Are you glad you purchased your RV, do you find you use it enough?

[SAABDOCTOR]

MY DW AND I were in the same boat when we got our first camper kids are grown and gone and we use ours every weekend and for vacations. never regreted buying it. enjoy it!

[sptddog]

We use the crap out of ours - kids are 7 and 10, and we've been going about 4 years, and are on our second camper. We've talked a lot about the same questions you're asking, and we still make the investment. We bought where we were under on the loan, which allows us to sell a bit easier if we're not using it as much.

Some thoughts:
If you're the type that still needs a 'hotel' vacation, or 'non-RV vacation' each year, figure out if you can still do that. For us, we still do some of that, though much less. Most of the 'hotel' type vacations are just done in the camper instead, and we break up the long drives.

From the sports perspective....our kids aren't hot and heavy yet, but we've talked to others and they just camp near what ever tournament the kids are at. If it's right near home, they camp within an hour of home. Some weekends they only are at the camper in the evenings but they're still 'camping'.

We use our camper as an opportunity for our kids to 'tour the USA'. While it's not necessarily cheaper than driving the car and staying in a hotel, it's far more fun, it's ours, and we can drive as long as we like and then sleep in our own beds. We're in PA, and we've been as far up as Cape Cod, and as far south as Myrtle Beach, with Kentucky, Western Virginia, Wash DC, the Chesapeake region, Williamsburg etc. in between.

I figure by the time my kids are in their late teens, we will have seen the better part of the US east of the Mississippi, and probably some parts west of that when we take our longer 1 week trips. We camp locally in between big trips, generally 3 weekends a month April through October. This year we hauled 6500 miles and camped 50+ nights.

It's really what you want to put into it. You can camp locally each weekend, or you can go further less frequently. You'll find friends at campgrounds, and then you'll start planning on where to go as a group - which makes it great for you and for the kids. We camp here and there with at least 4-5 families (not all at the same time always), and most weekends were' with at least one of them, and they go on our long trips with us.

If I asked my 10 year old about camping? She wouldn't trade it for the world. She loves the places she gets to go, the things she's seen. She joked just a few weeks ago that she never has a hard time on picking a topic for a report, because she uses stuff she's seen or learned about on her camping trips. She always says she gets about 5 vacations a year because we use 4 day weekends to camp, and we do 2 longer trips (one to the beach, one BIG trip like NC or Kentucky) as well.

Good luck with your decision!

[sptddog]

Originally Posted by BlueThunder34

Thanks for the replies all, it helps reinforce that this is the right time for us as it seems like everyday I look at my kids and can't believe how fast time is going by. It also will be nice to get them away from the tv, electronics, etc that seem to cloud up childhood (in my opinion anyway).
We have rented trailers before so we do know what it is like, but it is a hassle to go pick it up, load/unload, rush back before the deadline, etc. I think it will be worth it to have our own new trailer.
Have any of you taken your trailer on long trips? I envision us taking the trailer from WA down to Disneyland in CA for a week (about 1250 miles each way) Seems like it would be nice to stay in the RV resort there and be able to cook all your own meals, your own bed, bath and such.

Missed this on my last reply. We do long trips - 1000 miles each way is common. We drive leaving in the early evening, drive until 11-12 (depending on how tired we are), stop at a campground or Cracker Barrel - sleep a few hours in the camper. Eat breakfast, get back on the road, and we're usually at our destination by late afternoon the next day. We have our own food on the road, our own bathroom, we can stop whenever we're losing our sanity, and sometimes we even pass something and turn around and go back just for a spontaneous stop.

The long ride can be arduous on the kids, but mine load the car up with all their luxuries, and they do pretty well. My youngest was 3 on his first long jaunt, and while a bit bored at times, he did very well. We went to Tennessee, left later than we do normally, drove at night while they slept, and that helped a lot. We let them have their electronics in the truck, and they watch movies on a portable dvd player. Once we get camping, we limit electronics. Usually by the trip home, they're happy to have them again and they are occupied for the better part of the drive.

We're thinking of doing Florida Disney in the next year or two and it will be a 19-20 hour drive each way. We'll stop overnight on each end of the trip and just take our time getting there. If you can do a full week, the mileage is worth it.

As for the packing/unpacking....I have 2 sets of play clothes that stay in the camper for the kids - I might pack a few things extra depending on weather, but generally it's minimal. That makes loading and unloading each week less of a burden. They come in for wash, go right back in the 'camper' bag, and they go right back in the camper. I don't unpack them, just slide them under the bunks, and they use one bag for clean clothes and one for wash. We do the same for other odds and ends that we don't normally want to pack...we grabbed extra cheap phone chargers and leave them in the camper. We leave basic toiletries in there all summer, same for towels/bedding, sweatshirts etc. We gradually picked 'doubles' of things up over the years, so now all that gets put in weekly is clean clothes and food.

[cabinfever]

We bought our first TT 2 years ago. Before then we spent many trips in rented cabins. We bought for many reasons. Being a self employed landscaper we already had a truck to pull the TT. Being a self employed person with the summer being crazy busy it is very easy to make reasons not to take time off. Which leads to another reason we bought, having the TT forces me to schedule time off during the summer to spend with family. For that reason alone these past two years have been great. We only get to raise our children once and there is so much to easily miss. Also the money saved not renting cabins pays for much of the TT. We have spent about 30 nights each year in our TT. This year we will be living in it while we build a new house, so there may only be a couple camping trips. Next year back to our normal camping schedule.

[Ken / Claudia]

I understand your question but, most everything we buy looses money. I enjoy RVing, have had 9 including a Airstream. Some years they get used alot, some not so much. I remember taking the family, 2 small boys from PDX to Disneyland by RV on a 7-9 day trip years ago and found after returning we spend less in total cost for that whole trip than 4 round trip plane tickets. I like adventures and traveling by rv is a family adventure. Stopping where and when to see what you want to see. Looking out the plane window at 30,000 ft at the USA is not much of a adventure for me.

[GMcKenzie]

Can I be both?

I'm glad I have my trailer, but don't use it enough. Basically I bring it out May long weekend and pack it up after the September long weekend. Use it every 2nd or 3rd weekend and 2 weeks in the summer. I'd like to use it more but September is a busy time at work and it get's cold after that.

[dwkhumble]

We bought our Cougar 280RLS in July 2014. We have used it several times, and are looking forward to a 2 month trip in the spring. You will make good memories, and enjoy the quiet time.

[jsmith948]

The DW and I are retired 'empty nesters'. During 6 of the last 8 years that I worked, I spent 1 week of every month in a hotel. Trust me, dealing with indifferent or condescending hotel staff and eating hotel food can get old after a while. We always stayed at upscale, 4 star hotels (Hilton properties of one brand or another), but, you are still sleeping in a bed that others have recently used and you are still using bathroom facilities that have been recently used by others. Hopefully the maid cleaned them well???

We love our little Cougar and thoroughly enjoy camping. Sometimes we camp along the way just to get to our destination and sometimes camping IS the destination.

We don't miss the hassle of airports, flying, rental cars, hotels, packing and unpacking the luggage, etc. Nor do we miss having to tip for every "service' we are provided. Just sayin'.

[BlueThunder34]

Originally Posted by jsmith948

The DW and I are retired 'empty nesters'. During 6 of the last 8 years that I worked, I spent 1 week of every month in a hotel. Trust me, dealing with indifferent or condescending hotel staff and eating hotel food can get old after a while. We always stayed at upscale, 4 star hotels (Hilton properties of one brand or another), but, you are still sleeping in a bed that others have recently used and you are still using bathroom facilities that have been recently used by others. Hopefully the maid cleaned them well???

We love our little Cougar and thoroughly enjoy camping. Sometimes we camp along the way just to get to our destination and sometimes camping IS the destination.

We don't miss the hassle of airports, flying, rental cars, hotels, packing and unpacking the luggage, etc. Nor do we miss having to tip for every "service' we are provided. Just sayin'.

I totally agree, between our yearly trips to Disneyland and our desire to drive out to Texas to see family and explore the US on the way down I can relate to the chaos of flying and commercial travel. Taking 3 young kids through the airport, through security, on the plane, sit still be quiet for 4 hrs, check out the rental car, check in to the hotel, time for another meal from a restaurant made with garbage. It really wears on a person. I think a travel trailer would be a nice change of pace, and while Im aware everything has its pros and cons, I think this would be a much more enjoyable way to travel and spend time together.

[JRTJH]

We are still using "airline and hotel miles" from when we were working "years ago". So far, since retirement, we've gone on two cruises, two air vacations to the Bahamas and Mexico and are planning a trip to Maui this winter. All of those trips/cruises were free except for food. Travel, rental car and hotels were "bought" using miles. Even when laying on the beach in Mexico, we talk about how nice it would be if we could return with the Cougar so we'd have "our own place" rather than having to remember to hang out a "do not disturb" sign or suffer "wet towels" for the day.....

There's a lot to be said for air travel, but every year it gets to be more "hectic" less dependable and just simply less than the "most desirable way to travel". Give me my truck, Cougar and a "half way decent highway" and I'll find something interesting to stop and see as we travel relaxed and the dog watches from over my shoulder. Investing in an RV is a "freedom thing" in so many aspects.

[Woodsrider]

Originally Posted by BlueThunder34

Thanks for the replies all, it helps reinforce that this is the right time for us as it seems like everyday I look at my kids and can't believe how fast time is going by. It also will be nice to get them away from the tv, electronics, etc that seem to cloud up childhood (in my opinion anyway).
We have rented trailers before so we do know what it is like, but it is a hassle to go pick it up, load/unload, rush back before the deadline, etc. I think it will be worth it to have our own new trailer.
Have any of you taken your trailer on long trips? I envision us taking the trailer from WA down to Disneyland in CA for a week (about 1250 miles each way) Seems like it would be nice to stay in the RV resort there and be able to cook all your own meals, your own bed, bath and such.

Do it now while your kids are young, don't wait until they are in their late teens and working. Our oldest was 18 when we bought ours and she has only gone a few times. Our son is 15 and he cant wait to go any chance we get.
Last year we took the trailer from home in the Seattle area, to Shasta California for a week long reunion with family at a huge camp ground on Lake Siskiyou. We had a blast. We've driven from here to Disneyland with the kids, staying in hotels along the route, and flown it a couple of times as well. The RV is the way to go. There are a lot of great places to stay, and it beats being stuck in a hotel.
We purchased our new Bullet in late July of 2013 and used it three or four times that summer, and parked it in October. We started camping in late march, early April of this year, and pretty much camped every other weekend through September.
If you can store it at home, I think you'll use it more than if it is out of site in a lot somewhere. Often we'll take off Friday as soon as our son is home from school and stay Friday and Saturday night at a campground "12 miles from home, but a world away". We can be set up and camping in less than a half an hour from the time we pull out of the yard

[notanlines]

This is a topic on which I can speak with authority. We camped with our kids, the neighbor's kids, our friend's kids and our nieces and nephews. When we headed to the lake more than half the kids in the neighborhood were in our van. Every single one of them talks about those days and the fun we had. Know what? All that was in tent camping. The camp fires, the hot dogs, the black marshmallows (ick) just every thing that comes with camping is fun for the kids. Don't give them a chance to want that darned iphone or ipad at 7 years old. You will never regret the camping years with your kids.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Am I glad I purchased my RV? Yes!
Do I find I use it enough? Yes!

I'm a full-timer, If I didn't have the RV then I'd be stuck somewhere,
not sure where, but most likely an apartment, with a huge amount of
ya can't do this an thats and not to many these ya cans. Most likely I'd
be told I'd only be able to have a dog of a certain size so on an on an on ...
instead of of Border Collie Rascal.
I find I use it "just enough" meaning everyday 24/7/365 or 6 as the
year may be. So far i lived in Utah, Ohio and New Mexico in an RV, who
knows may be in some other State next year (meaning 2016).

hankaye & Rascal (oorp!)

[BlueThunder34]

Well we decided to buy it and picked it up today!! Looking forward to the memories! 2015 Springdale 240BHWE

[x96mnn]

To the OP, of you plan on long trips they are great. With kids I need to break mine up into 500ish mile days with a 1yr old. I also got a rig that was crew cab for the extra room in side. Like your 1250 I would do over two days but some would drive until they arrived with pit stops only.

[Tbos]

Originally Posted by MarkS

I understand your concern. We store our trailer in a storage yard. The trailer on one side of us has never been out in the two years we have been in that slot. The one on the other side goes out a couple of times a year. We used ours every other weekend during the summer. We were out 40 nights last year.

One thing you can do to encourage the use of your trailer is to join one of the RV camping groups. Most meet at a designated campground once a month. The kids have others to play with and the adults have people to talk to around the camp fire. FCRV (Family Campers and RVers) is one. Good Sam also has groups. They usually have info booths at the RV shows.

Bottom line, if you have fun, you will go out. Don't make it a 'gotta go because be bought this darn thing'. If you don't have fun, sell it.

MarkS, You are right on the money with your comments. Some of the units where we store ours have not been out all year. We bought our TT in May and made 9 trips this year. We loved them all. The last one was with a local camping group. It was a blast. When I was in Middle School many many years ago my parents started taking us camping. I loved it then and still do. I can't believe I waited so long to get back into it. My 11 yr old grandson loves it as do the 3 yr old grandchildren we have. Have fun and enjoy.

[Woodsrider]

Originally Posted by BlueThunder34

Well we decided to buy it and picked it up today!! Looking forward to the memories! 2015 Springdale 240BHWE

You're going to love that Equalizer hitch set up over the chain style load distribution hitch. It's so much easier to deal with.

[koko]

Bravo BlueThunder!!! Great decision that you won't regret.

[BlueThunder34]

Originally Posted by Woodsrider

You're going to love that Equalizer hitch set up over the chain style load distribution hitch. It's so much easier to deal with.

Yea it seems simpler than the chain style we had on our old trailer years ago. One question that I have you might be able to help with....where the "L" bracket attaches to the bracket on the tounge of the trailer I notice the top bolt is behind the "L" bracket and not through it like the directions I found for the hitch states. Is that top bolt supposed to go through the L first and then the frame mounted bracket or is it correct at is with the bolt behind the L and then the L bracket just attached to the 2 extending bolts from the frame mount?

[Tbos]

I looked at the picture you posted. My L brackets have a bolt through the top and bottom, above and below the frame. I'm not sure yours is like that. It should be installed as stated in the instructions. They are great hitches.