I have been interested in utilization since I was scheduling crews and aircraft. Then, when sailing, I became acquainted with the old "saw; "A boat spends 80% of its life at anchor- or in port." So while digging through the maintenance records of our van, I just had to review the previous owners use rates. Not being nosy, I just needed to understand how the van had been used, the repair items to watch, and what I should tackle first.
I used the odometer readings on the records when available. Most often these are recorded on the maintenance invoices. All of the previous owners used commercial RV maintenance facilities, with no DIY. We are the 5th owner, and our data is estimated as we have an upcoming winter trip that should add another 3000+ miles to our use, but our existing use is shown.
There are some interesting observations that could be made and questions to ask. For example, were some of the "spikes" in use before its sale, in anticipation of "one last trip?" Or after a trip, perhaps a realization by the owners; "Well, we've been there and done that?"
On the other hand, perhaps the plateaus in use can be explained reviewing the maintenance records. Also, the expenses incurred may explain lower utilization during those periods.
I will caution you. It is a pretty busy slide, but hope mostly self-explanatory. First, the average use over 14 years is right at 6000 miles per year. Total expense reported by previous owners is just at $11,100 (before my major upgrades~ just about the same amount). The diminutive original house battery was replaced 3 times, and the start battery also 3 times (one during our delivery trip). The TPMS was replaced 3x and again is inop. I suspect the module, which could also explain the non-functioning key fob unlock. [Chevy books indicate it is the same module and it was replaced in 2021.]
I was looking for a utilization metric (called the UTE Rate in AF parlance). I used miles per maintenance/upgrade dollar spent. The records on the first owner were pretty sketchy, so I ignored that one. For the UTE Rate, a higher number is better.
Owner Number 2, garnered 7.35 miles per dollar of maintenance and repair.
[42,000/$5714 = 7.35 mi/$]
Owner Number 3 was 2.56 miles per dollar maintenance, but then again there were the lock downs, so perhaps that limited travel for them.
[10,000/$3905.99 = 2.56 mi/$]
Owner Number 4 admitted to us the wanted to make one trip and with failing eyesight, decided to call it quits. None the less, they hit 3.71 miles per maintenance dollar.
[5000/$1347 = 3.71 mi/$]
NOTE: At purchase, we used deferred maintenance items in negotiation; non-functioning genset and tires for example.
Having completed a major electrical system upgrade/rehab, we'd better get going to amortize our investment! As of now our UTE Rate is a paltry $0.54/mile!
Admissions; This is just one vehicle. Only miles and maintenance is considered. It includes repairs and upgrades and routine service. None of the owners indicated any storage fees. Nor, does this include explicit fuel, park fees, tolls, etc. I did show the US National Average for regular gas by year as a matter of interest.
Discounting Owner Number One, and us, the UTE is 5.76 miles per dollar maintenance. As I have time I may compare this information to a spread sheet that tackled miles vs hotel/motel costs. It too could be mildly informative, but I have other projects calling. I hope you might find it at least mildly interesting, or a useful excuse to "get out there." It will be for us.
Cheers - Jim
Boats in Port = Vans in Storage?
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