need your opinions: rv or hotel?

an RV is not for lazy people as there is set up but you are in a home atmosphere your own bug free bed, clean bathroom and shower. Cloths, toiletries, dogs and supplies are not drug from hotel to hotel. Late night snacks and coffe are easily attained even in sleeping attire, less stress on the dogs as they are at home in the RV. Want to take a nap while traveling just pull over. I believe enjoying cuisine is part of it but could not eat all meals out. Now as far as a Motorhome unless you are going to pull a toad ( know you have more hooking up and unhooking involved) if you take motor home you are limited to sight seeing for a number of reasons like having to hook up and unhook every time you want to go, parking at attractions is a pain mpg is a costly factor when driving from place to place sight seeing. A pull type RV may better suit you as you will have a vehicle to see the sights easier parking less cost of operation. If looking at a C or small A maybe consider a 5ver in the 28/34 foot range with a couple slides. I also believe you have less depreciation with a tow and trailer then a motor home. These are just my opinions but I have gone from a tent to a pickup camper to travel trailer to class A motor home and 2 5vers and for us the 5ver works the best pulls better than a bumper hitch and more storage. Good luck in whatever you decide.

Having done both, our RV wins hands down. You will laugh at my number one like. Having a bathroom right there as you travel down the road. LOL. The dogs love traveling with us too - true rving dogs.

That said, I'd probably do the cost benefit analysis between buying, keeping, and maintaining the rv and hotel/condo rental for the typical amount of travel per year.

When doing the "hotel" thing, typically we would look for condo/home vacation rentals that allowed pets as opposed to your regular hotels.

What is your primary concern? If the issue is the cost then it will depend upon how many miles you travel and if you move each day. With fuel prices as they are it does not take a lot of travel to burn up enough fuel to equal the cost of a motel for the night. We are currently out traveling with a small travel trailer and by only traveling about 200 mi/day, our fuel costs are right at $50/day. With a motorized RV it would probably be at least $60/day and if you double the distance per day, you also double the cost of fuel.

On the other hand, we have now been on the road for a week and we have thus far only traveled 500 miles towing the RV and then sight seeing without it. Our total fuel cost to date is just under $200. You do have to add to this the price of your campgrounds. We spent the first two nights in TX state parks for a cost of $26/night and since that on private property where we just took the owners out for dinner. If you travel by RV and always stop in campgrounds, you will probably average at least $30/day for those.

You can make up some of that cost in meals that you prepare, rather than eating out as it is probably going to cost you at least $50/day to eat out and probably more. RV travels have never been really cheap, but there are major advantages to it.

With an RV you sleep in your own bed each night and you do not have to live from a suitcase. You also are able to take more personal & hobby items along than would usually be the case with motel travel. Then when you add in the fact that with the RV you can actually stay in many of the parks and the kind of people that most RV folks are, we very much prefer RV travel.

The thing to keep in mind is that you will not save money by traveling in an RV. Living full-time in one is cost effective because you carry all of your possessions and you travel from one new experience to the next, with no return home involved and most of us do so very slowly. But few people today save money by RV travel for a couple, we do so because we love the lifestyle.

If you want to take the dogs, get an RV.
If you want to avoid a schedule, get an RV.
If you want to stay in National Parks, get an RV.
If you want to avoid set-up, a class C is probably best.

We have traveled the west in an RV and in an SUV (staying in hotels). The RV wins in every sense. In the SUV, we had to book flights, rental car, and hotels in advance, sometimes way in advance to get a room in the location we wanted or the type of car we wanted. We couldn't take our dog and had to pay $25/day to kennel her. We couldn't stay in National Parks such as Arches and Capitol Reef because they have no lodging (Fruita Campground in Capitol Reef is just beautiful). We always had to move on to our next location even if we didn't want to because we had to make reservations.

the RV trips have been much more relaxed and more spontaneous. Two years ago when, in July, Going to the Sun Road was still closed, we left earlier than planned and went to Teddy Roosevelt National Park. If we had paid (with required advance reservations) $200 a night for Many Glacier Lodge, we probably would not have and missed a beautiful park.

Out west, the distances are great. It can be 50-100 miles between gas stations/rest stops/civilization. With an RV you have a bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom and can pull over any time you wish. Having to find a bush on the side of Route 95 in Utah was 'fun,' but not something I want to repeat.

booshmom, we are also central Indiana folks for are about to begin traveling more. I am 65, wife 64. We bought a fifth wheel and dually ford for TV. Got a good buy from some friends, and are convinced from research alone that the best way for us is the RV route. Car rental with flying eats up budget pretty fast. Seems to us you have way more choices (admittedly, one time) on floorplan and style of RV, than you do with hotel rooms. Additionally, we felt, some of the most desirable spots to see and camp are really far from any accommodations you don't bring yourself. Cooking or not is up to you except when off the track, but traveling back roads lets you see so much without worry about what kind of bed you'll get, or what kind of bugs you'll encounter. Obviously your choice, but RVing is the choice for us. hth and Happy Trails, whatever the means!

We have pets and have done it both ways, hotels are easy enough these days with pets, many of the big chains allow pets for a nominal fee. That being said we really love having our own bed and own space (bathroom) etc.. Humping things in and out of the hotel every night gets old. For us at the end of the day we went with a large Motorhome. If you have the Motorhome you can always break it up one night a month with a hotel if things start to close in .

Naturist, thanks for your thoughts. We have camped in Yellowstone and Grand Teton areas and loved it and have always said that it's just not the same in a hotel.

I can't speak for you, obviously, only for myself. I have a small TT and have used it for a couple month-long trips out west. Last year, however, the TV broke just as we were about to embark on a trip to Yellowstone, so we wound up flying out, renting a car, and doing the hotel thing instead.

Now we also like the local cuisine thing, but don't mind cooking our own. I personally love not having live out of a suitcase, and I much prefer my own bed. Frankly, Yellowstone suffered for having to do the hotel thing. Partly this was due to last minute arrangements meaning we had to take whatever hotel was available due to cancellations, so we had to move every day, regardless of anything else, instead of being able to stay a week at our own choice of central location.

So personally, I'd go the used RV route. But your mileage may vary. If you prefer not to cook, the RV probably won't save you any significant money, so the choice likely rests on personal preferences regarding your own bed/stuff, suitcase, etc.