Sunday, May 22, 2016

2016 Prius Travel Expenses

   2016 Prius Travel Expenses Graph

My goal for my Travels this year (2016) was to spend less than last year with my Prius and be under $4,000 for my total expenses.

 2016 Travel Expenses by Percentage 

The fact that the price of gas was significantly less this year did help but this was offset by my use of the Prius to provide heat and cooling to maintain a better living environment in the Prius.  So my MPG was reduced from 52 to 46.  Either way I had less cost for fuel by about $100.00.

The big savings was in lodging.  Last year (2015) I spent $774 in lodging and this year I only paid to stay one might at two different National Parks for less than $20.  Lodging doesn't even register as a category this year and is grouped under other.

I did spend time with family:
Monterey, CA (1 week - same as last year) 
- Park City, UT (1 week - same as last year)
- Las Vegas/So. UT/No. AZ (1 week addition to last year)
- Elkridge, MD (1 week - same as last year)

Staying with family does help with some expenses but some expenses remain.

The big savings came into play by not paying to stay/camp at very many places at all.  I learned over the previous two years how and where to park and to camp and save money.  

        2016 Travel Expenses by Cost

Last year (2015) I did have an accident by hitting the curb and I needed to replace both front tires as they were bith getting close to wear bars.

This year (2016) I did get a flat that needed to be replaced but I had newer tires and only had to replace one tire so auto service was higher last year by $150

This year's cost of $3116 for 117 days is $26.63 per day cost.  This is so much better than my goal the first year of $50/day that I over spent.

Staying under $4000 ($1000/month) was possible this year and I can fit this in my budget.  Since I did so well on saving I could foresee using my Tacoma with a light-weight camper is possible too.

The other place I saved this year was paying for a shower once s week vs every couple of days. I did this by fully washing every day in the Prius between showers.  I will be posting on how I wash in the Prius in a separate post.

Below is the data for my 2015 Prius Travels so you can see the comparison on my spending.


Comparison to prior year:

 2015 Travel Expenses by Percentage 


     2015 Travel Expenses by Cost

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com

11 comments:

  1. Hi Brent,

    Would you do a blog about how you park and camp for free?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joseph,

      Per your suggestion, I am working on a blog post that will give insight into how I find places to park/camp overnight.

      Brent

      Delete
    2. Joseph,

      Here is the link to my blog on finding free / low cost places to stay.

      http://macaloney.blogspot.com/2016/05/finding-places-to-stay-free-or-low-cost.html?m=1

      Brent

      Delete
  2. Nice talking to you Chief. Saw this after we spoke:

    Not sure what it would do to your price per mile.

    A Pop-Top Camper For Your Prius

    https://gearjunkie.com/black-fin-camper-box

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John,

      Yes it was great to see you too. I will look at price per mile in a blog post.

      Thanks,

      Brent

      Delete
  3. Nice talking to you Chief. Saw this after we spoke:

    Not sure what it would do to your price per mile.

    A Pop-Top Camper For Your Prius

    https://gearjunkie.com/black-fin-camper-box

    ReplyDelete
  4. How long do Prius owners expect their LRR tires to reasonably last? (trying to budget) Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have been happy with the stock Goodyear tires on my Prius. They are all weather and that took a bit to get a new tire in Monterey as they don't stock them there. I do inflate 2 psi over the Prius rating without any tire wear.

      I'm batting 2 for two. Two years of Prius travels has resulted in a tire replacement. Year 1 I hit a curb and cut the sidewall. Year hole to close to sidewall to repair.

      Tires are very important to me so I replace before I get to the wear bars.

      My estimate base on my travels is 30K miles. Just remember I replace early as I drive places on my Travels I do not want to have a problem. $120.00 a tire

      Brent

      Delete
  5. Your blog is a gold mine of ideas and information! I have been intensely studying van living for a month and only just found out this blog thanks to your youtube video. I wish you have more youtube presence so more people can find this useful information. Please do the world another favor by making this site known.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lamyeechiu,

      Thank you for your kind words of support. You are not the first to express the need for me to have a greater YouTube presence.

      It would require some practice videoing and editing or a friend willing to do the taping so I can focus on the message.

      I have noticed lately that Pinterest has picked up a number of my photos and linked them to their site and I am getting viewers that way now too.

      When I'm not traveling I spend a great deal of time designing and building and if I had more time I would even design more and my design process may be a good view on YouTube as well.

      It's my goal to share what I do with the Prius as if I can do it in a Prius anyone can take the same ideas and apply them to other vehicles.

      I will have to see about finding someone to video me during my 2017 travels to document things I have blogged about.

      Regards,

      Brent

      Delete