Save Money With These Cheap RVing Solutions

Recent inflation on the costs of nearly everything has everyone tightening their belts and looking for ways to save money. With huge leaps in fuel costs, some RVers are even questioning whether they can afford to take an RV holiday this year.

Luckily, there are still painless ways you can cut back on expenses so you can still RV without breaking the bank. Here are our top RVing solutions for affordable travel during these rather expensive times.

1. Camp close to home

Saving money by not driving as far is one option that makes RVing doable. You’d be surprised what you can find right in your own backyard. There are tons of attractive options for affordable RVing close to where you live.

2. Join a club

Club memberships don’t cost a lot and can save you a lot of money on campground fees at member RV campgrounds. These campgrounds are usually family-friendly, pet-friendly, full hookup campgrounds.

3. Eat more plant-based meals

Most people already know that eating plant-based meals is healthier, and better for the planet. Making amazing plant-based chili, delicious baked beans, or scrumptious plant-based pancakes from scratch can save you serious money in the long run.

These foods can be just as delicious as meat-based alternatives. For plant-based camp food recipes your family will love, check out:

4. Bring along a bicycle for sight-seeing

Riding a bicycle will save you some serious coin while you enjoy seeing the sights. Electric bikes are now available in all sorts of configurations, but they are heavy. Carrying weight adds significantly to RV fuel costs, so you might not be saving a lot of money by using an electric bike.

Electric bikes are also more expensive and typically over $1000+. That’s an awful lot more than a decent entry-level pedal-powered bicycle.

5. Don’t get sucked into buying RV products

There are many products out there that are available pretty cheaply until someone decides they can sell them as a special RV product. Here are a few examples of things that seem overpriced just because they have the “for use in RVs” designation.

  • RV toilet paper:  Toilet paper needs to dissolve fast in RV black tanks. Toilet paper also needs to dissolve fast in septic systems. Septic system-safe toilet paper works perfectly in RV black tanks. Yet, RV toilet paper is often more than twice the cost of regular septic system-safe toilet paper.
  • RV awning mats:  Typically made from lightweight woven plastic strands, an RV awning mat will help to keep dirt from getting tracked into the RV.  An RV awning mat also gives a comfortable ambiance to the area under the RV awning. An RV awning mat sells for close to $80 and up. A similar patio rug made from lightweight, colored plastic strands can be found at Costco and elsewhere for around $40.
  • RV accessory bags:  RV electrical cords can be stored in an old gym bag, but you could also store them in a special RV accessory bag for around $50.