4 Ways to Save Money While Traveling in an RV

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Traveling in an RV is an exciting and fulfilling experience that everyone should try at least once. Although it really takes you on an All-American adventure, it can also be very expensive if you are not prepared. There are lots of perks to traveling in an RV. The RV provides shelter and transportation, and you can choose how long you want to explore an area of the USA. If you need to, you can even extend your vacation and get in more sight-seeing.

There are also some cons of traveling by RV. Those include maintenance costs, rental for the RV, and miscellaneous expenses that might come up that pertain to owning an RV and being on the road. We want to help you enjoy your RV trip by keeping costs down. We determined four ways you can save money on when planning your next RV trip. Enjoy!

#1 Cut Your Camping Costs

The first way to save money while RVing is to reduce your per night costs for camping. There are several ways you can do this. For the greatest savings, utilize free camping or “boondocking” sites. The biggest challenge to boondocking is finding places that allow it. Fortunately, there are a few great resources which can be accessed from your smartphone. The fee-based app Allstays Camp and RV is a great choice which lists thousands of free camping locations. There are also some great free options including the Campendium app and corresponding website Campendium as well as Free Campsites. Campendium is a general RV campsite database which includes free sites while freecampsites.net focuses on free sites.  Both offer reviews from real RVers that have been to the locations.

There are also a number of great ways to save money at private RV parks. To cut your rates for free, just stay longer. Most parks offer specific rates based on length of stay and generally, the longer the stay, the cheaper it is. Check the rates carefully, if you need to stay 4 days and the weekly rate is cheaper then book the week and leave early. That also locks in your site should you need to stay longer. Next, consider joining a discount program like Goodsam, Passport America, Harvest Hosts, Escapees, Thousand Trails or the KOA Kampcard. These all work differently and each has its own set of rules, costs, advantages, and disadvantages but they can all save you significant money if they fit with your travel plans.

#2 Cut Your Fuel Costs

Fuel is one of the most expensive parts of RVing but fortunately, there are a number of ways you can save money at the pump. First, slow down. RVs have the weight and aerodynamic properties of a barn full of bricks. By slowing from 75mph to 60mph you can easily gain a mile or two per gallon in fuel efficiency, which stretched over a long trip can translate into significant savings.

When you do finally have to stop and fill up, getting the best price can help a lot too. To find the best prices try using the free GasBuddy app or website. This service will show where gas stations are located in a specific area and what they are currently charging. It helps to plan ahead. If you know roughly when you will need gas, you can scout out the best prices in that area and choose a couple of the best options in case one of them is not RV friendly.

If you are traveling to a location where a Costco is present, considering borrowing or getting a $60 Costco membership to save on gas costs. Where I live, the cheapest gas options are 30 cents more than when I buy gas from Costco. The only caveat is you need a membership. If you are taking an extended trip or are temporarily living in your RV, it’s totally worth it.

#3 Eat Cheap and Save Big

The biggest way to save money on food is to avoid eating at restaurants.  RVs usually have a decent kitchen setup and using it on the road can save you big money. On average it is two to three times cheaper to make your own meals than to eat out. Over the duration of even a short RV trip, this can amount to substantial savings especially if there are a lot of people in your travel group.

When you need to stock up on food, ask someone where you are staying where a good inexpensive market is. The locals usually know where the best low-cost stores are. If their recommendation is a larger chain grocery store, make sure you ask at the checkout if they have shopper or loyalty cards that offer discounts to members. Some stores may even have an app. Many of the sale and discount prices in those stores are only offered if you have their card. In some cases, these cards are also linked to fuel discounts if that chain also sells fuel. If you plan to stay in the area awhile, it is beneficial to spend a few minutes to enroll.

On my trips, I prefer to use MealPal. MealPal is a food subscription service that starts at $75 a month and guarantees you 12 to 20 meals depending on your plan. It’s the ClassPass version for dining out. I was able to get meals that I split between two people for less than $7 a meal. Without MealPal this would have cost us $10-$12 for the meal. Get $30 off your first month using this link.

#4 Find Free or Discounted Activities

Activities can be another big expense while RVing, but there are several ways to cut costs on those. If you plan to visit the national park network and you happen to have a child in the fourth grade, then go to Every Kid In a Park and sign up for the fourth-grade pass. The pass is good for your child’s fourth grade school year (September 1 to August 31) and it waives entry fees for the vehicle, and everyone in it, that your fourth grader is traveling into the national parks. Those passes normally cost $80 and can also save you a lot of money if you plan to visit a lot of national parks with a fourth grader. If you have a family friend who has the pass, consider borrowing it from them.

There are a lot of free activities such as hiking, biking, and climbing. The Alltrails app is a great, free way to find those. It lists locations, reviews and trail maps to thousands of trails across the country.

For fee-based activities like museums, aquariums, and zoos, call and ask if they have any discount days or times to visit. Many of these facilities also belong to a network of similar attractions and will offer discounted or free membership just for being a member of another organization. Getting the membership is often only slightly more, and in some cases cheaper, then just the admission to the one facility. These memberships can save you money if they fit within your travel plans.

Every little bit helps and if you can save on some areas like food or accommodation, you can splurge more on the fun activities that require investment. Take some time before you go to use the RV’s storage and facilities to pack what you need. This way, not only will you be prepared, but you will be saving a  ton of money in the process.

Thanks for reading! Let us know if you have some awesome money savings tips for a successful RV adventure!

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