💸 Van Life Budget: Real Monthly Costs

What vanlifers actually spend per month — fuel, food, camping, insurance, and the repair buffer everyone forgets.

The honest truth from hundreds of full-timers: most spend $800–$3,000/month, and the range is almost entirely about comfort choices, not luck.

The big two: fuel and food. Fuel is usually the single biggest line item ($300–$600/month for a gas van at 13–16 MPG if you move often). Slow down — vanlifers who stay 1–2 weeks per spot routinely halve their fuel bill. Food runs $350–$550/person/month if you cook; eating out daily can double your whole budget.

Camping is where budgets are won. Free camping (BLM, National Forest, Walmart where allowed) can take your lodging cost to $0. Paid campgrounds run $15–$45/night — that's $450–$1,350/month if you use them every night. Mix free weeks with an occasional paid night for showers and laundry.

The budget-killer nobody plans for: repairs. Set aside 10–15% of your budget (or a flat $100–$200/month) into a repair buffer. One alternator, transmission, or set of tires can wipe out an unbuffered month. Vanlifers with a cash reserve call breakdowns an adventure; those without call them the end of the trip.

Don't forget the invisible bills: insurance ($80–$150/mo), phone/hotspot ($50–$120/mo), laundry ($30–$60/mo), propane, and subscriptions.

Starter math: $1,000/mo = bare-bones slow travel, mostly free camping, cook everything. $2,000/mo = comfortable full-time with paid sites sometimes. Track every dollar in Roadlife's Expense Tracker for one month — your own numbers beat any blog post.