Most couples planning to go full-time have already run some version of the numbers on a napkin. And most of those napkin numbers are wrong, not because the people are bad at math, but because nobody tells you about the $340 propane fill in January, or the campground that charges $18 extra per night for a second car, or the fact that your tow vehicle will need four new tires at roughly $900 a set more often than you think.

I’ve been full-timing with my husband since 2018. We started in a 32-foot fifth wheel and downsized to a 28-footer two years in, which I’d recommend to almost anyone but that’s a different article. What I can tell you is that eight years in, our budget looks almost nothing like what we planned, and in some ways that’s good news.

Here’s what I tell people who are serious about doing this: the monthly cost for two people living full-time in an RV runs, realistically, between $2,800 and $5,500 depending on your camping style, how new your rig is, and whether you’re driving hard or mostly stationary. The wide range isn’t a cop-out. It reflects genuinely different lifestyles that all count as “full-timing.”

Key takeaways
  • Full-time RV couples typically spend $2,800 to $5,500/month, not the $1,500 many blogs claim.
  • Campground costs alone often run $600–$1,800/month depending on membership clubs and boondocking habits.
  • Maintenance and repairs average $150–$300/month but can spike hard , budget for a $2,000–$4,000 emergency fund separately.
  • Health insurance is usually the single largest unexpected expense for full-timers who leave employer coverage.
  • Fuel averages $300–$600/month for couples who move every 1–2 weeks at current diesel prices.

The Real Monthly Numbers

Let me break this down the way I wish someone had broken it down for me.

CategoryLow End (Boondocking-Heavy)Middle (Mixed Camping)High End (Full Hookups, Urban)
Campground / Site Fees$300$950$1,800
Fuel (tow/drive vehicle)$200$420$650
Groceries$550$700$850
Dining Out$150$300$600
RV Maintenance & Repairs$150$220$350
Health Insurance$600$850$1,400
Vehicle Insurance (RV + tow)$180$220$280
Propane / Utilities$60$100$60
Subscriptions (streaming, cell)$120$160$200
Misc / Personal Care / Supplies$120$200$350
Monthly Total~$2,430~$4,120~$6,540

A few things worth noting here: the utilities line actually goes down at the high end because full hookups mean you’re running your rig’s electric instead of burning propane for heat. And yes, the high end is higher than $5,500 once you add dining and personal spending. That’s real life.

Average monthly spend by full-timing style (couple, 2026)
Boondocking-heavy$2,430
Mixed camping$4,120
Full hookups/urban$6,540
Source: Author estimate from 8 years full-time experience and community surveys

Campground Costs: Where Most Estimates Go Wrong

Recommended Camco Heavy Duty RV Leveling Blocks 10-Pack

Interlocking yellow leveling blocks rated for single and dual wheels, hydraulic jacks, and tandem axles.

Check Price →

Everyone underestimates this. I did too.

The $35-per-night average that floats around out there assumes you’re moving constantly, hitting state parks, mixing in some Bureau of Land Management land. In practice, most couples, especially when they first start, want hookups, want stability, and end up in private campgrounds that run $55 to $90 per night in any remotely popular area. Three weeks at $65 a night is $1,365 before you’ve bought a single grocery item.

The memberships change everything, though. Thousand Trails runs around $595 to $895 a year currently (as of August 2026, prices have drifted up from pre-2024 rates) and gets you access to their network for free site fees. Passport America is $44/year and gets you 50% off at participating parks. We’ve used both. For couples who plan to stay in one region or along specific corridors, Thousand Trails is genuinely worth it. For people who want to wander unpredictably, Harvest Hosts ($99/year for solo, $149 for couples) plus some BLM time is often the better math.

Here’s a scenario that shows how the numbers shake out differently: A couple spending 20 nights/month in private parks at $60/night plus 10 nights boondocking pays about $1,200 just in site fees. The same couple with a Thousand Trails membership spends maybe $250 in overage nights and overflow parks. That’s $900 a month saved for a $700 annual membership. Over 12 months: saves roughly $10,800, costs $700. The math is not close.

The Number Nobody Budgets For: Health Insurance

Related video

7 Things We Wish We Knew BEFORE Starting RV Life FULL-TIME (1 month on the road) · Lloyd & Mandy on YouTube

If you’re both leaving jobs with employer-sponsored coverage, this is the line that has stopped more people from going full-time than anything else I’ve heard. I’m not exaggerating.

A couple in their 40s on the ACA marketplace, depending on your declared state of domicile and income structure, is often looking at $900 to $1,500 per month for a mid-tier plan as of this year. People who built their whole budget around “$2,000 a month total” and then see that number tend to feel like the floor dropped out.

What I tell people: first, pick your domicile state carefully, because premiums vary dramatically. South Dakota and Texas (the two most popular full-timer domicile states) run differently. Some full-timers use health sharing ministries like Sedera or Liberty HealthShare instead, which run $400 to $600/month for a couple, but these are not insurance and they have real gaps. I can’t tell you which is right for you. What I can say is that whatever you plan to do, price it out specifically before you build your budget, not after.

Maintenance: Budget the Average, Survive the Spike

Our running average over eight years works out to about $2,847 per year in RV-specific maintenance and repairs, which sounds manageable until you remember that year three was $740 and year five was $8,300 (slide-out motor, new water heater, and a roof seam reseal all stacking up in the same four months). That’s how RV maintenance works. The average is fine; the variance will bite you.

Keep $3,000 to $5,000 in a dedicated repair fund before you leave. Replenish it aggressively. I made the mistake of treating it like a regular emergency fund and pulling from it for other things in year two. By year three I was scrambling to cover a $1,400 holding tank repair on a credit card. Don’t do that.

The one thing I’d tell anyone with a basic mechanical background: learn to do your own PDI inspections, reseal your roof yourself every season (a $35 tube of Dicor and two hours beats a $600 shop visit), and change your own engine and generator oil. On a diesel pusher or a truck pulling a fifth wheel, those small tasks add up to real money kept in your pocket.

For water filtration, a good inline filter like the Camco TastePURE (around $20-$30, available on Amazon) plus a countertop or under-sink filter for drinking water runs you maybe $80 total and saves you from buying bottled water every week. Small line item, but over a year it’s $300+ back in your pocket.

Fuel and Movement Patterns

How often you move determines your fuel budget more than your rig’s MPG does.

A couple moving every week in a Class A diesel getting 8 MPG, doing 200 miles of travel per move, burns about 25 gallons per move. At current diesel prices hovering around $3.60 to $4.10 per gallon (varies wildly by region as of mid-2026), that’s $90 to $103 per move plus whatever the toad or tow vehicle burns for daily errands. Move 3 times a month and you’re at $270 to $310 in drive-day fuel. Move every two weeks and you might pay $180 total some months.

Gas tow vehicle couples pulling travel trailers often see worse fuel economy but cheaper fuel. It balances differently but doesn’t necessarily save money overall.

A surge protector is non-negotiable at campground hookups. The Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C hardwired unit (around $289, check current pricing here) has saved us twice from bad park pedestals. That’s not a nice-to-have.

Sources

Photo: Kampus Production via Pexels