cost of camping

[Terryallan]

Yes it has been debated over, and over. However. I have new info for me.

After the trip from hell last summer with 3, yes 3 blow outs. We decided to stay in a condo at the OBX, and share the cost 3, yes 3 ways. So we got the bill for our share of the deposit. :E:E:E. it is as much for the deposit as 5 nights on the ocean front at Pirateland. 😞 AND we still have the balance to pay.

This trip for one week is going to cost more than DOUBLE what a camping trip to Myrtle Beach would cost, and that is just MY part. All together, it will be more than 4 times the cost of camping. At this rate. 5 trips to the beach will more than pay for my camper.

So y'all can say what you want. It is WAAAAY less expensive to stay in a TT in a CG than it is to get a motel room, or Condo.

And for those that say. "You have to have truck". We don't count the truck toward the cost of camping. because I had truck before I bought a TT, and I'll have one after it is gone. Also. I will need the truck to take all our stuff to the condo as well. So the cost of the truck is a wash. If a man has a house. A man just needs a truck.

[Veebyes]

I must have one of the longest & most expensive 'commutes' to get myself into the RV then get myself home after the trip.

Door to door the commute is over 12 hours, sometimes 24 hours when a hotel stay is required. If only there was a flight from Bermuda to Baltimore at a convenient time making it possible to connect with a ground shuttle that 12 hours could be reduced 6 hours.

By the time the airline has nickled & dimed us for this charge & that plus the ground shuttle, our commute is about $1000.00. The offset of that is every trip we do is a minimum of 60 days so the per day commute cost to add to the overall per day cost is about $16. It all adds up.

[Cloud_Dancer]

The safest driver I know is me. And, the only pilot I trust is me. I'm a retired commercial pilot. The diesel pusher is paid for, therefore the ONLY way to travel is in the motorhome (towing my GMC Envoy). A suitable motel is simply too expensive, and inconvenient.

[atreis]

Don't forget connections. If there's one connection, with a 2 hour layover, that 2.5 hour flight can easily take 8-10 hours actual clock time, and that's without delays.

[colliehauler]

In fact my last flight I took had a several hour delay add that to the hour I spent getting to the airport to go through security. I could of drove there in about the same amount of time.

[Lantley]

2112 wrote:

ppine wrote:
Put it this way, camping and Rving are the cheapest way to travel, and it also happens to be the best no matter what the cost.

Again, If flying it's 2.5 hours from wheels up to wheels stop. It would take me eight days to lug the camper there and back the birds, squirrels and rabbits I'll stay home.

To each their own. "Camping" is not why I own and use a camper. A campground is usually not our destination. It's a place to park the 'Rolling Condo'.

I don't disagree with your premise that RV travel isn't for everyone.
But neither is flying. Yes time in the air maybe 2.5 hours. But be sure to add time getting to airport, getting through security, and getting out of airport. Air travel is not simply time in the air. You can easily spend 8 hours to take a 2.5 hour flight.

[2112]

ppine wrote:
Put it this way, camping and Rving are the cheapest way to travel, and it also happens to be the best no matter what the cost.

Again, I will have to politely disagree.
For example, say I want to spend 4 days in Toronto. If flying it's 2.5 hours from wheels up to wheels stop. It would take me eight days to lug the camper there and back and I blew a weeks vacation doing it. Not to mention I'm tired as heck when I get there.

To me time IS money. Again, my vacation time from work is valuable to me. I protect it and use it wisely.

I find little pleasure in poking a fire with a stick and I can't sit for more than ten minutes without becoming restless.

I like being around people having a good time. I live on acreage in the country so if I want isolation and listen to the coyotes or watch the birds, squirrels and rabbits I'll stay home.

To each their own. "Camping" is not why I own and use a camper. A campground is usually not our destination. It's a place to park the 'Rolling Condo'.

[ppine]

Put it this way, camping and Rving are the cheapest way to travel, and it also happens to be the best no matter what the cost.

[Veebyes]

I guess anyone would be hard pressed to justify the cost of their RV but some things we spend money on without much question. At least RVs are not boats or planes. That is where the really crazy money is.

Our day to day costs run around the $125 mark covering fuel, camping, activities, food & that mystery one, miscellaneous. Then there are the annual expenses incurred whether the RV is used or not. They include storage, insurance, maintenance & another miscellaneous. Give or take this figure is around $6000.

Factor in depreciation each year ontop of that.

For the weekend warrior who does maybe one extended trip in addition to 2 night weekends the per day overall use cost can get pretty ugly quick. Obviously the more nights used per year the better the numbers look.

For 10 years now we have averaged in excess of 150 nights on the road per year averaging over 12,000 miles each year. Overall we think we are doing much better than tha average owner who is not fulltiming.

Of course there are hundreds of memories in so many special places that are priceless. As much as we loved our boat & the times spent with friends on boats it is no comparisson to the RV even though we were doing 40 nights a year on the boat.

[capeman]

DrewE are you kidding....me and my wife spend 1/4 of what a hotel vacation would cost!! and don't worry about who slept in the bed before us..yuck

[Cloud_Dancer]

Why do we (wife and I) pay ssoooo much for RVing? There are many reasons, BUT the main ones are: It's the most hassle-free, convenient way to travel with your pets, and have options when you get there. Plus, having your own everything with you, including your own vehicle to run around in, is priceless. Simply put, it's a costly luxury. For us, it's not camping.

[colliehauler]

I bet you would get completely different answers on the motel forum.:B

[covered_wagon]

Waking up to the sound of silence, having great coffee with a wonderful feeling of independence and freedom. That's the grand part of it all for me along with natural surroundings. A guy like me gets so spoiled that you end up not wanting anything to do with crowded places nor having to rely on other peoples cooking, hotel service and their bathrooms with no soap.

Life is too complex without and RV.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

colliehauler wrote:

Even if it wasn't cheaper for me I would gladly pay the difference to have my RV.

Of course, another important point that we both share - the ability to bring our pets along (although in all fairness, many hotels/motels are now allowing pets). My dogs LOVE to camp; and I have more fun because I'm not worried about them being boarded (and the money I save by not boarding, pretty much covers the cost of parking an RV at a campground overnight)

[Gjac]

When I first retired I kept accurate records of all RV related cost including travel, because my wife always says that we could buy a lot of hotel rooms for the costs of Rving. I found my trips ranged from $60 per day to $107 per day for a 3 mo trip to Alaska. I don't know any where you could go for $80 a day on average and pay for a hotel, car, fuel and restaurant. The 3 mo trip to Alaska costs $10,000. It likely would have been double that if we flew out there, rented a car, stayed in a hotel and ate at restaurants every day. As far as the other costs for maintenance, repairs and modifications cost 15 cents a mile and depreciation was 25 cents a mile. Now if you buy a brand new MH and don't use it much the depreciation and maintenance costs per mile will be much higher but if you are retired and able to travel a lot I think RVing is a cost effective way to travel.