By Sal & Rebecca, The Tin Can Travelers – We use affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we may receive a small compensation at no cost to you.
When it comes to full-time RVing, campsites and fuel can be a traveler’s biggest expenses. And while we haven’t figured out how to save anything significant on fuel, since we don’t plan to stop traveling any time soon, we have figured out how to save BIG in some other areas. You might even be surprised by where our biggest savings come from. So, if you’re interested in guaranteed ways to save money while full-time RVing… keep reading!
MyRVmail
MyRVmail is a mail forwarding services business located in Florida. After selling our home and hitting the road full-time, we realized rather quickly that we needed a safe place for all our mail to go. We also needed to have access to it at any time. And that’s MyRVmail! You won’t find better service or people anywhere else! But while all this is great, you may be wondering how MyRVmail actually saves us money, right? Well, believe it or not, this business is first on the list because it’s our number one way to save money while full-time RVing… and it has nothing to do with forwarding our mail!
Yes, MyRVmail offers superior mail services such as receiving, holding, sending, scanning, and much more, but it’s another one of their services I want to talk about. Often referred to as a “Change of Domicile,” this is usually the first thing full-time RVers get into place before hitting the road. What’s a change of domicile? Simply put, it’s a new address in a new state.
So why would a full-time RVer change their domicile? The answer to that question is simple… to save money, LOTS OF MONEY, on taxes! Take us, for example. Sal and I retired from South Carolina where his military pension was taxed through the state. We were also hit every year with personal property taxes on our truck and Airstream. Since we sold our sticks-n-bricks, leaving us without a home base, there was really no reason to hold on to SC as our home state. We were free to choose a new, tax-friendly, state of residency. Florida is one of the few tax-friendly states in the country, and MyRVmail just happens to be in it!
Once MyRVmail hooked us up with a permanent legal address in Florida, we were no longer paying those taxes on Sal’s pension or our truck and rig. And THAT, quite literally, saves us thousands of dollars a year! So, without question, MyRVmail is the BIGGEST way we save money while full-time RVing! Combine that with their superior mail forwarding services and outstanding customer service, and we’re forever loyal customers! For our review of MyRVmail, check out MyRVmail: Your Mail Forwarding Solution.
Passport America
If we had published this post just a few months ago, Military Bases would’ve taken second place on this list. Not the case anymore, however! Passport America has stolen the show with its deep discounts that, for full-time RVers, quickly add up. We recently published a post on the world’s largest 50% discount camping club and had to acknowledge the BIG savings we missed out on before becoming members.
Sal’s retired military, so prior to Passport America we primarily camped on military bases. They’re cheap and usually offer tons of conveniences. Unfortunately, there’s not always a base where we need it to be. In those cases, we either camped at state parks because they’re cheap (but often lack full-hookups), or we were forced to pay those lofty prices for private campgrounds. Needless to say, we always tried to avoid them.
Once we became members of Passport America, however, our world changed! We went from a short list of campground options to an extensive one, which now includes those private campgrounds. Our Passport America membership makes those private campgrounds just as cheap as military bases. And in many cases, even cheaper! We saved hundreds of dollars in just the first few weeks we used it, and can only imagine the savings after a year. So, that makes Passport America membership a “must-have” when we talk about ways to save money while full-time RVing!
Military Bases
Just because Passport America knocked FamCamps out of second place, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be on this list. We will always be fans of FamCamps! Let’s face it, there’s definitely a sense of security being surrounded by men and women in uniform, but you also can’t beat the conveniences a base offers as well. And, they’re cheap! Prices do vary, depending on the region of the country you’re in, but for the most part they’re on par with Passport America affiliated campgrounds. So, full hookups, security and conveniences mean FamCamps have been and will continue to be an excellent way to save money while full-time RVing.
Discount Passes
As Camp Hosts, we meet people every day who inquire about discounts for seniors or disabled citizens (including disabled Vets), but don’t have them. If you don’t already know, passes exist for both and many others. America the Beautiful Senior Pass and the Access Pass are two we see frequently. Campers who present these passes to us upon check in, or use them online when reserving, get 50% off their campsite fees. We have links to both of these on the side bar of our home page and the National Parks and Forests Services has a list of discount passes available as well. These passes are a great way to save money while full-time RVing, so if you qualify… apply!
Who Qualifies?
Who qualifies for the Access pass? Well, probably more people than you think. Prior to Sal retiring from the military, he underwent a medical evaluation which came along with a percentage of disability. This is the case for many retirees or discharged members. That percentage of disability, regardless of how small, qualifies Sal and others for the Access Pass. Unfortunately, we run into a lot of military folks who don’t know this!
What kind of discounts do you get with the Access Pass? You get free admission to National Parks and Forests and 50% off campsites. That’s a big deal! But just in case you’re not completely impressed yet, let me break it down for you – A two-week stay in Mammoth Lakes at one of the campgrounds will run you $350.00 ($25.00 per night X 14 nights). If you have a pass, however, that same stay will cost $175.00. Not bad, right? Now imagine what you would save if you’re a full-time RVer! These discount passes are an excellent way to save money while full-time RVing, so don’t overlook them.
Quartzsite Arizona / BLM
Quartzsite Arizona, or BLM in general, isn’t necessarily last on the list because it doesn’t offer much of a savings… because it does! How much savings it offers, however, is really dependent on how frequently you stay and for how long. Those who “park it” in Quartzsite for several months at time are saving truckloads of money! Others, like us, may only stay a few weeks or a month. And while the LTVA’s (where we choose to camp) are dirt cheap, we’re not there long enough for the savings to beat out the above competitors. Nonetheless, more than a million RVers make the journey to Quartzsite every year for one reason or another, and you can bet that cheap or free camping is one of them! Interested in learning more about Quartzsite, AZ? Check out Boondocking in Quartzsite, AZ: What You Need To Know and Quartzsite Arizona: Yay or Nay?
The Bottom Line
Full-time RVers can never have too many options when it comes to saving money. As a matter of fact, the more options they allow themselves to have, the more money they’ll save. Unfortunately, lots of RVers are missing out on discounts available to them because they’re either unaware they exist, think everything’s a gimmick, “stuck in their ways,” or too afraid to try something new.
Just within this post, we’ve mentioned multiple ways to save money while full-time RVing. And surely, one of them appeals to your RVing lifestyle. Between our biggest money savers, MyRVmail and Passport America, to FamCamps, Senior and Access passes, and BLM, you probably have no excuse for not taking advantage of at least one of them. We use five of the six listed and save several thousands of dollars every year. The one we don’t use is the senior pass and that’s only because we don’t qualify… yet!
Getting Started!
So what are you waiting for? If you want to save money while full-time RVing, click MyRVmail or Passport America right now to get started. And yes, if you sign up through our page we receive a small compensation at NO cost to you. We rep these businesses because we use them, believe in them, and they save us money! Interested in the Senior or Access Pass? You can find links to those on the sidebar of our homepage. Wishing you all safe and happy travels!
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