Blue View – Comparing the Cost of Owning a Van vs Owning a Boat, Part 2

Blue View – Comparing the Cost of Owning a Van vs Owning a Boat, Part 2

Now that Blue has been part of the family for a year now, I thought it would be a good time to take a reckoning of what he's cost us, and compare that to the cost of owning Nine of Cups. Last week in Part 1, I tallied all the fixed costs – those dollars that don't change much whether Blue is sitting in the driveway or carrying us across the country. This week, I'll total up the operating expenses. These are the costs like fuel and maintenance that do vary more or less directly with the amount of driving we do.

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Blue View – Comparing the Cost of Owning a Van vs Owning a Boat

Blue View – Comparing the Cost of Owning a Van vs Owning a Boat

Over the years that we lived aboard Nine of Cups, we obsessively kept track of the money we spent on her. Since Blue just celebrated the first anniversary of his adoption yesterday, I thought this might be a good time to make a reckoning of what the various costs on Blue have been, and then compare the costs of living aboard a boat with the cost of living in Blue.

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Blue View – Installing a Side View Camera

Blue View – Installing a Side View Camera

Blue is a pleasure to drive. He has great visibility ahead and great side view mirrors. He also has a good backup camera, and between it and the mirrors, backing up is rarely a problem.

Since we don't have a window in the cargo door, the visibility on the right side is limited, however. When we are backing out of a parking space or our driveway, I can't see if there is a car coming from the side. Crossing an intersection can really be hairy.

One solution is to add a side view camera

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