Travel Trailer Depreciation?

Gr8life wrote:
I would be reluctant to call anyone else foolish when it comes to buying RV's. A few folks on here may claim to buy low and sell high but the vast majority of us look at it as the cost of entertainment. If one can purchase at a hugely discounted price and sell in a seller's market, the financial loss may not be terrible. The joy of rving can be priceless.

True - there is no way to financially justify the cost of the TT, fuel, supplies, depreciation, etc. Even if you calculate the cost differential between a night at a CG and a hotel at $100/night, you would have to camp 10 years at 25 nights/year just to make up for the original cost of buying the TT. Throw in the cost of a TV, tolls, gas, maintenance, etc and it would probably take 20 years.

The biggest way I justify my TT is that I get to go where I want and sleep in my own bed and use my own bathroom. We also love to sit by the campfire and cook meals (both inside and outside on the Aussie grill that came with the TT).

And maybe I'm strange, but I like the sense of accomplishment being able to tow our little house to where we want to go, and use it as a base camp.

The downside is that in my area you can only do this from about April-November, so we are resigned to staying at hotels when traveling from December-March.

This summer we are contemplating leaving the TT on a CG site for all of August to see what it is like. We have never done that before, because we love to visit new places all the time. I can't see being a seasonal camper, but one month could work well for the rest of my family while I'm working.