Lost interest in RV Travel

...feels it is too much work packing, unpacking, cooking, cleaning, etc. says its easier to stay home.
We are "sorry for them", ...

Don't "feel sorry" for people who decide to stop RV'ing!

There are thousands of hobbies and life styles everyone participates in and when they don't want to do it anymore they simply stop and move on to yet another phase of their life that is waiting for them. No one ever questions it, yet when it comes to RV'ing it seems everyone wants to talk them out of moving on to something else.

I honestly believe, and of course I am biased as it is my signature, that this does say it all! When life changes we change with it.:C

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us".:W

rvten
I hope everything works out for you and your wife about rv'ing again!
My parents are married 58 years last month. That nowadays is a major life accomplishment :)

You will find your way again. Everything changes. Find something that fits you and run with it. There is alot of adventure still out there in the world. You will find your own way to enjoy it!

for the last few years we have spent the winter in Texas and the summer in my wife's hometown in South Dakota .... we just returned home a week ago from Texas and for the first time, I found I didn't hate the thought of returning home .... in our case, the weather in Texas in January and February was such that during our 8 weeks there, we might of experienced 2 weeks of really nice weather .... some weeks the only time we could get out of the camper was to drive to somewhere for shopping and such .... checking the weather back home we could see that most of the time the weather was worse but that proved to only help so much .... in short, it would have been much cheaper and more comfortable if we had of stayed at home .... all that being said, we are already planning to head for South Dakota in June .... age, experiences, likes/dislikes, finances, health, family, interest, and many other factors all contribute to what is important to us at any given time .... for those who reach the point that they no longer can or want to travel, I sure hope they find something else to enrich their lives .... there is little doubt that for us and most everyone else the time will come when we must face a similar lifestyle change

Jim

rvten wrote:
Out working on MH today. Seams like there is ALWAYS something not working right.
Today it is the KD and or the DirecTv rec.
Ran Gen. strong gasoline smell.
Over the winter have been doing things inside to get ready for spring.
Hands just do not work as well with tools as they used to. Which is how I made my living. Just getting too old for some of this.

My wife posted earlier, now I have to chime in. First congrats on the long marriage as well as many years of travel. I hope I am lucky enough to have the choices you have later in life.

Being men it is our jobs most of the time to fix it, repair it and make things work. When the constant repairs start to overwhelm what we are capable of, it gets frustrating. Not knowing your every thought makes it next to impossible to understand everything that your feeling, but I know one day when the constant work and tinkering outweigh the enjoyment of traveling I will be done as well. We do not have unlimited funds to always pay someone else to fix it for me, and would always think in my head, I could have used that money for... Insert item here.

You have to ask yourself, do I really not enjoy traveling or do I just hate the constant work that goes along with it? If your happier staying home, playing with the dog, drinking a cold one napping, then you have earned very bit of that.

Your marriage has not lasted this long without conversations between you and the Mrs, and I know the two of you will work this out to make each of you happy in your decision..

A person like you is one who I hope that parks next to me in our travels, and shares his life experience with us. We look so forward to meeting people such as yourself.

I wish you all the best in doing whats right for you. As life changes we all make adjustments, and it seems that you are at that point again, where a slight correction to the plan is what is needed to make things good again.

The wisdom you have, will undoubtedly come into play here and once you ask yourself all the right question you will come up what's best for you.

Please, even if you do not travel, post here as often as you can, We can all benefit from your knowledge... I wish you all the best.

Hands just do not work as well with tools as they used to.

I hear ya on that one. Only 53 and already losing a lot of dexterity. One finger is almost completely fused (I have to explain to people I'm really NOT flipping them the bird!) and I just can't grip like I used to. Biggest frustration is typing. Doesn't show here but I used to type well over 100 wpm accurately. Now I'm down to about 65 and not so accurately. I'm an admin/office manager by trade so it's really a problem.

Just getting too old for some of this.

This tells me you answered your own question. Standard ROI. Too much work, not enough reward. I hate to fly but the reward at the other end far exceeds the effort to get there. That's how it used to be with the RV but not anymore. When the fun is gone then it's not worth it.

Is there anyone else who can help you with some of the maintenance, perhaps a friend or relative? Maybe if some of the work goes away then you can reach a compromise with your wife. Just a suggestion.

A quote from my 91 year old uncle, (The mind is willing but the body is not able.)

rvten, I understand the hands not working.. I have some arthritis in my hands and it is frustrating. I saw my Dad really struggle with depression and frustration from chronic arthritis.. He didn't use tools for living, but sold them, and used them for a thousand projects including building a major addition on the house, rebuilding the engine of my first car, and generally being known as the person who had any tool you needed and would help you use it.. He really fought depression the last few years of his life when his hands were so crippled they were basically useless.. he couldnt even tie his shoes or button his shirt.

Out working on MH today. Seams like there is ALWAYS something not working right.
Today it is the KD and or the DirecTv rec.
Ran Gen. strong gasoline smell.
Over the winter have been doing things inside to get ready for spring.
Hands just do not work as well with tools as they used to. Which is how I made my living. Just getting too old for some of this.

Honey and I have only been together 29 years tomorrow. We have had many hobbies, some just passing interest, others for over a decade. After a while it gets to a point that the hassles outweigh the excitement of doing it. That doesn't mean we will never do them again, just not right now.

We took a break from camping after hitting it hard and heavy for a decade. We did cruises and resorts, even a safari. At one time we considered buying property in Mexico, now I'm glad we didn't. We downsized our company, freeing up our summers and the camping bug bit again. Those trips abroad were really nice but I was never relaxed.

So now we camp 3 or 4 times a year, take a trip every few years. We still have the gear from the other hobbies and dabble in them from time to time, just not like we did.

Things change and it's ok.

Because of health reasons with DW we did not use our MH at all last year. We did take a couple of tour group trips and did enjoy them. At the end of the day, though, went inside hotel room and closed the door.....sure missed sitting outside socializing with friends and neighbors. DW is doing much better now and we have a couple of short MH trips planned already. I am ready.