How Much Does it Really Cost to Stay in an RV for Winter in Florida?

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  • Опубліковано 1 січ 2025

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  • @ChasingOurSunshine
    @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +5

    We hope us sharing our budget helps you in your planning if you are heading to Florida! Good luck with the giveaway! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @BrokenDreamsReborn
    @BrokenDreamsReborn Рік тому +2

    We are glad to be a part of the Sunshine Squad! ~ Shion and Matthew

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      We are glad you are our friends! Save Travels & see you at the pot luck! 😂 Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @SuperSushidog
    @SuperSushidog Рік тому +2

    Great Job guys. We've never wintered over in Florida as we know the RV parks can be very expensive. We've been FTing for 4 years now. Three of those we wintered over in a RV park near Brownsville TX. It's only $170/mo + electricity (which usually runs us in the $65-$85 a month range depending on how hot it gets). Water is free and we avail ourselves of free, private hot showers too. We fill our propane tank 2-3 times during the 6 month season for $50-$60 a pop, as our fridge only runs on propane. We'll love to boondock so will be returning to the Quartzsite, AZ/Imperial Dam, CA area this year. This is the bargain of the century at only $180 for the entire 7-month season (86 cents/day). For that you not only get a place to stay but unlimited water, dump and trash disposal. There's no electricity, so you must be able to provide your own.
    The first time we were there we only had 2 golf cart batteries for energy storage. And though we got by fine, we had to run the generator in our motorhome more than we liked. Our 620 watts of solar was sufficient, but our battery storage was marginal at best. So last winter we pulled our 2 aging GC-2s out and replaced them with 560ah of LiFePo-4 prismatic cells (8 -280ah cells). The reason we chose these cells was that they provided the highest capacity we could fit under the steps in our MH, where our old golf cart batteries used to live. We've been boondocking with them for the last 4 months. They cost us just under $1,500 along with a 350a BMS and a 5a active balancer. These cells have a 6,000-cycle projected life at 100% DOD. This means that if we cycled them 100% every single day, 365 days a year, they would last over 16 years! So, they're obviously going to wear out from age before they wear out from cycling as we only use 15-20% of their capacity daily giving us enough reserve capacity for several days of bad weather before we have to run our generator for charging. They even saved us 35 lbs compared to our old FLA batteries and have over 5 times their capacity. We replaced our converter/charger with an 80a lithium compatible Progressive Dynamics model and added a battery-to-battery charger to allow our alternator to charge them while driving down the road without frying the alternator. My entire solar/battery system with a 1,000w inverter, a liftable array mounted on the side of our MH, battery monitor and all wiring, breakers, etc. cost about $3,600. But we saved more than this in the last 4 months alone in RV park fees. It should last us a very long time indeed.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      WOW! You guys are doing amazing! We did have a full hook up site in Port Mansfield TX that was $275 plus electric we stayed at in January 2022! We liked the prices of campgrounds in Texas much better!! Florida is expensive!!
      We are heading to Quartzsite ourselves this winter & going to take a stab at boondocking there! We have two 270Ah 12V Battle Born Game Changer Lithium Batteries and our on board generator. We are not sure how much boondocking we will be doing so not sure if adding solar will be worth doing, but we are open to the possibility of having it added on. We hope we run into you guys out there so we can see your set up in person!
      Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @coachsean9982
    @coachsean9982 Рік тому +2

    We put a deposit down on a 5th wheel saturday. House goes on the market this week. We are getting close!
    Sunshine squad!

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      That is awesome! So excited for you guys! Good Luck & thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @acacia5809
    @acacia5809 Рік тому +2

    Nice work on the video. Happy to be part of the Sumshine Squad.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      We are glad to have you in our Sunshine Squad! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @JarheadAndGingersJourney
    @JarheadAndGingersJourney Рік тому +2

    We are doing a little better with our budget since we have been dining out way less. Proud member of the Sunshine Squad! ❤

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      You guys are looking so good! Keep it up!! Thanks & good luck- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @DianeGaulin
      @DianeGaulin 6 місяців тому

      ​@@ChasingOurSunshine i like to cook at the rv fire pit over the fire @SAT NIGHT GATHERING

  • @robertdoyen5434
    @robertdoyen5434 Рік тому +2

    Great video. The camping costs not bad we have 3 of our 6 trips in and we are at $360 and all are 4 day trips. Thanks From Wisconsin

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      That is awesome! You are doing great! Safe travels & Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @LivingtheSilverLife
    @LivingtheSilverLife Рік тому +3

    Honestly, you guys didn’t do too bad until the end when you add it all together. 😂😂. That makes it sound crazy expensive. Maya did the best sticking to her budget. Happy to be a Sunshine Squad Member. 😂❤❤

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      We know right 😆🤣😂 Maya always does so good 👍 - and good luck with the drawing! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @DianeGaulin
      @DianeGaulin 6 місяців тому

      @@ChasingOurSunshine SHE CLARENCE SHOPPING @NEPO REST IN PEACE LOVE YA MAN MY BUDDIE AT THE SHRINE AND BEST FRIENDS DADDY SHELLY HAMILTON HOWS KELSEYS HEAD LOL SNOW SLEEDING FUN FUN FUN SHE LIVED GOT A BLACK BELT NOW HAMILTON FAMILY TERRI MY FAV SIS LEMON DROPS HOWS YA PILLOW AHDA

  • @Wandering_Kerrs
    @Wandering_Kerrs Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad. Thanks for breaking down all your costs. You got a lot of fun for your money, and that is important!

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      You are so welcome! We did have a lot of fun & enjoyed our stay in Florida. It was more expensive compared to prices we are use to in Wisconsin. Thanks & good luck! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @jessepitre7095
    @jessepitre7095 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad! Thank both of you so much for your service! Really enjoy your videos

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      We are so glad to hear you enjoy our videos and coming along with us! Thank you & good luck! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @heilwoodworkingandmore1892
    @heilwoodworkingandmore1892 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for another great budget video. Helps those of us in the planning stage. We enjoyed the meet up with the rest of the Sunshine Squad!

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      Glad you enjoyed it and we learned a lot from others budget videos ourselves! We wanted to be fair and honest to help others plan now too! Hope to meet you out on the road! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @rayedwards6022
    @rayedwards6022 Рік тому +1

    Very informative video....keep em coming, SUNSHINE SQUAD !!!

  • @barryholiday8998
    @barryholiday8998 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine squad 👏
    Thank you for the breakdown of your rv costs. It is helpful.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      You are so welcome and good luck on the drawing! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @mollyjackson5731
    @mollyjackson5731 Рік тому +1

    What great information! Thank you for sharing all your cost and being so honest with it all!

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      Glad it was helpful! You are so welcome! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @RVAmerica
    @RVAmerica Рік тому +1

    Sunshine squad. RVING is definitely not cheap. The campgrounds will definitely drive the cost up. I'm afraid we were involved in some of the eating out cost. 😊 Lynn and Danny

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      Haha! You were with us at some of the restaurants & a winery! Cheers 🤣 & thanks - Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @BoukenisAdventure
    @BoukenisAdventure Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad. We enjoyed this video. For myself, I was born and raised in FL and it was great seeing so many places I have visited may times.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      Glad you enjoyed it and Florida is a good place to winter in! What part of Florida did you grow up in? Deb's parents lived in Sebring for ten years. Thanks & good luck- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @BoukenisAdventure
      @BoukenisAdventure Рік тому +1

      @@ChasingOurSunshine I was born at MacDill AFB, however our home was in Lehigh Acres outside of Ft. Myers. I grew up in SW Florida and spent most of my time on Sanibel. I went to college in Lakeland and Gainsville. As to where I lived in Florida post college, I lived in South Florida (Sunrise and Kendall Lakes), Altamonte Springs and Kissimmee. Since I have a minor in Marine Biology I spent every available weekend in the Florida Keys.
      I am very familiar with Sebring (race at the track and fished all those lakes in the area). Of course, with my parents in Lehigh Acres and while living in the Orlando area I traveled up and down US 27 weekly. Sebring was the place to stop for a break or food.
      Continue chasing your Sunshine. We just started our UA-cam channel with the goal to also full-time after the kids get out of college. We love watching your content.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      We really liked the Ft Myers area and the come back there is incredible but don't blame you for heading to the Keys when you could! But driving on US 27 is the worst! 😂 especially between Spring and Orlando!! Stop light to stop light to stop light and crazy drivers!
      We are so glad you have found our channel and hope we can help with you going Full-Time with our videos! We are excited for you!

  • @donwest5067
    @donwest5067 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine squad!! Thanks for sharing!

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      You are welcome and thanks! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      Hi - could you please email us at info@chasingoursunshine.net
      We need to tell you something! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @WBJAdventures
    @WBJAdventures Рік тому +1

    cool

  • @scottmcclain6376
    @scottmcclain6376 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad
    Thanks for the info. Very interesting.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      You are so welcome! Thanks & good luck- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @Colleen1978
    @Colleen1978 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad! Great video! We sure thought of you during the meetup. We wanted to drive up but just couldn't fit it in this time. 82 days...

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      We are sorry you couldn't make it, but understand and next time then! We are so excited you are down to 82 days!!! It will go by fast!! Thanks & good luck! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @pattystango8998
    @pattystango8998 8 місяців тому +1

    Sunshine squad

  • @Britten-or9vh
    @Britten-or9vh Рік тому +1

    Great job this is a great video

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      Thanks so much! Appreciate you letting us know! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @nicoleyoung3790
    @nicoleyoung3790 Рік тому +2

    Great info! I was shocked to find fuel costs so low but was really wanting to know. Also we found Publix to be a bit much for basic items, compared to our NY stores...we stayed last winter 5 months Jensen beach, ty for all the info.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +3

      We found groceries and basically everything- more expensive in general in all of Florida than what we are used to in Wisconsin. Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @stuwardw
    @stuwardw Рік тому +1

    Great video as always! You guys will save a lot in Arizona next winter compared to Florida. Sunshine squad

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      We hope Arizona is cheaper, as we found Florida to be expensive compared to Wisconsin and last year in Texas. Grocery, restaurant and basically everything had a higher prices. Thanks & good luck! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @stuwardw
      @stuwardw Рік тому +1

      @ChasingOurSunshine Much cheaper, but a lot less to do also. But we had an amazing time from Tombstone to lake havasu and many places in between. Oatman, the desert bar, Scottsdale, picacho peak, saguaro national park, the desert museum. And everything south of Tucson are some of our recommendations.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      @@stuwardw Thanks and just added all of it to our list! We will be doing six New Mexico state parks in a row in October & November too! So looking forward to this trip!

    • @stuwardw
      @stuwardw Рік тому +1

      @ChasingOurSunshine that's awesome, we stayed near white sands national park in NM, it was great

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      @@stuwardw We will be right near there and we can't wait to see National Sand Dunes!

  • @ledetsrvingwithanimalsbamb815
    @ledetsrvingwithanimalsbamb815 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad, we hope to joining on the road soon

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      We hope you get out here too! RV Life is amazing! Good luck & Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @marjoriem9227
    @marjoriem9227 Рік тому +1

    SUNSHINE SQUAD
    P.S we love all your videos

  • @tomtanous8608
    @tomtanous8608 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      Thanks & good luck- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      Hi- could you email us at info@chasingoursunshine.net You are the winner of the RV Life Pro Membership. A new drawing was held as the original winner did not contact us.

  • @AWOLlcdrpeterson
    @AWOLlcdrpeterson Рік тому +1

    Love the video! You guys definitely have some interesting spending habits! Lol Was surprised to hear that you stayed in Zachary Taylor RV Resort (resort??).
    Peggy and I had to bug out to Zachary Taylor RV Resort on 9/27/22 to escape the path of Hurricane Ian. We actually moved from Orlando, driving closer to the storm, but avoided the worst winds in a safer campsite. We had a fun and rocking night living through the storm, but the resort and RV made it out without any significant damage. That Campground looked like an interesting place to winter over, but not really all that exciting.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      Our spending habits are ours! Cheers! 😂 But Zachary Taylor RV Resort was nice to stay at for a week & they had an amazing free dog washing station in the dog park! Crazy you two stayed there to ride out Ian- Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @AWOLlcdrpeterson
      @AWOLlcdrpeterson Рік тому +1

      @@ChasingOurSunshine We could use a dog washing station at this point! Wish we were closer!

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      I wish there was a dog wash station here too! Maya needs a bath!

  • @TimeoffwithCuzinEddie
    @TimeoffwithCuzinEddie Рік тому +1

    Wow! I wonder if that thousand trails membership would have brought that down. It is a time when the cost of things is up especially food.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      It did help a little as we had February without any camping fees as we were at Peace River and Thousand Trails Orlando. But the Encore Park- Fort Myers Beach was $20 a Night and not worth the extra cost to stay there! We hope next time we go back we can use TT membership more. We did find the cost of everything- food, restaurants, breweries - higher than what we are used to, and then add on inflation! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @josephharrell5724
      @josephharrell5724 Рік тому +1

      Nice video! We hope to spend winter 2024 in Florida using Thousand Trails/Encore exclusively. It will cost us $20 per night / $400 for 20 nights in the keys if we are successful in booking it. Other than that it should be free but keep in mind that Peace River- TTO - Three Flags are in high use season limiting us to 14 day stays and only 2 reservations so encore has to fill the rest. Encore only has 90 day booking window for Adventure members so there will be changes due to booking issues. Hope it all goes well. P.S. those schwintec slides have to be maintained meticulously cleaning and lubing them before every retraction. (Only use spray on dry lube)

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      @@josephharrell5724 Good luck with the Thousand Trails shuffling!! The Encore parks in Florida are not the nicest - doable & just know not to expect an “RV resort” & are hard to make reservations in!!
      We talked to a Lippert Tec and he showed us how to clean the tracks and said not to use anything on them. - Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @andiemorgan6046
    @andiemorgan6046 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad

  • @philstucker1312
    @philstucker1312 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad.

  • @garykrissteiner1004
    @garykrissteiner1004 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad. Thanks for the video! I wish our pet expenses were as low as yours! 😄
    @BigDogRV

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому

      We would not want your dog food bill either! We are sure it is Audrey Cricket that pushes it over the top with all she eats! 😆 Thanks & good luck- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @katrinabellofatto1246
    @katrinabellofatto1246 Рік тому +2

    After watching your video I'm afraid to look at our numbers for the winter in Florida. Yikes how did Joel spend all that money! 🤣🤣

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      Haha! Joel is so expensive!! Can't take him anywhere 🤣 Miss you guys! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @AWOLlcdrpeterson
      @AWOLlcdrpeterson Рік тому +1

      We are waiting for your video....what's OEDG's budget for Alcohol? Lol

    • @katrinabellofatto1246
      @katrinabellofatto1246 Рік тому +2

      @@AWOLlcdrpeterson you don’t want to know. LOL

  • @janicedavis5216
    @janicedavis5216 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine squad

  • @journeysendrv
    @journeysendrv Рік тому +1

    Sunshine squad!!! 🤞🏼

  • @dandej5317
    @dandej5317 Рік тому +1

    How did Florida compare to Texas?

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      Good question!! Both were so much FUN! The weather in Florida was better than in Texas! Texas had way better hiking! But Florida was way more expensive!!!! We really enjoyed both! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @markreynolds9570
    @markreynolds9570 Рік тому +2

    How do we know the actual cost if you stayed at TT parks?
    It doesnt help at all.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      We had no camping fees at the 3 of the Thousand Trails park and paid $20 a night at Fort Myers Beach RV resort for 2 weeks. We do go over the cost of our Thousand Trails Membership in our other video. We have an Elite basic membership and paid $7495.00 for it. We have figured out how many times we need to stay in a Thousand Trials over the next four years to offset the cost of the membership too- you have to make it all work for you! Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @paulmelhuish9213
    @paulmelhuish9213 2 місяці тому +1

    i retire in 3 years, i have been doing my home work. I've heard some places mandate that the rig not be older than 4 or 5 years old ? is this true ? did you run into any of that ? why is there a age limit on a rig?

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  2 місяці тому +1

      @@paulmelhuish9213 Hello 👋 - yes we have ran into the age limit on a rig as a rule at campgrounds. It has been a 10 year rule. Most of them have it to prevent old junk uncared for rigs from staying at their campground. We know of a family that had a school bus and weren't allowed to stay at an Encore Park in Florida because of the rule.

  • @RickandDarcirvadventures
    @RickandDarcirvadventures Рік тому +1

    We thought this was suppose to be a Live

  • @RickandDarcirvadventures
    @RickandDarcirvadventures Рік тому +1

    To bad we already have rv life pro 😩

  • @moxymaxx5350
    @moxymaxx5350 Рік тому +1

    Sounds comparable to sticks and bricks cost. You only live once.

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +1

      We have found our budget is just about the same as what it was when we lived in our house! But with RVing we are traveling to other areas and having a lot of fun! But man Florida was expensive for groceries, restaurants and everything compared to Wisconsin! Thanks Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

  • @joannedavis7346
    @joannedavis7346 Рік тому +1

    Thanks for the info!
    Sunshine Squad!

  • @daveanddianethrowingcautio5707

    Sunshine Squad

    • @ChasingOurSunshine
      @ChasingOurSunshine  Рік тому +2

      Good luck guys! Thanks - Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya

    • @DianeGaulin
      @DianeGaulin 6 місяців тому

      @@ChasingOurSunshine hahahaha e8 lollollolololooo

  • @sherrycarmack127
    @sherrycarmack127 Рік тому +1

    Sunshine Squad