Mastering your campervan expenses, is the key to success in your campervan experiences.
Fuel & Transportation: Your Biggest Campervan expenses
Fuel is consistently one of the largest ongoing campervan expenses. With average fuel prices over £6.50 per gallon now (correct at July 2025), fuel expenses can be difficult to judge consistently.
Obviously, fuel usage is heavily influenced by travel frequency, distances travelled and the type of van.
Fuel Saving Strategies:
- Travel Slowly: This is perhaps the most impactful strategy for cutting fuel costs.
Clearly, by driving less and staying longer in each location, fuel consumption is significantly reduced. An extra benefit, is that by doing that, you can get a deeper connection with the places you visit.
And, “Slow travel” is also a fundamental budget optimisation strategy that generates positive ripple effects across multiple other expenses. Yes, travelling slowly directly reduces fuel consumption, but it also encourages deeper engagement with local, often free, activities rather than rushing through destinations and paying for numerous attractions.
If, like me, you’re always on a budget, “slow travel” should be a core principle rather than just a personal preference.
- Plan Routes Carefully: Efficient route planning helps you avoid unnecessary detours. The most popular satnav apps will do anything to save you 30 seconds on your journey. Even if that means sending you down a road that’s barely big enough for your van, because the speed limit is apparently 60 mph! Getting a reliable campervan/motorhome satnav is definitely worthwhile.
- Simple Maintenance: Maintaining proper tyre inflation, is a simple yet effective way to improve fuel efficiency.
- Use Fuel Apps: Apps like the one’s listed here, are invaluable for locating the cheapest fuel prices along your route.
- Off-Season Travel: Travelling during the off-season can help get you significant savings. Campsite fees, and activity prices often drop considerably. It also means fewer crowds as well, so you have a better experience.
- Less Expensive Locations: One of the benefits of having your own campervan, is you’re not tied to the most common places to visit. There are so many beautiful sights and experiences to be had in this Country, that don’t cost a penny. Why spend £50 or more to see a common attraction, when you could experience many less common, but just as exiting things for free?
Maintenance & Repairs: The Unsung Hero of Savings
Regular vehicle maintenance is paramount if you want to avoid unexpected and potentially very costly breakdowns on the road. If you decide to neglect the small, routine maintenance tasks, you could easily end up with catastrophic and expensive failures.
Regular, proactive, and often DIY maintenance, prevents minor issues from turning into major, costly breakdowns. This, in turn, significantly reduces financial stress and the likelihood of needing to dip into emergency funds.
Budget van life isn’t just about cutting immediate costs; it’s also about risk management. Investing time in learning basic vehicle care and performing routine checks is a critical financial strategy. It’s a bit like an insurance policy, that protects against the high cost and disruption of major repairs.
- DIY Maintenance: Learning basic vehicle maintenance tasks, such as checking oil, tyre care, and topping off fluids, can save substantial amounts of money in the long run. Keeping a complete tool kit on hand is highly recommended for quick fixes.
- Emergency Fund: If you’re planning on spending extended periods of time in your campervan, it’s crucial to set aside an emergency fund, just in case of unexpected problems, or emergencies.
- Typical Costs: Routine tasks like oil changes (£50-£150), tyre care (£0-£50), and brake service (£150-£200) are manageable when planned for.
Campsites & Parking: The Free Frontier
Camping fees can be a variable and potentially high expense, ranging from around £15 to £35 per night. For budget van life, the goal is to minimise this cost as much as possible. There are lots of mobile phone apps like Park4Night and JustPark. These apps will show you loads of options for finding free and cheap overnight parking.
A balanced approach often involves mixing free overnight camping, with occasional stays at paid sites when amenities are particularly needed.
Eating Well, Spending Less: Vanlife Meal Hacks
Cook Your Own Meals
This is consistently highlighted as one of the most significant ways to save money on the road, second only to finding free campsites.
Dining out, even occasionally, can quickly accumulate expenses. Food expenses are highly variable and represent one of the most significant areas where a van lifer can exert direct control over their budget.
Prioritising cooking in the van, and adopting smart grocery shopping habits can significantly reduce your food costs.
Efficient Van Kitchen & Meal Ideas
- Portable Stove: Investing in a portable stove is highly recommended. It allows cooking anywhere, maximizing flexibility and savings.
- One-Pot Meals: These are ideal for van life as they are easy to prepare and require minimal clean up, which also conserves precious water. Examples include pasta dishes, Pot Noodle, rice bowls, or hearty soups.
- Grilling: If you’ve got a portable grill, it can be a great way to cook and significantly cut down on dirty dishes.
- Quick & Easy Options: Always have a few 5-minute meal options on hand for busy, or tiring days, such as thick soups, wraps, or mac and cheese, for example.
- Specific Budget-Friendly Meal Ideas: Overnight oats, sandwiches, burritos/tacos (highly customizable and easy to store/eat on the go), veggie bowls, frittatas (excellent for breakfast or lunch, and make great leftovers), grilled cheese, stir-fries, Caesar salad with chicken, or grilled sandwiches.
Conclusion
With a little thought and practice, there’s always money to be saved on your campervan journey. Obviously, some things will be non-negotiable, but these things will be different for everyone.
I hope with this article, I’ve given you at least a few ideas of where to save money where you can.
If you’ve got any ideas of your own, why not drop them in the comments, or send me a message.
As a full-time carer, I’m not a ‘true’ vanlifer! But, I do spend a lot of my free-time travelling to and staying in different towns and villages around the UK. I enjoy the freedom and control that staying in my van gives me, and I want to share that experience with anyone else who’s thinking about giving it a go.
