The Numbers

When we travel we try to keep good records. June typically takes the data whenever we stop for fuel or for the night. She will record our location, the weather, and our odometer reading. At fuel stops she records the gallons used and the price. When we get home I crunch the data. 

We traveled I90/I80 west but took a more northern route home that is less highway. I used the RV Life Trip Wizard for planning and initially used it to navigate. However, it lacks a few essential tools for navigation, like the speed limits and being able to quickly search along your way. I gave up on it and went back to google maps. I still do like it for planning since it allows unlimited stops (google maps only allows 10). RV Life Trip Wizard also does a good job at predicting fuel usage and expenses if you feed it the parameters. For example, it predicted my fuel usage within 10 gallons of what I actually consumed, I planned for 13 mpg and an average diesel cost of $3.60 per gallon. The actual was 13.4mpg and the average diesel price was $3.66 per gallon. Interestingly, with the exchange rate of the CAD at 0.73 USD, fuel was not really that much more expensive in CA, $3.82 per gallon. 

Addison, VT - Sturgis, SD

We traveled 3794 miles round trip, it was only 100 miles farther going through Minnesota and Canada on the way home. However it took 5 more hours of driving, this is primarily due to the speed limits in Canada, which are typically 90kph or about 61mph, and the fact that the Trans-Canadian highway goes through many towns and small cities. 

States/Prov

We passed through 11 states and 2 Canadian provinces. 

I generally traveled at 65mph when I could, towing that was fast enough. My cargo trailer weights around 1200#, the Harley 900#, Honda Genny 50#, June's ebike 65#, trailer spare tire 50#, Serenity spare tire 75# and other crap 100#.  All together, I was hauling about 2500#. The Serenity Falcon weighs a bit over 11000#.  Without a load it gets around 16.5 mpg. On this trip it averaged, 13.4 mpg, hauling all that stuff cost about 3 mpg.  We used 283 gallons of fuel for a total expense of $1037.60. 

Milage Log

We were on the road for 12 night and only paid for camping 5 nights, 4 nights in Sturgis was $528, but this included the bus pass downtown, which we did use every night and one night in a MN state campground on the way home for $25.

We ate most of our meals in the RV when on the move (one stop at Tim Hortons) but ate out in Sturgis, which was not terribly expensive, similar prices to home. Overall it was a relatively inexpensive vacation. 

Of course there is more data if anyone wants it.