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Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rtandc
Others use their RV as a home base for business as they travel from city to city. [/font]
This is us... we spend 10 to 11 months per year working on the road. We've had a fiver and now a Class A. Both have their pros and cons. But both are SO MUCH BETTER than trying to live out of a motel room or trying to find a short term rental. Right now we are home, and I'm so ready to GO!
The best part of camping is the TYPE of time spent as a family. No TV's, computers or crackberrys; lots of hiking, swimming and sitting around the campfire. Most of the campsites are scenic or within short distance of scenic surroundings. No waking up with the vista of a parking lot and strip mall "nirvana".
We started tent camping, but I did not sleep well on the ground and did not like the lack of space in our tent when it rained. So we bought a pop-up. It gives us comfortable, level sleeping spaces and enough room to comfortably read or play games if it rains. The cassette toilet works fine and if someone needs to use it as a "reading room" a bathroom or latrine is always close by. The pop-up is easily towed with our mini-van which is important to us since we are not SUV or pick up types(at least not now). The only draw back is having to live out of containers.
The next evolution would be a "Hi-Lo", which is similar to a travel trailer but can be towed by a mini-van. Only drawback is they are more $ than a comparably priced travel trailer.
Wife likes the openess of the pop-up, I would like the ability to load a travel trailer once per trip and not have to shuffle bins. The pop-up satisfies our needs, the travel trailer would better suit my wants.
Yeah, there are just so many options. A travel trailer might not be as real camping but it's definitely great for traveling when you might just want to park in someone's driveway and have your own guest room with you. Definitely nice when pulling over to eat or clean up or change when on the highway.
We have owned tents, a small pop up, a big pop up, a lightweight travel trailer and most recently, a 31' travel trailer. We were about to trade that in on a Minnie Winnie 31' Class C, but my company abruptly let go of many in my department at the time.
So we kept the TT for several more years until we found that we didn't use it that much due to conflicting work schedules, less vacation time in my new job, and the kids activities as they got older. (Plus, we discovered cruise vacations!)
While we had it, the TT provided us with our own portable "hotel" suite. We used it to stay on my BF's property several weekends a year when we visited them, I lived in it twice for 30 - 60 days during relocations, and it came in handy a couple of times when there were power outages at our house. We stayed in the camper with the heat / ac, tv, refrigerator, etc all running.
Good times and great memories were had with the camper. We took several great trips and we had a few that weren't so great.
It would be cool if the DW would let me buy a 5th Wheel after the kids are out of the house. Maybe she'd even consider full-timing in retirement.
We're getting ready to pull the plug on a fifth wheel, after months of looking at them and years of researching and dreaming about it. We didn't want to take on a payment in this economy, so we're looking at used ones that are built well enough for full-time use and still light enough for our V-10 dually to pull (shorter Carriages, mainly). We had a tough time deciding on what to buy because we want to be able to boondock in Forests sometimes, but also need enough space that we aren't tripping over each other and the dog all the time. We're hoping a 32 footer will still allow for at least some boondocking because everything shorter than that just seemed too small to us.
My husband works on the road and I'll be travelling with him from May to October. We're currently living out of motel rooms and I'm sick of carrying our clothes, food, toiletries in and out. Sick of trying to cook meals with a hot plate and a microwave. There's a lot of things we like that I need an oven for. I'm sick of washing dishes in a bathroom sink; sick of housekeeping people banging on the door every morning; sick of waking up with a backache every morning because the mattress sucks; sick of the "strip mall" scenery and constant traffic and airport noise. For this, the company is paying $75 a night (with the corporate discount). We pay the additional $10 a night for the dog. The priciest RV park near here is $47 a night and most of them are in the $30-35 range. It'll save the company a bunch of money if we have an RV and probably be a lot more enjoyable for us.
I don't imagine that there won't be noise or irritations at RV parks, but it HAS to be better than being stuck in motels in a city. At least we won't have to "stealth" barbeque anymore.
It'll be WAAAAAAY better than hotel rooms. Sounds like fun to me!
And that is the exact answer. It's not the cost, It is the Fun. Some of us don't want to fly someplace and stay in expensive motels, we could do that if we want but we don't want to, we enjoy the travel and we don't miss one thing along the way.
We're getting ready to pull the plug on a fifth wheel, after months of looking at them and years of researching and dreaming about it. We didn't want to take on a payment in this economy, so we're looking at used ones that are built well enough for full-time use and still light enough for our V-10 dually to pull (shorter Carriages, mainly). We had a tough time deciding on what to buy because we want to be able to boondock in Forests sometimes, but also need enough space that we aren't tripping over each other and the dog all the time. We're hoping a 32 footer will still allow for at least some boondocking because everything shorter than that just seemed too small to us.
My husband works on the road and I'll be travelling with him from May to October. We're currently living out of motel rooms and I'm sick of carrying our clothes, food, toiletries in and out. Sick of trying to cook meals with a hot plate and a microwave. There's a lot of things we like that I need an oven for. I'm sick of washing dishes in a bathroom sink; sick of housekeeping people banging on the door every morning; sick of waking up with a backache every morning because the mattress sucks; sick of the "strip mall" scenery and constant traffic and airport noise. For this, the company is paying $75 a night (with the corporate discount). We pay the additional $10 a night for the dog. The priciest RV park near here is $47 a night and most of them are in the $30-35 range. It'll save the company a bunch of money if we have an RV and probably be a lot more enjoyable for us.
I don't imagine that there won't be noise or irritations at RV parks, but it HAS to be better than being stuck in motels in a city. At least we won't have to "stealth" barbeque anymore.
We decided that no unit was worth payments. Why buy new, when 3 months later it has lost 25% value and 12 months later almost 50%?
We just had to shop around for the best 5er in our budget. Our criteria was aleast a sofa/dinnette slide and 28 foot. So we were looking at mid-1990s to 2000 models.
We were estatic when we found our Coachmen with double slides, 33 foot, and like new condition. We had to drive 1200 miles round trip, but it was worth the drive. We now have a Dodge diesel, and a 33 foot 5er, both in great condition and should provide years of use and be very nice when we go full time in 2013. The price is way less than a late model 5er and truck would have been.
RV or motel? i'm kinda neutral on the issue but a few things i'd consider before buying an RV would be
How often would this Rv be used? if its just a few long weekends per year i think i'd either rent an RV or stay in a motel.
Motorized RV or trailer? the motorized ones can be really expensive to buy/own and operate,depreciation is brutal.Trailers can be less hassle mechanically but you need a big gas sucking truck to pull the trailer and your stuck with this truck the rest of the time you arent rving
Also with the Rv parking and storage become issues when its not in use.
Motels on the other hand are mostly hassle free,you pays your money,enjoy your stay then walk away, and for what it costs to buy some Rv's ($50-$100K) you can stay in a lot of hotel/motels.
I'd say for short trips (weekends) you'd do better in the motel,
if you are out there many times a year for weeks at a time then the RV would probably be more bang for the buck..
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 06-07-2011 at 08:49 PM..
Reason: copyright material removed
I wouldn't really call motels hassle free. We're woken up a lot by slamming doors at all hours. Last night, someone pulled the fire alarm at 1:00 am (2nd time in 2 weeks) and no one was allowed back in the rooms until almost 2:00. Also, way too many motels have bedbug problems now. We're afraid to put our suitcases on the floor before scouring the room for evidence of their presence. And Dateline did a segment on motels years ago and found all sorts of nasty bodily fluids in the beds and on the furniture (even at the expensive hotels). I think about that every time I stay in one. Cabin and cottage rentals sometimes have the same issues.
I'll pay the extra money to have my own RV bed. Then I'll know for sure that there wasn't some hooker or someone with shingles in it the night before.
To each their own. My interest is in seeing as much of America as possible. I've tried both modes of travel, and I've definitely decided in favor of hotels and motels. The cheaper the better. Here is why:
1) I don't have to buy a deprecating asset.
2) I can drive my nice comfy car, which takes 25% less time and 80% less gas than an RV. And which I can park and drive anywhere.
3) I do not have a fear of "other people's bodily fluids". If I did, I'd be trapped inside of every public bathroom I went into, because I couldn't touch the door not knowing if the person in front of me washed their hands. And I couldn't eat in restaurants or burger joints, for fear that people routinely spit in the food. I do, however, bring my own pillow. Nor for fear of other people's "greasy heads", but because I have one that is perfect for me.
I do have a revulsion for the idea of having to deal with the blackwater tank of an RV.
4) I try whenever possible to stay a low-cost hotels that have refrigerators, microwaves and coffee makers. I bring with me a toaster oven and a bag of groceries. This gives me about the same kitchen set-up I had in the RV. I always have breakfast and usually have dinner "in"; lunch is usually "out", at whatever site I'm visiting that day. Saves a fortune, just like with an RV; but without the drawbacks noted in (1) and (2).
(5) I like long hot showers and baths.
Yes, occasionally hotels are noisy. I always bring a pair of foam earplugs. But here is the deal - occasionally RV parks are noisy, too. Including but not limited to barking dogs, noisy neighbors drinking until 3AM, and the noise from your own generator.
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Some of us don't want to fly someplace and stay in expensive motels, we could do that if we want but we don't want to, we enjoy the travel and we don't miss one thing along the way.
Cabin and cottage rentals sometimes have the same issues. 
