Time saved/lost versus using motels

livemusic wrote:
Those of you who RV a lot... in another thread people said that the freedom of RVing is a major plus, it's convenient to not have to load in/out, various other pluses... wondering... say you are going to be traveling around the country and deciding whether to RV or just get motel rooms. Can someone discuss if it's easier to get a motel room versus having to find a place to 'camp' for the night, be it a Walmart, state park or RV park. So, I guess it's looking at the time from arriving at a certain city/town to being ready to bed down. Or I could just ask is it easier to find a motel room or find a place to park your RV.

finding a motel...a NICE motel...is no more difficult than finding a nice place to overnight. so that's a wash.

we've been married for 49-years (as of march) but didn't start the RV thing until 32-years ago. before that all of our vacations were in motels. I can tell you that RVing...with all of the hassles and expenses involved in that...is a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience. there has been the rare occasion in the last 32-years where we've stayed in a motel rather than take the MH and while we select nice places to stay that are clean and safe none of them come close in comparison to the comfort of our MH.

our style of RVing has also changed over the past 32-years. in the beginning we'd take turns driving 10-12 hrs per day. we were both working and had to boogy out and back in order to enjoy the little time we had. lots of weekends semi-dry camping (maybe an electric hookup, maybe not) in county, state and national parks. lots of campfires, hiking, biking, etc. we didn't have a toad for the first 17-years. mostly 1-2 nights here and there. we were camping.

over the years my wife has developed mobility issues and my left knee is a chronic complainer; we're both old-er (not old, not just yet). so these days we look for a FHU park after a 4-hr [u[driving day (I do all the driving). don't need pools, spas, game rooms, etc. (although I do like to shoot pool) but we do want the FHUs. more often than not we're in a park for at least several days to a month at a time. the 1-nighters still exist but not for more than 2-nights in a row. we use the toad for day trips or just hang around the park relaxing. I still like to walk or take short hikes (when my knee feels like cooperating). we're no longer camping...we're traveling.

motels have their place but we still prefer the RV.