Here are a couple of posts I did showing our snowbird trip expenses: Different years but added dup to close to the same.

RV Snowbird Trip 2017/18 – How Much Did It Cost?

How Much Does it Cost Us To Be RV Snowbirds?

PS. Be careful with a F150 + fifth wheel combo Usually too little payload capacity can be a problem unless the fiver is really lightweight. Having too little truck, especially our west makes the travel no fun.

Camping fees, fuel, food, liquor, sightseeing is about 3-4k a month. We boondock when we can but also like to stay in the National Park campgrounds when we visit those. We rarely eat dinner out but often have lunch out when we are sightseeing. We are frugal on clothes, shopping mostly at second hand stores. We tend to spend a lot at the grocery store preferring good cuts of meat, organic foods, good wine and spirits.

This doesn't include tires, oil, vehicle maintenance, insurance or unexpected problems. Haven't calculated that out but it's probably more than I think.

We also have some fixed costs like health insurance which is almost $1400/month and reoccurring bills on our sticks and bricks for insurance, utilities, phones.

It's good to have a pot of rainy day money when you travel regularly. As Rays videos attest there is always something that needs fixing. Some easy, some not so easy/expensive.

Here are a couple sites I follow from time to time. Both are up front with expenses and keep pretty good detail. This couple works on the road: Camper Chronicles. And this couple is retired: Next Exit

All good info so far! Really appreciate it...

Brian, BEFORE purchasing a trailer have a good understanding of weight limit and capacity. Your comment about a F150 will limit you on size of trailer.

Good luck. We hope our paths cross at some point.

Wade

Some dealers will tell you a camper is “half ton towable” but that may or may not be completely accurate. All half ton trucks are not equipped the same way. Good luck! Hope to see you on the road somewhere.

IF, and I know its all relative, but if you were going to work or pick up some side cash doing small jobs, would you say being friendly and just talking to people you can put a few dollars in your pocket from time to time. My wife is anxious about being out there with no income even though the retirement porto looks in good shape.

I think if you’re considering any 5th Wheel for extended travel, and especially mountains and passes, you should look at the bigger Diesel-powered trucks. I’m very glad for my F350 diesel
To pull my 5th Wheel up those hills with ease and still have capacity in truck for fuel, passengers etc.
Good luck and happy travels.

Ditto what others are saying, get a 250/2500 minimum if you are going 5th wheel. You may find the holy grail 150/1500 and a very small 5th wheel, but you will most likely be over capacity on that type of truck.
Definitely pick a RV first and then shop for a truck to match.

I agree with the others regarding the size tow vehicle needed for a fifth wheel. I would say in most cases you need a 1 ton truck to have the required payload capacity needed for a fifth wheel. Good luck in your travels!

I recently found a YouTube channel called Next Exit and they review an expense spreadsheet, they cover monthly, annual and since we’ve gone full time expenses. They’re in the keys right now.

We choose a 350 series. We bought a basic cab no bells and whistle. IN 2015 when we looked at 350's the average truck XLT packages was around $52000. We found our new 2015 XL F-350 at a commercial dealership for $39999. Fatbaby ( as we call her) has cruise, CD, and power window. Vinyl floors and seats too. We are happy with less. Why pay all that extra for those bells and whistles if you don't need them. My wife and I work together so its not necessary to have a gps monitor in the dash. To each his own for anything. We rather have the $'s to spend on other things than a $70000 truck that depreciates. Good luck in your adventures.