RV Spending - September 2019

Well based off of the last two months, the entirety of the internet has lied to me about the cost of RV living. August was rough, but September was genuinely brutal. Coming down the Rocky Mountains, our brakes went out and somehow the entirety of Denver refuses to repair RV brakes. After 14 phone calls, we finally found a guy that was willing to fix it. Unfortunately with the time calling shops, negotiations to get the RV towed, and the actual diagnosis and repair, it was almost 2.5 weeks of waiting before we were able to get back on the road. When we reached our next destination, we found out that the brakes on our new motorcycle had gone out. This meant not only were we really without a way to explore anything, we had to trek the bike back to a shop that could fix it same day.

Food

Because we didn’t have the ability to cook when we were waiting for the RV to be fixed, we went out a lot more for food than we had budgeted. We tried to keep the costs low and ate more fast food than I’d like to admit versus actual meals. The latter half of the month was filled with outdoor grilling and we finally tried our Instapot (not super successfully).

Groceries: $462

Eating Out: $499

Gas

We did very little traveling in September, though not for lack of trying. Not having the RV meant we werent going to any new towns, and then not having the bike meant we were not exploring. I dont expect our gas bill to be this low until the winter when we settle down in places for a month at a time.

Gas: $135

Entertainment

We really didnt do much this month. When we got stuck in Denver our options for going out to do things was limited. We went to see It 2 (3.5 stars from Ron) at an Alamo Drafthouse, and drove to one of our favorite towns, Manitou Springs, and played at the penny arcade there. Other than that, we’ve just been exploring parks with our park pass and playing video games together.

Entertainment: $60

RV Repairs

This one actually was less than anticipated. New brake line sent us just over a grand. However, it revealed a whole new set of problems that we will talk about when we get it fixed in October. :)

RV Repairs: $1,242

RV Parks:

This one should really be titled Extended Stay Hotel, because thats where so much of this came from. We couldnt stay in a normal hotel because most dont allow pets, and the Extended Stay we went to looked great on paper - until we arrived and then they told us about the additional pet charge. The RV Repair Tech kept telling us that the rv would be done the next day, and then the next day, and then the next day, so it added up really quickly. We also learned that there arent a lot of boondocking areas with good cell reception the further south you go, so we paid up for some longer stays though February 2020. See you all in Texas for the holidays! This month we stayed at an RV park 20 days, with an average of $35/site.

RV Parks (aka Hotel): $2,316

Propane

We weren’t in the RV much, so we didnt use much propane. We also learned that A) it gets cold here at night and B) our electric heat works. So we are using electric heat where we have hookups.

Propane: $22

Grand total for September: $4,736