Why By a Motorhome or RV?

Dozernut · Jul 10, 2013

We are on our third camper, we down sized from a 33' fiver to a 18' bumper pull. Just the two of us now and this little camper fits us well. I use the tractor to move the camper around to satisfy the purist among us.

We have our own bathroom, we know the sheets are clean and there are no bed bugs. We can camp at the state parks if we want or the large resorts. Hard to step out of the motel room and go fishing. It is an acquired taste like coffee or beer but once you are accustomed to it you will love it.

caps · Jul 10, 2013

It is nice to see that you are open minded about it and can see other viewpoints. In our case the RV makes good sense. My wife and i are both retired and we love to travel. We go where we want, don't make reservations and don't have schedules. We can go visit our kids (5 different states) and stay for a week or so parked in their driveways without inconveniencing them. We often stay at parks and with the RV being as small as it is, can almost always find a spot. In Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Arizona we drove up dirt roads on BLM land and stayed wherever we felt like. No one to bother us. We have, on occasion just stopped at a truck stop or Walmart parking lot to spend the night. We save a good deal of money on hotel rooms and doing our own cooking saves even more. Last month we drove to my nephews property near the Shenandoah river where he plans to build a cabin. We stayed there three days without seeing another human - just wildlife, trees, peace and quiet and stars. Can't get that in a hotel room. Like I said, for us it makes great sense and is worth every penny. If you're not an outdoorsy type, then an RV would be a waste of money.

wcampbell47 · Jul 10, 2013

My kids grew up, got married and moved to other states. Then came grandchildren. The boys were in the Army, one in Alabama and one in Kentucky. The girl moved to Ohio. It became apparent that if we wanted to see them we would have to go where they were. Not much chance of them coming home often. For birthdays and special events we would pack up the Class B and off we would go. I did not have to stop every hundred miles for her to use the bath room. There are a lot of special occasions we attended because we could show up in our home on wheels that we would have otherwise missed.

It is much cheaper to make your own coffee or bring along your favorite drink than to stop and buy. When we got tired we pulled into the nearest Wal Mart and slept. Back when gas was under $2 a gallon it was cheaper to travel by RV than fly and stay in hotels and eat out every meal. Now maybe not so much, more about the experience and seeing the sights. You don't get to see much landscape from 30,000 feet in the air. Some people are happy sitting in a casino and letting the one arm bandit rob them while others would rather stretch out and see the millions of stars unimpeded by city lights.

All the parks we ever stayed in had strictly enforced rules about no noise between 10 pm and 7 am. Excessive noise would get them thrown out in a heart beat. We lived in our 36 foot RV for six years after we sold all our houses. Only one time did we have trouble with noise. Actually I have been disturbed more at hotels than I ever was at an RV park. I guess state parks in the summer time would be an exception with all the kids running and screaming. We found RV resort residents to be very friendly and helpful. Much more so than suburbia. There was usually someone there to watch your stuff for you while you were away.

The park we lived at was close to a major cancer center. There was a lot of opportunity to befriend those with loved ones going through treatment.

My wife has a time share that we never use, well we used it once maybe twice. I find that I get bored easily looking at the same scenery for a week. No thanks. Put me on the road, let me see something different every mile. Nothing like stopping beside a cool, rushing mountain river and dipping your feet in it. Do that in an airplane! Now, don't get me wrong, I fly - but only when I am going to a specific place for a specific event.

We now live in a permanent house fourteen feet in the air one and a half miles from the Gulf coast. We still have a Class B to evacuate in when storms approach. We have had to evacuate twice. Both times used the motor home. We did not have to sleep in the open on a quilt in the parking lot. Having an RV has it's ups and downs but I am glad I have owned one.

QRTRHRS · Jul 10, 2013

Back in the 80's, I took a standard VW van and set it up with a bed and some storage. Along with some coolers, my "ex" and I would spend a maximum two weeks out with that van. We would stay in campgrounds, hotels, whatever as the mood and occasion prompted. We would eat breakfast or lunch out of the van or go out but usually alway go out for dinner. We never made reservations. We would only have a rough itinerary. Though we did tour Texas, etc, mostly at that time we were touring the New England and Atlantic Canada area. New England towns can be tight so a short vehicle is a plus.

I moved up to a class C and realized the "free wheeling" van was more fun.

Still, I have friends that have TT's or "C's" or 5fth wheels set up permanently at parks just to get away during the summer and to be with friends. It depends on what you want to do and need.

Robert_in_NY · Jul 10, 2013

While I don't have a motorhome my parents did when we were kids. The advantage back then for a family was that on long trips it was like being at home (although we didn't have a TV in that unit). Now you can buy small units and travel across the country with your family and the kids can keep themselves occupied where as if you cram them in a car then they will start annoying each other and it just becomes unpleasant. I know I spent many hours laying in the overhead bunk watching all the places as we traveled to Arizona from NY. It was the first time I saw the red clay soils and that image really stuck with me. It was a great view up there and it was comfy. If we needed to use the bathroom we didn't need to stop. If we wanted to stretch our legs we didn't need to stop. We had everything we needed and it made the trip a lot more fun.

Every mode of travel has advantages and disadvantages. Just cause you have a RV or a camper doesn't mean you have to stay at a camp ground with 100's of other campers. You can stay anywhere you want that allows it.

We just bought a camper for being able to take it to jamborees, concerts, amusement parks, outdoors shows and to visit family. It allows me to have a home since my health situation isn't ideal. If I don't feel good or need to go home I will now be able to do so without having to drive an hour or more. If I need to rest and I am at an amusement park with the kids then my options were to go to the car or sit on a bench. Now I can just go to the camper (darien Lake has a campground at their park). For someone like myself being able to bring a home with you to places you want to stay for a day or two is great and allows me to feel capable of doing more without restrictions. And the reason I mentioned concerts is because at Darien lake when they have a concert it can take up to 3 hours to get out of the parking lot there (it is terrible). I have actually slept in the back of the truck instead of fighting traffic or fighting falling asleep trying to drive the 90 minutes home. Now after the concert we can just walk home and drive back the next day.

jerrybob · Jul 11, 2013

RVing is clearly not for everyone. We love to travel with our trailer. During my career....traveled weekly and stayed in thousands of hotels. Now that were retired......if I never get on a plane or stay in another hotel....perfectly fine with me. We take our time....stay on small roads and enjoy the sights.....have met some great folks along the way. We recently bought a smaller trailer but it has all we need. We do most of our traveling in winter, spring and fall when most kids are in school. Our dogs go with us......RVing is the only way for us and it's great. By the way.......you don't have to pay a fortune for a RV....some are very reasonable and inexpensive to maintain. My tractor costs me more to maintain than my trailer but....than again....hard to clear brush and move rocks with my trailer!:thumbsup:

Gunny · Jul 11, 2013

cletus99 said:
Eglin is very nice. I was stationed there from 2000 to 2008 while I was in the Air Force. I loved it there. You were staying on Postal Point I'm guessing. They have two camp grounds. They built a new one while I was there. Did you ever rent a boat from MWR and ride across the bay to Crab Island?

Not wanting to hijack this thread, but you're spot on. Postal Point is beautiful, the other campground is nice, but no view and not close to the water. My BIL is retired AF and still lives down there, so the wife gets to visit family, the commissary is close and we love their prices! I do rent a boat every year and cruise around the bay and I've been to Crab Island several times. I also like the restricted beach the AF maintains there on Okaloosa Island.

As someone mentioned, camping is not for everyone, but for us, it's well worth the 650 mile trip down there.

Turbys_1700 · Jul 11, 2013

Everything on here stated thus far is spot on...
Using an RV is a lifestyle that has many different facets based on the type and purpose...
My dad started out with an old truck camper when I was 6 years old and throughout all the years ended up with over 6 or 7 motor homes...
He will be 83 now and I doubt that he will tell you he has any regrets over the 48 years that he was able to camp...
The last several motor homes he just enjoyed running them on the road...
I can't explain it but I guess it had to do with him selling tractors and implements over his lifetime and being mechanical in nature...
He spent a small fortune keeping those motor home up over the years but again I doubt that in the twilight years of his life he would have any regrets...
Many many memories that are unforgettable from the unexpected breakdowns to seeing your grand kids grow up in campgrounds on vacations...
Priceless...
A friend of mine told me that camping was an adventure...
It always is...
Constant attention to detail making sure that everything is in working order, getting ready for the big vacation, etc...
It is a lifestyle...
Money wise you can't justify the expense...
It is just like any other activity that you enjoy like bowling, golf, tractors, equipment, etc...
I currently do not camp after many years but since my son is out of the house the wife and I will probably look at buying an older RV for some travel in our retirement years...
It is an obsession and a good one...

Bird · Jul 11, 2013

Turbys_1700 said:
Everything on here stated thus far is spot on...
Using an RV is a lifestyle that has many different facets based on the type and purpose...
My dad started out with an old truck camper when I was 6 years old and throughout all the years ended up with over 6 or 7 motor homes...
He will be 83 now and I doubt that he will tell you he has any regrets over the 48 years that he was able to camp...
The last several motor homes he just enjoyed running them on the road...
I can't explain it but I guess it had to do with him selling tractors and implements over his lifetime and being mechanical in nature...
He spent a small fortune keeping those motor home up over the years but again I doubt that in the twilight years of his life he would have any regrets...
Many many memories that are unforgettable from the unexpected breakdowns to seeing your grand kids grow up in campgrounds on vacations...
Priceless...
A friend of mine told me that camping was an adventure...
It always is...
Constant attention to detail making sure that everything is in working order, getting ready for the big vacation, etc...
It is a lifestyle...
Money wise you can't justify the expense...
It is just like any other activity that you enjoy like bowling, golf, tractors, equipment, etc...
I currently do not camp after many years but since my son is out of the house the wife and I will probably look at buying an older RV for some travel in our retirement years...
It is an obsession and a good one...

Best answer and description yet. We've had one slide-in pickup camper, two conventional travel trailers, one fifth-wheel, and two motorhomes, and were full timers for six years. Terrible financial decision, but our adventures from one end of this country to the other were just great! We sold the last one in 1995 and will probably never have another, but I we sure enjoyed the ones we had.