Does owning a camper make you rich or a cheap tightwad?

[plasticmaster]

I had a 2008 Jayco TT for 8 years and now I have a 2016 Forest River Vibe TT. Through the years, I've received sentiment from opposite ends of the spectrum. Some folks think that I'm a cheap tightwad because this is how my family and I vacation. Others seam to think I'm rich because I own a camper. I'm definitely not rich. My family and I manage our money wisely. We love camping and enjoy being able to take several vacations per year instead of just one. Have any of you received similar comments? How do you respond?

[Heavy_Metal_Doc]

On one hand I don;t care what anyone thinks. I enjoy it. But for some bored / downtime discussion, here goes:

I get both extremes from each end of the scale of my friends / coworkers. Family is all fine with any RV because there are many RV-ers in our family.
My bosses, who are a bit on the snobby end of things (that is, they have enough money to live in the best part of any town, never drive a vehicle past about 3 years old, and own some expensive toys they don't even use just to keep as conversation pieces with other richy-rich business associates) kinda looks down their nose at RV's unless you spend a million or more on a custom Prevost bus. They can't understand driving more then 4 hours anywhere - they'd just book a flight...driving long distances is to be avoided and only and activity for "commoners"... So they think it's big waste of money and even have an attitude along the lines of "I must be paying you too much if you can waste money like that."...Funny, though, the one customer we all work with who owns that 1.5 Mil Prevost just loves to RV-travel and would have no problem with me parking my measly TT on the site next to them so we could all have dinner together. We chat often about trips and where we've been / planning to go.

Then there are the rest of the "grunt" coworkers who get worked up over any mention of my TT and trips and RV's in general as being some super high end luxury that they could never afford. This somehow makes me the "big man" tha must be making twice the paycheck of any of them....But like others here have mentioned, they all do stuff like drive 3hrs to the beach every summer weekend to a rented condo and drop lots of cash of eating out and lots of alcohol...we all probably all spend about the same, we just have different ways to enjoy our off time.

[mdcamping]

plasticmaster wrote:
I had a 2008 Jayco TT for 8 years and now I have a 2016 Forest River Vibe TT. Through the years, I've received sentiment from opposite ends of the spectrum. Some folks think that I'm a cheap tightwad because this is how my family and I vacation. Others seam to think I'm rich because I own a camper. I'm definitely not rich. My family and I manage our money wisely. We love camping and enjoy being able to take several vacations per year instead of just one. Have any of you received similar comments? How do you respond?

We also make every attempt to manage our money wisely and we could buy up if we were to choose to. But were still relatively young and still working 40. Yeah I have had a few tightwad comments, as far as response....never kept up with the Joneses 🙂

Mike

[Dutch_12078]

For the most part, our friends and family don't consider us rich or cheap because we live and travel extensively in our RV, instead they consider us lucky! And especially so when we're leaving upstate NY to winter in the south... 😉

To be fair, there are a few that don't understand our lifestyle choice, but usually when I point out we can change the view out our windows any time we want to without leaving home, they start to see the light.

[NEnative]

For my wife and I it was a no brainer when we decided to get into RVing. I will begin with flying: tight seats, no shoulder room or leg room anymore, more and more fees each year, less planes so each plane is packed full, bumping customers involuntarily with bogus compensation,ect. Hotels: more and more hidden fees, as others have said about stained mattress', car rentals with more fees. So if I am cheap because I am into camping so be it. I am truly blessed by my Savior, our Lord for the fact that I can afford to buy a RV (90% of the world can only dream of this lifestyle that we have here in North America)! So let anyone call me cheap, that's ok with me.

[56Jeff]

Montgomery Gentry say's it best.
"What Do Ya Think About That"

Some people care about what other people think
Worry about what they say
Let a little gossip
Coming from a loose lip ruin a perfect day
Say, blah, blah, blah, just a jacking their jaws
Got a letta roll off-a my back
I don't give a dern what other people think
What do ya think about that

[bucky]

Matt Colie, with a geezer pass COE parks are about $13 a night, on the water, and Reserve America is not an issue. $52 total for 4 nights recently.

I like the swallowing the last quarter statement. The kids are doing great with their husbands and their kids, we'll leave them the house. The money will be spent short of a catastrophe.

[John_Joey]

Thom02099 wrote:
Why should owning a camper "make" you anything? What one owns does not define who you are.

Opinions are like a....... well you know....everyone's got one!

Why would anyone care what others opinions are? If you're happy, your family is happy, and everyone is loved and cared for, that's really all that matters.

Wiser words have never been said.

[wa8yxm]

Well I'm richer owning a camper than I was owning a house.. Both are worth about the same amount but I pay far less for parking than I did utilities and save over 2,000 a year on Taxes (more than I burn in Gasoline) so.... Maintenance. roughly the same.

[1968mooney]

NO WAY TO BE RICH AND OWN A CAMPER. Those 2 things do not go together.

[MrWizard]

2012 , Camping in Indiana State Parks
Monday thru Thursdays $18 per night Fri too Sun
$23 night
Deam Lake state park

Spring mill state park $5-$10 more
Still less than $40 per night on the weekend
I think it was $32

All depends on where you go
Everyplace in Calif is expensive, compared to other states

[Matt_Colie]

1995,

You are dreaming at 30$/night. But, even if you add in your investment cost, you still can beat hotel/motel prices and when you include meals that you now eat off your own plates and only what you want, it even beats the "stuff your face" buffet.

If you go to an event (we do a couple most years) where they charge an exorbitant fee (~20$) to dry camp (showers, water and dump are available - get in line), but all accommodations in striking range are booked years in advance.

Then there are the states that charge license based on either cost or weight. We got them covered too. My coach is old enough for an historic plate (OK, Mine is an authentic - year of build) that is 85$ forever. (Historic are only 10years here.) It has some limits, like only driving it to shows, for testing and repairs, but there is a rally (show) put on by one chapter or another some place all year long and nobody said I have to take the shortest route and/or hurry to get there or home. (You mean the Blue Ridge is not the way to go from Michigan to Florida?)

I live my life at the bottom right corner of a spreadsheet. Trust me, my motorhome is less expensive than my sailboat was - except for fuel, but if you count sail and rig maintenance as fuel, it is a toss-up.

So, when I get that reaction, it only takes a few questions to make them realize that they (like a prior writer did) are wasting at least as much as we spend.

Matt

[1995brave]

I must be a tightwad, I'm defiantly not rich. Soo much cheaper owning an RV and paying around $30 a night for a spot than spending $100-200 per night for a hotel room. We like to fish at the coast, Hotel room in winter time $100 per night, summer time $200 and up per night. Full hook ups on base $30 per night, do the math.

[Captain_Happy]

Here's another way of dealing with your so called friends and family. Just tell them your;

"Trailer Trash"

Remember it's your life not theirs.

[Blutoyz]

What others think is irrelevant...

I know I am just cheap because a low mile older MH cost a lot less than a 2nd home in NC to go see a new grandbaby.:W

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

You may or may not be financially rich - but taking your family camping, to places where you'll never find a hotel, creating wonderful memories....makes your life amazingly rich!

Hubby and I bought our first RV so we could take the dogs along. Fast forward a decade, and now that most hotels allow dogs, we really don't "need" an RV to sightsee. However, my best memories - those "Happy Places" I like to retreat to inside my head - all involve places where we've camped. The campsite in the towering forest, or next to the little babbling brook. Breakfast with the Tetons. Dinner while watching sea otters in Valdez Harbor. I fully intend to own an RV and camp until I physically can no longer do it - and then I'll ask my kids (who were raised to also be campers) to tag along on their trips 🙂

You ARE rich in so many ways - carry on!!