Why By a Motorhome or RV?

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Yea I know Buy not By, my bad


I have been reading the thread below with interest and have had many discussions with the wife and we can not understand the draw of using this form of traveling, help me understand, are we missing something?

Re: Advice on a motorhome please http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/284092-advice-motorhome-please.html

By no way am I putting down this way of travel, I just do not see the advantages of traveling this way. The disadvantages I see are as follows:
1. A lot of $$ to buy and maintain the vehicle
2. Cost of fuel with low miles to the gallon
3. Parking close to another RV and listing to the noise all night long
4. You have to cook and clean the RV everyday ( wife dislikes this the most),
5. Increased travel time from one place to another.y

Background

We have been married for 34 years and have traveled a lot, we are 3 states shy of seeing the lower 48. All of our travel have been 2-3 weeks at a time 2 times a year during the summer. We either drive and or fly and rent a car and stay in hotels most times at Spring Hill Suites, Holiday Inn Express, etc. We plan the trip in detail and book all hotels months in advance and know where we will stay each night and what we will see. We even know what options we have for dinner by reviewing Trip Advisor in each town/city we visit.

Thanks for your insight and again I am NOT putting RVing down I guess I just need to understand it better.

 

[brin]

Tom ...My Mrs. and I have wondered the very same thing and agree with your 5 points....what about breakdowns on the road with all your gear with you and your major investment sitting on the side of the road...? We actually rented a 30 ft. Winnebago Motor home and went camping for a weekend and that was quite enough....I wold much rather be in a condo or even a motel...Then at the campgrounds, friends have told me that you are all cramed in next and around folks you don't know and there is no privacy...but lots of nosy people. Not for us either and there is no way the RVing is not much more expensive than motels and restaurants...:2cents: bit I'm curious to hear why folks like it....

 

[WilliamBos]

I know resale value on these is not the best either, so loosing money had better not bother you.

The trailers are this way anyway.

 

[MotorSeven]

Well, I hate hotels. Drag all the "stuff" in into the elevator, down the hall, set up in room. Next morning repeat. My vehicle is out in the parking lot unattended and vulnerable(yes I have had a break-in at a hotel).


Most times we have the dang dogs and hotels are charging as much as $25 per dog per night so it gets expensive not to mention a pain in the arse for us and the hotel. I'm a wanderer, so I don't like pre laid plans and a firm itinerary so if a State Park is close by fine, if not a rest area works perfect. We like having my own bathroom even with though it has to be dumped from time to time. I don't think anyone here saves any money owing an RV, but it sure is convenient. I have had pop-up's, pull behinds, truck campers, Class A and C's, but have finally settled on a Class B Van camper. Easy to maneuver/park, not so bad on fuel and anything bigger just means you carry more JUNK.

I have 6K tied up in this one(yes it's a classic...shag carpet an all):

 

[MotorSeven]

Brin we never camp at campgrounds like KOA...sardines. State or National Parks only...huge difference in sites and way cheaper in price(average <$25 a night).

 

[brin]

Brin we never camp at campgrounds like KOA...sardines. State or National Parks only...huge difference in sites and way cheaper in price(average <$25 a night).

I would do what you do....I think it would be fun to have a Van Camper like you have and stay in State or National parks vs. those sardine campgrounds - I did not mean camping like you do...my wife and I have camped with sleeping bags and a tent...so....I was curious about the folks that have the big Motorhomes with slideouts and the big 5th wheel or bumper pull trailer campers....those make no sense to me...

 

[bcp]

Quite a few of the owners of the largest ones are full time RV'ers. They have no house.

Full Time RV USA

Welcome to Mark's Fulltime RV Resource

Full Time RV Road Warriors

Full Time RV Living

Bruce

 

[Gunny]

We've managed to weed out all the campgrounds on our routes where the spaces are tight, plenty of them around with lots of room. (Seems the ones closest to the interstates and attractions are the worst) Last month we pulled down to Eglin AFB which has very, very large spots, spent one night going down at a campground outside Birmingham that had a lot of room, spent one night coming back in an extremely nice (out of the way) campground that was absolutely beautiful.

We also take our dog, she has to go with us, so hotels/motels are out. There are cheaper campgrounds out there, especially if you belong to one of the groups. We use Passport America, most of the time we stay for $16 per night, or less. Many campgrounds offer a military discount (the one in Alabama only charged us $10 for the night)

I'm also in the crowd that doesn't like elevators or hauling all your stuff up the stairs to get to your room. Hotels typically require you to eat all your meals in restaurants, we always eat breakfast at the campground, pack a nice lunch to go with us, then dine out at good restaurants in the evening. Lots of money saved right there.

It does require more gasoline and more time to haul a camper, but on our trip to Florida, by staying at a military base and using the discounts at the other two, even with the increased gas consumption, by my calculations, we saved over $500 on a two week stay versus getting a decent hotel on the water. We could have saved quite a bit by getting a room 30 miles up the road, but the campground we stayed at was right on the bay. Our front door was less than 90 feet from the shore! Spectacular sunrises, nice breezes and very nice viewing during the times we were at the camper.

Buying groceries against eating all our meals in restaurants also saves a lot of money. Then, a hotel room is a strange place, our fifth wheel has become a second home to us, we're comfortable with and in it and it just feels good to be in "our place".

Yeah, the travel times increase a lot (we usually drive between 60-65 mph while towing, makes it much easier to let other traffic pass us instead of trying to keep up with traffic), but this is a beautiful country and we always enjoy the sights we see while we're just cruising along.

I do agree that RV'ing isn't for everyone, but we really enjoy it. We normally spend two weeks a year in Florida, a week at a state park for her family reunion, then several two or three day camps during the rest of the year. There's no way I would live full time in an RV, but (for us at least) I wouldn't vacation any other way.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

A good option when you want to reduce retirement funds but not buy a boat or horse.

Sat in our 1993 MH this AM for about an hour to take an early business call outside the house. We did the 8000 mile trip in 2011 to say we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge so kids could say they swam in the Pacific Ocean too. We really need to get out in it again but hotels are much cheaper even with a MH setting in the driveway.

It is like a spare home that we do not use much but it was nice for the 31 day trip with the kids to the Pacific.

 

[brin]

Thanks Gunny, that makes sense, sounds like you have it planned so that it makes you happy and that's what counts...and I can see where condos and motels are not for everyone...