RV Travel, What's up with THAT???
Jul 20th, 2002 | 11:05 AM
#1
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RV Travel, What's up with THAT???
I don't understand these RV's, won't somebody please explain to me the attraction of traveling in these big tanks?
They must get 8 miles per gallon or so, as they pull up through the mountains towing a little car behind them. So on a 500 mile day, that's over a hundred bucks just for gas. Don't these people realize that they could have gotten a motel for 69 bucks?
In Las Vegas I see them pulling into big parking lots, paying $17 to park behind hotels that advertise $29 deluxe rooms.
An expensive way to travel if you ask me, and I haven't even figured in the initial cost of the tank itself, which must be , what, $30,000?
Come on people, get a clue!
They must get 8 miles per gallon or so, as they pull up through the mountains towing a little car behind them. So on a 500 mile day, that's over a hundred bucks just for gas. Don't these people realize that they could have gotten a motel for 69 bucks?
In Las Vegas I see them pulling into big parking lots, paying $17 to park behind hotels that advertise $29 deluxe rooms.
An expensive way to travel if you ask me, and I haven't even figured in the initial cost of the tank itself, which must be , what, $30,000?
Come on people, get a clue!
Jul 20th, 2002 | 01:04 PM
#3
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Our Winnebago motorhome is 24 ft and we only paid $17,000 for a used one 9 years ago with very little mileage on it.
Yes, we get terrible gas mileage, but when we go on 4 & 5 week trips like we do each and every year it really makes it cost effective.
We prefer to cook our own meals which saves a lot of money. We find the most scenic places to pull off the road to cook and eat our meals. When we want something to drink we can go to the fridge and get something, if we want an ice cream we can go to our freezer and get it. We have a microwave so we can just microwave something if we feel lazy one day. Eating out is expensive. Buying ice for coolers is expensive.
We like having our own bed that we know is comfortable. We know our sheets are clean and our pillow is our favorite. If we want to relax and stretch out while taking a break from driving we can.
We like having our bathroom with us and not having to depend on a clean one somewhere on the road.
We don't have to load and unload at each motel. We like to travel. We drove 7,500 miles on our last trip this spring. We were gone 5 weeks. We spent one week visiting our son and the other 4 weeks we did not spend two nites at the same location. I don't want to have to carry suit cases up and down stairs for 28 days!
Many of the places we like to visit, like national parks either don't have motels or if they do they are booked a year in advance. When we were in Canyon de Chelly last spring the National Monument campground was beautiful and it was also free. The rooms in the park were $106 per night! We stayed 3 nights. If you go to tourist places you are going to find the room rates are a lot more than $29 per nite. Just check the prices of rooms in Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. There are many city parks in the Northeast that only charge $5 per nite for camping. Most Wal-Mart stores will let you spend the night in their parking lot for free. Now I wouldn't go to a Wal-Mart as a destination, but when you're traveling and you want a place to pull over and sleep they are really nice.
We don't drive 7,500 miles on most of our trips. We usually only drive between 3,5000 and 5,000. If we are gone for 4 weeks and go 4,000 miles the cost of gas would be about $45 per day & we have average $15 per day on campgrounds for the last few years. It's going to be hard to find a room, pay for gas even with an economial car and pay for meals on $60 per day for two people. When we had our two boys with us it was even more economical.
Utahtea....enjoying the RV & camping life for over 25 years
Yes, we get terrible gas mileage, but when we go on 4 & 5 week trips like we do each and every year it really makes it cost effective.
We prefer to cook our own meals which saves a lot of money. We find the most scenic places to pull off the road to cook and eat our meals. When we want something to drink we can go to the fridge and get something, if we want an ice cream we can go to our freezer and get it. We have a microwave so we can just microwave something if we feel lazy one day. Eating out is expensive. Buying ice for coolers is expensive.
We like having our own bed that we know is comfortable. We know our sheets are clean and our pillow is our favorite. If we want to relax and stretch out while taking a break from driving we can.
We like having our bathroom with us and not having to depend on a clean one somewhere on the road.
We don't have to load and unload at each motel. We like to travel. We drove 7,500 miles on our last trip this spring. We were gone 5 weeks. We spent one week visiting our son and the other 4 weeks we did not spend two nites at the same location. I don't want to have to carry suit cases up and down stairs for 28 days!
Many of the places we like to visit, like national parks either don't have motels or if they do they are booked a year in advance. When we were in Canyon de Chelly last spring the National Monument campground was beautiful and it was also free. The rooms in the park were $106 per night! We stayed 3 nights. If you go to tourist places you are going to find the room rates are a lot more than $29 per nite. Just check the prices of rooms in Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. There are many city parks in the Northeast that only charge $5 per nite for camping. Most Wal-Mart stores will let you spend the night in their parking lot for free. Now I wouldn't go to a Wal-Mart as a destination, but when you're traveling and you want a place to pull over and sleep they are really nice.
We don't drive 7,500 miles on most of our trips. We usually only drive between 3,5000 and 5,000. If we are gone for 4 weeks and go 4,000 miles the cost of gas would be about $45 per day & we have average $15 per day on campgrounds for the last few years. It's going to be hard to find a room, pay for gas even with an economial car and pay for meals on $60 per day for two people. When we had our two boys with us it was even more economical.
Utahtea....enjoying the RV & camping life for over 25 years
Jul 20th, 2002 | 01:13 PM
#5
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I don't get it much either. I love to see new things and love road trips but I would rather drive my car and check into a nice hotel. But that is just me.
I also have no idea why people go all the way to beautiful hawaii just to cook for themselves in a condo and make their own beds. But to each his own. THat is why there are so many travel choices out there because there are so many different types of travelers!
I also have no idea why people go all the way to beautiful hawaii just to cook for themselves in a condo and make their own beds. But to each his own. THat is why there are so many travel choices out there because there are so many different types of travelers!
Jul 20th, 2002 | 01:35 PM
#6
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Thanks for the rundown Utahtea! The part about not having to pack and unpack really sounds appealing.
Your figures on the cost-effectiveness are way off though. If you enjoy it, and it sounds like you do, fine, you go girl! But that $60 per day estimate, once you add in the price of your Winnebagos over the years, and the maintenance, tires, insurance etc....you are spending a small fortune on vacationing every year. People who fly a couple of times a year, stay in upscale hotels for a week, and dine at nice restaurants are spending a lot less than what you are spending per year.
Would love to hear about what types of people you meet however. I've always heard that RV'ing was fun because of the comraderie with others doing the same thing.
Your figures on the cost-effectiveness are way off though. If you enjoy it, and it sounds like you do, fine, you go girl! But that $60 per day estimate, once you add in the price of your Winnebagos over the years, and the maintenance, tires, insurance etc....you are spending a small fortune on vacationing every year. People who fly a couple of times a year, stay in upscale hotels for a week, and dine at nice restaurants are spending a lot less than what you are spending per year.
Would love to hear about what types of people you meet however. I've always heard that RV'ing was fun because of the comraderie with others doing the same thing.
Jul 20th, 2002 | 03:46 PM
#7
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Hi Mare,
We don't belong to any RV groups but they are many of them out there. The first time we went to a private full hook up campground we had so many people come by to help us. RV'er are on the whole a nice bunch of people.
We've had multi RV's over the year and they hold their value. The first van conversion we had we put $150 into it and fixed it up and 5 years later sold it for $400 more than we paid for it.
The tent trailer we had for 5 years we sold it for $50 less than we paid for it.
The travel trailer we had for 10 years was totaled in an accident. Insurance money we got was $2,000 less than we paid for it, not bad for 10 years worth of vacations at $200 per year and a few tires. We figured we put 50,000 miles on that trailer. We drove the Alaska Highway one year and drove from coast to coast another year, not to mention all the other 4 week vacations and weekends. It would be hard to get 4 round trip airline tickets for that price. We had to boys when we traveled in the above RV's.
We prefer driving to our destinations. Getting there is more than half the adventure.
For us vacation is getting away from our house and seeing the country side. We don't mind cooking. It's usually more relaxing to us to whip up a nice dinner than go sit in a restaurant and get bad service and cold food when it's suppose to be hot and on top of it cost 5 times what we could cook it for. We often cook filet minon steaks dinners at about $10 for the two of us instead of $25 per person.
My DH gets 7 weeks of vacation a year. If we flew to all the places we wanted to go, stayed in upscale motels and ate out we would go broke!
I realize not everyone is like us and that really is better in the long run because if everyone traveled the same way, then that way would be over crowded all the time.
I also forgot to mention we love camping. Sitting at night by a campfire, roasting marshmellows and looking up at the stars.
Utahtea...give me the open road!
We don't belong to any RV groups but they are many of them out there. The first time we went to a private full hook up campground we had so many people come by to help us. RV'er are on the whole a nice bunch of people.
We've had multi RV's over the year and they hold their value. The first van conversion we had we put $150 into it and fixed it up and 5 years later sold it for $400 more than we paid for it.
The tent trailer we had for 5 years we sold it for $50 less than we paid for it.
The travel trailer we had for 10 years was totaled in an accident. Insurance money we got was $2,000 less than we paid for it, not bad for 10 years worth of vacations at $200 per year and a few tires. We figured we put 50,000 miles on that trailer. We drove the Alaska Highway one year and drove from coast to coast another year, not to mention all the other 4 week vacations and weekends. It would be hard to get 4 round trip airline tickets for that price. We had to boys when we traveled in the above RV's.
We prefer driving to our destinations. Getting there is more than half the adventure.
For us vacation is getting away from our house and seeing the country side. We don't mind cooking. It's usually more relaxing to us to whip up a nice dinner than go sit in a restaurant and get bad service and cold food when it's suppose to be hot and on top of it cost 5 times what we could cook it for. We often cook filet minon steaks dinners at about $10 for the two of us instead of $25 per person.
My DH gets 7 weeks of vacation a year. If we flew to all the places we wanted to go, stayed in upscale motels and ate out we would go broke!
I realize not everyone is like us and that really is better in the long run because if everyone traveled the same way, then that way would be over crowded all the time.
I also forgot to mention we love camping. Sitting at night by a campfire, roasting marshmellows and looking up at the stars.
Utahtea...give me the open road!
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Jul 21st, 2002 | 02:28 AM
#8
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I get an opportunity to travel both ways. On our last camping trip we had an ocean front site and wonderful neighbors with whom we compared notes as to what we were seeing and doing. I love to visit grocery stores to see what different foods are available so it was funny that two of us compared and traded seasonings we had bought in the South. We had our first mussels in PEI, fresh from the mussel farm years before they were a common sight in New England grocery stores. In some areas, the restaurant choices aren't very good. The last time I stayed in a large hotel, most of the city closed up on Sundays and we couldn't even get a cold drink except for the hotel vending machines. We ended up going to the airport early and having supper there! I have spent more than one early morning reading in a hotel lobby and begging for a coffee if the room didn't have a coffee maker. OTH we've had some wonderful lunches in scenic areas and I remember one wait for a ferry that was very enjoyable. We just pulled out some lawn chairs and cold drinks. Another thing, the campground staff is usually much more knowledgeable than the hotel desk clerks who frequently don't know a thing about the immediate area because they don't live in the city.
Jul 22nd, 2002 | 07:03 AM
#9
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This is an interesting thread. We've got into a habit of either renting a luxury car or a Conversion Van for trips. Yes, van rental for a two week trip may cost a $1000 - but...
...I figure that is less than 2.5 months of car payments if I bought a big luxury van. Plus, I have a brand new one every year, I don't have to pay monthly, I don't have upkeep, I don't have insurance, etc. etc. etc. I figure it would take me 30 years of renting a van to equal the cost of buying one.
But for some people RVs or Trailers are the way to go. My grandparents use to go to the state park and spend 3 months in the spring and fall with a group of friends who came from all over the country. With their senior discounts they were paying about $7 a day - and since it was the off season the park ranger would waive the 14 day maximum stay (plus they were good friends). It was cheap for them to travel as it was to stay at home.
jpm
...I figure that is less than 2.5 months of car payments if I bought a big luxury van. Plus, I have a brand new one every year, I don't have to pay monthly, I don't have upkeep, I don't have insurance, etc. etc. etc. I figure it would take me 30 years of renting a van to equal the cost of buying one.
But for some people RVs or Trailers are the way to go. My grandparents use to go to the state park and spend 3 months in the spring and fall with a group of friends who came from all over the country. With their senior discounts they were paying about $7 a day - and since it was the off season the park ranger would waive the 14 day maximum stay (plus they were good friends). It was cheap for them to travel as it was to stay at home.
jpm
Jul 22nd, 2002 | 07:15 AM
#10
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I rented a 27 ft. RV (Jamboree) from Cruise America many years ago and drove from Winter Park, FL to the keys...I didn't like the experience at all...of course, the kids loved it...(to me) there are too many chores involved that I don't want to deal with on vacation...for those interested though I highly recommend a KOA on Fiesta Key that's situated on the Gulf of Mexico...that saved the day and nights for me...incredible views and warm water...otherwise, give me room service any day.
Jul 23rd, 2002 | 11:26 AM
#14
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To +x:
I had mentioned that we don't usually do 7,500 mile trips. When we do those kind of longs ones we do have to do a couple 500 mile days, but driving that far is very rare.
You are also wrong about staying put when we visited our son. They took us sightseeing all over the place. We went to Georgia and North Carolina while visiting them in South Carolina. My Son and DIL like to travel too.
As I mentioned, we usually do 3500 to 5000 mile trips we don't do 500 mile days on those trips.
Also Mare thinks people who fly to their destination, stay in nice motels and eat out will have cheaper vacations. She forgot to mention that you need to rent a car and that can add atleast another $35 per day to the cost. I guess if you stayed in a city you wouldn't need the car, but a going to a city is not my idea of vacation.
I guess we all have our different ideas of vacation. I don't need to rest on my vacation, I just want to travel.
Utahtea
I had mentioned that we don't usually do 7,500 mile trips. When we do those kind of longs ones we do have to do a couple 500 mile days, but driving that far is very rare.
You are also wrong about staying put when we visited our son. They took us sightseeing all over the place. We went to Georgia and North Carolina while visiting them in South Carolina. My Son and DIL like to travel too.
As I mentioned, we usually do 3500 to 5000 mile trips we don't do 500 mile days on those trips.
Also Mare thinks people who fly to their destination, stay in nice motels and eat out will have cheaper vacations. She forgot to mention that you need to rent a car and that can add atleast another $35 per day to the cost. I guess if you stayed in a city you wouldn't need the car, but a going to a city is not my idea of vacation.
I guess we all have our different ideas of vacation. I don't need to rest on my vacation, I just want to travel.
Utahtea
