will my funds be enough?

[Rich c]

Planning to go off for as long as I can mostly wild camping west coast of Europe France Spain Portugal.
I have my truck which dose 30mpg fully loaded.
My budget of £250 per month will be to cover the cost of :
Lpg 2x gaslow bottles re-fill. Heating (Propex)-cooking-hot water (combi). (heating and hot water minimal)
Diesel
Food basic
Water bottled drinking.
Call to home or internet once every 2 weeks.

Ill have 2 bikes one old no loss if stolen and one good for small journeys exploring will minimise fuel cost.
will be mostly surfing, cycling, walking, exploring, meeting local people and travellers.
solar with 2x 180ah leisure batteries plus zig unit charge while engine running.
Hope to stay in one area for a couple of weeks then move on again.
Not sure if Im better to stay on toll routes or stay away your advice would be appreciated
(Im in no rush while travelling)
All other costs insurance,ferry etc have been covered before budget. And ill have £50 monthly put a side for emergencies.

All comments and advice will be much appreciated...

What do you think am I mad or can I survive??
Rich

[Tbear]

Hi Rich

Very difficult to say
Diesel - How far are you going to travel.
Food - How much do you spend at home and then add say 20% as you will have to pay local prices and you will not know where is cheapest, with out driving round using fuel up
Accommodation - are you staying on Aires and Municipal sites or are you wilding all the time, if the former then average about 10 euros a night. Some Aires are free but it can cost more than 20 Euros onMunicipalple site.
Fun - Booze and entrance fees soon add up. Maybe the odd taxi.
You may have to double or treble your first guess if you want a bit of luxury now and again

Richard

[Guest]

We did over 10 weeks away on a similar journey through France and along the Atlantic coast of Spain and down through Portugal.
Our total cost for two of us was just under £2000 including fuel (£780), ferry's, and health insurance and very minimum tolls (under 50euro) and we only eat out three times as we use cook through are fitted BBQ gas point. We do have at least one bottle of wine (more probable, two bottles) and a couple of beers each day.
The killer is the fuel and we got 29mpg average. I doubt you will be able to use tolls in your budget and to be honest, there is little need to do so.
We did NOT use any campsites.

edit
You mention water in your other thread.
We never ever pay for water, we get it in free aires or village taps. Last resort is a garage and we only used a garage for water three times.
Just look out for it and keep your tanks topped up every day, then you never need it urgently.
Take a watering can.

[Rubbertramp]

Hiya Rich
I have been cycling the coastline of Great Britain for the last five summers and have found it easy to comfortably manage on a budget of £300 a month....until this last summer that is....When my average costs were £350 - £380 per month....due to vastly increased prices this last year (fuel mostly)
My costs would cover all food, gas, diesel, campsite fees (once every 10 days or so), ferry fares, cycle repairs/spare parts, laundry and new clothes, OS maps and the occasional luxury like tobacco and a couple of pints of foaming ale once a week or so.
I would imagine that the cost of living down the European Atlantic coast is cheaper than rip-off Britain so I would guess you've got it just about right.
I look forward to hearing of your adventures as I aim to be going that way on my next project.

[vwalan]

hi you dont say how much you have to spend . some costs are the same depending on your time .and driving and moving slow fuel is the same as moving quicker in a short time . on a 5-6 month round spain and portugal we expect to spend 2500 average . think you will struggle on 250 a month 350-400 more like it . but as you say you would use less fuel than me . we dont eat out or use bars dont smoke .but do enjoy a drink in the evening . red wine , thats ok. lidl special. expensive ,not.
when in spain and portugal best map is a mapamax by cepsa . as your going surfing i advise the european surf guide by low pressure publishing . name as gone . but that and the cepsa map show lots of small beaches etc not on other maps . loads of good breaks out there . drive every road to the sea . if there is a road between you and the sea you are on the wrong road. awkward for us sometimes as we are in trucks . but try it . have fun sure you will .other than fuel .beer and baccy uk is possibly the cheapest place in europe . food isnt cheap over there like it used to be .

[vindiboy]

Your biggest cost will be Fuel, if you are wild camping your costs will be minimal, I know lots of people who manage quite well on the same budget as you plan, lots of Supermarkets , local markets and private food / produce sellers in Spain and Portugal, if as you say you intend to park up for a couple of weeks at a time, costs will vary from week to week, fresh fish and Shellfish can be bought from Fishermen at the Quay sides, etc.stay off of Toll roads, you can travel very well on ordinary roads in Europe and lots of Motorways are free any way. light a small fire and cook your fish over the coals, likewise meat, use a Barbi base for the fire, lots of wild campers do this, go for it, you will have a great time, lots of like minded people you will meet all willing to help, water is easily available all over and is OK for drinking, boil it for tea and coffee , no problems, if you must buy drinking water it is very cheap in LIDL about 80 cents for 5 litres, average .we wild camp all over when we can and it is a great life.P.S. internet is free in Libraries, use their comps or your own lappy, lots of Wi Fi spots can be found, Mc Donalds for instance, mobile phone calls are 35p a minute to make and 15p a minute to receive, that is on my very basic O2 phone my texts are free.If you need any further help you can P.M me and I will try and help. Regards Malc.
http://s394.photobucket.com/albums/p...rrent=DEC1.jpg

[barryd]

Our monthly spend for two or us usually works out about £1000. I think you would have a miserable motorhoming experience on just £250 but its probably possible.

It should be possible to find free places to stay every night (especially in France) Wast disposal is usually free and water can be found for free if you go to the right places (Aires with free services, churches etc)

Diesel is the killer for us at 22 MPG but even at 30mpg your going to have to keep the miles down.

Dont foget winter costs can be higher. We can use a full 11KG Gaslow bottle in a week wilding in winter. Unless you have pretty good solar or are moving a lot (more diesel) your going to need a genny or EHU in winter some of the time.

I drink and I smoke so that bumps up the price a bit. Then again cheap drink in the EU is easy to come by but cheap fags are getting harder to find.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Airecraft]

I think £250 / month would be achievable. As a couple we spent £800 over 4 weeks in France last summer on living and transport which included ferry & dog fees at £250. This doesn't include eating out, booze (a one sided requirement in our relationship) or activities which tend to be walking, cycling or canoeing which we provide ourselves and we took about £100 worth of food to clear out the cupboards and freezer at home. We didn't stay on any campsites and did planned shopping, mostly at supermarkets. POIs for sat nav such as Lidl in France or France LPG/ (provided by activecampers on this site) can be useful. We also only drove about 1500 miles .
Where you may have problems is if something unexpected happens. We were OK on holiday but then broke a side window unloading a kayak when we got home - £350 to replace which might blow a hole in your budget.

[Rich c]

Thanks for all your replies I was thinking fuel will be the biggest cost so all small journeys food ,water, beach journey even looking for the next night/weeks place to stay will be hunted for by bike.
Ill stay off the tolls as I have lots of time, and try to cruise easy saving as much juice as I can.
Maybe plan my journeys well before I start the engine so not to waste fuel arriving somewhere that’s no good.

Lidl and alike road side stalls maybe a good option do a decent shop of foods that don’t rot or need fridge space. Pastas fruit and alike. Love the idea of fresh fish from a local. I will also take my telescopic sea rod to maybe catch dinner.
I don’t smoke and to be honest I could ration to a few cheap French blonde beers for a Friday treat.
I have a wonder wash to launder my clothes which im guessing is cheaper than laundrette ?

Maybe I should bring the small BBQ sounds good rather than smelling out the van and using gas.
When I comes to sleeping arrangements I have sleeping bag and silk bag liners the bed is a double mattress do you think I should change the mattress for a blow up type or stick with the comfort?

A very BIG Thank you for all your advice and sharing your knowledge.
Very much looking forward to my travels ahead.

Rich.

[Rich c]

I think £250 / month would be achievable. As a couple we spent £800 over 4 weeks in France last summer on living and transport which included ferry & dog fees at £250. This doesn't include eating out, booze (a one sided requirement in our relationship) or activities which tend to be walking, cycling or canoeing which we provide ourselves and we took about £100 worth of food to clear out the cupboards and freezer at home. We didn't stay on any campsites and did planned shopping, mostly at supermarkets. POIs for sat nav such as Lidl in France or France LPG/ (provided by activecampers on this site) can be useful. We also only drove about 1500 miles .
Where you may have problems is if something unexpected happens. We were OK on holiday but then broke a side window unloading a kayak when we got home - £350 to replace which might blow a hole in your budget.

Umm not good for you with the window real unlucky.
for situations like that i have saved an emergancy fund which will be kept in uk for if i get a blow out or need an engine part.
lets keep finger crossed i shouldnt have to use it.
thank you
Rich