Wonder if anyone else experiences this from time to time. I am 73, still healthy and active and we have RV'd 1 way or the other for 44 years; now in a 30 ft. Class C. Like the RV just fine but I find myself a little bit questionning how interested I am now in continuing. Certainly the "excitement" about upcoming trips is gone and has been replaced by moderate interest or a concern about what we would do in place of it. We will leave mid-Jan to snowbird for 2 months. Part of the issue is how much more money we would have to go without RV maintenance and going to 1 vehicle. Also, a simpler life. Quitting would be a pretty big decision because I don't see us ever spending the money to get back in at our age. But, so far, most trips turn out pretty good so I guess we will just go on trip by trip, season by season. Just venting a little.

You can reinvigorate yourself by going to new places. As for the money, can't help you there.

Do you like rallies/rv groups? Is there a variety of places you visit each time or do you tend to go to the same places? These are obvious questions but they may shed some light on it. We actually tend to visit most places the same all the time..we're ok with that because we always have fun. We like to walk around parks and try to talk with people about their rigs, where they're from, etc. We get out in the rv at least once a month for a week or more every time...mostly at a place within 40 minutes of the house...very economical and yet fun. Our rig is the source of my sanity and actually helps me appreciate our stationary home as well after we get back from a trip.

The DW and I have been RVing for well over 55 years and so far we still enjoy getting away to visit new places. Don't enjoy all the traffic and crazy drivers.I would say enjoy each day as they come as it might be our last at this age

About to turn 70. Have tent camped off and on since the 60's, but only have rv'ed for just under 10 yrs. But even at that, the excitement is not what it was. Still enjoy it, just not to the level of anticipation we once had for an upcoming trip. We take occasional short trips using hotels and are beginning to wonder if that is the future of our travel. Or maybe a newer RV with auto leveling to simplify and speed up set up and take down. Pros and cons to both to both worlds. So who knows. What ever floats your boat.

Pros and cons to both to both worlds. So who knows. What ever floats your boat.That covers it.Comes a time in life we all make lifestyle changes. Some by choice, some by necessity.

Declining interest in RVing? | Good Sam Community

Veebyes
Explorer II
Dec 13, 2015
I get ammused at those who consider getting out of RVing because it is too much 'work'. They complain about the loading & unloading before & after the weekend. The RV is in their driveway or at the very furthest, in front of their house.

Try this for a boating weekend.

Load the car with 3 55qt coolers plus everything else needed, mostly towels & linens. At marina unload stuff carrying it down a flight of stairs & a 100' walk to 14' skiff where you load it. Run the skiff out to where the 'big' boat is kept on a mooring. Unload the skiff into the big boat cockpit. Finally move it for the last time to wherever it is stored.

Time taken from starting to load car to time turning the key of the big boat, over 2 hours. This with the help of 2 children who did move more than their personal stuff.

At the end of the weekend the movement of all that stuff in reverse.

RVing!!!! PUHHH! Easy. Go to the market. Park the cart right outside the RV. Load right there.
Uually
Explorer
Dec 13, 2015
We are both 78years young and just traded for a new camper. Not ready to quit yet.
Homer1
Explorer
Dec 13, 2015
The tick problem could happen in your RV. Any thing is subject to that. Now bed bugs that is another story.
ncrowley
Explorer II
Dec 13, 2015
I really like my own bed and cooking my own meals. It is healthier to cook your own meals rather than eating out all the time. And we find eating out all the time gets old. We came back from dropping the coach off and drove back in the car staying in hotels. That got old pretty quick. I have had some bad experiences in VERY nice hotels. I was in an upscale hotel (business trip) and I was attacked by over 100 baby ticks that were obviously born that night and I was their first meal. I had a terrible allergic reaction to all the bites and had to be hospitalized. No hotel is immune to these types of problems.
John_Joey
Explorer
Dec 13, 2015
Tripalot wrote:
minnow wrote:
I'm younger than probably many of you but we have been RV'ing for 25 years. I can for sure see a time when we will give it up. It's just too much of a hassle to be on the road towing a 35' fifth wheel, worrying about the next fuel stop, getting to a campground hoping the site you've been assigned is wide enough to get into, etc. It's not that relaxing for me as I get older. Not when I can throw a suitcase in the car and be at the destination hours earlier, have a nice hotel and chill out.

Sounds like you need to downsize so you don't have as much to worry about.

Having traveled in Europe for a month last fall and staying in various hotels, I can tell you we really missed having our own bed every night and knowing it was clean, etc. Also preparing meals that appeal to you rather than restaurant food all the time is a bonus.

x2 with the first quote. Downsizing will decrease the headaches some, but not all.

Having your own bed (here in the US/Can)is way overrated in my books. Find a good hotel chain(s) and stick with them.

Much of Europe think we're germaphobics. They seem to have a different viewpoint, which is the very reason we travel in the first place. If we all thought the same, I would stay home.
spoon059
Explorer II
Dec 13, 2015
Tripalot wrote:
Having traveled in Europe for a month last fall and staying in various hotels, I can tell you we really missed having our own bed every night and knowing it was clean, etc. Also preparing meals that appeal to you rather than restaurant food all the time is a bonus.

Never been to Europe, but I can attest to wanting my OWN bed. The great thing about camping is taking my own bed, my own toilet, my own shower. I can bring my dogs. I don't have to worry about another room for the kids or having them sleep on a hotel floor. I can make my own meals too.

We usually go to a destination (lake, forest, state park, etc) to stay in one place... but we also have used our camper as a hotel room. We take it to NYC and sleep there and go into the city during the day. We take it to the beach and sleep there and go into town during the day.

You get the point, but it does expand the envelope for usage if you treat it like a hotel room for trips. Those trips are sometimes easier because we pack clothes, sheets and cereal. Lunch and dinner on the town, super easy to pack and super easy to clean up afterwards!
Tripalot
Explorer
Dec 12, 2015
minnow wrote:
I'm younger than probably many of you but we have been RV'ing for 25 years. I can for sure see a time when we will give it up. It's just too much of a hassle to be on the road towing a 35' fifth wheel, worrying about the next fuel stop, getting to a campground hoping the site you've been assigned is wide enough to get into, etc. It's not that relaxing for me as I get older. Not when I can throw a suitcase in the car and be at the destination hours earlier, have a nice hotel and chill out.

Sounds like you need to downsize so you don't have as much to worry about.

Having traveled in Europe for a month last fall and staying in various hotels, I can tell you we really missed having our own bed every night and knowing it was clean, etc. Also preparing meals that appeal to you rather than restaurant food all the time is a bonus.
blofgren
Explorer
Dec 12, 2015
This is a great thread with a lot of posts that have really got me thinking.

My wife and I are in our early 40's and have a 5 year old son. We have owned an RV for about 20 years now. We have a significant investment in our rig and after going to Maui last winter and absolutely loving it, we were also thinking of maybe getting out of RVing. After a lot of thought we have decided to stay in it, at least for now. We get out 15-20 times per year (many of them weekends) so we do get good use out of our rig and really love camping. We find it is a good reprieve from simply working around the house/yard all weekend and gives us good quality family time. We have also met a lot of great people camping over the years and still are good friends with many of them. We also came to the conclusion that we can't afford to go to Maui every year :B

I do find towards the end of the camping season I am getting tired of the amount of work it takes to go out for a weekend. So we may get out of it at some point but for now we're in!
Homer1
Explorer
Dec 12, 2015
I have not done what you suggest, but I have talked to Mobile RV Repairmen at various resorts and campgrounds. They have a pretty good background on the most problematic brands. However, I also learned that appliances used in almost all the brands are the greatest source of problems, so the manufacturer is not always the culprit.
pnichols
Explorer II
Dec 12, 2015
That brings up a good point: Has anyone ever extensively sampled the brands of previously sold RV's sitting in lots awaiting service in order to compare these numbers with the number of units sold by brand so as to come up with rough data on "problems" by brand?

(I guess it might take a lot of drone fly-overs to determine this, though. ;) )