Yes it has been debated over, and over. However. I have new info for me.After the trip from hell last summer with 3, yes 3 blow outs. We decided to stay in a condo at the OBX, and share the cost 3, yes 3 ways. So we got the bill for our share of the deposit. :E:E:E. it is as much for the deposit as 5 nights on the ocean front at Pirateland. :( AND we still have the balance to pay. This trip for one week is going to cost more than DOUBLE what a camping trip to Myrtle Beach would cost, and that is just MY part. All together, it will be more than 4 times the cost of camping. At this rate. 5 trips to the beach will more than pay for my camper. So y'all can say what you want. It is WAAAAY less expensive to stay in a TT in a CG than it is to get a motel room, or Condo. And for those that say. "You have to have truck". We don't count the truck toward the cost of camping. because I had truck before I bought a TT, and I'll have one after it is gone. Also. I will need the truck to take all our stuff to the condo as well. So the cost of the truck is a wash. If a man has a house. A man just needs a truck.

Terryallan wrote:So y'all can say what you want. It is WAAAAY less expensive to stay in a TT in a CG than it is to get a motel room, or Condo.IF you ignore the capital cost of your camper and all the additional costs over time to maintain it, insure it, etc. No one becomes an RVr to save $$$$$. :W

I have HO model trains and a train set. I have several thousands of dollars invested into my equipment.Face it... hobbies cost money! Money for hobbies comes from "expendable funds", meaning, you either save up and then enjoy the hobby, or you have excess financial resources that enable you to enjoy the hobby. But if anyone actually stops and begins to calculate how much is being spent (on any hobby), it WILL ruin the joy of doing it. So yes, there is an element of responsibility that has to be maintained to indulge in any "hobby" but on the other hand, to obsess over it will run the joy of doing it, sure fire!Rather than trying to compare the cost of the condo, just fork it over and enjoy it! Overthinking will lead to misery!

YES hotels/condo rentals etc in high destination places are expensive.And even IF it cost me 4X more to use my RV it wouldn't matter cause I would be sleeping in MY BED.I don't like sharing beds with strangers at ANY price.I hot racked in the NAVY...didn't care for it then and I knew those guys

You booked and reserved it. Did they pull a switcheroo on you?

cost of camping | Good Sam Community

Terryallan
Explorer II
Dec 22, 2016
another thing. at least we got something to talk about. the forum is pretty slow. We perked it right up huh?
azrving
Explorer
Dec 22, 2016
Terryallan wrote:
another thing. at least we got something to talk about. the forum is pretty slow. We perked it right up huh?

Right on. 5 perky pages without a urinating contest. Pretty good. :)
2112
Explorer II
Dec 22, 2016
^^^^ LMAO Yep :)
2milesup
Explorer II
Dec 23, 2016
Whenever one of these "cost of camping" threads pops up, I always remember a quote I read once, attributed to Albert Einstein:

"Not all that can be counted counts, and not all that counts can be counted."

We'll never resolve the issue, there are as many right answers as there are people reading this site.
wowens79
Explorer III
Dec 23, 2016
There are so many variables with camping. We had a popup for 9 years, and spent 20-30 nights a year in it. We bought it slightly used for $6k, and sold it for $5k. No question, it more than paid for itself. Last summer we upgraded to a new TT, but with what we've save in cost over those 9 years, we are in good shape.

Also we've realized that we like the places we can go in the camper much better than a hotel or condo. Our teenage kids go on a beach trip with the church each summer, and stay in a condo, and both say they prefer the camper. Our daughter turns 16 this spring, and has asked for her sweet 16 to take some of her friends camping in the mountains. Lots of her friends have plans that involve limos and fancy restaurants, this makes me feel like we might have done the right thing with camping.
rockhillmanor
Explorer
Dec 23, 2016
All I can add to this is after Snowbirding in my MH for MANY years and just accepting the cost of it all then........

I pulled into a CG I had intentions of staying at for a few months. Walking around after I was all settled in I saw these little houses on the other side of the park. Real nice looking your own driveway and all. I'd never seen this at any of the CG's I had stayed at.

I stopped to talk to a family that had just pulled in from up North.

Long story short I found out that for what they charged per month electric included for these houses was LESS THAN HALF of what I would be paying to stay there in my MH. And 3 times the sq footage of living space! :R

Not to mention they did not incur the costs i.e. gas/maintenance etc. I did moving my ole queen mary MH down the road to get there.

If I had do overs I most definitely would have gone that route had I known about these CG's with houses within the CG.
shinglers3
Explorer
Dec 23, 2016
I should also point out that beyond the cost comparison..... we use our camper for many other trips throughout the year, most of them to various state parks for weekend getaways. This we would not do at all, or rarely if we didn't own a camper. It's our way of life, and the experiences we choose to share with our daughter.
Gjac
Explorer III
Dec 23, 2016
When I first retired I kept accurate records of all RV related cost including travel, because my wife always says that we could buy a lot of hotel rooms for the costs of Rving. I found my trips ranged from $60 per day to $107 per day for a 3 mo trip to Alaska. I don't know any where you could go for $80 a day on average and pay for a hotel, car, fuel and restaurant. The 3 mo trip to Alaska costs $10,000. It likely would have been double that if we flew out there, rented a car, stayed in a hotel and ate at restaurants every day. As far as the other costs for maintenance, repairs and modifications cost 15 cents a mile and depreciation was 25 cents a mile. Now if you buy a brand new MH and don't use it much the depreciation and maintenance costs per mile will be much higher but if you are retired and able to travel a lot I think RVing is a cost effective way to travel.
Deb_and_Ed_M
Explorer II
Dec 23, 2016
colliehauler wrote:

Even if it wasn't cheaper for me I would gladly pay the difference to have my RV.

Of course, another important point that we both share - the ability to bring our pets along (although in all fairness, many hotels/motels are now allowing pets). My dogs LOVE to camp; and I have more fun because I'm not worried about them being boarded (and the money I save by not boarding, pretty much covers the cost of parking an RV at a campground overnight)
covered_wagon
Explorer
Dec 23, 2016
Waking up to the sound of silence, having great coffee with a wonderful feeling of independence and freedom. That's the grand part of it all for me along with natural surroundings. A guy like me gets so spoiled that you end up not wanting anything to do with crowded places nor having to rely on other peoples cooking, hotel service and their bathrooms with no soap.

Life is too complex without and RV.

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