MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: kiwial on March 27, 2011, 02:40:53 PM
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We are in the early stages of planning our big trip around Aussie. What does it cost to be on the road per week roughly. I know some things will very in regard to fuel cost but what about general living costs, camp fees etc,
Cheers
Kiwial
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As a very rough guide, if you keep moving and only spend a night or two in each place, see most of the attractions that you have to pay to enter. Enjoy a beer and good food, if you allow a dollar per kilometer, you should have a bit left for emergencies.
A lot of people will disagree with this and say they can travel for X dollars per day or week, and they can, but if you are going through $100 fuel per day, plus food, parks, sight seeing, etc.
It dont take long to get to $1 a K.
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ive budgeted on 1K a week, and that will just cover it.
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We have been trying to work through a budget and our calc is around $1,200 per week, that includes meals, accommodation, tyres, servicing and fuel at an average of $2.40 per litre which is high but wanted to do worst case. We have no idea how accurate that will be but hopefully it is a guide for us. We also spent an afternoon with James and Lorna who spent 3 years traveling around and they budgeted $1,000 per week but said it was closer to $1,200.
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ive budgeted on 1K a week, and that will just cover it.
We usually work on $1000/week but try to have some in reserve for emergancies. We camp out 99% of the time, drive slowly, have our own shower so only stop at parks if there is no choice in that area. We dont go to many "paying" attractions as we find enough free stuff to see. Oh and we dont drink or smoke.
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Expensive old hobby isn't it. Or way of life some might say.
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yeah your probably right with the 1200 mark.
we are looking at staying at a park every second stop so we can do washing and so forth. We have about 8K spare as play money when we are away, the 1k just covers travel costs.
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Oh and we dont drink or smoke.
Ok, well I will have to increase my budget...no smoking but love my beer.... :laugh: :cheers:
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Rather expensive from the above posts. Fuel and food being the major expense on the road, and the usual bills at home still need to be paid ... travelling or not.
Kit_e
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Ok, well I will have to increase my budget...no smoking but love my beer.... :laugh: :cheers:
X 2 :cheers:
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Well, for us its a way of life. We sold our house 3yrs ago and do not intend in the near future to buy another. We want the option if we want to go away again(moved to Kununurra for 12mths in 06) we can plus instead of making house payments, we put it away and try to go touring every two years for three months. Yes, we pay rent but thats pretty much it.
We are expecting diesel to cost an extra $1000 this trip(maybe more) but oh well, we're not about to sit home and sulk over it.
Sometimes you just have to DO IT.
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There is the "Hidden" expenses of your bills that still need to be paid whilst your on the road. We spent an AV of around$870 or so a week while on our trip. We set a budget of $1k.
There is great thread on here that was done a while ago covering this topic. I have done a search but can't find it.
Like Nick, Moto Mech mentioned Just do it!! We saved for 5 years for our trip and it was awesome!!
Rich
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As a very rough guide, if you keep moving and only spend a night or two in each place, see most of the attractions that you have to pay to enter. Enjoy a beer and good food, if you allow a dollar per kilometer, you should have a bit left for emergencies.
A lot of people will disagree with this and say they can travel for X dollars per day or week, and they can, but if you are going through $100 fuel per day, plus food, parks, sight seeing, etc.
It dont take long to get to $1 a K.
Got to say that that is about what it costs us (2 adults) for our longer trips. We eat well and drink well, don't scrimp on staying in Caravan parks when they are available, and with a budget of $1 per kilometer aren't "shocked" when we add up the final trip costs.
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Try these threads, one of them may be the one you're after.
Travelling Costs (http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=7723.0)
or
Dreaming of a lap of Oz !!! (http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=10231.0)
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We traveled oz in 2005 with a 3 and 5 year olds,sold my business and house so no commitments we planed a year trip and traveled for 8 months we spent around $20,000 had a fantastic time the kids still talk about our trip now. We tried home schooling for 2 months and it was an absolute nightmare. The kids just kept a journal which worked well.
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Sorry my 1K estimate is just the money for camping, the money for housy stuff, loans ect are covered elsewhere.
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My understandings on travelling costs differ to those below
average fuel consumption based on; 18 Lt per 100 Klm @ $1.70 Lt
5O,OOO Klm = $15,3OO = $294 per week for one year, which is a hell of a long trip for just 12 months, 96O Klm per week.
( I think it's about 12,500 Klm round Aussie - I've added sight seeing and extra trips to everywhere else too )
The price of food will be a bit higher, say 30% more than you pay now.
Accommodation will be the $$ killer with caravan parks charging about $3O a night = $1O,8OO or $2O7 week
So far is about $5OO week, then you have to factor into the equation that you definitely will not be able to stay in caravan parks every evening, particularly in WA & NT, because they, like the towns are so far apart, and the free camping areas are everywhere anyway ;D
I've travelled for many years in the Far North and I can assure you I never spent more than $400 a week because I stopped on deserted beaches to break the monotony of driving :'(
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For those travelling as a lifestyle (lets say over 12mths), do you supplement your funds by working the 'Harvest trail' or other forms of employment?
I'm just considering from comments above, that two pensions may not be enough even when we own our own home :'(
:cheers:
Mike
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well i guess for me not a problem, mechanical engineer and drafter so plenty fo work. Wife is a nurse specielising in three field, no problems there.
Worse come to worse, you can always sell yourself, although i would be lucky to get 50C for me. ;D
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Worse come to worse, you can always sell yourself, although i would be lucky to get 50C for me. ;D
I would owe money ;D
I can turn my hand to anything and a hard worker so expect not to have a problem
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well i guess for me not a problem, mechanical engineer and drafter so plenty fo work.
Wife is a nurse specielising in three field, no problems there.
Many if not most of the jobs available are Manual Labour ( thought he was a Mexican ;D ) or short term, labourer intensive
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Many if not most of the jobs available are Manual Labour ( thought he was a Mexican ;D ) or short term, labourer intensive
I'm self employed re-stumping houses - can't get much more manual labour than that ;D ;D
:cheers:
Mike
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This is quite an interesting thread, thank you.
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This is quite an interesting thread, thank you.
I love the blue print, so easy on the eye :-*
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Thanks everyone for the replies, we are renting so if we use the current rent to pay for the camp fees and we have to eat no matter where you are, then the fuel and maintainence costs are the real cost of the dream. we both will need to work otherwise the big trip will just be a lap around and not a try experience of what we are looking for i guess.
Cheers
kiwial
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Kiwial
Don't forget you'll still have insurances, rego, health care, laundry, phone/internet, gas, haircuts, sight seeing etc to factor into the trip.
If you come up with any more info will you please share it with us.
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Being in real estate I will keep putting for sale signs up everywhere. Some sucker will come along and buy something.
Trust me!!! ;D ;D
Honest Mark
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was interested to see how these 'rules' of thumb' applied to our 3mth, 1/2 lap back in 2007.
90c/km
$1482/week (all inclusive.. fuel, petrol, accom, souvenirs, tours, Heli ride)
by I take out expenses that we would have incurred if staying home (mostly kids sport and creche fees but including food, petrol and some things like gas, electricity & train travel)
28c/km
$457/week
ahh... that sounds better :)
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6 mths and 23,000 klm trip in 08 cost us just on $30k , that included c/van parks 20% -free camping 75% and 5% the odd cabin / motel once per mth , also included breakdowns , attraction fees, food- dinning out, wine -beer , the odd fishing charter , scenic flights , helicopter flights fuel [ rabbit flat r/house was dearest @ $2.80lt ] , also included a weeks yacht hire [$3k] at Cardwell on the way home ,, 2x adults 1x 9yr old boy ,,, would do it again in an instant , more fun and lots better than sitting at home typing on the computer.
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These costs all appear to be holiday costs as opposed to living permanently in the van. Can anyone give me an indication of costs per week etc for permanent van residence and travel please on average??
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These costs all appear to be holiday costs as opposed to living permanently in the van. Can anyone give me an indication of costs per week etc for permanent van residence and travel please on average??
Will depend on how far you travel each month - where you stay, caravan park or beach etc
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I think everybodys trip will be differant as we are all differant ( I hope ).The figurse shown can only be a guide to what & where you do . How are you set up ? & what luxuries are to be included . If you fish a lot , food will be cheaper , include a freezer & you can buy food cheaper in a large town . A cryovac machine can save you doing meat in a larger center .
It mostly depends on your set up , so do a test run , 500 km or better work out you fuel consumption + 20% fudge factor . Average out fuel cost at 30% the current pump price .
Then stop trying to over plan & just go do it & addapt your a Swagger . Work & drink & wonder :cheers:
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Will depend on how far you travel each month - where you stay, caravan park or beach etc
Yes I am aware of this Mainey but what I am looking for is a general rule of thumb. How much do members budget for fuel, groceries, laundry, vehicle maintenance, sight seeing etc?
I am in preparation mode for this and at this point without having any first hand experience I am considering maybe $200 a week for food and general grocery items. Is that realistic or not?
What is likely to crop up that is not expected? What do you budget for, how much would you put away in kitty for the unexpected?
I know of people who travel and live solely on their pension. Is that the norm?? How many members here live full time in their vans?
What percentage is free camping and what percentage is paid accommodation....most travelers I think would keep some form of record of their expenditure.
If you are working....how long would you work for in general and how long would you travel/holiday for?
I am not looking for specifics just generalizations, trying to promote an open discussion about long term travel.
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When we did it we averaged $992/month all up on travel. That doesn't include back home expenses like the various insurances that we still maintained nor the rates on the renter anything else. It did cover all cost associated with the cruiser, camper, kids education, internet connection etc etc as well as regular food, fuel, entertainment type things.
We were Mum, Dad, 13yo pink one and 10yo blue one. Costs varied depending on the week. What we did, where we stayed etc.. there is no general number that can be applied however, what I can tell you is that the consensus around the campfires that I found myself at during 2009 was that $1000/week is normal for a family of 4 and generally a number somewhere near $750/week was what the grey nomads reported.
Now, this may be a result of the sort of campfires I attended too. People who travelled like us, people who we got to know. It is very possible, in fact probable that there are whole other lot hidden down goat tracks that spend nowhere near that and have a great time doing it.
It depends entirely on how you travel, what you like to see, the vehicle you drive (the ever increasing cost of fuel will impact this discussion), what or where you like to eat, grog (we don’t drink much nor do either of us smoke), how long you spend out bush as opposed to hanging out in paid accommodation. Even the sort of accommodation makes a huge difference.
In the big town/cities you can camp powered from say $25/night to $50/night depending on where you stay. We tended to stay in the cheapies for 1 or 2 night stays and the dearer ones for the extended stays. That may seem counterintuitive but we figured if we are there for a week, we, well mainly the kids, would get the $50/night value out of the flash pool, the fancy games room and the big blow up bubble. Short stays, particularly O/N stays, were (if free wasn’t an option) the cheapest of the cheap. In at 5pm, out at 8:30am doesn’t allow you to get the most out of a good park. It was just a place to hold up on the drive.