[slowmover]

MG, the “goal” (as you’ve seen me say) is being happy with the per nights aboard cost of an RV. How many years & miles expected. Finance, insurance, maintenance factored. It’s often $350-$400 the way most people do it.

One trailer TYPE is the longevity king. And the family vehicle properly-spec’d for that, FIRST, is the tow king. It won’t be a pickup unless one is a farmer or a contractor as minuses far outweigh pluses.

One trailer DESIGN is the FE King (as it’s optimized for safe handling: crosswinds). Happily, these two are the same.

The lowest cost per mile (and per night aboard) is also the lowest risk per mile.

But only if properly-mated to the right family vehicle.

1). From the annual nights aboard number (5k miles annually), what percent of those daily hours is spent at steady-state cruise? (As you’ve broken it out). How has this changed travel plans? Real numbers. Not feels good stuff.

2). What is the cost reduction per night of FE maximization in this approach? As the other costs (mainly depreciation) outweigh it? (Costs above and beyond initial purchase. Will spending to save work?).

3). Versus having a tight-spec family vehicle (Safety & FE), what was the Tow Vehicle penalty for owning a less efficient vehicle (cpm)?

It’s not just the trailer, in other words. The best outcome IS the trailer-first approach. All else follows, is where savings are most obvious.

The last item is also a budget set aside. A hard-surface, covered parking spot on your property with 30A (minimum) electrical plus water & sewer.


Use a clean sheet of paper.
Sharpen several new pencils.

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