scbwr wrote:
Go with a used pop-up or hybrid....something that can be towed with your vehicle you currently own. Don't over spend on gear...use the money for camping and trips. We did all our camping with our two sons in pop-ups. Last pop-up was a 12' box Starcraft Starstream and we used it for ten years. All you need is high and dry bunks and a place for the gear. Carry a dining fly and/or portable screen room to expand your useable space. Another option, if your kids like the idea, bring along a tent for them to use as sleeping quarters. If it rains, they can move inside the camper.
Even now....retired...I'd rather have my smaller trailer which is paid for, and my used truck...soon to be paid off, and have my disposable income to use for traveling. I look at bigger rigs on the road and thing...great for them, but not what I want to have to haul around or maintain.
So, work out a solution for what works for you and your budget...then, take the kids and go, go, go! All too soon, they'll be grown up and off to college, work or whatever. Then, you and the Mrs. can upgrade to something for two!
I have to agree with this 1000%. You don't need to spend $1,200/month to make memories with your children. Before you enter into that kind of debt, you might want to ask yourself some hard questions: What will you need to give up to make that investment? Will this debt require you to work more hours? Will you be able to pay this debt for years AND contribute to your retirement, college funds, emergency expenses?
We started off with 3 kids in a tent (ages 3,5,& 11). We camped about 6-7 weekends a year and all it cost us was campground fees and enough food to keep 3 ravenous kids fed. :B Later, we paid cash for a 10-ft box pop-up when the kids were a little older; we also packed a tent so they could bring friends. Our food budget went up, but we were still able to camp 6-7 weekends a year. Eventually, we moved up to a 19-foot TT and took our younger two (then 12 & 14) on a cross-country trip for 2 months. Now that the kids don't camp with us anymore, we're in a lovely 25' built for two and I recently bought a new tent. :W So we're back where we started.
Note that whatever rig we had or didn't have, we made fantastic memories. When the kids were young, I was a SAHM. There was no way we could have afforded an RV of any kind. Heck, we couldn't afford a 2nd car! So tent camping was the way to get out in the woods with the kids and we had some great times. No regrets!
You are the only one who knows your budget, your 401k, and your kids' college funds. If you have the disposable income and you can sleep at night knowing you'll have this huge debt hanging over your head, well, go for it. But if you are going to be constantly stressed out because you are working harder than ever to pay for this camper and you find that, what with the kids' sports and stuff, you aren't camping as much as you thought you would, then you might do well to think smaller.
Personally, DH & I felt more comfortable not making payments on our RVs, but your mileage may vary.
