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electricity costs


nowawannab

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I realize that everyone's electric usage varies, but I was wondering what electricity costs are for some of the full timers.......we are ALMOST ready to by our first MH, probably a class A 34-38 ', 2 or 3 slides......trying to guestimate where we will be staying, have a general plan on where we will eventually end up this summer and fall/winter. I have come across rv parks that INCLUDE all h/ups, including electric, and others, for longer stays, that have "discounted" rates, but have metered electric. Is it better on the budget to take the "free" electricity and stay at the site for the max for all utilities? Or would a lower weekly/monthly rate (but have metered electricity) be less expensive? I just need some feedback as to what others have experienced..............

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We're in south Louisiana where we run the heater and air conditioner frequently. And the heater has been used more frequently this winter. Our coach is an all electric 45' with 2 slides so we have a lot of space to maintain. Our electric bill has been from $100-150.

Back on the road again in a 2011 Roadtrek 210P

2011 Tahoe 4x4, 2006 Lexus GX470, 2018 Ranger XP1000, 2013 RZR 570LE
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If you are running air and elecric heaters a lot then expect in the 100-125 area....that is about what we do under heavy use.....coach in sig line.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
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The amount will vary greatly by season and how you heat and cool. Our highest cost was during the three summer months we spent in the Dallas area where we paid about $225 per month for three incredibly hot months. The rest of the year the costs are usually more in the range Jack mentions. That said, we have found parks where the electric is included to be the most economical by far.

2000 Volvo 770, 500HP/1650FP Cummins N14 and 10 Speed Autoshift 3.58 Rear 202" WB, 2002 Teton Aspen Royal 43 Foot, Burgman 650 Scooter

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Summer 2011, late July, at Excapee's in Livingston, TX, temps high 90s F, humidity in the 90% range, metered electricty at 12.5 cents KWH, the bill averaged $5.66 per day, 32 ft fiver, 50 AMP with two ACs (15,000 and 13,500 BTU) running most of the day to keep the RV cool. I would think that this is on the high side for AC. If it were very cold and you were doing it with electricty, it could also be that high.

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Usually your electric is included for most parks on a daily or weekly rental basis. Some include electric with monthly rates, but most charge extra for electric. Daily rates in a CG are usually the highest they charge, then if you stay a week you get a little break in rates. The best rate if monthly and the highest discount.

 

We budget $350/month for CG fees and have been averaging $268.

Full time since August 2010

2002 Itasca Horizon

 

One fur kid - a Shih-Tsu rescue

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The park we are in includes electric charges for the daily or weekly rates. If you pay the monthly rate it is as cheap as 2 weeks but then you have to pay extra for the electric. They do put a cap of $100. for the month's electric charge. That works good for us. Dave

2006 Coachmen Aurora 36ft. Class A motor home. 2009 Honda CRV toad. "Snowbirds" apprx. 6 mos. each year. Travelling to the SW each winter than returning to Wi. each summer. Retired and enjoying our travels along with Buddy the cat.

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We used to use about 250 kWh per month when little or no AC use was involved. Now we both have CPAP machines and my wife uses an oxygen concentrator at night along with the CPAP.

We now use about 400 kWh per month.

We have paid as little as about $0.10 per kWh and as much as $0.20 per kWh.

So our electricity bill has been as little as $24 and as much as $80.

AC or electric heater use can increase that a lot.

 

Here in AZ, RV parks can charge what they want for electricity as long as you don't rent the site for 180 or more consecutive days. The park we spend the winter in charges $0.20 per kWh . The good news is they only charge $160 per month for the site with water and sewer included.

Other parks here (Bouse AZ) chrage less for electricity but more for the site rental.

Clay(WA5NMR), Lee(Wife), Katie & Kelli (cats)
Full timed for eleven years in our 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Snowbirds for 1 year. Now settled down in western CO.
Honda Accord toad.

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  • 4 weeks later...

$100-150/month for me in a 36' Class A with two >12' slides using electric for everything while wintering in Texas. Heat, AC, water heater, convection oven, microwave, hotplate, fridge, media storage array, DVR, and a laptop or two. Oh, and gaming computer and some game consoles. I'm not stingy with my heat and AC. If you're the type to put on a sweater before turning up the thermostat, your bill should be lower. Using propane for heat may be cheaper. I haven't done the math.

 

 

As others have said, all utilities are generally included in daily and weekly rates. Monthly rates usually don't include electricity and I've even seen (but not stayed at) a couple of places that metered water use. Either way, the monthly rate will work out to be far cheaper than the weekly rate unless you're staging battles between multiple electric heaters and AC units. The place I'm at now is $28/day, $160/week, $415/month. So, in February (to make the weekly rate math work out) that would be $784 at the daily rate, $640 at the weekly rate, or $515-565 at the monthly rate with electricity added.

 

On an unrelated note, if internet access is important to you, bring your own. Internet service at most RV parks is pretty bad. Place I'm at now doesn't even get a rating of "reallllly slow". It's been offline since before I got here. On second thought, it's TengoInternet. It's probably less frustrating this way because I can't waste any time trying to use it. :)

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Well we are not full timers but we spend long periods in one place like 6 months in the winter. Electric cost vary all over the place. We are in a Rv condo community where you own the lot and the utilities are metered. It is in central Florida . I forgot what the electric and water rates are but we use what we use and pay the bill. Might be 80.00 one month and 110.00 the next depending on the temperatures. The A/C's have been running a lot the last few days as it has been in the mid 90's. The water bills are very high here in Florida. We get 45 and 50.00 water bills for a 5th wheel camper. Our S&B water bills are much lower.

 

Our utility bills at our S &B in Northern Ohio are much less for a much larger area. When we first got to Florida 6 years ago we stayed at a Snowbird campground and paid 545.00 per month all utilities included. Folks who will rent our their self owned lots here in this resort get anywhere f rom 650.00 to 850.00 per month all utilities included.

 

We like to be comfortable in terms of heat and cooling so we use whatever it takes. We have no usage spreadsheets.

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter.

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Here in AZ, RV parks can charge what they want for electricity as long as you don't rent the site for 180 or more consecutive days.

 

Is this something unique to AZ? I ask because I was told in more than one RV park in TX that they cannot adjust prices because to do so would make them a power company. I don't know if this is TX specific or what.

The richest are not those who have the most, but those who need the least.

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I don't know if other states allow it or not. It depends on the state regulatory agency - not the feds as some people think.

Below is the AZ state info.

 

Revised bill url scroll down to 33-2101
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/arizonarevisedstatutes.asp?title=33

33-2101. Application; duration of stay; exclusions

A. This chapter applies to, regulates and determines rights, obligations and remedies for a recreational vehicle space rented in a recreational vehicle park or mobile home park by the same tenant under a rental agreement for more than one hundred eighty consecutive days.

B. This chapter does not apply to mobile homes, manufactured homes and factory-built buildings or to a property with one or two recreational vehicle rental spaces.

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/33/02101.htm&Title=33&DocType=ARS

Clay(WA5NMR), Lee(Wife), Katie & Kelli (cats)
Full timed for eleven years in our 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Snowbirds for 1 year. Now settled down in western CO.
Honda Accord toad.

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  • 2 months later...

the cost of to keep a rig cool is also directly related to the color of the rig.our 5th wheel has a nice full body paint job in dark colors and above 75 degrees you cannot hold your hand on it but a white unit no problem so we end up with both ac units working.next rv will be white!

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Had the same idea of the lighter coach and a/c units........noticed that the new coaches have black units (?) We ended up with a 35' class A, light colored, with 2 a/c units. The plan was to travel with the seasons, but because of my ongoing medical treatments, we will be in central FLA for a while......have a 2 year lease at this sight, the discounted monthly rate will $till allow us to travel next summer up North . Our electric is metered directly from the electric co. (a co-operative we've had for many years) .......but, with 90's every day, lows in the high 70's, our air units are really working.......waiting for the first electric bill :(

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We are at the SKP Co-Op at Coarsegold, CA and the way the electricity and propane is priced makes for some interesting choices. The daily rate of $21 includes electricity. The monthly rate of $480 does not. The cost of electricity is based on a tiered pricing schedule. The first 513 Kwhr is 13.6 cents per Kwhr. The next 154 Kwhr is 15.5 cents per Kwhr. After that the price skyrockets to 32 cents per Kwhr or higher. If the weather is mild, it is easy to keep usage within the first tier but this past month has seen daily high temps in the 90s and A/C use has been high.

 

During our first month, we paid the monthly rate and used 656 Kwhr at a cost of $92.06. By using propane for the refrigerator and water heater, we were able to avoid going into the 3rd tier where the cost is 32 cents per Kwhr. But we also used 2 more bottles of propane than we normally use. Even at the low price of $2.61 a gallon for propane, that added about $35 to our utility costs. So, during our first 30 days, our utility cost was a total of about $127 or about $4.25 per day.

 

We extended our stay for three weeks and began paying the daily rate of $21 which is $5 more a day than the monthly rate ($480/30 = $16). All total, we are now spending 75 cents a day more but we no longer have to worry about moving into the 3rd tier of usage. The forecast for the next week is high 90s with a couple of 100+ days and we will be using both A/C units a lot.

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We spent a month in May and early June of this year in Albuquerque, and used 1100 KWH of power at $.11 per KWH. It was HOT during the day. We have been in Redwood City CA for the past two weeks, and so far have used 260 KWH, at a much higher rate that New Mexico. We are parked next to the Bay so it is reasonably cool (65-75 degrees) during the day and in the 50's during the night. Residential Refer, washer, and dryer do add to the load, and we do run the A/C's instead of open windows and fans due to wife's allergies. If I get out of here for under 600 KWH after a month, I will be a happy camper.

Frank
Kay - Co-pilot

Roscoe and Maggie - Rescue Beagles

"I asked God to send us a True Friend. He sent us a Beagle!"
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood!"

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I won't be full-timing for another 4 1/2 years, but by then I expect electric rates to no less than double due to our President's promise that our electric rates will "necessarily skyrocket" after his emission regulations which will phase out all coal fired power plants by 2016 which currently produce over 40% of our electricity. (Please, no judgments. I'm not trying to get political, just stating a fact.) Consequently, I'm planning on adding solar to supplement my electrical needs with a grid-tie/battery system. Its a lot of money at first and adds lots of weight, but as the price of solar continues to fall while electric rates continue to rise the break-even point will drop, making solar more cost effective as time passes. A lot can happen in 4 1/2 yrs though - major technological breakthroughs, changes in EPA regs, etc.. Anyway, I've got 4+ yrs to make my alternative energy decision. Hence I'm now looking for a TT with around 4,000 lbs of CCC (1,000 lbs more than I had previously considered) making my choice of available TT's very small indeed. In fact I've only found these models that interest me: a Gulfstream Conquest or Trailmaster 295sbw and a Palomino Puma 30RKSS. If anyone knows of other high CCC TTs (under 8,000 lbs UVW) with at least one super-slide in the 30+ft range, I would greatly appreciate a recommendation.

 

Thanks,

 

Chip

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With your requirements, you may be forced into a Toyhauler.

 

http://www.northwoodmfg.com/index.php?page=model&make=desert&id=1045

 

Newt

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll look at some more toyhaulers.

 

That particular model has no slides and is just a tad heavy for my needs (with 8,447 ULV) due to my limited capacity TV ( an F-250) and we need a walk around bed. I'll look at some more toyhaulers though, maybe I'll find one that's suitable. I really like the back porch I've seen on several units, but most lightweight models have no slides, are pretty spartan inside and some have less CCC than many conventional TTs. I really like the Nitro 31FQSL by Forest River. Too bad there are no specs on it yet. I'll bet its too heavy though.

 

Chip

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Thanks for the recommendation! I'll look at some more toyhaulers.

 

That particular model has no slides and is just a tad heavy for my needs (with 8,447 ULV) due to my limited capacity TV ( an F-250) and we need a walk around bed. I'll look at some more toyhaulers though, maybe I'll find one that's suitable. I really like the back porch I've seen on several units, but most lightweight models have no slides, are pretty spartan inside and some have less CCC than many conventional TTs. I really like the Nitro 31FQSL by Forest River. Too bad there are no specs on it yet. I'll bet its too heavy though.

 

Chip

 

If you can find a Northwood product that you can live with, I think you'll find their construction quality above average.

 

Newt

2012 HitchHiker Discover America 345 LKSB

2009 Dodge/Cummins

 

LIVINGSTON TX

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  • 3 months later...

Chip

Totally go for it. Get Harbor Freight's cheapest solar setup for your current A Liner. 45 W, converter, plus two trouble lights. Buy an auto inverter at K Mart or Think Geek. I more than made back the cost in just a few months. This is actual electric fees in a small trailer. You can use it for your current RV, and to charge stuff in the S&B. Then just move it over to the new trailer. Then add panels and batteries as you can. You can leave these as dedicated batteries, or just enlarge your converter/inverter setup later. I love this lifestyle. I find freedom from the grid empowering.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks for the advice, Grace. I currently have a small generator and inverter I use with my Aliner that serves me adequately for now. My 1,500 watt generator will run the 5,000 btu ac in my Aliner and charge my single group 27 battery just fine.

 

On my planned FT TT I have a large solar system in mind. I'm planning on adding a high efficiency heat pump for off-grid air conditioning and heating. They seem to be getting more efficient, and solar panels cheaper all the time. I'm thinking of a super high efficiency mini-split Ac such as this HSAC-12H/C: http://www.geinnovations.net/Specifications.html It produces 12,000 BTUs of cooling power using only 560 watts of 48v DC power (less than 12 amps!) and 12,500 btus of heat using only 600 watts! Plus the system doesn't turn off and on like a conventional ac, but has a variable speed rotary compressor that will ramp up and down, varying the BTU output from 5,000 - 12,000 btus as needed, reducing power consumption even more.

 

For comparison, a typical 13,500 BTU RV ac uses 1,300-1,800 watts to run (50% more for starting.) Heating is even worse, a 1,500 watt electric heater only produces 5,100 BTUs making resistance generated electric heat impractical for off grid applications. Such a system will require a battery bank of 8, GC-2 (golf cart) batteries and 1,500 watts of solar panels, adding at least 1,000 lbs. to the TT, but will give me the ability to extend my boondocking season to all but peak times of heat and cold for my snowbird lifestyle. If necessary, a 1600 watt portable windmill like this http://www.amazon.com/Missouri-FreedomTM-Wind-Turbine-Generator/dp/B00LLQ679U/ref=psdc86_t2_B00I2UQ5UO_B00LLQ679U or this one http://www.amazon.com/Missouri-FreedomTM-Wind-Turbine-Generator/dp/B00I2UQ5UO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_lg_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1R3A7JE3R1PH2GGX7MPY or even a small EU2000 Honda generator can be used to add additional charging power at night and during periods of low sunlight and high electrical use too.

 

Chip

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There is a chart on the home page for SKP co-op park Evergreen-Coho that gives equivalent prices for electricity versus propane.

 

Look about half way down the home page. http://www.rollinrollin.com/evergreen/

 

WDR

1993 Foretravel U225 with Pacbrake and 5.9 Cummins with Banks

1999 Jeep Wrangler, 4" lift and 33" tires

Raspberry Pi Coach Computer

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