Mileages, Budget, and Costs

It is kind of important to know how far I plan to go and roughly how much it will cost to get there, so that I can make sure that I have enough money in the coffers to prevent me from running out half way through !!   So I am in an ongoing process to think of all the things that are going to cost me money, and as close as possible, to cost them out.  I share these details because others may find this exercise interesting / useful if they are planning a similar trip, especially once I get on the road and start having "actuals" to compare with my "projections" !!   A couple of things I did learn from my 2012 trip - 1) You do more kilometres than you expect - Whether that is from getting lost, or just not always travelling the projected routes, I don't know. And 2) accommodation was a higher than expected expense in 2012 because the poor weather often made it impossible to tent camp in Elsie, and also wildlife (like bears and moose) made it wise not to free-camp (ie beside the road) when in a tent.  Hopefully Troopie, having metal sides, will make it more feasible to camp both in inclement weather and also when surrounded by curious wildlife !!  These will be taken into consideration in my pre-trip budget.  But in 2012 despite the limitations of the tent, I was able to spend 50% of my nights camping, while my food worked out at $21 per day.  So these details provide good starting points. 

First costs to be budgeted are those for the ferries up through Vancouver Island and up through the Inside Passage as far as Haines.  I drove up on the land roads in 2012 because it was a lot cheaper - 2 or 3 tanks of gas compared to at least a couple of thousand dollars for ferries.  But this time, having already driven the only two roads that go to Alaska, I really really want to do the Inside Passage with all its sights, and in addition get off in several ports to explore. So I am therefore prepared to ante up the money for the ferries.
From what I can calculate, taking the ferry up from Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert, then on to Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau, will cost about $2500 for two people and the car.  This also includes a ferry to Gustavus where the Glacier National Park cruises go from, which I also want to do if possible.  3 ferry companies are used - Washington State Ferries, BC Ferries, and the Alaska Marine Highway ferries -  And all costs and schedules are available on the internet.  I am fascinated by the Russian and the Gold Rush history of Alaska, and I just have to see places like Sitka which was the original Russian capital for the area, with their architecture and history present and well documented. The plan is to jump off for 2-3 days in each port, camp there, explore, and then jump back on the next ferry to the next place.  After leaving Anacortes, I estimate it will take us 2-3 weeks to reach Haines, which is where we will get off and start driving the rest of the way north. 

For the rest of the trip, I have worked out costs as follows:-

• Estimated to be on the road from 1st May 2014 (Anacortes WA) to 31st March 2015 (Rio de Janeiro).  Total of 330 days.
• I have decided to do the whole trip using on kilometres and litres, since of all the countries to be visited, only the US is different !!! It is too difficult to keep jumping between the two, especially at the beginning where I cross from the US to Canada and back about 5 times !!.
• Fuel consumption figures are estimated using 15 litres / 100 kms.  After 12 months with the car, I am currently averaging 13.15 litres / 100 kms.  The difference is my 10% fudge factor in case I do more kilometres or use more fuel than expected at altitude in Chile etc.
• Average cost of diesel taken as $1.20 per litre for entire trip.  Roughly USA is $1.05, Canada $1.35, and S America varies from $1.41 in Peru, down to $0.01 (Yes, that is ONE CENT !!) per litre in Venezuela !! Most seem to be about the $1 - $1.20 mark.  I am sure they will fluctuate - But I am going with the $1.20 average for now.

Basically I estimate I will do 43,404 kms, use 6510 litres of diesel ($7812), spend $30 per day on food ($9900), spend only half the days in campsites or accommodation (to do washing etc) ($3000), spend $1000 having 5 oil changes (I already have the filters etc), spend $5000 on other "adventures" along the way, and including shipping of the car to Seattle and flights for 2 to Seattle, I have a current total of $36000 or so (including Inside Passage ferry costs).  I need to add personal and car insurance costs which I have yet to calculate but estimate to be about $2500.   So somewhere in the region of $40,000, but that is effectively for 11 months, so is not too bad - If I can achieve it !! 

Obviously there is also all the money I have spent on the vehicle over the past year already, but as was the case with the Lotus in 2012, most of the things I have done to the car will still be on it and (hopefully !!) working when I finish the trip, so their value will remain as at least a partial asset.  I have spent almost exactly $20,000 preparing the vehicle, but over half of that was spent on just 2 things - 1) The special rear bumper and dual rear spare wheel units, 2) The suspension, clutch, brakes, wheel bearings etc.  The hot water shower and rear window security screens were another $1000 again.  All the rest has been spent on small bits and pieces and improvements which have considerably increased not only the usability of the vehicle, but also its value.

The interesting thing will be to see how the actual costs unfold during the trip !!

Some of the spreadsheets I have built up are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/Budget?authkey=Gv1sRgCOf0xMrSiKeR-wE#