To everyone for their own taste, as said the cow as she licked her tail.
I am sure all of us have preferences that vary among us. Also there are variations concerning how we live and why and how we travel with our RVs.
For us "Cheap" means "economical" and often "Cheap" means "most convenient" for both time and money. Our life style was one consideration we kept in mind when we purchased each of our five RVs over the years.
For example, since we travel in our RV every month of the year, often two or three trips per month, we do actually save considerable money by not staying in motels. RV Parks are always "cheaper" than staying the same night(s) in a motel. We also are "cheaper" by being life members of Good Sam and Passport America and every year we save more than the original cost of both life memberships. When traveling we also prepare and eat most of our meals in our RV since we prefer our "Cheaper" home-cooked meals the same as at home. $10 to $30 dollars per meal saved by preparing and eating a meal in our RV, compared to the same meal in a restaurant, adds up to "Cheap" for the savings cost of a couple hundred meals per year. Even 5 cents per cup of coffee in our RV beats $1.50 to $2.50 per cup in a restaurant, if we were to stay in motels, eat in restaurants and purchase two or three hundred cups of coffee with meals for the two of us each year. (69 cents per cup at McD's is not too bad once in a while.)
Convenience is often "Cheaper" for us when we are on a trip with deadline schedules, such as to a business meeting, meeting with a customer, etc. It is often more convenient (cheaper) to save time by just parking overnight in a WalMart or Truck Stop for a few hours sleep rather taking time to locate, sign in, hook up, unhook, and lose time in a commercial RV Park when all we need is a few hours sleep.
I have also learned that it is "Cheaper", both in time and dollar cost, to regularly have a professional (our local RV Dealer) service our RV to make sure we have little chance for a break-down on our trips. I am a busy business owner and do not have economical time to do the service and or repair work that someone else may have.
So, for those who state that RVing is not naturally a "Cheaper" way to travel, we just say "it depends".
