The eternal question for every RVer, from the weekend warrior to the full-time nomad, is how to manage the financial side of life on the open road. Do you meticulously plan every gallon of diesel and every bag of campfire marshmallows, or do you embrace the wind and let your credit card follow?
We recently posed this very question to our dedicated community of road warriors, asking, “How do you budget for RV travel?” This poll was featured in our latest newsletter, and your responses have painted a beautifully chaotic picture of our spending habits.
For those who haven’t voted yet, make sure you’re subscribed so you can join the fun next time and help shape our collective findings. After all, there’s strength in numbers, especially when it comes to justifying that extra souvenir!
The results of our highly scientific—or at least, highly entertaining—investigation are in. Here’s how you, the readers, approach the art of the RV budget:
| Budgeting Style | Percentage of Votes |
|---|---|
| Trip-Specific Budget | 37% |
| No Budget | 31% |
| Monthly Budget | 16% |
| Annual Budget | 16% |
The “Spreadsheet Sultans” (Trip-Specific Budget – 37%)
To the 37% of you who are the Trip-Specific Budgeters, we salute you. You are the engineers of adventure, the masters of the Excel spreadsheet. You know the exact cost of a two-week journey to the Badlands, down to the penny you’ll spend on a state park sticker and a novelty magnet.
Your idea of a wild time is finding a gas station 3 cents cheaper per gallon than the one you had penciled in. We imagine you have color-coded binders and get a thrill from staying under budget. Your RV doesn’t just have leveling blocks; it has a full-on financial forecasting department.
The “Free Spirits” (No Budget – 31%)
A very close second, and arguably the most fun group at the campfire, are the “No Budget” folks. Your budgeting strategy is a beautiful, carefree philosophy: “We’ll figure it out when the bank account looks thin.” You believe that some of life’s greatest treasures—like that world’s largest ball of twine or a spontaneous night at a Harvest Hosts winery—can’t be constrained by a column of numbers.
Your motto is, “I might not know my account balance, but I know where the best sunrise is.” We’re slightly concerned about you, but we also secretly want to join your convoy.
The “Steady Planners” (Monthly & Annual Budgeters – 32% Combined)
To the combined 32% who operate on a Monthly or Annual budget, you are the stable foundations of the RV world. You’re not planning for one trip; you’re architecting a lifestyle.
The Monthly Budgeters know exactly what they can afford to spend on fun each 30-day cycle, while the Annual Budgeters are playing 4D chess, looking at the entire year’s worth of adventures and expenses in one grand vision. You likely have a healthy emergency fund and sleep very, very well at night, undisturbed by the fear of an unexpected tire blowout. Your retirement plan probably has a retirement plan.
Conclusion: Why We Think the Votes Shook Out This Way
The results of this poll are a near-perfect microcosm of the RV community itself, which is fundamentally divided into two core philosophies: the Planners and the Wanderers. The high number of “Trip-Specific” budgets makes sense because RVing is, at its heart, about discrete adventures. People naturally think in terms of trips (“Our summer Yellowstone tour”), making it the most logical unit for financial planning.
Conversely, the shockingly high “No Budget” vote is a testament to the spirit of freedom and escape that draws people to this lifestyle in the first place. For many, budgeting feels like a tether to the very structured, stressful world they are trying to leave behind in their rearview mirror.
They aren’t being irresponsible; they are actively choosing to prioritize experiential value over financial tracking.
The lower scores for Monthly and Annual budgets likely reflect the reality that those methods are more akin to managing a household—which is what full-timers are doing—while many RVers are vacationers. It’s easier to plan for a specific holiday than to maintain a constant monthly RV expenditure. Ultimately, the results show a community that values both smart planning and spontaneous joy, often in equal measure. It seems the perfect RV trip might just involve a Planner and a Wanderer teaming up—one to map out the route and book the sites, and the other to insist on that unplanned detour for the “World’s Best Pie.”
