Full-Time RV Living: Breaking Down 1 Year of Buslife Expenses - S05E42
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- Опубліковано 28 чер 2024
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Ever wondered what it really costs to live full-time in an RV? Join us as we dive deep into our 1-year journey of buslife and reveal the true expenses of RV living. From daily necessities to unexpected costs, we've tracked every dollar to give you a transparent view of a full-time RV budget. Whether you're planning your own RV adventure or just curious about the buslife lifestyle, this video is packed with insights and tips for efficient budgeting on the road. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments!
We have been traveling full-time in our 40 ft MCI Bus for one year now. We decided to break down all our expenses from paying for campgrounds, diesel, food, medical and more to find out if traveling full-time is really saving us money compared to our previous life in a sticks and bricks house. What do you think our biggest expense is?
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Touchstone TV Lift and Fireplace - www.touchstonehomeproducts.com/
In our quest for seeking out a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle, we made a plan that includes zero waste living, tiny home living and full-time travel. We considered buying an RV, looked at trailers and airstreams but settled on doing a bus conversion for our off-the-grid, tiny house on wheels. We bought a 1996 MCI 102 D3 coach bus and with the Bus Demolition and Interior Shell complete, we turned it into our Tiny Home on Wheels and are now traveling!
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00:00 Teaser
00:49 Why we are sharing our expenses
02:17 Camping Costs
03:39 Escapees Membership
04:05 Harvest Hosts Membership
05:35 Diesel Costs
06:18 How Much We Saved on "Rent"
07:16 Bus Maintenance
08:27 Auto Registration and Insurance
09:25 Utilities - Phone, Internet, UA-cam expenses
12:52 New Travel Expenses - Postage, Laundry, Navigation Apps
13:22 Miscellaneous Expenses
13:56 Medical Expenses
14:07 Pet Expenses
14:52 Food and Entertainment
16:55 How Much we Saved on Food and Activities
17:38 Grand Total
18:54 Biggest Takeaways/Changes We'll Make in Year 2
20:56 Bloopers
![2023 Cost of RV Living [Our January - March RV Life Expenses]](/img/n.gif)
food is on the average 50% higher since 2020
Love this! All of my expenses run pretty similarly. My first 2 trips were a lot less expensive because of free camping. After my first year I also learned how to slow down and really take the experience in. When it's all new and fresh, you are still in the honeymoon phase. My splurges to stay at campgrounds really added up, but they were well worth it! Met some pretty neat people as a result including y'all! Safe travels ahead! Can't wait to see where y'all go next!
The honeymoon phase is necessary! 😆 good to hear you have similar numbers!
Two people and a few cats seeing the country slowly with a lil extra focus on trimming the budget is brilliant. I'm so happy you have this time together.
Thank you! Great information. Appreciate you sharing these details with us. I guessed 40k total.
I love how you show the %! Thank you. And that this is for 2 people and two cats!
VERY insightful. One of your best videos so far! And yes, 1996, vintage? Now I feel old...
Glad you enjoyed it!
We ran into you guys in Benson Arizona. We have been following your trip. We have loved to see your travels and would love to see this next new adventure. We have been on the road for a year as well and we plan on doing more corp of engineers and b.l.m. as well. We pray you have safe travels and who knows we might run into you again someday
Yeah! Nice, see you down the road :)
Thank you for being transparent and sharing. Super helpful for those of us following behind.
You are so welcome!
Hi Mela, Don, Pizzicato and Mr SweetFace, beautiful scenery your friends have a nice place ,thanks for the breakdown of your expenses the first year,praying everything goes smoothly in the years to come, stay safe
Wow! Good breakdown.
Wonderful information. Thank you
You're awesome The both of you I don't know how you do it in travel like that I would love to do that but I'm in with you for the Longhaul road trips been with you ever since covet and I'm still chugging along love you guys take care God bless you please be safe out there see you in your next video
Thanks for your long time support Sheila!! I remember you right from the beginning 😘🤗
What a great summary episode 😊 thanks guys!
Our pleasure!
Thank you for your breakdown on the expenses for your first year of travel I have been watching your Chanel for quite awhile and love seeing all that you have done!
You are so welcome!
At some point you'll probably want to set aside a few $ for all new rubber (all tires, fan belt(s), radiator hoses (and coolant flush / thermostat by extension), intercooler boots) and engine & transmission filter kits .. There may be some OTR bus specific stuff too, but probably wouldn't hurt to bounce that off of a OTR bus shop?
Aside from that, wouldn't hurt to keep a few $ on standby for breaks & A/C
Hi Utoobrandonomess, we talked about setting some $ aside for all new tires and a few minor bus maintenance. Oil and filters are only 5k miles and breaks are new as of 8k miles :)
@@Rehabit8 Ahh perfect... The filter thing, probably still wouldn't hurt if you find yourself in some place thats a bit too podunk to stock the parts for your specific engine/trans (probably $60 & ~1 cuft of undercabin storage) -You can still get the fluids changed even though it'll take em X many weeks to get the filters you woulda needed;
The engine compartment rubber though, something to think about with a rig that's 17 years & however many 100's of thousand miles of service... =)
I really expected fuel to be the biggest cost. Just goes to show how much food and dining out has gone up. I really appreciate you sharing AND the comparison to your previous grounded life.
One important item I want to reiterate, is to keep a nest-egg for bus maintenance and possible breakdowns as those costs can be very high when you’re traveling in an old bus. Great info guys. Would love to join the Tribe once my bus build is done and I am on the road and saving too.
Great point! A chunk set aside for maintenance is important! Good luck on your build and would love to have you on the Rehabi-Tribe - (there is a free tier to sign up right now!)
Awesome video! I’ve really wanted to do this for our channel but jut haven’t committed to tracking expenses😅. This year wee blasted our budget with maintenance costs… fortunately you guys got off easy😆. Our overhead before bus life was close to $8k a month. This year, we have only paid about $1000 dollars on rv parking and with solar helping us out with electric, only a couple hundred for fuel for the genny when needed. Thanks for sharing!
You should! It would be cool to compare notes.
Very good recap of yearly expenses 🙂 Have you calculated the amortization of the bus purchase and conversion/improvements, spread over a life span you expect to use it (deducting the resale value at the end of the amortization period)? The comparison of that aggregate cost (today's video content plus the amortization) with the Los Angeles costs before bus life would be interesting. I suspect it will still be more economical. And, I think the added value of bus life to you both is the escape from a chaotic lifestyle, and spending more time together. You both are a great inspiration to me. Thanks
Awesome
Ya food is the most, i try to get most of my meals below 5 but eating well is important and some meals can be over 30.
pertty amazing costs considering the qualotyy and variation of lufe you now lead. great blog peeps love watching
So true! thank you
Really well done guys!! I think you are knocking it out of the park expense wise!! And yep, we’re beyond vintage. Dare I at antique!😂😉
🤣
The cost is always something to keep in mind. The important question is with the new lifestyle are you both happier.
We have fallowed you from the first day you started taking the bus apart. It’s been enjoyable and worrisome at the same time. We weren’t sure if you two would ever get on the road. Do what keeps you happy anyway you can, every thing else is secondary. Advise from an older couple that traveled full time for 2 1/2 years with our cat Boo. We had to put our travels on hold for a while. Long story. But we do our best to appreciate where ever we are.
Thales care you two hug the fur babies for us
So much happier! We should have said "this lifestyle is priceless, but here are the numbers" 🤣
@@Rehabit8may I respectfully ask what you do for income thankyou.
I wasn't surprised at the food expenses. we all have to eat every day, but really your whole year was less expensive than you probably thought it would be, I know that you can save a lot by using free sites but it depends on the facilities, as I remember you leaving one site early as you were not happy there, The bus fuel was a lot less than I thought it would be, so it is like swings and roundabouts. meaning if you stay longer in the camping grounds it is less for bus fuel. but if the camping ground isn't very good then you will be driving more often. Either way what you save on one thing could make something else more expensive. Have a wonderful week
At least if the campground is free then you don't have to worry about loosing camping fees! Thanks Barry, hope your week is going well too
Gosto dos vídeos de vocês.
Did you add up building costs vs buying a new or not very used RV and travelling sooner than 2.5 yrs after the first item (bus) buy ? I know that there is no way to asses all the knowledge that both of you acquired during the build period, plus the fact that the bus is EXACTLY what YOU 2 wanted. No forgetting all the new human contacts you have developped and maintained to this day. Just out of curiosity.. THK"s 39K to live in a bus full time is a good deal.
Thank you for the info. I really thought diesel would have been much higher. I worried about you when you were building cuz diesel price shot up like crazy. Good to know you’re handling it well.
I was just about to say you need to do more boondocking and then you talked about that near the end. You have the solar to do that. Btw, what was your costs for installing and maintaining that? didn't see that included. Also, as a healthy person, I've learned that eating organic foods is really over-rated, besides being very expensive. You just need to look for healthy, non-organic foods. It can be done. I really do appreciate your honesty in disclosing the costs involved in doing this type of living. So many UA-camrs don't say what they spend or falsify the numbers. Keep up the good work and enjoying life and nature as God intended us to.
This was an awesome. Thank you for breaking this down. I thought it would be more than that.
Thought about you guys, wondering if you had gone to Burning Man. I know you post a week later so lets hope you are no where near Northern Nevada. 🙏🏻
Thankfully we are not there! It sure looks like a mess! Feel bad for the campers that are there
My son was born in 1986 so yes I feel old 😂😂😂
🤣
Its very expensive to stay in hotels,prices going up food,clothes,traveling (cruises, flights,,Thank you for sharing expensive, cheapest, living on a bus with two cats,
In England, my bills only came to £9600 per year, and my rent is only £75 pound a week. All repairs are done free by the Council😮
howdy?! professional job, =))
Hello 👋 ❤❤❤❤🐾🐾
I would have thought diesel and food x
Good video, I’m curious if you have a feel for what kind of fuel mileage you’re getting in the MCI?
Thanks
Thanks! Between about 7 to 8.5 mpg when towing the Jeep depending on if we are climbing mountains or going fast on a flat highway
@@Rehabit8 That’s pretty good I feel, I have an older (1994) 35ft class a with a ford 460 and I think I’m getting like 4-6 while towing a 4 cylinder Jeep Wrangler
old ? the name Methusala comes to mind---haha
🤣
Camping expenses
I bet it's the diesel for shour
You had medical, but what about health insurance?
I can't imagine paying 3k mortgage, much less 3k rent.
Gas and insurance
Did you consider a washer and dryer in the bus build?
We did, but so many people we spoke to said they hardly ever use it because it takes so much water and power which is not great when you want to primarily boondock. Plus that little washer means you are constantly doing laundry as you do in a house. We only do laundry every 2 weeks. We have enough clothing to last that long. Then go and do 5 loads at a laundromat in 1.5 hrs. 5 single loads would take 7.5 hrs. To us it’s totally worth saving that time, water and power.
@@Rehabit8 I figured you probably had thought about it. I thought maybe just having it as an option or convenience would be worth the space it takes up. Water or power use isn’t a concern when you’re on full hookups somewhere.
Compared to the UK... your internet and phone costs are absolutely insane. Is that normal for US pricing?
Phone pricing is normal from what I understand, but since our internet is all mobile it is special and costs more then if we had a house and a fiber line - plus as we mentioned we had all 4 major mobile internet services this year to make sure we always had service 😬
@Rehabit8 In the UK, a single mobile service with unlimited data is about £25 per month.
👍✌️♥️🇬🇪
Rent
Hang on… I was 25 in 1996! That’s not vintage!
Gas
Ha 1996 wtf mellla
🤣
Definitely save on BLM while y'all can, with what's going on w/our gov.
Fuel