gas bill is what one makes of it. If you're going from one side of the continent to the other in 10 days, the gas budget for that month is going to be high...take 4 months to cross the country because you take the back roads, take your time and explore as you go and that same gas bill is spread over 4 months.

 

[RVTravel]

If your apt cost is close to 500 per month, you might be right?

 

[JuliaAnne2018]

I don't know...if it's not too hot at night (like only 60 degrees) my dog and me would be fine in the car at night.

I was overwhelmed thinking I might have to pay for doggie day care, which right now I don't have to cause she's just here with me while I work at home, I have no idea what nights are going to be too hot though.

I am in WI by the way, not AZ.

It's rarely above 95 here but still too hot for a dog in a car. And even if at midnight, it's only 70 here, after research I did on car temps being hotter than outdoors, that's still pushing it even with the windows open.

I wouldn't have money to pay for the gas to drive an RV.

I know a dog can tolerate up to 90 degrees is what I found out.

I might sleep in a tent on nights when it's hotter than maybe 65 degrees at night.

No idea what I'm doing for winter yet though.

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[Almost There]

I don't spend anywhere near $500.00 a month on accommodation costs including gas which I consider to be part and parcel of the costs of replacing my apartment.

I include campground fees, laundry, shower costs, gas for generator and auto gas in what I consider to be the costs of replacing my apartment.

Even now while I spend my 6 months in Canada I'm only paying $300. a month for an RV site with water, electric, showers and laundry. I'm only paying that because I'm working this summer at a place that doesn't have employee housing set up! It's an hour to decent shopping so every two weeks my gas bill is about $50.00 to make the round trip (Cdn gas prices are horrible!!).

In the winter my total accommodation costs are half that unless I'm spending extra money on gas to go travelling. I've lived the entire 6 months of winter in the US and not paid for a campsite once!

Ahh, I just read your last post JuliaAnne, one of the problems you're facing is trying to combine 'Life on the Road' with 'Life stationary in one city'...that's a conundrum because staying in one city is not anywhere near like 'life on the road'. If you're working from home, can you take your work with you and do it from anywhere, submitting paperwork by electronic means. If so then you may not be as tied to the one location as you think you have to be.

 

[JuliaAnne2018]

RvmVTravel, I currently pay 600/mo plus utilities. So ranges from maybe 650-800 for rent+utilities. I'll probably have to pay about the same on the road, but I only would actually "travel" when I can afford it.

Saving money, when it comes down to it, is not my real reason for doing it.

I make a fairly steady income, but being tied down to this place prevents me from having money to travel.

I haven't taken a decent trip in years.


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[JuliaAnne2018]

If I was by myself w no dog, I'd just stay at a rest stop or truck stop. Done it before. Or one time I took a nap where I paid for parking til 2am. It would be sooo... Cheap...LOL But I love my dog...LOL

I have a car that's why.

 

[highdesertranger]

as far as your dog goes at night the car will be at ambient temp. so if it's 60° outside it will be 60° inside the car. it's the sun beating through the glass that heats a car up so much. highdesertranger

 

[WanderingBiker]

It sounds to me like you need to do a lot more research.... check out apps and programs like

https://www.currentresults.com/index.php

on here you can research temperatures at different locations at different times of the year and plan your travel to
follow the temps

jT

 

[Firtree]

If you just want the experience I’d try to save money and take some trips during sept, oct, maybe Nov in the Wisconsin area. Fall is beautiful. You and your dog may love it, hate it or be happy with just little trips during the best weather.

It is very hard to work and leave a dog in a vehicle many months of the year. Summer where you are is too hot and humid, shade hard to find unless you can move the vehicle. Winter is tough too though maybe easier to make the dog a warm blanketed tent inside vehicle with a lunchtime walk.

 

[JuliaAnne2018]

I can't save much money and pay for house expenses. My dog and me will be fine. I was juat having an anxiety attack. I contemplated doing my work in my car sometime after sundown or in a tent with the portable coolers I bought. For now, my biggest expense will probably be ice for the cooler. I might end up moving further south as it gets colder, but I know I could probably stand it here til maybe late October/mid November. It doesn't usually get too cold here until after Thanksgiving.

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[RVTravel]

as far as your dog goes at night the car will be at ambient temp. so if it's 60° outside it will be 60° inside the car. it's the sun beating through the glass that heats a car up so much. highdesertranger

My experience is different. Even a tent inside is about 10 degrees warmer than outside, when hot blooded creatures are inside. A person and their dog inside a car will be 10+ degrees warmer than the outside temps. Also, it takes hours for a car to lose it's accumulated heat after the sun goes down.

 

[bullfrog]

I sit all day sometimes in a car on a boat launch ramp. I have found having a shade structure a few inches to a foot above the roof and keeping the windows shaded and down makes a tremendous difference. At least if feels that way to me. There is almost a little breeze coming off the water which helps also. Maybe one of those car umbrellas might really work with a 12 volt fan.

 

[velojym]

My experience is different. Even a tent inside is about 10 degrees warmer than outside, when hot blooded creatures are inside. A person and their dog inside a car will be 10+ degrees warmer than the outside temps. Also, it takes hours for a car to lose it's accumulated heat after the sun goes down.

I was thinking the same thing, but a small battery powered fan in one window (screened against bugs, of course) can help with that.

 

[Dingfelder]

I know a dog can tolerate up to 90 degrees is what I found out.

A 90 degree car can get up to 150 degrees in 10 minutes, from what I read.  So there's 90 degrees, and then there's ... 90 degrees.

 

[JuliaAnne2018]

A 90 degree car can get up to 150 degrees in 10 minutes, from what I read.  So there's 90 degrees, and then there's ... 90 degrees.

I realize that. I meant the outside temp.

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[Goshawk]

What all nomads fail to mention is normal insurance costs. They will be at least $500 a month on the low end and $800 a month for some. Medical-Dental-Automobile-Life-Disability. Many just don’t pay it and live high risk and cheap. That’s fine. But do not compare your cheap living costs to other without this listed as an expense.


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[John61CT]

Unless you qualify for free or lower rates in your "home" state, and stay near enough, get back regularly when in need.

Personally I have had no need so far to take drugs nor visit a doctor in 27 years.

Knock on wood.

 

[Fivealive]

Idk how anyone would live on 800/month either, I'm out here living in a different world it seems. Been on the road for over 5 years now and my monthly average has been about 3x that amount!

 

[John61CT]

Most living on that don't have much choice.

The point is if that's all you can get, how do you live the best life you can?