Short trip opinion

[6door74]

My wife and I have been trying to get in the position of buying a travel trailer. Unfortunately life keeps getting in the way but we still want to scratch that itch. I think I've decided on renting a travel trailer for that purpose. It would be our first time in one so it will be a learning experience from start to finish.

That said, would a quick weekend trip be worth the steps of setting up and breaking down? Arrive Saturday, set up, break down Sunday and leave. Maybe add Friday if possible but I'm worried about setting up for the first time as night falls upon us.

Or should i just wait until we can have a minimum 4 days to really "enjoy" the whole experience?

Thanks

[myredracer]

There are CGs out there that have TTs set up to rent. Easy way to test the waters and see what you do and don't like about TTs. That's what we did in the beginning. The one we rented had such a tiny bathroom you had to leave to the door open for a leg to poke out when sitting on the john. Bathroom layouts were high on our list when we shopped for our first TT!

Overnight not enough. Go for a 2 night trip at least and more is better still. If you rent an on-site TT in a CG, you won't have to worry about a WDH and setting it up right. First towing experience for many is white knuckle too and you could avoid that.

I'd also not put a lot of $$ into your first TT. After doing lots of research, we thought our first TT was a forever TT. Lasted only one season after finding it had too many shortcomings and was too small. Lost a lotta $$ when we sold it.

If you've never been RV-ing before, there's lots and lots of things you learn about them after you've got one. Some will be little annoyances like no place for a garbage container and having to hang a plastic bag off a stove knob to woefully inadequate storage space inside, tiny kitchen counter, nowhere to sit comfortably, etc.

I'd also recommend something with a slide out. And carefully watch actual tongue loads (not dry weight) of TTs vs. available payload capacity of what you're towing it with.

[Ron3rd]

6door74 wrote:
My wife and I have been trying to get in the position of buying a travel trailer. Unfortunately life keeps getting in the way but we still want to scratch that itch. I think I've decided on renting a travel trailer for that purpose. It would be our first time in one so it will be a learning experience from start to finish.

That said, would a quick weekend trip be worth the steps of setting up and breaking down? Arrive Saturday, set up, break down Sunday and leave. Maybe add Friday if possible but I'm worried about setting up for the first time as night falls upon us.

Or should i just wait until we can have a minimum 4 days to really "enjoy" the whole experience?

Thanks

Your idea sounds great to me. Good way to get your feet wet.

[rcracerguy]

I did something very similar last year. I rented a travel trailer for a long weekend where we arrived on a Thursday and departed on the following Monday. We have a very good idea of what floorplan and brand we wanted to go with (which is the one we now own) so I found a rental unit that was the same brand. This allowed me to do several things, experience towing such a large trailer, ensure the wife and kid enjoyed camping, see how the brand held up to heavy use (it was some where around 1 to 2 years old when we got it) which may equate to a full 10 years of our own usage. We all really enjoyed it and ended up buying a trailer a couple of weeks later.

You have the right plan, rent for several nights not just 1, Friday to Monday is great. If you have no idea of floorplan or brand then doing it several times with a different trailer each time can help there.

If you want more trailer practice, then go rent a large uhaul for a day and find somewhere empty, it is hard to reverse a small trailer than a large one in my experience but the experience is transferable and will contribute towards the TT in the future at a much lower cost and timescale.

[CavemanCharlie]

6door74 wrote:
My wife and I have been trying to get in the position of buying a travel trailer. Unfortunately life keeps getting in the way but we still want to scratch that itch. I think I've decided on renting a travel trailer for that purpose. It would be our first time in one so it will be a learning experience from start to finish.

That said, would a quick weekend trip be worth the steps of setting up and breaking down? Arrive Saturday, set up, break down Sunday and leave. Maybe add Friday if possible but I'm worried about setting up for the first time as night falls upon us.

Or should i just wait until we can have a minimum 4 days to really "enjoy" the whole experience?

Thanks

I am just a weekend camper. All of my trips start Friday after work and end on Sunday evening.

I can be set up with my TT in 20 minutes and I can take it down in 15.

If you are going out in just weekends you don't need all the extra ****. Take the TT, go out near home, go camping, and have fun.
e I can be set up with my TT

[Jebby14]

if your handy buying an older fixer upper can be about the same cost as renting. I paid 2k Canadian for mine and have put around 1k more into it, this will be its 5th season with us (likely its last but still) how much is a rental?

[2112]

We rented TTs and PUPs for 10 years before we bought one. I would pick it up Thur evening and return it Mon morning. $300 for a 3 day weekend trip 2 or 3 times a year was cheaper than owning. I didn't have to worry about maintenance, leaks, battery, tires etc...

Only reason we eventually bought our first one in 2002 was because it was getting hard to locate a rental in our area.

[6door74]

toedtoes wrote:
The OP and his wife work. The wife just started a new job. I think weekday camping is not in the cards for them at this point.

As for renting, it is what it is for each person. Depending on whether you can store the RV at your house or need to pay for storage; how often you will use it; how handy you are fixing things; etc., renting a trailer for a couple weekends a year may be cheaper than buying a cheap trailer for the same use. Sounds like the OP is waiting to buy until circumstances provide for more use.

The OP has a good plan for the next couple years. Rent a trailer for a couple 4 day trips a year and get a feel for both driving with a trailer and various floorplans. Then move on to ownership when the time is right and they know better what they want.

Bingo!!! Good advice from all but the above reply pretty much sums it up. Thanks everyone

[Lantley]

toedtoes wrote:
The OP and his wife work. The wife just started a new job. I think weekday camping is not in the cards for them at this point.

As for renting, it is what it is for each person. Depending on whether you can store the RV at your house or need to pay for storage; how often you will use it; how handy you are fixing things; etc., renting a trailer for a couple weekends a year may be cheaper than buying a cheap trailer for the same use. Sounds like the OP is waiting to buy until circumstances provide for more use.

The OP has a good plan for the next couple years. Rent a trailer for a couple 4 day trips a year and get a feel for both driving with a trailer and various floorplans. Then move on to ownership when the time is right and they know better what they want.

I agree renting is not as far fetched as it may seem. Renting once or twice a year maybe just as cheap as owning and only using is a couple of times a year.
Overall Cost of RV divided by the number of trips per year is generally not a positive or cheap equation.

[toedtoes]

The OP and his wife work. The wife just started a new job. I think weekday camping is not in the cards for them at this point.

As for renting, it is what it is for each person. Depending on whether you can store the RV at your house or need to pay for storage; how often you will use it; how handy you are fixing things; etc., renting a trailer for a couple weekends a year may be cheaper than buying a cheap trailer for the same use. Sounds like the OP is waiting to buy until circumstances provide for more use.

The OP has a good plan for the next couple years. Rent a trailer for a couple 4 day trips a year and get a feel for both driving with a trailer and various floorplans. Then move on to ownership when the time is right and they know better what they want.

[RGar974417]

IMO,it would be much better to go on a Sunday,when everyone is leaving and stay until Thursday before the weekend.That way you won't get into a situation when other campers are coming and going which can make it more challenging checking in,backing into your site etc. Weekends are the busiest which makes it harder to get reservations so you will have fewer choices of sites.

[Grit_dog]

Sounds like half your reason or more is to figure out how to tow a trailer. You can do that for free, if you know someone to loan you a trailer.
Spending however much per day to rent a TT for 3-4 days to get 1/2 -1 day of camping out of it is not being fiscally responsible either , unless you both just can’t imagine life in a camper for a few days without renting.
It’s a camper. Like a house but smaller.
Finances being as tight as you say, you’ll spend a bunch of money on something you get relatively little return on.
Not sure what you’re planning to get, but for not a lot of money you could buy an older TT, use it for a year or 2 sell it and likely be out less $ than renting several times.
That is if you take care of it and maintain/ repair it. No different than a new one or a rental.

[ppine]

You have a great idea. I like short trips near home. It is great to get out often. If it is a short trip, don't drive too far. Try to find a place to camp within an hour from home. Have fun. You will learn a lot.

[6door74]

Lantley wrote:
I think your on the right track although I thought the point of renting was to try RV'ing with a trailer? For a test run once should be enough, I see no point in renting multiple times in order to test the waters.
However if you want to rent to enjoy RV'ing that is a different scenario.

Try as in get the 1st attempt out the way. The trailer is a definite once finances allow. Renting here and there for a year or two will allow time to get in that position. With 2 in college and 1 in HS, it will probably also disctate better what model/floorplan we ultimately buy based on need at the time. I'm impatient so i want to do it already but fortunately more responsible than years prior. The old me would have said, F it, we want it, let's get it, we'll figure the rest out. Those impulses have died....somewhat anyway :B

[Jayco-noslide]

We are very experienced (old) and have a Class C towing a Focus. Personally, we would never load/unload, etc for a 1 nighter. Especially a rental where you would not have even the basics already in the unit. Try to get 2 nights, even if you have to leave Sun. AM. Also, you can rent small motor homes.