Tips And Tricks For A Budget-Friendly RV Trip

While millions of Americans are prioritizing travel this summer, it is hard to overlook the impact high gas prices and inflation is having on consumers. That is one of the reasons many people are looking to RVs as the best way to still have the freedom to travel but also greater control over their travel costs.

Go RVing has made it easy to find the right RV for every lifestyle and budget, as well as tips and tricks to make even the newest of RVer feel like an old pro.

Looking for more tips on how to save money while hitting the road? Check out these five tips from RVers for a budget-friendly RV trip!

1. Use Trip Planning To Control Fuel Costs. RVers Jeremy and Stephanie Puglisi have several pieces of advice for those just beginning their RV adventures, but their top tip is to consider distance in your vacation planning.

“Staying close to home will significantly reduce fuel costs. The more you drive, the more you’ll spend, so this is a very easy cost to control when planning your RV trips.”

2. Travel during the week—and get a U.S. Park Pass. One of Jamie Aderski’s many useful tips include being flexible with travel dates. If possible, she suggests traveling in the middle of the week, since special deals for families and destinations alike are more widely available during the week and off-peak hours.

Jamie also recommends purchasing an America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, your ticket to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites across the country. For an $80 annual fee, this pass covers entrance, standard amenity fees, and day-use fees per vehicle.

3. Prepare your meals ahead of time. This is one of the top tips offered by RVers Keith and Tia Sims. Shopping ahead of time, particularly for shelf-stable foods and fruits and vegetables that you can freeze during the trip, help save money when you’re on the road.

The Sims also suggest that you pre-clean, season, and marinate your meats before freezing, as well as make foods ahead of time that can be frozen for a healthy, quick breakfast. Check out some of their recommended recipes!

4. Take smaller, more frequent vacations throughout the year. RVer Julie Sojot and her family love to take vacations and began looking into RV travel as a way to save money. While they used to take one big trip a year, she and her family now frequently take shorter trips.

“We not only go on family vacations once a year but rather take small vacations throughout the year because it’s budget-friendly,” Julie says. “This vacation lifestyle also offers the opportunity to constantly spend quality time together as a family year-round.”

5. Sign up for RV memberships. Finding memberships is the top piece of advice given by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner. “There are many different memberships that may help you save money on your nightly stays. Memberships are usually very affordable, with an RVer being able to recoup the cost after just a night or two,” she advises.

Her full list of memberships includes Good Sam, Passport America, Harvest Hosts, Family Motor Coach Association and Thousand Trails.

Check out more RVing advice from Go RVing’s website here.