Maintenance Costs Boat verses RV Cruising

[mstrebe]

I have and do both, and I track my expenses pretty diligently. Boats are considerably more expensive.

Monthly costs:

Mortgage: Equal, depending on price. Boat loans and RV loans are basically the same.
Insurance: Basically the same.
Storage: Boat slip: $700/mo. RV Lot storage: $200/mo. Often you can store an RV for free, you can never really store an RV sized boat for free.

Annual costs:

service maintenance including haulout: $1500. Basically the same as the RV's annual maintenance.

Frequency of auxiliary systems breakdown: Similar. My RV is much older than my boat, but has actually had fewer breakages.

Frequency of "Hull issues" such as minor leaks: Same. Both have had one, repaired.

Incidents of accidental damage requiring repair: Same. Both have had one, both incidents involved fiberglass repair, both cost about $3000.

5-year maintenance:

This is the BIG differentiator: The sailboat basically needs new running rigging, new sails, standing rigging tune-up, and new bottom paint every 5-10 years. Those costs sum up to around $10K-$15K depending on on the size of the boat. You can annualize that as an additional $2000/mo.

In sum, I'd say that maintaining a sailboat, if you're just going to pay people to handle things, is $2500 per month more expensive overall than an RV. A lot of the sailboat maintenance costs can be reduced by doing it all yourself, but you can't make your own sails, paint your own hull, or (usually) own your own slip. So yeah, boats are more expensive.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by mstrebe

I have and do both, and I track my expenses pretty diligently. Boats are considerably more expensive.

Monthly costs:

Mortgage: Equal, depending on price. Boat loans and RV loans are basically the same.
Insurance: Basically the same.
Storage: Boat slip: $700/mo. RV Lot storage: $200/mo. Often you can store an RV for free, you can never really store an RV sized boat for free.

Annual costs:

service maintenance including haulout: $1500. Basically the same as the RV's annual maintenance.

Frequency of auxiliary systems breakdown: Similar. My RV is much older than my boat, but has actually had fewer breakages.

Frequency of "Hull issues" such as minor leaks: Same. Both have had one, repaired.

Incidents of accidental damage requiring repair: Same. Both have had one, both incidents involved fiberglass repair, both cost about $3000.

5-year maintenance:

This is the BIG differentiator: The sailboat basically needs new running rigging, new sails, standing rigging tune-up, and new bottom paint every 5-10 years. Those costs sum up to around $10K-$15K depending on on the size of the boat. You can annualize that as an additional $2000/mo.

In sum, I'd say that maintaining a sailboat, if you're just going to pay people to handle things, is $2500 per month more expensive overall than an RV. A lot of the sailboat maintenance costs can be reduced by doing it all yourself, but you can't make your own sails, paint your own hull, or (usually) own your own slip. So yeah, boats are more expensive.

I am talking live in RV or boat..
Standing rigging is aledgedly good for 10yrs, sails can last the same if your not a boy racer.. engine maintenance I can do myself, antifoul every 2nd or 3rd year..
So in 10yrs I can do the W Med, Canaries, Cap Verdes, up the Windwards across to the Azores then Portugal and the W Med for 10yrs..
And.. if you say it cant be done I can point you to folks who have been doing just that for years.
Hows your campervan adding up now..
I am talking about full timers not you weekend I'm so rugged players
PS.. Jotuns af costs me €45/2.5l can.
Painting your own hull is easy.. just park her by a steep shelving beach 1hr before HW.. scrub as the tide ebbs the start af bottom to top.. when afloat turn round and repeat.

[boatman61]

Oh.. and here in Portugal I can source qualified John Deere and most other makes diesel mechanics at €17/hr.. dont touch the marina guys with a barge pole.

[mstrebe]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I am talking live in RV or boat..
Standing rigging is aledgedly good for 10yrs, sails can last the same if your not a boy racer.. engine maintenance I can do myself, antifoul every 2nd or 3rd year..
So in 10yrs I can do the W Med, Canaries, Cap Verdes, up the Windwards across to the Azores then Portugal and the W Med for 10yrs..
And.. if you say it cant be done I can point you to folks who have been doing just that for years.
Hows your campervan adding up now..
I am talking about full timers not you weekend I'm so rugged players
PS.. Jotuns af costs me €45/2.5l can.
Painting your own hull is easy.. just park her by a steep shelving beach 1hr before HW.. scrub as the tide ebbs the start af bottom to top.. when afloat turn round and repeat.

The homeless people living in RVs along the street near my work would argue that RVs are still cheaper including for liveaboards.

I’ve travelled Europe parking in Carrefour and ikea parking lots for free. I’ve stayed overnight behind Shell stations and curbside in neighborhoods. I guarantee you a person can live and travel cheaper in an RV in all cases, anywhere where they can go.

I love sailing and currently have too many boats, and I’ve lived aboard in the past and will live aboard again. It’s fantastic, it’s better than RV living, but it’s not cheaper.

RVs are also a lot less maintenance, whether you do it yourself or pay for it. If you enjoy maintenance then have at it. Otherwise it’s just a different kind of cost you aren’t tracking.

I’ve lived aboard for years and will do again when I retire. I’m just not fooling myself about the costs. I said you could get up to ten years out of sails and rigging, but you’ve either got to bear those costs eventually or sell the boat for near scrap when you move on. You’re using them up one way or another.

RVs will last 25 years, then they’re done, not worth the restoration. Boats can last 100 years or more with diligent maintenance, and a well maintained boat can maintain a reasonable resale value better. So that’s an important difference. But in terms of month to month cost, RVs are cheaper no matter what the situation.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by mstrebe

The homeless people living in RVs along the street near my work would argue that RVs are still cheaper including for liveaboards.

They are also a lot less maintenance, whether you do it yourself or pay for it. If you enjoy maintenance then have at it. Otherwise it’s just a different kind of cost you aren’t tracking.

Well they would be, likely parked on bricks and going nowhere..
Poor comparison really against 10K+nm/yr.
Your sofa is likely cheaper than both.

[sailorboy1]

So to answer my original post 1 question it sounds the RV maintenance cost are less than a boat. Thanks to those that have done both and answered the basic question.

I’ll now leave the thread to the off shoot arguments :-)

[boatman61]

Your welcome mate..

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...icture9388.jpg

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Hows your campervan adding up now..

Still cheaper.

Again, I think you are doing apples to oranges comparison.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Still cheaper.

Again, I think you are doing apples to oranges comparison.

And theres me thinking your doing oranges to apples..
Agree to disagree..

[a64pilot]

Maintenance costs of a camper van will likely be lower than an average cruising boat.
But I still maintain that overall costs of an average RV can be higher than an average cruising boat.
Average boat if money gets tight, well just stay at anchor for awhile until money build up, you can cost costs down to what it costs to eat pretty much.
Tough to do legally in most places in an RV, stay in one place too long and your loitering. It’s why so many have to resort to stealth tactics when down and out in a camper van.

There are articles all over the place about it, easy to find.

Of course it seems to be getting that way in many places for boats too.

[Juggerknot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Boat maintenance/repair/upgrades are my big budget killers really. For those that have done both how do the long term RV and Boat maintenance/repair costs compare?

I'm years away and just wondering.

Well, the first time you put that RV in the water it's gonna cost you a bundle =)

I had a 32 foot Jayco Eagle with dual slides, pulled it with my Ford Super Duty diesel. Fuel was a factor but not horrible, overall maintenance was far less than a live aboard capable boat but nice RV parks are costly. It was fun but once you do the loop, the thrill is gone plus moron drivers are really much more stressful than cruising on the boat.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by Juggerknot

I had a 32 foot Jayco Eagle with dual slides, pulled it with my Ford Super Duty diesel. Fuel was a factor but not horrible, overall maintenance was far less than a live aboard capable boat but nice RV parks are costly. It was fun but once you do the loop, the thrill is gone plus moron drivers are really much more stressful than cruising on the boat.

One problem with the RV experience for many people is that they approach the whole thing as though the objective is to cover as many miles as possible. Well, that is both expensive and not very much fun IMO. It is like owning a cruising boat and believing you have to be always crossing an ocean.

[gkunkle999]

Maintenance costs on a boat are more expensive.
I full time RVd for almost 20 years. Large newer high end fifth wheel and new diesel trucks. Currently on my second 41/42 ft sail boat. Total boat time about 14 years (intermittent, not always full time).
Compare the two. A GPS in a rv/tow vehicle is a few hundred dollars, for a boat its several thousand. A night at an RV park is much cheaper than a boat slip

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by gkunkle999

Maintenance costs on a boat are more expensive.
I full time RVd for almost 20 years. Large newer high end fifth wheel and new diesel trucks. Currently on my second 41/42 ft sail boat. Total boat time about 14 years (intermittent, not always full time).
Compare the two. A GPS in a rv/tow vehicle is a few hundred dollars, for a boat its several thousand. A night at an RV park is much cheaper than a boat slip

What GPS do you use..???
My gps puck.. €45
Nav program. €125
Notebook.. €250
Thats a total of €420.. Chuck in a portable wireless AIS Transponder at €515 thats bells and whistles for under €1000..

[a64pilot]

Well Boatie, add in SSB, or Sat phone, autopilot and Radar, wind instrumentation and depth sounders.
A boat costs a LOT more to fit out and maintain, heck a boat costs a lot more to buy than an RV, especially if we are talking about tow behinds.

So it costs less to get into an RV, but more to stay there, assuming your not the type of cruiser that travels from one Marina to another.

Now that I’m hunkered down in a Marina for the Hurricane season, what surprises me is the question I’m asked mostly about the Bahamas is “What are the Marina’s like?”
When I answer I don’t know I get a confused look, when I explain we anchor they often turn their lip up, and you expect to hear ewww.

These people will never go, truth as to why is that they haven’t put the money into their boat it takes to be comfortable at anchor