What it costs to stay on the road full time

I post these budget updates every now and again, it gives me a good reason to look at what has been spent, and why. Also it makes a good subject to write about as lots of people think that living on the road full time is cheap.

Pro-tip, it is not.

The Numbers

Explanation

Fuel – is a big one, we went from Brisbane, QLD to Hopetoun, WA via the Eyre Peninsular. According to my fuel app, we covered 6,100Km, at a cost of $2,850 (we left Brisbane in November, but most of the distance landed in December), Our average fuel consumption is –

• Best – 17L/100
• Average – 21.6L/100 at $47/100
• Worst – 27L/100

Looks like a lot, but if you take into consideration that our GCM is 6.4 tonne, and the car all loaded up (GVM) is 3.5 tonne all by itself, that is a fair amount of weight.

If you want to understand more about GVM, GCM and what all that actually means, I’ve written an article here

Groceries, Takeaways, Alcohol – This was a bit higher than normal, mainly because we went over the SA/WA border, so no fresh fruit & vegetables, plus it was extremely windy (no outside cooking) which meant that we got a little lazy and ate out a few more times than normal. When crossing the border heading west, the next big town is Esperance, which we never got to, Hopetoun is a small town, so small town prices definitely apply here.

Caravan Park Fees – This is a bit of forward planning on our part, in WA at this time of year you need to book ahead, so plenty of bookings for January and February and even some as far ahead as Easter.

Medication – A big jump here, Cathy has started taking some medicine and unfortunately it is not on the PBS, so full price is charged.

Storage, Telstra – Not listed here as these are constant and come out of separate accounts, combined they come to $800/Month

Subscriptions – Still stubbornly high. I’ve been chipping away at these since we started travelling. I cancel some, then others go up in price. Sigh.

(I added another one … don’t tell Cathy!).

Summary

December was an expensive month, and it usually is. It’s the holiday season, so prices go up across the board. WA has also been a learning curve. You really do have to plan a long way ahead for summer and school holidays.

We started planning a stay in Esperance back in August/September and still missed out. Esperance and Albany are extremely popular over the summer months, and availability disappears fast.

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Thanks for reading December 2025 Expenses. Shadow, the van, and the two of us will catch you at the next campsite.

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