I currently rent at $475 a month all utilities included.
I am looking into van-dwelling for my next stint. But it's not that much cheaper. I stand to save maybe $300 a month IF I can reduce my driving by a factor of 2 - all of my current driving is recreational. I live within walking distance to the grocery store and my work.
The only reason I drive is literally to date people and pursue my one hobby of mountaineering - My city is extremely small, no colleges, not much tech industry/yuppies other than my employer, and no outdoor activities, so dating happens about 45mins away where actual people live and fun happens an hour north in the mountains. Cutting my gas mileage in half would mean having to cut my driving habits in half - not likely when I have already gotten rid of the day-to-day driving problem and will be adding having to re-park my van and drive to the gym each morning.
Insurance and registration on a "non-professional bus conversion" class B RV used as a primary residence, valued at $25000 is like $200/year. A win over a normal car, to my surprise!
Other fixed costs of van-dwelling that are covered by my current rent include:
1. PO box - $15/mo
2. Laundry - $20/mo
3. Propane usage - $40/mo (fridge/heat. likely an overestimate)
4. Mobile internet - $80/mo (cable included in my rent, but I need to VPN to work)
5. Gym membership - $20/mo (showers and actually i just do weights in my current basement)
6. increased vehicle maintenance budget - +$50/mo (when its your house, gotta fix it RIGHT and RIGHT NOW).
7. slightly decreased insurance, registration.
TOTAL = $225/mo of "rent"
So at max I stand to save 475 - 225 = $250/month IF my fuel costs stay the same. There's some security, peace-of-mind, and solitude benefits that come from it but nothing monetary.
I suppose I'm not off so far in the sticks so often that there isn't a library or coffee shop nearby with free wifi, but I dislike being without it, or trusting the coffee shop to have it set up and working right so I'm not late for that e-meeting. I'm gunning for a tim-ferriss inspired work-from-home negotiation and I feel I need to be a reliable worker-from-home if that's to come to fruition.
Start-up cost estimate for a SWANKY van conversion:
Cost of suitable used van: $2500-5000 (AWD 1-ton)
Cost of all-new RV conversion appliances: $4000
this includes: water heater, water pump, sink, shower, flushing toilet and potable/gray/black water storage, propane system, propane FRIDGE/freezer, stove top, oven, propane heater, proper equipment for use of all this stuff in the dead of a new england winter (sewage-tank defrosters, etc...), solar battery array, AC power inverter, all lights and wiring, all plumbing, all framing, insulation, flooring, dashcam, CO detector, and fire extinguisher.
probably don't need all that but being able to shit when I please is important to me. that important? time will tell.
this is the value of my current vehicle so I would break-even on the conversion and start saving $250/month immediately (assuming gas improvements), no ROI timeframe.
The upside of this is that I can basically build a cabin w/ generator for the same amount of money so that's good to know. I just don't want to settle in this area yet.
So, I wanted to write that all out in a non-spreadsheet form and bounce it off the internet to get some help with the less quantifiable aspects. To repeat, monetarily it only saves me a theoretical max of $250/month over my current situation but with added freedom and the ability to relocate with my house in a couple years. I need to fix the "drive an hour for a date" problem independently of this plan.