The Full Time RV Philosophy -- Is it worth it?

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DennisinMaine

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I am continuing to research before I buy my first RV. Like another recent poster, my wife and I recently retired and we are planning to see the country.
I got to thinking about something recently that I am sure is discussed in many places here but I couldn't find a specific location for a discussion of this topic.
I know denizens of this forum will answer yes to the question of  "Is it worth 'it'?" My question is why and I am sure there will be a number of different answers.
I was thinking about it when I reserved a motel room in Tennessee for $59. I had just looked at an RV resort in Colorado that was nothing special for $79. Now I know prices vary all over the place and sometimes you can't find a motel for a low price. And I know being able to cook at home means you don't have to eat out every meal, and you can boondock when you wish. But fuel economy is so different, insurance is more, and you have to buy natural gas for the heat and gasoline for the generator. And you have just invested thousands in a capital asset which is depreciating every day.  As others have said in different contexts, saving money is not a good reason to switch to an RV lifestyle. It would probably be less expensive, perhaps significantly less expensive, to drive and ordinary car motel to motel.
Since it is not the money, why do you choose to live in an RV? Why do you find it better to travel in your home than in your car?
I am looking forward to some interesting answers. Thank you.
 
Well to answer your last question, we find our motorhome to be significantly more comfortable than just about any place we have every stayed before. Our own bed, kitchen, washer/dryer and so forth. We are just extremely comfortable. I have often found there are two types of people regarding traveling. Camping folks and hotel folks. We are not hotel people. End of story, but we treasure the opportunity to move around and have met some incredible people.

 
The above is all true, and more. The freedom of RV travel, seeing new places all the time, meeting new people and enjoying life on our terms.  There are lots of reasons to RV travel, and everyone's will be a little different. Some can do it on a shoe string budget and like it that way. We prefer staying in nice places that fit our lifestyle. We are not tied down to a home base, so nothing to pay taxes on or to worry about while we are not there.

We will go back to it one day, just not today. Just like any lifestyle there are ups and downs, weather, loud neighbors sometimes, very crowded at times, but it is far out weighed by the times when the weather is perfect, the views are spectacular, and the people are warm and friendly. Today we got our exercise by hiking 6 miles through 2000 year old redwood trees.  A few weeks ago it was running on the beach.   

And if we get tired of a particular location, there is a brand new one just a key turn away. Everyone is different, but this is just us.
 
When we were working we traveled the world in airplanes and hotels.  Had enough of that!  No more fighting delayed airplanes because of bad weather, etc.  No more lugging suitcases in and out of hotel rooms.  No more depending on good and/or bad restaurants.

There's nothing like going to a beautiful place and having your own bed, bathroom, food, and yes even the TV shows you like that aren't available on someone else's cable or satellite plan.  In our earlier days of RVing we had to find Laundromats to get clean clothes.  That was sometimes a hassle all by itself (campgrounds didn't have nice laundry rooms back then).  But people smoking where clean clothes are being folded, plunking their dog down on the folding table I just cleaned, wasting so much time waiting for empty machines and/or clothes to wash and dry, etc. made us want our own washer/dryer.  Jerry hated waiting for me while I was doing laundry so he was the one who insisted on having a washer/dryer when we got our current motorhome.  I sure did not object!  If you get sick while you're on the road (it happens) there's nothing like being in your own place even if it is on wheels.  I've been sick in hotel rooms and I'd rather be in my own RV any time I'm sick!  That's just a start of why we love having our own motorhome.

ArdraF
 
ArdraF said:
When we were working we traveled the world in airplanes and hotels.  Had enough of that!  No more fighting delayed airplanes because of bad weather, etc.  No more lugging suitcases in and out of hotel rooms.  No more depending on good and/or bad restaurants.

There's nothing like going to a beautiful place and having your own bed, bathroom, food, and yes even the TV shows you like that aren't available on someone else's cable or satellite plan.  In our earlier days of RVing we had to find Laundromats to get clean clothes.  That was sometimes a hassle all by itself (campgrounds didn't have nice laundry rooms back then).  But people smoking where clean clothes are being folded, plunking their dog down on the folding table I just cleaned, wasting so much time waiting for empty machines and/or clothes to wash and dry, etc. made us want our own washer/dryer.  Jerry hated waiting for me while I was doing laundry so he was the one who insisted on having a washer/dryer when we got our current motorhome.  I sure did not object!  If you get sick while you're on the road (it happens) there's nothing like being in your own place even if it is on wheels.  I've been sick in hotel rooms and I'd rather be in my own RV any time I'm sick!  That's just a start of why we love having our own motorhome.

ArdraF

On our trip to Fl my wife had a bad attack of diverticoulitis. Went to urgent care in Ocala was prescribed medication.
We were at SilverSprings SP for the week. She was very happy to have her own bed and bathroom.
We then made a leisurly trip back home.
Love traveling in our motor home
Bob K
 
After a three week road trip with us carrying our bags in and out of hotel rooms and eating fast food way to much, we decided an RV was the way to go.  DH and I feel like we have home where ever we are now. In our RV we are relaxed and not afraid to touch things and not worried about bed bugs.

At a hotel you are usually sitting on a bed, looking for something to do to get out of the hotel room.

Just remember that it can get very expensive to carry your home around.

Robin

 
I would posit the RV lifestyle is not affordable for the majority of Americans. Half of American households have no retirement accounts at all. 29% of households age 55 and up have neither retirement savings nor a pension. The median net worth for Americans 55-64 is $45,000. RVing is a pretty expensive hobby. Some folks fulltime in their RV?s and I would surmise that the ones doing it ?cheaply? either keep them stationary or rarely move them. Those that fulltime and stay on the move will probably agree that it takes a healthy bank account to do so. Those of us that either do this as a hobby or fulltime are well aware of the associated costs and bear those costs because we enjoy the lifestyle. The upside to all the young folks purchasing RV?s is in the near future there will be a plethora of slightly used units on the market for us to choose from.
 
Like Ardra and Jerry, Dan and I both traveled extensively for work.  We don't miss planes, hotels, and eating every meal out.  No matter where our RV is, we are at home.  I sometimes wake up in the night trying to recall where we are staying that night, but I always know I am in my own bed.

Jeannine
 
The RV philosophy isn?t limited to fulltiming, although my property taxes could buy a lotta gas.

I?ve had my fill of air travel for work. I am no longer willing to toddle my shoeless feet through security, with my little baggie holding my toothpaste.

I?ve had my fill of hotels. At least with the expensive ones, you have a somewhat reasonable assurance that the sheets have been changed from the previous occupant. But with those, I was paying for amenities that I had not used. The budget hotel rooms are a crap shoot. Hopefully, nothing has been ?left over? from the last person there. Many have pools and hot tubs. The typical stinging aroma of ammonia tells me there is no more free chlorine left to sanitize anything, much less the little kids peeing in the hot tub. Pool / hot tub chemistry is left to the maintenance man, who is too busy unclogging someones bathtub drain to familiarize himself with safe hot tub maintenance.

Yes. An RV is expensive. But it?s my preferred method to see this beautiful country with my mental health intact.
 
The essence is taking your home comforts with you rather than borrowing (renting) someone else's that may or may not fulfill your wants & needs. You can configure an RV to be comfortable to your standards, plus you have your own closet, fridge, etc. filled with your idea of good things. And for some, the notion that you are the only user of the bed, bath, etc. has significant extra value.

By the same token, renting an RV, throwing in your clothing and toys, and driving it somewhere is little more rewarding than traveling there by car and renting a motel room. About the only advantage is that you don't have to repack suitcases every time you move to another location. Just traveling by RV is not the point - it has to be your RV, tailored for your enjoyment.
 
Fulltiming philosophy. ..

The pets and perks.

I love traveling with my dog. You would be shocked how many folks get into RVing simply because their pets go with them and there is no ridiculous hotel surcharge for having one or two with you.

For me personally, I love nature and many campgrounds are in beautiful places. It's hard to find a hotel stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Weather permitting, I enjoy sitting, eating, lounging outdoors at my camp. I travel with a folding rocking chair and a hammock.

When was the last time you rented a hotel room that came with a rocking chair?

If you are traveling with a dog, typically dogs enjoy their walks and also they need to do their poop thing. Hotels usually don't offer more than a parking lot to walk the dog. Camps will generally have loads of interesting nature type places to walk.

Bicycling. With an RV it's easier to travel with your own bicycle and reap the rewards of using one.

A friend of mine, 12 years older than me who has been riding a bicycle for decades, convinced me to take up bike riding after I started fulltiming in my RV. I thought he was nuts, but the health benefits made me want to try it. I have a ton of medical issues that I try to deal with naturally. So I bought a very cheap bicycle and started learning to ride. My puppy dog loves riding with me, he is under 7 pounds and proudly rides up front in his basket. Well, doggy and I got hooked on bicycling! So much that I ended up selling my cheap bicycle and buying a super nice comfort bike that could better deal with my ongoing medical/physical problems. I love it. The health benefits are enormous and the fun factor is awesome.

There are days I have a great deal of trouble walking, but not so with bicycle. My comfort bike lets me put my feet on the ground while stopping and staying seated. So there are days I can barely walk 100 feet without great pain, yet I can hop on my bike and ride a few miles and feel great.

There is a huge difference between sightseeing from a bicycle or sightseeing from a car. So many camps and parks offer access to beautiful trails and country roads.

Many RVers like me travel with a portable patio ready to set up at the next camp. Many camps come with fire pits and grills, so there is more to enjoy outside if you desire some pyromania time. Finding a hotel with a private patio with trees and a view as I have often enjoyed in camps the past 8 years is not realistically affordable. Hotels are built for crowds, not for individual lots and enjoyment like the camps and parks. I've camped waterfront on rivers, lakes, canals and beaches. Finding hotels with that same enjoyment is not easy and when you do, it's going to be pricey.

I am not a fan of fast food restaurants nor a fan of chains and franchises. I like home cooked foods from a mom and pop type cafe or my own galley. Mostly I eat at home. Visiting far flung places can mean a lack of restaurants to choose from, so cooking at home is a fun affordable option. Have it your way... all day.

There are certain items I prefer in my daily diet that just generally are not available at many restaurants. I also like to avoid chemicals and sugars in my foods, which is why I avoid the franchised places. Their food is often prepped in a central location then trucked out to the restaurants. A ton of chemicals and sugars are used in the process.

Your clothes can hang in the closet and drawers, not scrunched up in a suitcase. Your favorite bed pillows, sheets and blankies go with you.  I use a great big bath towel but when staying in hotels, they tend to hand out these tiny flimsy ones. Not something you can wrap up in and walk around while perusing attire to put on.

Many hotels no longer allow fresh air rooms. I find this ridiculous. I happen to love fresh air whenever the weather is cooperating. I chose an RV with lots of opening windows and hatches. I don't care to be hermetically sealed 24/7 year round.

For instance yesterday it was hot and sticky. I was running the AC inside even though I was in and out throughout the day. Around sunset things were cooling down, I turned off my AC and threw open all the windows.

Favorite things...
I am able to travel with my favorite things without lugging them around in suitcases. For instance I love music, so I have an awesome stereo.

I travel with and use a water purifier for cooking and drinking. I don't have to wonder about bottled water (much of it is not purified!)

Recently I had to stay in a hotel overnight. It was nearly $200 and quite dismal plus they charged me extra for a 6 pound dog. When I checked out, I had to wait while they inspected the room before getting my pet deposit back plus there was a nonrefundable pet fee on top of the deposit. Sheesh. My dog is better behaved than children and drunks.
 
As far as expenses go, our average monthly expense for all of last year was $2200, and that included the cost of maintaining our little vacation cottage in the Adirondacks. We love state and national parks, and those campgrounds are almost always priced well below the private parks in the area. Of the 21 campsites we've been on so far this year, only 4 were private parks, and all but one of those only for one nighters on our way to another state/national park. A couple of weeks at campgrounds like the National Park Service's Midway campground in the Big Cypress National Preserve on the Tamiami Trail in southern Florida that cost just $15/night with our Senior Access Pass go a long way to stretching the budget. We're also members of the Escapees RV Club, and a month's stay at the club owned RV park near Bushnell, FL works out to about $14/night with full hook ups. We don't select those parks to save money as much as we just like the usually larger sites and more relaxed atmosphere at most of the state and national parks. And the interesting features and attractions that differ so much from park to park, both within the park and the surrounding area. I don't know of anywhere in the US that we can rent a hotel room that has deer wandering past the front window every afternoon for $30/night like we had at Ft Clinch State Park in Florida. And now that spring is finally arriving up north, we'll be going to state parks like Robert Moses on the St Lawrence near Massena, NY, where our site overlooks the ships entering and leaving the Eisenhower Lock. All of that and having all of our "stuff" along with us, our own bed, bathroom, kitchen, etc., makes this lifestyle more than worthwhile for us. I stayed in hundreds of hotel rooms during my working life, and I have no wish to go back to trying to remember where I am when I wake up in the morning in a strange bed in a strange room. Now I just have to remember where we're parked, and even that really doesn't matter much... ;)
 
That $79 RV resort is certainly not typical. My wife an I just spent this past winter in Florida. We camped in Big Cypress National Preserve. Everglades National Park, Ocala National Forest, Apalachicola National Forest, and several state parks. if I remember correctly, he state parks were $30 per night, and those were our most expensive nights. With our senior discount, $15 to $20 was more common, and the national forest camp grounds ranged from $4 to a mere $1.50. We spent most of last summer in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana, where the costs were similar

We had storage space for enough clothing that we didn't need to do any laundry. We were able to eat well, at a tiny fraction of what it would cost to eat out three times a day.  When we would go for all day hikes, we could pack lunches with food from our pantry and refrigerator. We enjoyed sitting around the camp fire at night. My wife likes lounging in a hammock while enjoying the scenery and solitude.Our two cats enjoy sitting out with us, and exploring each new site.

While motels might be ok for short trips, they certainly aren't for living in.

Joel
 

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NY_Dutch said:
As far as expenses go, our average monthly expense for all of last year was $2200, and that included the cost of maintaining our little vacation cottage in the Adirondacks. We love state and national parks, and those campgrounds are almost always priced well below the private parks in the area. Of the 21 campsites we've been on so far this year, only 4 were private parks, and all but one of those only for one nighters on our way to another state/national park. A couple of weeks at campgrounds like the National Park Service's Midway campground in the Big Cypress National Preserve on the Tamiami Trail in southern Florida that cost just $15/night with our Senior Access Pass go a long way to stretching the budget. We're also members of the Escapees RV Club, and a month's stay at the club owned RV park near Bushnell, FL works out to about $14/night with full hook ups. We don't select those parks to save money as much as we just like the usually larger sites and more relaxed atmosphere at most of the state and national parks. And the interesting features and attractions that differ so much from park to park, both within the park and the surrounding area. I don't know of anywhere in the US that we can rent a hotel room that has deer wandering past the front window every afternoon for $30/night like we had at Ft Clinch State Park in Florida. And now that spring is finally arriving up north, we'll be going to state parks like Robert Moses on the St Lawrence near Massena, NY, where our site overlooks the ships entering and leaving the Eisenhower Lock. All of that and having all of our "stuff" along with us, our own bed, bathroom, kitchen, etc., makes this lifestyle more than worthwhile for us. I stayed in hundreds of hotel rooms during my working life, and I have no wish to go back to trying to remember where I am when I wake up in the morning in a strange bed in a strange room. Now I just have to remember where we're parked, and even that really doesn't matter much... ;)

I find this interesting Dutch.  Your "style" fits in well to what we like to do....but we're just vacation and weekend RV'ers.  Like state parks and such.  I've often thought forward to our retirement wondering about budgets.  Does that $2200/month include much local area sightseeing, museums, eating out, etc?  Seems like it would be about right based on my habits, but those things are a huge variable.  We like the state parks but DW loves to explore the towns along the way.  I really wish that I had kept better track of our spending on our summer family trip out to the GC and back to get a better feel, even though I'm thinking the rate of different places while on vacation is much higher than a full timer would likely do.... but then again, everyone is different.

Anyway, side track note, but if you like deer in your camp sites... FT Clinch is not far from me at all....but back several years ago when we still had our popup, manatee springs state park (Florida) had a lot of tame deer! It's in the boonies though....
 
That does include sightseeing, etc., although our tastes run to museums and similar places that are usually not very expensive. We're both in our mid-70's with some health issues that limit our movement to some extent, so we're not on the go a lot. Being retired and long past "vacation mode" where everything had to be done in a relatively short time frame means we can pace ourselves better. As I said, that's our monthly average over the course of the year, so of course there were months we went higher than that as well as lower. Our lowest months are when we're visiting friends or parked at our cottage to spend time with our family and friends. About our only site cost at the cottage is the amount the cottage electric bill goes up, since all the other costs remain pretty much the same. Fuel costs of course, depend on how much we move around in any given month. We often stay on a site for a couple of weeks, and then where we can, we may stay for a month or more if we really like the park and/or area. We've just gotten north to our NY cottage for instance, and we'll probably stay here into June catching up on maintenance on the coach, the toad, and the cottage, as well medical appointments, etc. When we're here though, we go right on living in the coach, only moving into the cottage for short periods sometimes when the work on the coach is easier with us out of it. Having a full hookup site here works quite well for us, since we really prefer staying in the coach.

We don't eat out a lot, but we usually manage one dinner and at least one breakfast out each week, Our restaurant preferences run to the simple though, since we favor family type restaurants over the fancier places. For breakfast, we're just as happy at a Waffle House or Huddle House as any place else. We do like to search out good seafood restaurants though, but even then we like places like Ship2Shore in St Marys, GA where the food is really good while still reasonably priced, and going back with your receipt within 2 weeks gets you one dinner at half price. To be sure, we didn't know that when we first went there, but it is a nice perk that keeps us coming back. Another favorite is Catfish Johnnie's in Lake Panasoffkee, FL. A good example of our restaurant tastes is when we're in the Mystic, CT area. The area is loaded with high end restaurants, but our favorite? The Mystic Diner...  ;D

We've stayed at Manatee Springs SP a couple of times, and did enjoy seeing the tame deer. I think we prefer seeing the deer at Ft Clinch where they're more "in the wild" though.

 

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Sound pretty similar to our style, Dutch....if it's just me and DW.  We have kids in tow at the moment though....  Anyway, thanks for sharing the great data point for my retirement planning!

gravesdiesel said:
The cleanliness of a hotel is a crap shoot and none of us would even want to know what all has happened on that bed and pillows!

like many others have already said, I used to travel a lot for work, too...... so ditto

cleanliness is probably my biggest draw to want to travel in our RV
followed by being able to set our own schedule more or less, having our own stuff, not schlepping stuff into an out of hotels, ease of bathroom breaks especially with the kids, etc....

That being said, and speaking vacation travel not as a full timer, my DW still likes to hotel it sometimes.  For some reason she likes the change of scenery.  Personally, I can never find a comfortable place to sit and am itching to find things to do to get out of there....but it is nice in short spurts sometimes.

To the OP, I can certainly understand what you are questioning....... unless you're RVing very frugally, you can do a lot of travelling, cruise ship trips, hotels, etc... for what some RV's costs.  Kind of a similar thought, i suppose, to what I heard some time ago about some seniors choosing to full time aboard cruise ships.
 
For us, it was several things.

Food. My husbands health requires a no salt diet. The main ingredient in most restaurant food is salt. Traveling in the RV allows me to cook all our meals at home. Most of my cooking is also better than what we can get in most restaurants.

Dogs. We had two when we started, now we have one. A month ago we went on a hotel trip. The pet fee,,, non refundable, would have been $100 for the two nights we were in the hotel. I asked why and they said they had to pay someone to do extra cleaning. Im sure they dont pay that housekeeper an extra $100 to clean up pet hair. If so I want that job.

Bed bugs. A few years ago, I was staying in a hotel in Kansas City. Woke up in the middle of the night and discovered bedbugs all over. Spent the rest of the night going through my bags and taking them out to the car one at a time. When I got the last one out there, I left.. at 4 am. Night desk person refused to do anything to help me. Manager at first offered me half off my room. I didnt even have my mouth open when he changed it to comping me. When I complained to the hotel chain, I was contacted by the same manager and offered a free night in the same hotel. Never once did I get an apology or any type of validation that I was right to be upset.

Stuff. I love my stuff. I have some stuff. My husband has more stuff. We both have cpaps, he has an oxygen concentrator, and special water. We have laptops and books and crocheting and my dog even has his food and food bowl and water dish and cushy bed etc. Its a pain to pack up and load it then unload it and unpack then repack it then reload it only to have to do it all over again at the next stop.  With the RV, we only have to pack up the lawn chairs, water hose and septic hose.

And last, which I also think is the most important.... The people. The people you meet at RV parks are friendly, helpful and nice. Most of the people you see in hotels barely even make eye contact, let alone want to have conversations. Hotel people are mostly at work, trying to get everything done so they can go home. RV people are home. :)

 

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