Non-full-timers; How long is too short or too long for an RV trip?

[DonTom]

Those who are not full-timers and want to go for a trip just for the trip. What would you say the perfect amount of time to be gone from home is? A week? A month? Shorter or longer?

I know this often depends on the destination, as it takes longer to go farther, so another question is what is a good distance to travel from home?

Or is it all very random for everybody, as it is has been with me?

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Martian]

We travel whatever distance it is to where we want to be. That has been as short as 30 miles and as long as 2,000 miles. We have been gone for an overnighter and six weeks. There is no right or wrong to this.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

I won't go anywhere less than 3 nights. Any less and it's just practice getting the RV ready and putting it away without much in between. My longest trip has been 2 weeks and there is no doubt I would make that longer if I could.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[thelazyl]

For us (I'm still working) we have a coast spot within a 2.5 hour drive and we'll stay as short as 2 nights. Our longest trip thus far has been 9 nights (down to MOAB) and my DW was ready to be home after that.

 

[Kirk]

Or is it all very random for everybody, as it is has been with me?

I think that the answer depends on a lot of different factors for most people. When we began to go camping it was with a tent and we often went out for 1 night as we were a young family with jobs. When we got our first RV it was a very basic poput that basically had a bedroom and storage for our other camping gear. We then moved to a popup with evernything but a toilet and shower and we did a lot of 1 night stops as well as trips for vacation of as much as 2 weeks. We did a lot of weekend trips for the remainder of my working years but once the kids left and we were self-contained we often packed the RV early to leave after work on Friday and return home on Sunday evening. I took an early retirement and for 12 years our RV was our only home and we loved it but it also changed a lot of your thinking as we rarely go out with the RV or less than 2 nights since that and usually our trips are at least a week. Part of that comes from being older and the preperation is more work and part is because being retired, if we get the RV ready we usually stay out to enjoy it since we do not have to be back. We have even returned from a trip due to a pending doctor's appointment and spent a few days in a state or COE park that is near enough to run to the appointment and return to the RV.

For us, age does play into our RV use but freedom is also a factor.

 

[Tom]

Don,

How long is a piece of string? There's no 'right' answer to your question, as it depends on individual circumstances.

When Chris and I worked full time, we'd load the coach on Thursday evening, and head to work on Friday morning in the coach with a boat in tow. We'd leave work a little early Friday afternoon, head to the CA Delta for the weekend, and return home on Sunday evening.

When we bought our second coach, we were retired and took a maiden voyage of 10,000 miles. Across the southern states, headed north and crossed into Canada at Niagara for a "quick trip" around the Maritimes, and home via the northern states.

Trips in between have varied in length between several days and several weeks.

Similarly, our boat trips lasted from a weekend to several months.

Meanwhile, we now spend 4-5 months a year on our lot at an RV resort in Wyoming.

 

[Larry N.]

Those who are not full-timers and want to go for a trip just for the trip. What would you say the perfect amount of time to be gone from home is? A week? A month? Shorter or longer?
...

-Don- Reno, NV

For us (especially DW), anything much beyond three weeks is getting a bit long, but basically it depends on where we're going and what we're doing. Going to the east coast and back in 7 days is not an attractive idea, but neither is sitting at La Veta for three weeks, so the real answer is, "It depends..."

 

[Isaac-1]

Real hard one to answer, our shortest trips have been 3 day long weekends, and our longest have been right at a month. 3 day weekends are usually to destinations within 100-200 miles, sometimes festival settings. By the time I/we get home from a month long trip I am ready to be home and have more elbow room (my wife usually flies one or both ways on such trips as she still works full time).

 

[Skookum]

It depends so much on the context. For just a getaway, 3 days is good. A week or a couple of weeks is good for a place we want to explore or really take some time to enjoy. A month or more for our snowbird-lite trip we've started doing to escape the worst of the wet stuff in the Northwest.

 

[DutchmenSport]

We are about 98% full timers, meaning, we still own our house, but spend very little time there.

We have found being on the road is OK, We have been away from the house as long as 3 months and function pretty good. But we have also found that sitting in one spot is different than traveling.

The longest we sat in one spot was 6 weeks. That was too long. The next longest was 4 weeks. The only reason that one worked well for us, was because I was serving as a camp host. I had something to keep me VERY busy, so the time there was great.

But actual camping, we find 2 weeks is about our limit and then we get the urge to move on to a new location. As long as we can move every 2 weeks to a new location, we could go 3 or 4 moths with no problem. But if we sit, we both get very bored after about 2 weeks. We're ready to move on and explore something different.

 

[Laura & Charles]

I know you specified ‘non-full timers’… just can’t help myself (what can I say?)
We work full time out of our coach and explore where we are evenings and weekends. We like to have at least weekend to explore when we’re not relocating, so two weeks is our usual minimum. We often abandon the coach on that middle weekend and spend a night or two in a lodge or a b&b or hotel or???

 

[Matt_C]

Don,
I am afraid I am going to add another non-answer to your question. We have done single nights and even less from time to time. As it is, I don't even log it as an excursion unless I have to buy fuel along the way. That makes about 400 miles and a long day to qualify. That does not mean we won't go.
Our coach is smaller and older than most, and the fact that I can keep it in our own barn means it can be ready to go almost any time. During the travel season, I keep the black tank empty and the potable full.
Very soon, we will drive about 90 miles to a one day event. We will take the coach as a support system. We are going to a park that is supposed to have electricity and basic support, but we will get there with potable water, a refrigerator (with ice), a stove and a microwave and still have a comfortable place to nap. That is supposed to be a single day thing, but we and the dogs just might take the slow way home.
We are good for the other extremes too. Back when DW was still working, we did a Bonsai run of 1106 miles to a rally we wanted to get to. Some time after that, there were two rallies and I wanted to get to Yellowstone and some other places, so over the course of several weeks, we did 11,856 miles. This included two partial days at laundromats and careful maintenance planning.
As we are not full timers, I see the coach as a way to make many things more enjoyable.
Matt

 

[DonTom]

I won't go anywhere less than 3 nights. Any less and it's just practice getting the RV ready and putting it away without much in between. My longest trip has been 2 weeks and there is no doubt I would make that longer if I could.

I normally will not stay at a full hookup RV Park for less than three nights. Too much hassle for a night. I can recall doing that once in Florida on my trip to the Everglades. I boondocked in a full hookup RV park for a night. I didn't hook up anything. I only stayed there for a night because it was getting dark, and I could not find another reasonable place to stay for just the night. If they were full, I am not sure what I would have done.

About a week is my minimum for an RV trip to anywhere. My longest RV trip was nearly 3 months, that was the one to the Everglades with several weeklong stops in many other states--including ABQ when I met you and your wife.

I think we forgot to take a photo!

My 2nd longest was when Tom & I went to Toronto, Ontario in year 2013. I should have retired just before that trip. Thyen that one would have been the longest, most likely. I was already at the full retirement benefits and didn't realize it. And Tom was already retired.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

head to the CA Delta for the weekend,

I always thought you lived right on the Sacramento River Delta and had a boat in the water in your backyard! Discovery Bay, IIRC. Or do I have you confused with somebody else?

Tom & I used to have a boat berthed at Eddos on Sherman Island. Back then, we would fish quite often out there. We really didn't have to go anywhere. We could catch fish right from our boat without leaving the dock at Eddos.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

During the travel season,

Is there such a thing? I find most of my longer trips are in the middle of the winter to nice warm places. Most often southern AZ, but it was Florida last December. Warm until I got to DeRidder, LA for a week of their record cold!

BTW, what does the term "winterize" mean? It's been so long since I have done it, I forgot what it meant (not really, but I never have the need).

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

How long is a piece of string?

15 inches (38 CM) is the average length for a piece of string.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[LarsMac]

We have driven the RV up to the lake about an hour from here, to meet the family and picnic for the day, and driven back home that night.

 

[DonTom]

as long as 2,000 miles.

I assume that means you have never been on an RV trip to the west coast.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

We have driven the RV up to the lake about an hour from here, to meet the family and picnic for the day, and driven back home that night.

Why not just take a car?

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[LarsMac]

Why not just take a car?

-Don- Reno, NV

It was a long walk to the latrine.