RV Trip Cost Calculator
Enter the miles you will drive, pick your RV type for a starting fuel-economy figure, and split your nights between free public land, public campgrounds, state parks with hookups and private full-hookup parks. The page prices the fuel at the US Energy Information Administration's weekly average for the week of 26 October 2026, which you can overwrite with the price on the sign in front of you, adds food per person and any fees you know about, and reports the total per trip, per night and per mile. It is for first-timers wondering whether a cross-country run is a $1,500 trip or a $4,000 one, and for owners comparing a campground-heavy itinerary with a boondocking one. Every default is a labelled estimate and every box is editable.
How it works, how to use it, and what it does not cover
The calculator adds four things: fuel, campground nights, food and fees, then applies a contingency percentage to the lot. Fuel is miles divided by miles per gallon, times the price per gallon. The RV-type selector only sets a starting mpg; the figure is an estimate drawn from the ranges owners commonly report, because no agency rates motorhome or towing fuel economy, and you should overwrite it with your own as soon as you have one. The fuel price defaults to the EIA's national weekly average for the week shown, $4.269 for regular gasoline and $6.352 for diesel in the week of 26 October 2026, which is a real published number but a national one; fuel along I-70 in the Rockies or anywhere in California will cost more.
Campground nights are split across four tiers so a mixed trip prices honestly. Dispersed camping on BLM and most national forest land is generally free, with stay limits of about 14 days in 28. Developed public campgrounds without hookups are the cheapest paid tier; Yellowstone's 2026 fees run $20 to $45 a night. State parks with electric or full hookups are the next step: Texas lists $24 electric and $32 full hookup at Tyler State Park plus a daily entrance fee, and Florida charges a $16 to $42 base plus a $7 utility fee and a $6.70 reservation fee. Private full-hookup parks publish no national average, so that tier is a labelled range, roughly $50 to $100 a night and well above that at resorts and in peak season; Yellowstone's own full-hookup Fishing Bridge RV Park is $94 plus tax, which shows how fast hookups and location add up. A fifth row is blank for a membership or a custom rate.
Food is people times days times a per-person figure; the $35 default is a planning number, not a survey result. Fees is one box for everything else you already know about: park entrance, tolls, dump stations, propane, tickets. The contingency defaults to 10 per cent because something always costs more than planned.
The results show the trip total, the cost per night (total divided by nights, or by days driven if you entered no nights), the cost per mile, and the fuel alone per mile, which is the number to use when deciding whether a detour is worth it. Days are taken as nights plus one.
What it does not cover: ownership costs such as insurance, payments, registration, storage, maintenance and depreciation, which belong in a yearly budget; rental fees if you do not own the RV; campground taxes and resort fees, which are not in the anchor rates; seasonal pricing, which at private parks can double a nightly rate; and discounts from passes and memberships such as KOA Rewards or Harvest Hosts, which you can reflect by editing the rate boxes. Prices were checked on 28 October 2026 and the EIA figure changes every Monday.
Data last verified 2026-10-28. Prices, hours and rules change; confirm with the official source before you go.
Sources
- EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update: weekly US average retail prices (week of 10/26/26)
- NPS Yellowstone campgrounds: 2026 nightly fees ($20 to $45; Fishing Bridge RV Park $94)
- BLM camping: dispersed camping generally limited to 14 days in 28; some developed campgrounds charge a fee
- Texas Parks and Wildlife, Tyler State Park: electric $24, full hookup $28 to $32, plus daily entrance fee
- Florida State Parks, Curry Hammock: campsite fee plus $7 utility fee and $6.70 reservation fee
- KOA Rewards: $39 a year for 10 per cent off daily rates (KOA publishes no national nightly average)
- Harvest Hosts FAQ: membership from $99 a year, no nightly camping fee at hosts
- CAT Scale: $15.25 first weigh (an example of a small per-trip fee)
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Where does the default fuel price come from?
From the US Energy Information Administration's weekly retail price survey. For the week of 26 October 2026 the US average was $4.269 per gallon for regular gasoline and $6.352 per gallon for on-highway diesel, taxes included. Those are national averages: California, mountain-state interstates and anywhere a truck stop sits forty miles from the next one will be higher, and the Gulf Coast lower. Type the price you actually see into the box; the default is only a dated starting point.
How accurate are the MPG defaults?
They are planning estimates, not test results, because nobody publishes an official fuel-economy rating for motorhomes or for a truck towing a trailer. The defaults sit in the middle of the ranges owners and dealers commonly report: around 7 mpg for a gas Class A, 9 for a diesel pusher, 10 for a Class C, 18 for a Class B van, 11 for a half-ton towing a travel trailer and 9 for a truck towing a fifth wheel. Headwind, mountains, speed above 65 mph and a roof full of solar will all push the real number lower. If you have a trip computer or a few fill-ups, use your own figure.
What do campground nights actually cost?
It depends almost entirely on who runs the campground. Dispersed camping on Bureau of Land Management land is generally free with a 14-day limit. National park campgrounds without hookups run from about $20 to $45 a night at Yellowstone in 2026, with its only full-hookup park, Fishing Bridge RV Park, at $94 plus tax. State parks with hookups commonly run $24 to $52 plus an entrance fee: Tyler State Park in Texas is $24 electric and $32 full hookup, Florida adds a $7 utility fee to a $16 to $42 base. Private full-hookup parks and franchises publish no national average; $50 to $100 or more a night is the range we see, and resorts go well past it. The tool lets you split your nights across tiers and edit every rate.
Why is there a per-mile figure?
Because fuel is the cost people underestimate most, and per-mile is how you compare routes. A 2,000-mile loop in a gas Class A at 7 mpg and $4.27 a gallon is about $1,220 in fuel before you have slept anywhere; the same loop towing a small trailer at 11 mpg is about $776. Seeing the fuel cost per mile makes "should we drive the extra 300 miles to see the coast" a $180 question instead of a shrug.
What is not included?
Anything that is not a cost of this specific trip: insurance, payments, registration, storage, routine maintenance and depreciation. Those matter, and our first-year and full-time cost guides cover them, but spreading them across one trip gives misleading answers. Also not included are RV rental fees if you do not own the rig, attractions and tours beyond what you put in the fees box, and the America the Beautiful pass or individual park entrance fees unless you add them yourself.