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If I am going a long distance and not staying long, the hotel is cheaper. If I stay in a hotel, I can drive the little car that gets good gas mileage. My tow vehicle sucks down fuel if I am towing, especially if any hills are involved, or if there is strong wind.
If I am on an economy trip, staying in a hotel, I eat out of delis and markets, not nice sit down restaurants. If I am in the trailer, I cook, but we also eat out of delis (Costco chicken...dinner and sandwiches for lunch)
The trailer for me serves 2 special purposes. I travel with dogs and they love the trailer and i don't have to worry about their behavior or what is happening to them while i am gone.. I like to camp out in the woods and my trailer has off road suspension and the tow vehicle is 4WD.
RV parks at tourist destinations are expensive but so are the hotel's in that sort of area.
I keep just about everything I need to travel in the trailer full time, so all I have to pack is food and some of my clothing. It's convenient. It's also nice to have a refrigerator and freezer when traveling.
I can use the trailer in camp sites at state and national parks, where there aren't usually hotels.
If you like to go to national and state parks, the smaller the trailer the better IMO. The big rigs are nice, but are more limited to where they can go. A small trailer, or even better a truck camper, can get to all the good spots down national forest service roads and the like.
Not that you can't get a big trailer around, but it's much less intimidating exploring new areas and roads with a little camper vs a giant 40 foot 5th wheel.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational
Call that 30 nights a year or less?
@$40/night for a modest motel room that comes to $1200 per year
Add something for the inevitably higher cost and in-season places and you're at $2000.
What do you suppose you would spend for RV sites and annual storage the other 11 months?
Wow, where have you ever found a $40 motel room? We normally pay at least $100 and often $120 up and down the west coast. RV storage costs 0 if you have room to keep it at home, as we do. In fact, it makes a great additional guest suite. For us it’s not a cost issue, motels often can be more cost effective since you have to buy the RV and insurance on it in addition the the park fees. It’s the fun of camping, yet being comfortable, and having everything you need with you.
Hell, I used to spend less than that unless I had turn in receipts for a per diem.
Once you get out of the big and bigger cities and away from the busy crossroads,
cheap motels can still be found out there. But in any case the example is $66 not $40.
And the better RV comparison is a weeks rate for a cabin on some lake or beach.
I'll stick with $2000 as the annual par.
Thanks for all of the helpful info. It gave me food for thought. Since it's just my husband and I, we're probably better off traveling in our car and staying at hotels. Diesel fuel, campground fees, camper cost, camper insurance and hassle of hitching and unhitching is probably not worth it for us.
This would just be for me and my husband. Maybe our 2 dogs, but probably wouldn't travel with them much. I'd like to spend less than 20K. We have flexibility with our jobs and we picture traveling a bit to see the country and visit national or state parks. Maybe a couple of 2 week trips per year.
I paid a little under $20k for a 2018 Freedom Express 192RBS. It has a real 60 x 80 queen bed (RV queen beds are 74 inches long) accessible from either side, three burner stove, oven, microwave, two door refrigerator, slideout with couch, power awning and a lot more. It's perfect for two people, especially if one of you is tall. It's also light enough to be towed by any half ton pickup.
A little late to the party here, but we purchased a 2013 Heartland Prowler (35 ft) 5th wheel last year for our family of four.
It has a full queen bed
Nice sized bath with oversized shower
Large L-shaped kitchen with 3 burner stove, oven, and a larger RV fridge
Real kitchen table with 4 chairs
Nice sized couch (with flip out bed)
Two recliners
Electric stabilizers all around
electric awning
TV's etc...
Pretty much everything you might even think you want for less than $20k out the door.
Thus far we have spent between $30-$40 per night camping. We like the thought of having an entire "house" when we want it, but still have the ability to change scenery on a daily basis if we chose and still get to enjoy the outdoors. It provides us with a ton of options. We can choose to cook a full meal inside on a rainy day or choose to cook outside on a nice one. We can choose to sit under the awning and read a book (if we aren't exploring) or watch tv when the weather is bad.
The bonus is that we get to take real showers and sleep in real beds where we know who was there before us. I travel more than I care to for work and you never know what you're going to get in a hotel. We also rarely pack or unpack. We have everything we need in the camper and the only thing we have to do is wash the clothes that stay in it and restock the food supplies. When we get ready to go, we typically just hook to the camper and take off.
The downside is a second home to maintain. You also need a larger diesel truck to tow it (which I already had, but it is a consideration).
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