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Several reasons we can't buy....We really can't afford to buy an RV outright. We are looking at taking a week (5-7 days) to do our move and that's it. We'll both have to start working so no time for camping during the move. With renting it should be under $1000 to rent the rv.
My husband nor I are handy with cars so we wouldn't feel comfortable buying a very old, cheap rv. It would have to be something newer and the cost is just too much unfortunately. We saw older ones going for $20k. Plus while we've both been in rvs neither of us knows about them enough to know if we got a good deal purchasing. We could be getting hosed and then try to sell it and be upside down.
. We only have one car and we aren't boat people so trading it in for a car or boat won't help us. We will be camping in the future sometime, but we like to stay in KOA cabins when we do camp.
I can see how purchasing an rv and selling would work for some but for us renting it and turning it back in will be the least amount of headache.
I'd just love to find a good rental and I know there are tons of private rentals out there but I cannot find one that allows a one way from VA to CA. I have found some that let you go from New York to CA so we may end up going up to NY and driving it back here and then going out west.
Meemur thanks for the numbers. I'll try them.
Also we wanted an rv because there are 4 of us, two of them being my senior parents who can't sit in a car long periods of time because of knee issues. Plus we have two dogs. I love the idea of having food, beds and bathroom on board.
I remember being quote $159 a day, if you got $89 that's better, but whats the daily rate after tax, insurance and other charges, + fuel, I guarantee you are well over $2k.
What's the reason for wanting an rv anyways? Are there several of you? Are you planning on filling it with stuff? If you're priority is to move, and you are not camping anywhere, this just seems like a round-about way to get where you're going. I always thought the main point of an RV was so that you could just pick a spot go and camp where you want in self contained luxury. This just sounds like you are spending a lot more than you need to so you don't have to pull over at rest stops.
Zugor we were going to leave in March but if I could get a good deal in February, we'd leave earlier. What company did you use?
Historyfan good to know your friends had a good Cruise America experience. They may be our only choice if we don't find anyone else.
Fluffy the girl at Cruise America told me that their March rates if we book like 3 months in advance, will be $89 a day. So that's how we figured $1000 for a 5-7 day trip.
Of course I didn't count gas but I'd have to pay for gas if I had my own rv. And I know we'll have to pay for mileage. I was just comparing renting vs buying. Renting is cheaper for people like us who don't have a lot of money to put out and dont' know much about rvs enough to buy one and turn around and sell real quick. I'd love to own one in the future when we retire though but for now...
Moving cross country is not cheap either way though. That I'm seeing as we plan.
It was Cruise America. I had considered trying to do the trip in my Suburban with the 4 dogs and the cat and camping in January along a very southern route (not going to find even a dump of a motel with my four legged gang) but then some idiot on a cell phone rear ended me so hard that it bent the frame and was no longer a viable option.
Maybe they do charge mileage now but they didn't then, the price of gas was about the same as now. One other bit of good fortune was that the old friend who suggested that I consider this area lives on Lake Norman in NC, about two hour drive from here and she had an Explorer that I was able to borrow for several weeks and that was how we got the RV to Manassas and had a vehicle to get home with and to use while I shopped for something of my own. The place where I picked up the first RV was just a couple of miles from the house I was leaving so a friend drove me over there and I brought it "home" for my last night in Oakland.
Another possible solution - - -
Contact a charity, church or religious group, and explain your situation. They may be able to network a solution where you can rent / borrow someone's RV.... or come up with an even better solution.
That is not a bad idea. You can at least try it.
When my elderly BIL had health problems, his very big, very expensive RV just sat on a storage lot for the majority of 2 or 3 years. I know that he loaned it out several times to friends & acquaintances who could use it.
Also, among RVers there is a strong network of people. Once you tap into that it is possible to find other people like my BIL.
I'm going to look on some rv forums and see if I can go through a private rental.
We put a lot of thought into the rv versus the car and there are several reasons
1. the experience of driving cross country in an rv is something we've never done. Only local trips in our youth. So this will be our first rv experience where we are driving and our first cross country experience.
2. we have my senior parents who cannot sit in the car for long periods of time. They have to get up and move. They also cannot drive cross country so my husband and I would have to split up and take two cars with each parent and do this for 5-7 days. Not fun Plus my parents have an old car they are selling before the move because it will never make it cross country. So we'd have to rent a second car. Our car cannot fit 4 people and two dogs plus supplies.
3. there are two medium sized dogs who absolutely won't sit in the back of the car for 5-7 days without going crazy
4. my dad has health problems that require many bathroom trips a day. Having a bathroom on board will truly be a lifesaver
5. if we took cars we'd have to eat along the way in restaurants and get hotel rooms. With an rv we can pack our own food and have our own beds.
6. My husband and I have talked about owning an rv one day and this will be a good way to test if we really do like an rv enough to purchase one. We will be staying at campsites along the way so we'll get an idea of what it takes hooking it up, emptying the tank. We've only had other people do it. We'd like to get the feel of an rv ourselves.
It may not necessarily work out cheaper than driving cars but for our situation it will be easier and less stressful. We would fly BUT the dogs would have to be shipped in cargo and we won't do that.
So we decided to just rent the rv and make a few stops along the way in tourist areas, see some things we've never seen and just try to make the most of the move.
After reading more details, I wouldn't take the elderly folks in an RV! Fly them out.
You seem to think that traveling 4 people in an RV will be less stressful than a car. You're right about having a bathroom on board, but if your parents can't handle sitting well, the motion of the RV for days on end won't be overly helpful, either. Don't do that to them.
I also question such a long trip on your first time out. You might be okay! But you would fare better with a younger person along who is a seasoned RVer. And when I was in my 20s, that was my job: get my grandparents to FL in their RV or back up to MI. They would fly me one way and then I'd drive. I'm in my 50s now, and no way would I want to drive anything bigger than a converted van for any length of time!
But that's just me.
I don't think this is a good idea. Do the move. Forget the RV. Have fun with the RV and camping when you aren't trying to move. In my opinion, you're just adding another layer of stress.
We asked my parents about just flying and they really want to do the rv with us. They had always talked about getting their own rv and that never happened. So they are so excited about seeing middle America and doing the drive with us. Of course if they changed their minds and want to fly last minute that's fine. But if you met my dad you'd know that once his mind is made up he wants to do something, there ain't no changing it, lol. My dad was a big camper in his younger days so he's really excited about the whole trip. I sure it's going to be difficult on all of us at times.
We've lived as far north as CT and as far south as Florida and moved up and down the east coast and one thing I've seen with moving, no matter what you do it's stressful! So I'm torn between being excited and dreading the move at the same time :P
Also, my brother was going to drive our car cross country with our two cats. So that still leaves only my husband and me to drive the rv. I just don't know anyone else. My husband has driven cargo vans ( he used to tour with a band) and drove our moving truck from CT to VA and Florida to VA so he handles large vehicles better than me. I doubt I'll be driving the rv much if at all.
Then there are the dogs. We do not want them flying in cargo so they have to be driven cross country. And they are a terrier mix and a boxer mix who are very energetic and hyper. The ride to the vet in the back of the car drives them nuts. I just can't see driving in even a van cross country with them being very fun. And our vet said sedatives are okay but not being given for an entire week.
But we'll see. My husband and I have been in every state on the east coast and out west from Utah to California but we've never seen middle America. There is a dinosaur fossil area in Texas he's wanted to see for years. So we are kind of really looking forward to doing the rv thing. But I agree with my parents it's going to be hard. I do not have the heart to tell them no. Hopefully they will change their mind when the time comes but if not, pray for me, lol.
We asked my parents about just flying and they really want to do the rv with us. They had always talked about getting their own rv and that never happened. So they are so excited about seeing middle America and doing the drive with us. Of course if they changed their minds and want to fly last minute that's fine. But if you met my dad you'd know that once his mind is made up he wants to do something, there ain't no changing it, lol. My dad was a big camper in his younger days so he's really excited about the whole trip. I sure it's going to be difficult on all of us at times.
We've lived as far north as CT and as far south as Florida and moved up and down the east coast and one thing I've seen with moving, no matter what you do it's stressful! So I'm torn between being excited and dreading the move at the same time :P
Also, my brother was going to drive our car cross country with our two cats. So that still leaves only my husband and me to drive the rv. I just don't know anyone else. My husband has driven cargo vans ( he used to tour with a band) and drove our moving truck from CT to VA and Florida to VA so he handles large vehicles better than me. I doubt I'll be driving the rv much if at all.
Then there are the dogs. We do not want them flying in cargo so they have to be driven cross country. And they are a terrier mix and a boxer mix who are very energetic and hyper. The ride to the vet in the back of the car drives them nuts. I just can't see driving in even a van cross country with them being very fun. And our vet said sedatives are okay but not being given for an entire week.
But we'll see. My husband and I have been in every state on the east coast and out west from Utah to California but we've never seen middle America. There is a dinosaur fossil area in Texas he's wanted to see for years. So we are kind of really looking forward to doing the rv thing. But I agree with my parents it's going to be hard. I do not have the heart to tell them no. Hopefully they will change their mind when the time comes but if not, pray for me, lol.
In my opinion, and granted I don't know you, I think y'all are biting off more than you can chew. This is not going to be some relaxing, see the country lifetime type trip for your parents to "enjoy", you're crossing the country in 7 days while moving your entire life. It just makes no sense to me. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Okay. One more post, and I'll butt out, and I'm not trying to be mean, but I've logged 7 - 8 accident-free trips between MI and FL under some adverse conditions.
Have an exit plan! Seniors (and kids) will brag about how they can "handle it," but the reality, once they get into the trip, can be much different. If they aren't sleeping well, this is going to be the first problem. If they start to get cranky and have worsening health problems, the first step is a night in a hotel. If that doesn't help, put them on a plane and fly them the rest of the way. If your budget won't stretch to meet these problems, strongly consider saying NO and flying them.
It is also not fair to saddle your partner with the bulk of the driving at his age. Driving a cargo van around at an earlier time is one thing, but he's older now! How much fun is he going to have if he's not sleeping well, plus driving, plus dealing with cranky seniors? And then there are related safety issues. Some men refuse to admit they are tired. This is why I refuse to drive with some men. And this is also why I no longer try to manhandle anything larger than a van, especially on crowded 4-lane freeways on long trips. I know my limits.
Good luck with the decision! I hope whatever you decide works out. It sounds like quite a project!
Added: I'm female, by the way. I was the most mature of the kids and not afraid of trucks, so I was selected to learn to drive my grandparent's RV. They had special classes then. Mine was all day on Saturday with the "final" on real roads, early on Sunday. They may still have special classes now. It's worth it! Learning to turn correctly in the city is NOT for sissies.
Believe me I so agree with you about my parents not going. It truly is not my first choice. I really hope they change their minds. I may even resort to saying we couldn't find a big enough rv for all of us so they will have to fly. I hate lying but I'm sure there were plenty of times they fudged the truth with me growing up, lol.
For my husband and me we figured we just wanted to try to make the most out of a big move. So if it's just me and him and our pets, I think we can enjoy that. Not love it but make the most out of it.
I've read a lot of stories about people going cross in 3 or 4 days and just zooming in the car. That sounds horrible. I think 5-7 days can give us enough time to see a couple of things along the way. And having the rv helps with the dogs because we can leave them loose in the rv and see a few things. But I'd never leave them in the car.
And I agree that this will be hard on my husband so from what I've read, people said not to do more than 6 hours a day of driving. But what is really scaring me is the thought of breaking down in the middle of nowhere. And I've read soooo many horrible stories about Cruise America. They do not have good ratings at all. Some people had good luck and no issues. And others talked about breaking down sometimes twice within their trip and receiving horrible customer service. And the rvs are old, a/c didn't work, very dirty. Lots of horror stories. I'd really like to find another option for our rental. We'd take excellent care of it and get to see if we even like it and if it's something we'd want to buy in the future.
y'all are scaring me a little. On the travel board people seemed to have fun going cross country even with kids. But I'm getting nervous. I honestly don't know the least stressful way to move us and our pets. I thought maybe an rv would be a fun change. I hate long car rides. I've done them but I don't care for them. The thought of a week just sitting in a car makes me sad.
Is it just being in the rv with my parents that isn't a good idea or the rv in general? If we scrap the rv idea, we are still left getting the dogs cross country. I can fly with the cats but the dogs are too big and would have to be in cargo. I just can't do that.
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