Is it worth it?
Well, we put our fiver away into indoor storage 2 weeks ago after an interesting season. We took the fiver out of storage in early April and got sideswiped by a new driver one week later on the way...
Forum Discussion
We had a similar experience a few years ago where we became disillusioned with the entire camping RVing lifestyle.
Long story short, we tried selling a house on a Land Contract and from the moment they took possession till the day they finally were forced by law to move out, it cost us $45,000 and almost 2.5 years of our life. Financially we were at the end of our selves and when we finally got the house back, after (over a year) of legal battle in court, we walked back into a house that had been 100% destroyed. Even taking the front door off and taking it with them! The damage was unbelievable, even plumbing was missing and electric switches, not to mention holes in walls, dog feces all over, and brand new carpets through the entire house had massive burn hole in them. Nothing, not a single room was usable, and this was a 6 bed room house.
Imagine the cost and time and aggravation, juggling court hearing, working full time, and attempting to re-model this entire house by ourselves (with no help). All my skills at plumbing, electrical, and carpentry were tested to the max.
Of course, all this time, the camper sat in the drive-way. If we had an extra dollar to spend on a campsite, it went to repair of the old house, and then there was never time.
Trailer sat for almost 2 years, paying insurance, a loan, and keep up license plate tags each year. We almost came to the point where we were in a position we HAD to sell sell it as we simply could not afford the loan any more. We lost all hope of EVER using the camper again. ... 2 years!
The Lord provided. I will say that. Money came in, the house finally did get remodeled, and once we were done, it sold in 3 days (to a real buyer)! We did such a marvelous job on it, and the price was so low, just so we could get out of THAT loan, it sold almost immediately.
One month later, our finances reversed as we didn't have the second mortgage, utilities, and expenses any more! 2 months later we were camping again!
Fast forward 9 years later now ... and we are sooooooo glad we hung onto the camper and didn't get rid of it. If we would have, we would have never gotten another one, I'm pretty sure. But since we hung on, we have since purchased a new one (4 years ago now), and use it almost 100% of the time.
The bottom line is, no one can make this type of a decision for you. It's all a matter of what is most important to you, under your current circumstances. Everyone in my extended family was telling us to 'sell the camper... sell... sell... sell!!!" But our better instincts just would let us do it. In the long run, looking back ... we did the right thing (for us). Someone else, maybe not?
You have to draw a line in the sand and simply make up your mind. Is it worth it or not? You really do not know what your future has. Things change.
But, you always do have the choice to sell it, and buy a new one again in a few years if and when your situation changes.
Long story short, we tried selling a house on a Land Contract and from the moment they took possession till the day they finally were forced by law to move out, it cost us $45,000 and almost 2.5 years of our life. Financially we were at the end of our selves and when we finally got the house back, after (over a year) of legal battle in court, we walked back into a house that had been 100% destroyed. Even taking the front door off and taking it with them! The damage was unbelievable, even plumbing was missing and electric switches, not to mention holes in walls, dog feces all over, and brand new carpets through the entire house had massive burn hole in them. Nothing, not a single room was usable, and this was a 6 bed room house.
Imagine the cost and time and aggravation, juggling court hearing, working full time, and attempting to re-model this entire house by ourselves (with no help). All my skills at plumbing, electrical, and carpentry were tested to the max.
Of course, all this time, the camper sat in the drive-way. If we had an extra dollar to spend on a campsite, it went to repair of the old house, and then there was never time.
Trailer sat for almost 2 years, paying insurance, a loan, and keep up license plate tags each year. We almost came to the point where we were in a position we HAD to sell sell it as we simply could not afford the loan any more. We lost all hope of EVER using the camper again. ... 2 years!
The Lord provided. I will say that. Money came in, the house finally did get remodeled, and once we were done, it sold in 3 days (to a real buyer)! We did such a marvelous job on it, and the price was so low, just so we could get out of THAT loan, it sold almost immediately.
One month later, our finances reversed as we didn't have the second mortgage, utilities, and expenses any more! 2 months later we were camping again!
Fast forward 9 years later now ... and we are sooooooo glad we hung onto the camper and didn't get rid of it. If we would have, we would have never gotten another one, I'm pretty sure. But since we hung on, we have since purchased a new one (4 years ago now), and use it almost 100% of the time.
The bottom line is, no one can make this type of a decision for you. It's all a matter of what is most important to you, under your current circumstances. Everyone in my extended family was telling us to 'sell the camper... sell... sell... sell!!!" But our better instincts just would let us do it. In the long run, looking back ... we did the right thing (for us). Someone else, maybe not?
You have to draw a line in the sand and simply make up your mind. Is it worth it or not? You really do not know what your future has. Things change.
But, you always do have the choice to sell it, and buy a new one again in a few years if and when your situation changes.
