Complaints about Cost of Mhs vs Motels
We hear it all the time from Folks with MHs and without, that it is cheaper to stay n Motels! Taint true McGheee! Friend from Church just back from Colorado hunting Elk. Nearly $3,000.00 for a week...
Forum Discussion
As others have said, it all comes down to how you use your RV. Diesel pusher for a few weekends and one trip annually? That unit's a money sink to pour it down the drain.
But how we have used our Class C, comparing the costs traveling in it compared to either driving a car and hoteling or a fly/car rental/hotel, it comes out far in the RV's favor. This C was $55k new and we're now in the 10th year of ownership. There has been some maintenance and repairs, only one expensive (new generator - $3k), a set of tires, oil changes and new plugs and coils pending. That stuff besides the genny adds up to $4k. Insurance is $700 a year. In the 77k miles driven, roughly $25k has been spent on fuel. With the current demand for RV's, it likely has a resale value of $20k. We also are in it generally about 40 nights a year, with the average cost of the park or race track spot coming in at about $40 night. So that's $14.5k. Vehicle registration here is $50/year. I could eliminate the food and drink we have because it's similar to if we stayed home, but for the travel comparison fruit to fruit, its about $30/day so $1,200 for the 40 days annually Total cost OOP for everything, in the middle of the 10th year of ownership? $67,000 +/-. That's everything, including vehicle depreciation. For mid-range hotel stay, and an average lunch for 2 people, one snack, and an OK but not extravagant dinner, that's $200/day. 40 days out and about for 9.5 years comes out to $76,000.
And we haven't even gotten to where we are going yet, either by our own car or a plane and car rental. The actual fly-in cost would be much more.
We follow our pro racing driver son around the country in the RV. Typically, event days have jacked up hotel costs. A prime example is for the Sebring 12-hour in Florida; anywhere you'd want to stay has rates like $300/night, with an 8 night minimum. My trackside RV spot there is $560, but I've paid as little as $100 unreserved for the 4 nights. There's no comparison there for money spent, even with the 2300 miles of gas and 36 hours of driving roundtrip.
Someone could argue that $67,000 spent since mid-2011 is a waste of money, but this has been our primary mode of vacationing, and at 40 nights annually, works out to $176 and change a day. You have to do something for fun.
But how we have used our Class C, comparing the costs traveling in it compared to either driving a car and hoteling or a fly/car rental/hotel, it comes out far in the RV's favor. This C was $55k new and we're now in the 10th year of ownership. There has been some maintenance and repairs, only one expensive (new generator - $3k), a set of tires, oil changes and new plugs and coils pending. That stuff besides the genny adds up to $4k. Insurance is $700 a year. In the 77k miles driven, roughly $25k has been spent on fuel. With the current demand for RV's, it likely has a resale value of $20k. We also are in it generally about 40 nights a year, with the average cost of the park or race track spot coming in at about $40 night. So that's $14.5k. Vehicle registration here is $50/year. I could eliminate the food and drink we have because it's similar to if we stayed home, but for the travel comparison fruit to fruit, its about $30/day so $1,200 for the 40 days annually Total cost OOP for everything, in the middle of the 10th year of ownership? $67,000 +/-. That's everything, including vehicle depreciation. For mid-range hotel stay, and an average lunch for 2 people, one snack, and an OK but not extravagant dinner, that's $200/day. 40 days out and about for 9.5 years comes out to $76,000.
And we haven't even gotten to where we are going yet, either by our own car or a plane and car rental. The actual fly-in cost would be much more.
We follow our pro racing driver son around the country in the RV. Typically, event days have jacked up hotel costs. A prime example is for the Sebring 12-hour in Florida; anywhere you'd want to stay has rates like $300/night, with an 8 night minimum. My trackside RV spot there is $560, but I've paid as little as $100 unreserved for the 4 nights. There's no comparison there for money spent, even with the 2300 miles of gas and 36 hours of driving roundtrip.
Someone could argue that $67,000 spent since mid-2011 is a waste of money, but this has been our primary mode of vacationing, and at 40 nights annually, works out to $176 and change a day. You have to do something for fun.
