Running Costs
Running Costs for a UK motorhome.
What “Running Costs” Actually Means
The purchase price of a motorhome is only the start. What it actually costs to own and use one — insurance, tax, servicing, fuel, campsite fees, storage, subscriptions — is a completely different number, and it’s the one most buyers underestimate.
Most guides answer this with rough averages pulled from surveys. We’d rather show you the real figures. Since our first trip away in Rezzy in September 2021, we’ve logged every campsite bill, every diesel receipt and every insurance renewal — so the figures below aren’t estimates, they’re what motorhoming has actually cost us.
Our Own Numbers: What Rezzy Has Actually Cost Us
Broken down, here’s where that went:
- Campsites and pitches: £8,082.89 across 426 nights away (170 UK nights, 256 European nights) — an average of £18.97 a night. UK nights averaged £22.80; European nights averaged a bit less at around £16.43, largely thanks to aires and low-cost stopovers.
- Diesel: £11,902.93 in total, working out at about 28p per mile.
- Insurance: £2,727.14 across five renewals, rising from £461.32 in our first year to £620.05 most recently — more on why that’s crept up below.
- Servicing, tyres and parts: £3,284.19 over the same period.
- PHGV road tax: £831 in total, running at £165–£171 a year.
- AdBlue: £398.88 — a small but steady add-on to the diesel bill.
- Club memberships and subscriptions (CAMC, CACC, Park4Night, a site-search app and a security subscription): just over £1,000 across the whole period, so well under £250 a year combined.
Your own numbers will differ — we tour a lot, including long European trips, so our mileage and nights-away figures are on the higher side. But the categories below apply to every motorhome, and we’ll use our own figures throughout to show what’s realistic rather than theoretical.
Insurance
Insurance was our single biggest year-on-year increase — up from £461.32 in 2021 to £620.05 in our most recent renewal. Premiums are shaped by your vehicle’s value, where you keep it, your claims history and the level of security you have fitted.
We've written a full breakdown of what drives motorhome insurance pricing and how to bring it down in how much motorhome insurance actually costs in 2026, and our full motorhome insurance guide covers cover types, agreed value and where to compare quotes.
Road Tax, Club Memberships and Subscriptions
These are the small, easy-to-forget costs that add up quietly over a year. For us that’s PHGV road tax (£165–£171 annually), a CAMC and a CACC membership, a couple of site-finding app subscriptions, and a vehicle security subscription. None of these are large individually, but budget roughly £200–£300 a year for the full set if you plan to use club sites and site-finding tools regularly.
Fuel, AdBlue and Gas
Fuel is usually the cost people focus on most — and for us it’s been £11,902.93 across 42,500 miles, or about 28p a mile, plus a small ongoing AdBlue cost on top. Your own figure will depend heavily on your vehicle’s engine, weight, and how much motorway versus touring driving you do.
Gas (we use Gaslow) is a smaller but steady cost, particularly if you cook and heat with it regularly rather than relying on hook-up. If you’re trying to reduce reliance on both gas and grid power, our guide to fitting a solar system covers solar and inverter setups that can bring these costs down over time.
Campsites, Aires and Overnight Stops
At £18.97 a night on average, this was our largest single category of spend — and also the one with the most room to control. Mixing club sites, aires, and the occasional wild or off-grid night brought our average right down compared to booking commercial sites every night.
If off-grid nights are something you want to use more often to bring this cost down, our off-grid guide covers what you need to do it comfortably and safely.
Servicing, Tyres, Parts and MOT
We spent £3,284.19 on servicing, tyres and parts over 54 months — not a fixed annual figure, since some years bring a bigger bill (new tyres, a habitation service, an unexpected part) than others. Budgeting an average rather than expecting the same figure every year is the realistic approach.
Storage
Storage doesn’t always show up as a big line item, but it affects your insurance premium as much as your monthly budget. We’ve covered the different storage options and typical costs in the real cost of storing a motorhome in the UK, including how secure storage can lower what you pay for insurance.
How to Track and Control Your Own Costs
If you’re weighing up a motorhome against a caravan on cost alone, we’ve used these same figures as a starting point in motorhome vs caravan: which actually costs less to own.
Written by Nicky Michelmore