Andrew Cornwall
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How much does it cost for two people to spend the summer on an RV trip across North America from Nova Scotia to Alaska, and return? The answer surprised me and clearly shows that RVing can be a very economical way to have fun and travel.

Between June 4 and September 3, 2000 my wife, Nancy, and I traversed the continent both ways in our Dodge 1500 pickup truck with our 23 foot 5^th wheel trailer. As a primary destination we went to most of the tourist locations in the Yukon and Alaska; we also toured British Columbia, and traveled eastern, northern, and western Ontario. Further, we had occasion to stop in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Alaska is marvelous; Canada is beautiful. Our trip spanned 91 days and 14,500 miles. (Refer to map)

After coming home to Nova Scotia I tallied all of the information and calculated that the cost of the trip was only $7,544 Canadian or the equivalent of $4,904 in U.S. currency. This figure includes almost every out-of-pocket expense that Nancy and I incurred during our Year-2000 'Trip of a Lifetime'.

Nancy's diligent record keeping of our costs provides a profile of expenses that may be helpful to other RVers in planning the finances for similar excursions. The profile reflects Nancy's and my preference for frugal RVing, but we have the philosophy that whenever possible we should take the opportunity and spend the money to see everything that there is in an area.

The information in this article is intended to assist other RVers estimate trip costs, with adjustments to account for their traveling preferences and different starting locations. The trip included a blend of travel in Canada and the United States. Costs in this article are expressed in U.S. currency, with expenditures in Canada converted at the exchange rate of $1 Canadian equal to $0.65 U.S.

The major cost categories are shown in the Table for two trip segments. The main part of the trip in terms of number of days and opportunities for touring started at Edmonton, Alberta, and proceeded to the Yukon, Alaska, then into British Columbia through to the Canadian Rockie Mountains national parks, and ending at Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia. This journey is what many RVers refer to as the 'Alaska Trip', although it involves much more than seeing the State of Alaska. We spent 58 days on this part of the trip, covering 7,158 miles. The remaining part of the trip involved crossing most of the continent both from and returning to Nova Scotia, with stopovers to visit relatives and friends and see attractions along the way. This leg of the trip took 33 days, 19 going and 14 coming back, and covered 7,353 miles. The difference in the styles of RV travel in the two segments of the trip is illustrated in the average miles per day we traveled: 123 miles during the 'Alaskan' portion versus the quicker pace of 223 miles per day for the remaining part. Despite the difference in travel styles, however, the average total costs per day were very close: $54.70 for the 'Alaskan' segment and $54.20 for the remainder, although the breakdown of expenses for each portion of the trip does differ. I hope that the information in the Table is self-evident.

The most significant cost of the trip was for gasoline, and accounted for 44% of our total expenditures. At the time of our trip, gasoline prices in the United States and Canada were at (then) near record high levels. The average cost per gallon overall was, $1.75; the highest price, encountered, in the Yukon, was $2.09 per gallon.

To compensate for the high cost of gasoline we sought out free camping wherever practical and safe. We spent 7 nights with friends and relatives, and over-nighted 23 nights in a combination of Wal-mart / Sams Club parking lots, tourist information center parking lots, and roadside pull-offs. There were three private free camping areas: Mukluk Annie's at Teslin, Yukon, a new campground under construction in Chicken, Alaska, and Cinema 2^nd Hand at Cinema, B.C. We also economized by preparing most of our meals in the trailer, and limiting the number of restaurant meals.

Fortunately, there were no major repair bills for either the truck or the trailer. In addition to regular oil changes and adjustments, service to the truck involved repairing the windshield twice to contain cracks caused by flying road gravel. Trailer repairs mainly consisted of patching a leaky gray water tank and reinforcing the shelf of the microwave oven. Some of the roads in the Yukon, Alaska, and northwest B.C. are potholed and gravel, and can be a test of an RV's durability.

The breakdown of the Other Costs in the Table was as follows:

Highway and Bridge Tolls Beer, Liquor and Wine Propane Laundry Souvenirs Post Cards and Stamps Reading Materials Supplies and Misc. Total

Expenditure $ 16 180 38 24 139 68 29 177 $681

Cost Per Day $0.18 1.99 0.42 0.26 1.53 0.75 0.43 1.95 $7.49

There is one cost category missing from our trip that may apply to other RVers. That is photographic film and developing. I used a digital camera and stored pictures on my laptop computer during the journey. Once a digital camera is acquired, the cost of picture-taking is virtually zero. On our 'Trip of a Lifetime' I took about 2,000 pictures, and have since compiled a computer CD of over 1,000 of them. But, that's another story.

**** The cost of truck maintenance in this part of the trip is understated, because the truck was due for major maintenance upon returning home.