RV Camping vs Hotel Lodging Cost Calculator

How This RV Camping vs Hotel Lodging Cost Calculator Works

This calculator compares the total cost of taking a road trip in an RV versus driving a regular car and staying in hotels. It focuses on the biggest out-of-pocket items most travelers face: fuel, nightly campground fees, nightly hotel costs, and any RV rental or nightly ownership cost you want to include.

All calculations run in your browser only. No trip details are sent to a server, which helps keep your plans private while you experiment with different scenarios.

Inputs and what they mean

• Trip distance (miles) – The total round-trip distance you expect to drive.
• RV fuel economy (mpg) – How many miles per gallon your RV gets on average.
• Car fuel economy (mpg) – The average miles per gallon for the car you would drive if you stayed in hotels.
• Fuel price ($/gal) – Your expected average price of fuel per gallon over the trip.
• Campground fee per night ($) – Average nightly cost for campsites or RV parks with hookups, if needed.
• Hotel cost per night ($) – Average nightly hotel rate for the trip, before taxes and fees.
• RV rental or nightly cost ($) – Optional nightly cost of renting an RV, or your own estimate of ownership-related cost per night (for example, extra insurance or a share of payments).
• Trip nights – Total number of nights you will sleep on the road.

Formulas used by the calculator

At a high level, the calculator assumes that each option’s total trip cost is the sum of fuel plus lodging-related costs.

In plain language:

• RV trip cost = fuel for the RV + campground fees + any RV rental or nightly cost you enter.
• Car + hotel trip cost = fuel for the car + hotel room costs.

The core mathematical relationships can be written as:

where:

• is the trip distance (miles)
• is RV fuel economy (mpg)
• is fuel price ($/gal)
• is number of trip nights
• is campground fee per night ($)
• is RV rental or nightly cost for the whole trip ($)

The car and hotel side uses the same structure, but with car fuel economy and hotel costs:

where is car fuel economy and is hotel cost per night.

Worked example using the default values

With the default values pre-filled in the calculator:

• Trip distance: 500 miles
• RV fuel economy: 12 mpg
• Car fuel economy: 28 mpg
• Fuel price: $3.50 per gallon
• Campground fee: $40 per night
• Hotel cost: $120 per night
• RV rental or nightly cost: $0 (you already own the RV)
• Trip nights: 5

Step 1: RV fuel cost

RV gallons needed = 500 miles ÷ 12 mpg ≈ 41.67 gallons.

RV fuel cost ≈ 41.67 × $3.50 ≈ $145.85.

Step 2: RV lodging cost

Campground cost = 5 nights × $40 = $200.

RV rental cost = $0 (in this example).

Step 3: Total RV trip cost

Total RV cost ≈ $145.85 + $200 + $0 ≈ $345.85 (about $346).

Step 4: Car fuel cost

Car gallons needed = 500 miles ÷ 28 mpg ≈ 17.86 gallons.

Car fuel cost ≈ 17.86 × $3.50 ≈ $62.50.

Step 5: Hotel lodging cost

Hotel cost = 5 nights × $120 = $600.

Step 6: Total car + hotel trip cost

Total hotel option ≈ $62.50 + $600 ≈ $662.50 (about $663).

In this scenario, the RV option is roughly $317–$318 cheaper than staying in hotels, even though the RV burns more fuel. The lower nightly campground cost outweighs the extra fuel usage over a five-night trip.

How to interpret the results

After you hit the compare button, the calculator reports the total estimated cost of the RV option, the total cost of the car + hotel option, and the difference between them.

• If the RV total cost is lower, then—based on your inputs—RV travel is cheaper for this trip.
• If the car + hotel total cost is lower, then hotels are the more economical choice for this specific plan.
• The difference shows how much more or less expensive one option is compared with the other.

Because you control the assumptions, you can see how sensitive the outcome is to each factor:

• Increase trip distance to see how much extra fuel changes the balance.
• Adjust nightly hotel rates or campground fees to reflect different regions.
• Add a nightly RV rental cost to understand when renting an RV still makes sense.
• Try higher fuel prices if you expect more expensive gas along your route.

Cost comparison over different trip lengths

The numbers below illustrate how the balance between RV camping and hotels can change as you extend a trip, using values similar to the example above.

These are illustrative, not exact quotes. They highlight a common pattern: hotels tend to scale up quickly with each additional night, while campground fees often grow more slowly. That means longer trips can favor RVs more strongly, particularly when RV rental or ownership costs are modest.

Key assumptions and limitations

This tool is intentionally simplified so it stays easy to use. Keep these assumptions in mind when you interpret the output:

• One campsite or hotel room per night. The calculator assumes you pay for a single campground spot or a single hotel room each night. Extra rooms or upgraded sites are not modeled separately.
• No taxes, surcharges, or resort fees. Local taxes, occupancy fees, resort charges, and booking platform fees can add significantly to hotel bills and sometimes to campground bookings; these are not included unless you manually adjust your nightly rates upward to approximate them.
• Vehicle wear, maintenance, and depreciation are excluded. Extra miles on either your RV or your car will create long-term costs such as maintenance, repairs, new tires, and depreciation in value. The calculator focuses only on fuel and direct nightly costs.
• Insurance and registration are not modeled. RV insurance, roadside assistance plans, and registration fees are ignored unless you choose to fold a portion of them into the “RV rental or nightly cost” field as your own estimate.
• Parking and tolls are not included. Fees for city parking garages, RV-friendly parking, toll roads, or ferries can change the real-world balance and are not part of the formulas.
• Food and activities are assumed equal. The tool assumes you would spend roughly the same amount on food, attractions, and entertainment regardless of lodging type. In reality, having an RV kitchen can reduce restaurant spending, while hotel breakfasts or loyalty perks can offset some food costs.
• Constant fuel price and fuel economy. It assumes one average fuel price and one average mpg for the entire trip. In mountainous regions, heavy headwinds, or stop‑and‑go city traffic, real fuel economy can be lower than you expect.
• No value is placed on time or comfort. Time spent checking in and out, setting up camp, dumping tanks, or driving slower in an RV is not converted into a dollar amount. Comfort preferences, such as better beds, air conditioning, or scenic campsites, are also left out of the numeric comparison.

Because of these limitations, it is best to treat the results as a transparent estimate, not a guaranteed quote. You can adjust the inputs—especially nightly rates and the RV rental/ownership field—to better reflect your situation.

When RV travel is usually cheaper than hotels

While every trip is different, RV travel tends to look more economical under a few common conditions:

• You take longer trips with many nights, so the nightly hotel savings add up.
• You already own an RV with manageable running costs and do not pay high rental fees.
• You can find reasonably priced campgrounds or use lower-cost options such as state parks or boondocking where allowed.
• Your car does not have a huge fuel‑economy advantage over the RV, or fuel prices are relatively low.

By contrast, hotels often win when you take very short trips, rent a high-end RV at a premium nightly rate, or can redeem hotel points to cut your cash cost substantially.

Frequently asked questions

Does this calculator include RV maintenance and insurance?

No. Ongoing maintenance, repairs, insurance, registration, and storage costs are not built into the formulas. If you would like to approximate them for a particular trip, you can add an extra amount per night into the “RV rental or nightly cost” field.

Can I use this to decide whether to buy an RV?

This tool is most accurate for comparing specific trips, not for full ownership decisions. However, you can still use it as a starting point. Try entering an estimated nightly ownership cost in place of a rental fee, then compare multiple trip lengths to see how much value you might get out of an RV over a year.

Does it handle more than one hotel room or campsite?

The calculator assumes one room or one site per night. If you need more than one, multiply your nightly rate accordingly before entering it, or run the calculator separately for each unit.

Use the results as a guide, then layer in your own preferences about flexibility, comfort, and travel style to decide whether RV camping or hotel lodging is the better fit for your next road trip.