Three monthly profiles
For a full-time van lifer doing 1,200 km/month (typical of mixed wild + paid site travel). Sources: CSO weekly fuel data, AA Ireland insurance averages, Caravan and Camping Council site fee survey, anonymous polling of the Irish van life Facebook community.
| Cost line | Lean (mostly wild) | Mixed (typical) | Comfortable (mostly sites) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel (1,200 km @ ~9 l/100 km, €1.69/l) | €180 | €180 | €180 |
| Campsites & aires | €40 | €220 | €520 |
| Insurance (motor + contents avg/12) | €95 | €95 | €95 |
| Gas (LPG bottle exchange) | €25 | €35 | €35 |
| Water, laundry, showers | €35 | €55 | €75 |
| Food (cooking-led) | €280 | €340 | €420 |
| Maintenance & tyres (avg/12) | €100 | €100 | €100 |
| Mobile data + e-SIM | €35 | €35 | €35 |
| Indicative monthly total | €790 | €1,060 | €1,460 |
Use these numbers as planning bands, not a personal forecast. The two lines that move the total fastest are campsite nights and insurance. Campsites are a lifestyle choice; insurance is a fit question. A cheap monthly plan that excludes regular sleeping, contents or conversion value is not a saving if it leaves the real use uncovered.
Annual lines that don't show up in monthly budgets
Things that bite once a year and surprise people who only budget monthly:
- Motor tax: €102–€200/year for most converted vans/motorhomes, depending on vehicle weight and age. Lower if your van's classified as a motor caravan rather than a goods vehicle.
- NCT (or DOE for commercials): €55/year for the test (annual on motorhomes over 4 years old). Add €200–€500 for the inevitable retest items (tyres, lights, brakes).
- Habitation servicing: €180–€320/year for the gas cert, water system check, damp survey. Required if you ever want to sell on or insure properly.
- Mid-trip mechanic visit: the first un-budgeted €500–€1,200 bill always happens in the first year. Plan for one.
- Tyres: good campervan tyres (continental Vanco 4Season, Michelin Agilis CrossClimate) are €180–€240 each. A full set of four is a major annual line if you do high mileage.
- Ferry to UK / Europe: €180–€480 each way for a van + 2 passengers, depending on operator and season.
- Toll tags & ferries within Ireland: small, but a year's M50 toll usage is €120–€240 if you're regularly Dublin-bound.
Annual TCO across the three profiles
| Profile | Monthly | Annual lines (NCT, hab service, mechanic, etc.) | Indicative full year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lean | €9,480 | €1,400 | €10,880 |
| Mixed | €12,720 | €1,600 | €14,320 |
| Comfortable | €17,520 | €1,900 | €19,420 |
For comparison, the average Irish renter outside Dublin paid roughly €15,000–€19,000/year in rent alone in 2025 (Daft.ie quarterly report), and that's before electricity, gas, broadband, contents insurance and council charges. Van life is genuinely cheaper than apartment renting outside Dublin in 2026, even at the comfortable end — which is the financial argument that's brought a lot of people to the lifestyle in the last two years.
One-off setup costs
Before any of the running costs above, you have to get into a van. Indicative figures:
- Used vehicle base (Ford Transit / Renault Master / Sprinter / Crafter, 2014–2018, 100–180k km): €8,000–€25,000.
- DIY conversion materials & kit: €6,000–€15,000 if you do most of the work yourself.
- Professional conversion (Irish converter): €25,000–€55,000 on top of the base vehicle.
- First year of upgrades / "this didn't work, let's redo it": budget €800–€2,000.
- Initial gear list (bedding, cooking kit, tools, gas bottles, fridge if not already in): €1,000–€2,500.
For an off-the-shelf used campervan (already converted), you skip the conversion line but pay more for the vehicle: €25,000–€55,000 buys a good 2017–2021 motorhome on the Irish used market in 2026.
Where the money saves vs apartment renting
- No rent. The biggest saving. Even a "comfortable" van profile at €19,420/year saves €3,000–€8,000 vs renting in most non-Dublin counties, more vs Dublin.
- No utility bills. Replaced by gas-bottle exchanges and site EHU fees, which are smaller.
- No council charges. Property tax / refuse charges / TV licence don't apply.
- Lower food costs. Cooking with a 2-burner gas hob and a small fridge naturally limits the "Tesco impulse-buy" line.
Where it costs more than expected
- Insurance. Specialist campervan or motorhome insurance can cost more than a normal car policy, but the real risk is mismatch. Do not rely on a standard van policy unless the insurer has confirmed overnight use, the conversion value and contents treatment in writing.
- Mechanic visits. Diesels with full conversions on top are heavier, work harder, and cost more to fix when something breaks.
- Site fees in summer. July/August at popular sites is €40–€55/night even in Ireland.
- Replacing a leisure battery. A 200 Ah LiFePO4 is €700–€1,100; lead-acid replacements are smaller bills but more frequent.
Insurance cost: the line to confirm first
Do the insurance quote before you buy or convert, not after. The cheapest van on DoneDeal can become the expensive choice if the conversion is hard to value, the vehicle is still classed commercially, or you plan to sleep in it full-time. For budgeting, treat insurance as a range until a broker confirms your exact vehicle, use, storage address, contents and travel plans.
Use the quote call as a buying filter. Ask whether the policy covers sleeping in the vehicle, declared conversion value, loose contents, gas or electrical modifications, European travel and breakdown recovery. If the answer depends on documents, get the document list before you pay a deposit on the van.
Start with the caravan and campervan insurance Ireland checklist, then come back to this page and replace the monthly placeholder with your real quote.
A simple first-year budget rule
Before you buy, build a first-year budget with three separate pots: the vehicle and conversion money, the monthly running budget, and a protected annual-bill reserve. If the insurance quote, first tyres, NCT/CVRT work and one mechanic visit all arrive in the same quarter, the reserve is what keeps the van-life plan from turning into credit-card debt.
For a cautious start, price the insurance and test/repair risk before the nice-to-have gear. A smaller van with confirmed cover, sound tyres, a working heater and a clean damp check beats a bigger build that only works on paper.
If you're trying to decide whether van life makes financial sense for your specific situation, the honest answer is "it depends on what you're moving from". For someone in a Dublin apartment paying €1,800/month, the answer is "yes, comfortably". For someone living rent-free with parents, the answer is "you'll spend more than you do now, but you'll be travelling".