RVers: Spend money – save money

 

By Russ and Tiña De Maris

We don’t know too many RVers who have money to burn. Most of us watch the fuel prices like a hawk, concerned when the pennies start inching up on the price board. Food prices hit us like they do anyone else. And, of course, “unexpected Bills” are like those hoodoo relatives we wish would never darken our doorway.

So when you spend money, can you actually save money? Here are some thoughts from RVers on purchases they’ve made that they feel actually saved them money in the long run.

Campground memberships: “I bought a membership in Thousand Trails, and even with having to pay for an upgrade a few years back, it’s saved us a bundle of cash.”

Tire monitoring system: “The first alert we got to a low-tire situation saved us more money than the cost of the system.” [Editor: Check out TireTraker.]

Awning tie-down system: “After seeing damage to other RVers’ awnings, buying and using a tie-down system is certainly cheap ‘insurance’.” [Editor: Awning tie-downs at Amazon.com.]

The RV: “Even though it’s not why we did it, selling our house and becoming full-timers has saved us money over the years.”

Electrical management system: “I know our EMS has saved us a few appliances, and maybe even from costly damage to our RV.” [Editor: Yep, they have ’em at Amazon.com.]

Solar panels: “Any time you can stay away from paying for an RV park, that’s money saved. Solar panels are a big way to stay disconnected and still keep living!” [Editor: Yep, Amazon.com.]

Got any ideas? Drop a line to russ at rvtravel dot com.

Editor: Sorry. Didn’t mean to turn this into an advertisement for Amazon.com, but just wanted to make it convenient for you in case you were interested in more info on these products.

##RVT811

Russ and Tiña De Maris
Russ and Tiña De Maris
Russ and Tiña went from childhood tent camping to RVing in the 1980s when the ground got too hard. They've been tutored in the ways of RVing (and RV repair) by a series of rigs, from truck campers, to a fifth-wheel, and several travel trailers. In addition to writing scores of articles on RVing topics, they've also taught college classes for folks new to RVing. They authored the book, RV Boondocking Basics.

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1 Comment

Bob Godfrey
8 years ago

Our Passport America membership has saved us so much money over the years that it has paid for itself many times over. The highest we paid during the month of Sept. this year was $19/night traveling from Minnesota to Pennsylvania. Well worth the membership.