Motorhome running costs

When we changed in 2013 we saved some money but spent more elsewhere. When we towed we only had one vehicle which was the tow car so changing to a motorhome required us to buy an additional vehicle which of course adds to the total costs. You may already have a second car so it might not be so noticeable? In terms of direct comparisons between the costs of running a caravan and a motorhome. The habitation service costs are about the same, we also found that to be the case with insurance. We actually saved money on VED as even adding the road tax of small car and motorhome together came out less than our original tow car. You will have to pay extra for a cab service on the motorhome but depending on model that might only be every two years. It's not a precise science as we don't know enough about your current arrangements but it should be reasonably easy to work out one slight bonus was that the motorhome was more economic to run than the towcar.

David

I kept a record of running costs of the first motorhome I owned from 2001 to 2011. Here were my conclusions which i posted on my web site.

Cost of ownership
For those who maybe wondering what the total costs are to own a motorhome, excluding tax, insurance and depreciation, the costs of maintaining and repairing our Autotrail Mohican over 10 years of use have averaged £650 per annum. Insurance and tax costs averaged £513 per annum. Total running costs all depend on how much you use it, the more you use it the more benefit you get. As at the end of 2011, our total average annual expenditure was £4,860 for on average 100 days use a year. We rarely wild camp and have averaged 7200 miles a year with an average night stop cost of £10. Fuel consumption averaged 23.6 mpg which included towing a car..

In terms of cost per mile and nightly costs, this works out at 67p a mile or £48 per night but, if you include depreciation, this rises to 98p a mile or £68 per night. Costs of extra equipment, are not included in these figures. Not as cheap as some might think but still thoroughly enjoyable and good value for money.

I never had any major repair bills in the 10 years.

My current motorhome is larger and is costing more to run. For safety, and after 8 years use, I have had to recently replace all 6 tyres and renew the front brake pads, a major expense not included in the figures below. I have lost some of the cost records due to computer problems but  for the first 6 years (2012 to 2017 inclusive) I worked out :

Insurance of the higher value motorhome is nearly double that of the Mohican and fuel consumption is 20 percent higher averaging 19.6 m.p.g. The cost of ownership after the first 6 years and nearly 37,000 miles of use is working out at £56 per night away or £1 per mile.

Two years on, I have since done a further 10,000 miles and still average about 100 days away each year..

My guess is at todays prices costs or running a typical motorhome would be somewhere between £48 to £56 per day or 67p to £1 per mile?

peedee

I make what I feel is a fair assumption that as Frank is currently a caravanner the cost of sites will be similar whether its a motorhome or caravan, especially in this country? OK there could be a cost saving if motorhome aires were used if Frank is intending to abroad. The real cost differences will revolve around how many vehicles you run as a motorhomer compared to being a caravanner, but even then it's only going to be and extra one lot of VED and a cab service? 

David

Although perhaps buying secondhand tends to lessen the depreciation element of ownership a bit?

David