FIVE PARKS LIFE
Matt kneeling on gravel with a bottle jack and tool bag, working on a tire of the travel trailer.
ENTRY 10

What We Learned in Our First Year of RV Travel

The biggest thing we learned in our first year of RV travel is that the campsite is the cheap part. Our campsites averaged $33.08 a night, but once the truck’s gas and everything else went in, the year cost us about $204 a night.

As Amazon associates we may earn a little from the Amazon links below. It keeps the gas tank honest.

That’s from 85 nights and 34 stays in our Brinkley between September 2025 and September 2026. I dug through every receipt for what a year on the road actually cost us, and most of these lessons cost us money before they taught us anything. Here they are, with the real number behind each one.

1. Is the Texas State Parks Pass worth it? Yes, but buy it before you book

Our $70 Texas State Parks Pass paid us back $231. It should have been $371. Before I bought it, we’d already paid $118 in entrance fees at four Texas parks.

The sneaky part is when Texas applies the pass. Benefits attach when the reservation is created, not when you arrive. Our first Goose Island reservation was booked five days before I bought the pass, so we paid its $20 entrance anyway, even though we had the pass by the time we showed up. The whole breakdown is in our Texas vs. Colorado pass comparison.

2. Book a multi-night stay as one reservation

With the Texas pass, you get half off one night, but only on a reservation of two nights or more. Every multi-night reservation we made after buying the pass got that discount, $53 in all. Every one-night reservation got $0 off camping.

And we made a lot of one-night reservations. At Davis Mountains we booked two nights as two separate reservations. At Goose Island and Lake Livingston we liked it enough to stay longer, and both times I added the extra night as its own booking. That add-on night got free entry and nothing off the campsite. If you can, book the whole stay up front.

3. Do private RV parks cost more? More than twice as much

Private RV parks averaged $76.11 a night for us, against a $33.08 average across every campsite we paid for. (I count our one night at Southwinds Marina, the Laughlin Air Force Base campground on Lake Amistad, with them, since it’s a military campground.) They were only 10 of our 85 nights, about 12 percent. But they took about 27 percent of our campsite money.

Camp Eddy in Grand Junction is a good example. We had a 50-amp pull-through on the Colorado River, and it was $155.14 for two nights with taxes. Private parks have their place, but budget for them as the exception.

4. Where is the cheapest place to camp in an RV? Federal land

Federal campgrounds cost us $16.53 a night, 23 nights for $380.14 in all. That’s half our overall average. Part of that is my lifetime Access Pass, which takes 50 percent off the campsite at a lot of federal campgrounds (here’s how I got it for tinnitus).

Our cheapest stays in the whole year were federal. Penitente Canyon on BLM land in Colorado came to $7.50 a night. Hovenweep National Monument was $30 for three nights. If you’re choosing between a state park and a federal campground on the same night, run the numbers before assuming the state park wins.

5. Can you fix an RV flat tire yourself? Only if you carry the tools

On May 11, 2026 we got a flat near Lometa, Texas, out in the middle of nowhere without the equipment to fix it ourselves. We paid a roadside helper $364 to come out, then paid Discount Tire in San Angelo $169.70 the next morning. One flat cost us $533.70.

Within a week I’d bought the gear I should have had on day one:

All of it together came to $482.08, still less than the $533.70 that one flat cost us. We’ve had another flat since, and I fixed that one myself.

6. Watch out for paying two storage lots at once

Our home storage lot in Colorado is $90 a month. From October 2025 to April 2026 we also rented a spot in Austin. That second lot cost us $578.78, on top of every month at home. Storage for the year came to $1,748.78. If you’re keeping a home lot while you’re gone for months, it’s worth doing that math before you sign the second one.

7. What is the biggest cost of RV travel? Gas

Gas for the truck was $8,177.78 for the year. That’s almost three times what we spent on campsites, and about 47 percent of our entire running cost. (It includes the truck’s errands around home between trips, since it’s the only thing we own that burns gas.)

If you’re planning a year like ours, plan the gas budget before you plan the campground budget.

8. How much does Starlink cost for RV travel, and is it worth it?

Starlink gets its own line in our yearly number, $2,151.47 of service in the first year, and it should get one in yours. The Starlink Mini kit was $539 in September 2025. Our service was $165 a month, and it went to $175 a month in July 2026.

Is it worth it? Oh my God, yes, in a huge way. If you need to be connected, it’s by far the way to go. We also use it for all of our TV streaming. There’s zero chance I’d go camping without it.

9. How much does it cost to set up an RV? Almost a year of running costs

Getting set up cost us $16,260.42, counting from a couple of weeks before pickup. That’s only about $1,000 less than the $17,354.29 the whole first year cost to run.

Most of it was Amazon, $11,226.50 of sewer hoses and leveling blocks and everything in between. The single biggest purchase was a 460Ah lithium battery from Epoch for $2,286.40. If you’re pricing out a first year, plan on close to double your running-cost budget for year one.

10. How many nights should you stay at a campground? At least three

Over our first year we averaged two and a half nights a stay (85 nights across 34 stays). I’d make three nights the minimum. By the time you arrive and unpack, the afternoon is gone. You need one full day to actually enjoy the place, and then the next day you’re leaving. Two nights at the very least, but three is ideal. (In Texas, a longer stay also gets you the half-price night from lesson 2.)

11. Do you need a backup generator? We carry two now

Our first generator failed on us twice. When it quit in the rain near Mesa Verde in September 2026, we bought a second one, a Pulsar PG5250BCO dual fuel, at the Walmart in Cortez for $575.03. The day after we bought it, the first one started working again. So now I feel like I have to bring both.

The one thing I’d tell a first-year RVer

Take it slow and pay attention. And try not to break things. One of my favorite RV YouTube channels (I can’t remember which one) uses the acronym GOAL: Get Out And Look. I stick with that all the time. I also drive with the truck windows down, so I’d hear right away if something’s wrong.

The whole year on one table

If you just want the numbers, here they are, one line per lesson.

Lesson The number
Buy the Texas pass before you book $371 back on $70, if bought on day one
Book a stay as one reservation $0 camping discount on every one-night booking
Private parks cost more $76.11 a night vs. our $33.08 average
Federal land is cheapest $16.53 a night
Carry a tire kit $533.70 for one flat, $482.08 for the kit
Watch for double storage $578.78 for the second lot
Gas is the big one $8,177.78, about 3x campsites
Budget for Starlink $2,151.47 of service in year one
Setup costs nearly a year $16,260.42
Stay at least three nights We averaged 2.5
Carry backup power $575.03 for a second generator

Questions people ask

How much does a year of RV travel cost?

Our first year cost $17,354.29 to run, which works out to about $204 for each of our 85 nights. Campsites were $2,812.02 of that, and gas for the truck was $8,177.78. It doesn’t include owning the truck and trailer. Insurance and food aren’t in it either.

What is the cheapest way to camp in an RV?

For us it was federal campgrounds, at $16.53 a night. A lifetime Access Pass usually takes 50 percent off the campsite at federal campgrounds that honor it, for people who qualify. State parks were next, and private RV parks were the most expensive at $76.11 a night.

Is the Texas State Parks Pass worth it for RVers?

It was for us. The $70 pass saved us $231 on entrance fees and camping discounts, and it would have saved about $371 if we’d bought it before our first Texas reservation. Benefits apply when the reservation is made, so buy the pass first.

Is Starlink worth it for RV travel?

For us, yes, in a huge way. Our service was $165 a month, then $175 from July 2026, and it came to $2,151.47 in our first year. It keeps us connected, and we use it for all of our TV streaming.

What should you carry to fix an RV flat tire?

After one flat cost us $533.70, we started carrying a tire plug kit and a cordless impact wrench. Add the rest of the kit and it came to $482.08, and I’ve used it to fix a flat myself since.

See you down the road,
Matt