RV vs. Motel: Not cheaper!

[PopBeavers]

1. I am on a first name basis with everyone that has ever sat on our toilet seat. This is important to DW. I have no idea why.

2. Where we go there are no motels. No toilets, no water, no power. Sometimes no pavement. Motelling is not an option for us.

There is a reason these things are called SELF CONTAINED.

In a few weeks we will take our first out of state trip, ever. Round trip from Yosemite to Nashville. We will quite likely spend some of the time in RV parks.

Before we had any RV we went backpacking. Backpacking really teaches you two things:

1. How to conserve water.

2. The value of a nice mattress... priceless.

[Herk7769]

Check out USA - Freecampsites.net

Can't get cheaper than free...

[TheDiGs]

Originally Posted by LittlePM

We use to run away from home almost every weekend (daughter and grandson at home), sometimes we would only go 30 minutes from home. sometimes its just to unplug. and get away from the everyday stuff. To me staying in my RV is priceless, I have a comfy bed and chair, I know the place is clean because I cleaned it. I love sitting out by the fire with my little dogs, you can't do that in a hotel.

My friend got bed bugs and brought them home, it cost her over $1000 to get rid of them

We rented a house that happened to come with bedbugs. If you've never dealt with them, consider yourself extremely lucky! Family of 7, they only bit me and the youngest...we thought we were getting eaten up by mosquitoes....I didn't even know bedbugs were real things (sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite...I thought it was just a saying!!!)

Once we figured out it was bedbugs, it took the owners over two months to pay the guy to come heat the house up (and over $3000 for them). Little bit and I were in utter agony, both of us scared to sleep. Unfortunately, someone was living in our TT, so we didn't have that option.

NOT risking bringing home those horrible, horrible creatures is worth every penny extra of the RV lifestyle!!!!

[laurajean]

My wife loves having our new dog with us. I travel so hotels are common. Hate the idea of bed bugs. We ran across one at a hotel, they had to come in and debug our luggage, when we came home we removed clothes from luggage and shook everything. Luckily, brought nothing back.

[Canonman]

Here's my two cents worth:
Our recent trip to the North Rim, Grand Canyon:
Western Cabin, Rim View, $199 per night. That's if you can get one.
Rim View camp spot in the campground, $10 (National Parks Senior Pass Card).
Might be an extreme example, but you can't usually find affordable accommodations and certainly not as nice as our RV's with views like this!

[Windjammin]

I think a lot of it depends on where you are going and how long you will be gone. Last summer we went to Alaska and were gone over 125 days. I figure just hotel lodging would have cost at least $15000. That savings paid for almost the whole trip in the trailer including fuel to pull it.

[Dabmeb]

We usually travel about 3 hrs from home. Fuel $100 each way and $200 for 5 nights full hook up and this is our view. Make our own food and coffee. Same trip in hotel is $1000.00.


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[firedaniel]

We are headed to yellowstone friday and camping along the way from Dallas through colorodo etc. The KOA are ridiculously expensive. State parks are the best way to go...We found a few private ones but it shouldnt cost more than $40 a night for a RV to hook up.

[ryand]

As others have stated, it all depends on your upfront costs, how often and where you stay.

We average 20-25 nights a year as a family closer to 35 nights this season by my projections....I travel a lot for work and have a good handle on hotel costs (most places we camp there are not many hotels anyhow) and if you can get a room for 115 with tax a night your doing alright. Sure you can go red roof, but you might as well sleep in the curb in my opinion. For my family that's $2800 @25 nights not counting the avg cost of meals @35 per day x 3.5 (we have a young one) that's $122.50 per day. Do the math for 25 nights and thats 3,062...sure there is some wiggle room if you only eat fast food over local flavors, but at over 8k per year for the time my family spends traveling...rv travel ROI starts paying back pretty quick...in fact two years hotel traveling would have paid for my trailer.

Who am I kidding.....it all costs money and I keep pretending I am saving by doing it this way. I figured I just broke even last year. I just plain like RV ing better. I like my stuff, bed and views I get over the Hampton inn. I hate hotels. The kids sure like it better too. When is the last time your hotel had a playground?




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[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by ryand

...When is the last time your hotel had a playground?

When we stayed at the Kalahari in Ohio last year.... But that was a special case.




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[tragusa3]

How many have the purpose of saving money when they buy an RV? I didn't. I bought one for family time, recreation, having all our stuff with us, and on and on... I knew it would cost money and perhaps more. Didn't matter.

[extremebike]

The best thing about our 5th is that the washroom is 20 feet behind us at all times when travelling. When my wife wants to go, I pull over. Priceless.

I have never seen hotels convenient when my wife wants to go.

[ryand]

What I think I was trying to get at in my previous post is that RV'ing is a cheaper alternative over time. Over time meaning you need to use your equipment. I could see how someone who purchases a 35K trailer and uses it 2 weekends a year may not come out ahead but if you use that same equipment lets say 40 nights a year the return on investment starts to add up quick. It might take a few years, but you will get there. However, if you like to get a new trailer every few years and finance each purchase you might never get ahead. As others have stated there is no hotel (at a reasonable cost) that can offer my family what our RV does. It literally has become our second home on a lake, beach, river and in the woods.

[The_Rhino]

Our break-even point is about 20 nights camping - any less & it's cheaper to say in hotels & eat-out... However, we're both educators (now) w/summers-off so we can fit-in 30+ nights per year. (Previous career w/non-profit provided no time off in summer months, so this is a first for us...)

While we're cooking meals or relaxing I like that our kids spend time making friends & playing outdoors vs. watching TV in the hotel room... I also like that DW & I are also making new friends & planning future outings w/other families.

However, the best part is really more family time with our kids. We're spending over 30 days away from TV, computers, sports programs, etc. Some trips it's just us with time to talk about what's important in life & what's not.

[rockfordroo]

We're spending over 30 days away from TV, computers, sports programs, etc. Some trips it's just us with time to talk about what's important in life & what's not.

To coin a phrase: "Priceless!"

[ryand]

Originally Posted by The_Rhino

Our break-even point is about 20 nights camping - any less & it's cheaper to say in hotels & eat-out... However, we're both educators (now) w/summers-off so we can fit-in 30+ nights per year. (Previous career w/non-profit provided no time off in summer months, so this is a first for us...)

While we're cooking meals or relaxing I like that our kids spend time making friends & playing outdoors vs. watching TV in the hotel room... I also like that DW & I are also making new friends & planning future outings w/other families.

However, the best part is really more family time with our kids. We're spending over 30 days away from TV, computers, sports programs, etc. Some trips it's just us with time to talk about what's important in life & what's not.

Well said!


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[Oaklevel]

Last hotel $140 a night, No towels (finally got them at 9 PM), No mattress pad, dried blood on mattress, no help from from desk, no other rooms they were full. Never go to that chain again........

Our camper, our sheets / mattress pad, our towels, our dirt...... "Priceless!"

[bob.stone34]

For us it is about not having the stress in hotel rooms. Traveling with a toddler, an infant, and two dogs, it is way easier (and more polite towards neighbors) to have a little space between us the people next door. And even though they are both girls, I want them to know how to build a fire, bait a hook, and not be afraid of everything outdoors. Like many of you have said, it comes down to lifestyle choice.

It is also a lot less unpacking when we are doing long trips and sleeping somewhere different every night

[F.R.O.G.]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Last hotel $140 a night, No towels (finally got them at 9 PM), No mattress pad, dried blood on mattress, no help from from desk, no other rooms they were full. Never go to that chain again........

Our camper, our sheets / mattress pad, our towels, our dirt...... "Priceless!"

Ugh! It sounds as if you were lucky that they finished vacuuming up the chalk outline from around the body before you arrived.

[PopBeavers]

My neighbor always takes her own sheets, pillow cases, and blankets when she stays in a motel/hotel. She will not allow her bare feet to touch the floor.

Because we control the entire contents of the MH and how clean it is we would never have this issue.

Some New Your City hotels have bed bugs. I am pretty confident that our MH does not.