Maintenance Costs Boat verses RV Cruising

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Well Boatie, add in SSB, or Sat phone, autopilot and Radar, wind instrumentation and depth sounders.
A boat costs a LOT more to fit out and maintain, heck a boat costs a lot more to buy than an RV, especially if we are talking about tow behinds.

So it costs less to get into an RV, but more to stay there, assuming your not the type of cruiser that travels from one Marina to another.

Now that I’m hunkered down in a Marina for the Hurricane season, what surprises me is the question I’m asked mostly about the Bahamas is “What are the Marina’s like?”
When I answer I don’t know I get a confused look, when I explain we anchor they often turn their lip up, and you expect to hear ewww.

These people will never go, truth as to why is that they haven’t put the money into their boat it takes to be comfortable at anchor

SSB, Sat Phone, Radar not needed, in hull depth and speed logs are not expensive and tiller pilots are a third of a wheel pilot. Wind instruments.. thats what tell tails are for.

[a64pilot]

Well Boatie following that kind of thinking, all you need on land is a backpacking tent, and even then I guess that’s not needed

It’s all relative of course, different people “need” different levels of things.
My goal for cruising was relatively unlimited water and power, and plenty of refrigeration / freezer.
Expensive to implement and in truth you can do without, but I believe it’s saved me money in the long run and enabled us to cruise.

[AKA-None]

I have a 26 ft 77 GMC Motorhome class A gas 455. I also have a 76 c&c 27. The rv has way more room and both are used as weekenders. Overall my costs run about the same. The rv was frame off restored in 2005 (think total refit). It had a substantial initial cost over the boat but my pm costs are similar at this point. Neither has been repowered since purchased but both will at some point.
Both will easily fit places larger versions won’t.
Both have similar systems and what I learned here is carried over to both worlds.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

.
Average boat if money gets tight, well just stay at anchor for awhile until money build up, you can cost costs down to what it costs to eat pretty much.
Tough to do legally in most places in an RV, stay in one place too long and your loitering. It’s why so many have to resort to stealth tactics when down and out in a camper van.

You can do a lot of the same things with an RV and if you read the threads on Florida, they chase out anchored boats given the chance. It's really not much different.

Of course, we've come across RV parks that charge $250/month, so even if you have to pay, it's pretty darn cheap.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Well Boatie following that kind of thinking, all you need on land is a backpacking tent, and even then I guess that’s not needed

A couple years back we met a couple living in a tent out of the back of a tiny chevy hatchback with a cooler...I'm sure their costs were pretty low.

Yeah, if you buy a stripped out 25' boat for $100 with no motor or electronics, anchor out, fish and gather food...it might be cheaper...but even then not by much when you figure an equivalent RV.

Once you get up into typical cruising boat sizes (say 30-40') outfitted and operated in more typical manners...it's not close. The boat is more expensive.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

A couple years back we met a couple living in a tent out of the back of a tiny chevy hatchback with a cooler...I'm sure their costs were pretty low.

Yeah, if you buy a stripped out 25' boat for $100 with no motor or electronics, anchor out, fish and gather food...it might be cheaper...but even then not by much when you figure an equivalent RV.

Once you get up into typical cruising boat sizes (say 30-40') outfitted and operated in more typical manners...it's not close. The boat is more expensive.

Loada crap.. 26ft with most things minus watermaker can be had for around €8K..
https://m.apolloduck.com/boat/van-de...ffshore/537663
No road tax, no annual MOT inspections, no tolls, no parking fees, no police stops for inspections/fines.. The list goes on.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Loada crap.. 26ft with most things minus watermaker can be had for around €8K..
https://m.apolloduck.com/boat/van-de...ffshore/537663
No road tax, no annual MOT inspections, no tolls, no parking fees, no police stops for inspections.. The list goes on.

Spent $6500 for a 3/4ton diesel pickup and 28ft 5th wheel...then used them for 8yr with minimal maintenance beyond oil, brakes and tires. All in, with maintenance we were around $8-10k and when we sold them, we got about $5500 back.

Then again, how much will it cost to get that 26ft boat up to snuff before heading out...or are you going to say you don't need everything working right?

[Dooglas]

This has been an interesting thread. Seems like 3 groups of people are reading it. First those who are interested in the answer to the question. Then those who have done both and offer their real world experiences and costs. And then there are a determined few who are in complete denial about real numbers and offer unlikely arguments about how owning and operating a cruising boat couldn't possibly be more expensive despite everyone else's experiences.

[Mike OReilly]

I take from this that, just like with cruising, the answer really is: It depends.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Spent $6500 for a 3/4ton diesel pickup and 28ft 5th wheel...then used them for 8yr with minimal maintenance beyond oil, brakes and tires. All in, with maintenance we were around $8-10k and when we sold them, we got about $5500 back.

Then again, how much will it cost to get that 26ft boat up to snuff before heading out...or are you going to say you don't need everything working right?

It is up to snuff.. I suppose you'd need her rerigged and a new mast, new electrics and sails, a new engine..
Thats why $200K is not enough to retire on..
So insecure..

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

You can do a lot of the same things with an RV and if you read the threads on Florida, they chase out anchored boats given the chance. It's really not much different.

You only get messed with if you chose to try to stay anchored in a large city especially, or I guess any city really. If you stay out of the Cities, nobody cares.
I have never been messed with, but then I don’t want to stay in a large city, under the bridge.
The difference is that there really isn’t any public land in Fl for instance that you can set up an RV and stay, there are State parks, but try to get a reservation, and they aren’t spaced so that you can stay in one every night after a leisurely days travel.
I guess that would be a Walmart parking lot. Do you really want to stay in a Walmart parking lot? I don’t.
But you cannot do in an RV what you can do in a cruising boat in Fl, that is motor down the ICW and without any difficulty find a spot to stay overnight or maybe a couple of days.

I have no interest and I assume most here don’t either in setting up a permeant residence in one spot in an anchorage, or RV.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You only get messed with if you chose to try to stay anchored in a large city especially, or I guess any city really. If you stay out of the Cities, nobody cares.
I have never been messed with, but then I don’t want to stay in a large city, under the bridge.
The difference is that there really isn’t any public land in Fl for instance that you can set up an RV and stay, there are State parks, but try to get a reservation, and they aren’t spaced so that you can stay in one every night after a leisurely days travel.
I guess that would be a Walmart parking lot. Do you really want to stay in a Walmart parking lot? I don’t.
But you cannot do in an RV what you can do in a cruising boat in Fl, that is motor down the ICW and without any difficulty find a spot to stay overnight or maybe a couple of days.

I have no interest and I assume most here don’t either in setting up a permeant residence in one spot in an anchorage, or RV.

It's largely the same on land. In well developed urban areas, it's harder to find free places to stop. The more you get away from cities the easier it gets. The west has more open non-urban land but there are options in the east also.

Rough estimate, camp sites tend to run about 1/2 what marina slips run, so we tend not to use free camping but they are out there...just not typically where you can stay for months on end...but now you are not really cruising in my mind as cruising implies you move around periodically.

Yes, in some places, you can stay cheaper (or at least easier to find free places) on a boat but the reverse is true in other areas. Florida in the winter...seems like every senior citizen wants to do it...hence they don't like boats or RVs that try to do it for free.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You only get messed with if you chose to try to stay anchored in a large city especially, or I guess any city really. If you stay out of the Cities, nobody cares.
I have never been messed with, but then I don’t want to stay in a large city, under the bridge.
The difference is that there really isn’t any public land in Fl for instance that you can set up an RV and stay, there are State parks, but try to get a reservation, and they aren’t spaced so that you can stay in one every night after a leisurely days travel.
I guess that would be a Walmart parking lot. Do you really want to stay in a Walmart parking lot? I don’t.
But you cannot do in an RV what you can do in a cruising boat in Fl, that is motor down the ICW and without any difficulty find a spot to stay overnight or maybe a couple of days.

I have no interest and I assume most here don’t either in setting up a permeant residence in one spot in an anchorage, or RV.

And thats the nub of living in the land of the free..
I can anchor within a diinghy ride of large towns and cities around the European coast.. hell theres even a lot of places to go alongside for free outside the holiday season.. 3 to 5 days, any longer your regarded as taking the piss.

[Davy J]

Currently have both RV and sailboat. Expenses for the RV are orders of magnitude less than the boat..............

My RV does not need to be "hauled out", nor does it need bottom paint. And I don't need to pay someone to clean it's bottom............

The same 12v light bulb at the RV dealer is $2.95, it's 12.95 at WM........

I can do most repairs on my RV by myself. The boat yard won't let me do any repairs at all..........

A night in an RV park...... $30 to $50 bucks. A night in a marina..... $70 to $100 bucks.

Sure there are more places to anchor for free than stay in an RV, doesn't offset the other boat expenses.

We love both ways of life, and won't be giving either up soon, but RV lifestyle is way less expensive..........

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Davy J

Currently have both RV and sailboat. Expenses for the RV are orders of magnitude less than the boat..............

My RV does not need to be "hauled out", nor does it need bottom paint. And I don't need to pay someone to clean it's bottom............

The same 12v light bulb at the RV dealer is $2.95, it's 12.95 at WM........

I can do most repairs on my RV by myself. The boat yard won't let me do any repairs at all..........

A night in an RV park...... $30 to $50 bucks. A night in a marina..... $70 to $100 bucks.

Sure there are more places to anchor for free than stay in an RV, doesn't offset the other boat expenses.

We love both ways of life, and won't be giving either up soon, but RV lifestyle is way less expensive..........

Location, location,, location..