Once a year we take a vacation abroad. In 2018, it was the tiny beach village of Chacala in Nayarit Mexico. 2019, we hit up South East Asia; Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Taiwan. This year we had a spectacular trip to Europe planned for March. Spain, Hungary, and the UK were on the itinerary. But then COVID happened, and like most everyone with 2020 travel plans, we had to cancel the trip. We never once thought we’d rent and RV and travel to Montana when we canceled.

Side Note: The big airlines have given me vouchers to book new flights by the end of this year: United and Iberia. The smaller European ones never responded. Airbnb…full refunds and now I’m a customer for life.

With our yearly vacation canceled, we went about work with our heads down trying our best to dodge the layoff checks. Dreaming of when the world might return to normal again.

After a few months, we adapted to life in a pandemic. Hopefully not complacent, but more accepting of the new rules of society. Masks. Social distancing. No travel abroad. But a domestic vacation started to feel doable, if we could only do it away from the crowds.

So we put in for vacation and decided we’d see a little bit of the good ol’ USA this year. Glacier National Park our destination number one.

We Hit The Road

We rented an RV and spent 11 days running from the smoke-filled skies of California. Eventually, the smoke found us all the way in Montana. In total there were only three smoke-free days on our trip. It was disappointing to have smoke obscure what must have been a truly scenic country on the drive. Even the glorious Glacier National park’s epic mountains were shadowed by thick nasty haze.

I refused to allow something out of my control, the smoke, to ruin my perception of what could have been. My focus was on spending time with the family and not worrying about work–smoke covered mountains be damned.

Renting an RV and camping seemed like a frugal way to have a vacation. But was it?

Here are the numbers for 11 days spent driving up to Glacier National Park and back via Yellowstone from the glorious Bay Area.

Broken down by category:

Gas $845.82

This was actually lower than my predicted $1k estimate for gas expenses. The RV was a C Class 2020 Dodge 350 Leprechaun Coachman. It averaged roughly 13 mpg and had a 20-gallon tank. What saved us was the extremely low gas prices once we left California. The average gas price outside my state was $2.20.

Daily Average-$76

Frugal Strategy: No strategy than the basic regular unleaded and finding the cheapest gas station when pulling over. We just drove till we got down to a quarter tank, pulling over as soon as we saw a gas station signage.

Food $582.48

With the exception of the last 2 days, all the food we ate was cooked in the RV or BBQ’d by yours truly. For whatever reason, when we go camping, we spend more money than usual on food. I think this is due to the protein we buy for the grill. Being able to eat in the RV was fantastic. Even on the road, my wife was dangerously able to whip up coffee and snacks so we could keep it moving.

The last 2 days we spent in South Lake Tahoe. It was here we ate out at a restaurant for the first time since March. This meal alone was $102–top-shelf tequila added mightily to the bill. Was it worth it? For me no, the ribs at this highly rated BBQ joint were dry.

Daily Average–$52

Frugal Strategy: We just avoided eating out. Since we were technically camping, I grilled up quite a bit. Chicken thighs, burgers, ribs, vegetables. Breakfast was eggs or cereal.

Lodging $429.77

Lodging? But you must be referring to the RV, right? Nope. We actually paid to park this thing places. With the exception of one night boondocking in a hotel parking lot in Spokane, we stood at campgrounds or RV parks. There was heavy consideration regarding the ultra frugal boondocking approach vs the luxury RV parks with running water, washers, and cable tv. We opted for the middle way, about half at campgrounds and half at RV parks. We all know the easy way is always the more expensive way…The Lazy Way.

“Lazy People Spend More”– Me

Daily Average-$39

Frugal Strategy- Other than trying our hand at boondocking, we just tried to stick campgrounds which averaged $20 a night. If I were to go back, I think we’d have boondocked more.

RV Rental $2,854

Yikes! I thought I’d found a great deal. $95 a day. Then I found out they charged .42 cents a mile. The total rental was $1,225, and the mileage fee (plus a few bucks for generator use and refill of propane) turned out to be $1629.87. This gets us to the $4k mark stated above.

Overall we were happy with the rental. We went through Bear RV, a company that appears to cater to Germans coming to the US to road trip. They rented us a 2020 class C, which we appreciated. The only other time I’d rented had been with Cruise America, and the first RV was infested with bed bugs and the rental was dated and falling apart. I would happily go back to Bear and recommend them as long as you know about the mileage fee.

Daily Average- $259

Frugal Strategy– Sadly there was none other than the initial online search for the lowest per night rental vs. high review company. We had a destination and we went for it. It was nice being in a new vehicle with only 30k miles.

Grand Total -$ 4,712

This includes a few fees to get into the National Parks. But yes, the cost did exceed my expectations. The mileage fee threw me for a loop once I got the keys and did some math.

Family Time Is RV Time

Being together in such tight quarters ended up being a great time. We thought we could do remote schooling from our hotspot, but this turned out to be a pipe dream. Too spotty of service and super loud ambient noise didn’t allow for A_ to get any schooling done. Which turned out okay, as the teacher was understanding and allowed us to do homework assignments during the vacation in lieu of zoom.

The most shocking aspect of the trip was our return to our house.

Never before had I felt like my house was too huge. Why did I buy The Palace of Versailles? It felt like too much, insanely way too much. It was a kick in the gut. I felt a tinge of hypocritic guilt when I walked back into my cavernous 1900 square foot house–I was an over indulger hungrily consuming more than I needed. What did I possibly need all this space for? It all felt so wasteful and surreal after 11 days in the cramped 100 square foot RV.

Being in the tiny RV reminded me of my Navy and backpacking days. This is where I feel most natural; just having enough, a few pairs of clothes, a good book, and my family. I now know I have minimalist tendencies.

Alas, this feeling only lasted the night. By morning I started to get accustomed to the once palacial space my house had become while I was gone. Now it feels completely normal.

Is Renting an RV Cheap?

This is obviously subjective, but I’d say it was expensive for what we expected it would have cost. Our last few trips abroad were actually cheaper than the RV Rental Vacation, save our Asia trip.

• Our 2017 Hawaii trip to Kauai was only $3,500- 6 days
• 2018 Pacific Coast Mexico-$3,800- 8 days
• 2019 SE Asia- $7,000- 10 days

I had the notion that road trips were cheap, but I see now that just like anything, it takes effort to keep the costs down. We were aiming for ease on this trip. No more 2020 stress. Just drive and let the good times roll. This lack of planning and strategy led us to spend more.

Yes, we could have done the trip cheaper, but every penny was worth it. I now have memories of a lifetime with my family, something I can always look back on and I’m confident I won’t be thinking of the money spent on the trip.

I’m sure the girls will remember the two weeks we spent cramped in the RV running from the wildfire smoke. We had plenty of fun nights playing Mario Party.

My fantasy and bucket list #1 has always been to drive down to Buenos Aires, this recent trip has put some doubt into that dream. We really pushed the driving over the 11 days we had. I don’t think I’m ready for another road trip for a few years. Maybe my handy selective amnesia will keep the Buenos Aires dream alive, but man it was tough driving so much in less than 2 weeks time.

2020 has been a challenging year for us, just like the rest of the world. We’ve been fortunate to stay working, but have seen mass layoffs and we both do feel that our necks are still on the block. This has been probably the toughest year of my working life, just with completing a massive $250 million dollar high rise and then being shipped off with no communication to a bad job.

Sobriety

I’ve also been sober for over a year now. In September of 2019, I stopped drinking, and in January of 2020, I stopped smoking marijuana. Why? I just needed a change from the norm. I enjoy the challenge of self-discipline.

This newfound sobriety has also added to the stress of 2020 for me. Drinking and smoking have always been a way for me to relax and just focus on the present. But at this time in my life, the benefits of being sober outweigh any urge to drink I have. I feel healthier than I have in a decade. And with no hangovers on the weekends, I feel like a better dad and can keep up with my energetic 4 and 6-year-olds.

But this vacation was just what we needed as a family, and for me, so I let the wallet open up a bit, just for 2 weeks.

COVID Impacts to our RV Trip?

Other than seeing tons of people not wearing masks and not adhering to social distancing norms I’d become accustomed to in California, there wasn’t much that COVID hindered on the trip. Granted our goal was to be out in nature and camp and see National Parks; not be around people or visit cities.

One thing that did bother us was the smoke. We just couldn’t escape it. It followed us all the way to Montana and obscured what I’m sure was beautiful scenery.

After driving hurriedly up to Montana we took some time to chill out in the National Flathead Forest at Hungry Horse Reservoir. Then we drove down to Yellowstone and sent a few days cruising the park and fishing the many streams and rivers…no catches.

Is 2020 The Year of Domestic Travel?

Curious to see if anyone has taken any vacations this year? If so, where and was it more expensive than your usual vacation budget? How has Covid impacted your travel this year?