It’s always good to read that someone is planning a big trip in their camper
I have to say, I haven’t spent that long travelling but I did spend about 8weeks back in 2007 in my first camper, followed by another trip around france in 2012
In 2007 I travelled about 4000miles in 8 weeks
In 2012 I travelled about 2800miles in 16days
On both trips I first plotted an approximate route on google maps or Michelin journey planner website to work out the mileage.
I then added an extra % for detours, getting lost around towns and unforeseen sightseeing.
I then looked up an average price of fuel for the country
This would gave an approximate budget for fuel.
TIP – use the Michelin website as it not only tells you which roads are toll roads, it also will give you how much the tolls will cost. It also works out the fuels costs for you, if you cant do the conversion yourself
As others have said, if you are going to be travelling a significant distance then you should at least be doing an oil change and re-setting you valve gaps. You could potentially replace standard distributor points with electronic ignition before you go if this is something you don’t want to do.
Budget the cost of spares if you don’t already have them… maybe spare set of ht leads, rotor arm, distributor cap, coil?
As for camping, if you are going in off-season then this will be dramatically cheaper. When we went to France in 2012, we went 1st 2weeks of July. Even though we were just before high season, we found the prices/night were around 10Euros/night cheaper. Even for a 15night holiday this saved us 150Euros. I know you mentioned that you would be looking to do a lot of free camping, but it’s always good to budget an amount. After all, if you do save money, then you can always treat yourselves with a nice meal out or something.
When I went in both campers I fitted a hidden security box. We kept any valuables in this along with passports and SD cards that we had filled up – maybe worth thinking about.
Anyway, it sounds like an awesome opportunity if you can go ahead with it…very exciting
Michelin website: http://www.viamichelin.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
NaFe
p.s. makes me think that I should write up my 2012 trip on here!!!