Does any one own a travel trailer/RV?

[flygirl]

Can you give me an idea of the annual costs for maintenance, insurance and just a general idea of how much you spend when you use it?

H is really pushing to get one as we know several families who go on fun family trips during the summer.  I will admit it looks like fun and we’d get a lot of quality family time, but H doesn’t look at the expense aspect.  We’d have to pay to store it somewhere, pay insurance, cost to tow it, and then most of the fun places are $50-100 a night.  Realistically I think we’d only use it 4-5 times a summer for 3-5 nights each time-does that sound right?

We need to agree on a budget too as we started out at one $ amount and he’s already pushing for one which is $8k higher.  Are their things about your TT you’d change?

[egishere]

following - my DH wants one too and talks about it all the time but I just think we may use it a lot the first year or two and then it wouldn't get used nearly enough

[laurensmomma]

We have one. Insurance is pretty ridiculously cheap, but we have a 2003 trailer. We pay $50 per 6 months for insurance. We pay $100 a month for storage currently, although we are moving to a house where we'll be able to store it soon. Gas mileage is also a lot worse in our truck when we travel with the trailer. We get about 9 MPG towing it. Maintenance just kind of depends. Even though ours is older, it's well built and we spend maybe $100 a year on maintenance. My SIL has a brand new trailer that has had nothing but problems since they bought it, so while most of the problems were covered under warranty, they've still spent more on maintenance per year than we do.

It depends on where you live and how much you truly love to camp in regard to how often you'll use it. We live in the PNW, but since we have a generator that we can run the heat in the trailer on, then we can camp outside of the summer season. The numbers you list above are reasonable if you plan on camping every other weekend during the summer time frame (late June to end of August).

A lot of campgrounds have yurts or cabins. Maybe you could talk him into trying that out first to see if you really like camping before committing to a trailer.

[VillainV]

I forget the name of the service, but there are people who essentially Air BNB their RVs when they're not using them to recoup part of the cost. Similar to how Air BNB is generally cheaper than getting a hotel room, renting privately owned RVs is less expensive than renting through a large company. You might consider renting other people's RVs for a year's worth of trips to see how much you use, what the hidden costs are, and what kind of features you prefer. Then if you decide to purchase, you could consider renting out your RV when not using it.

ETA:  Looks like RV Share is a big one, as is Outdoorsy.  

[HitchedIn2006]

We have a pop up, it’s 13 years old. Insurance is ~$100 a year. We don’t have too much maintenance... I cleaned the canvas myself and made new curtains last year ($150 total). New tires and spare ($200). The set up was $$$ with bedding/dishes/equipment m, but just a one time expense. We used to store in a friends pole barn for $100/winter and kept on the street in front of our house 7 months of the year. We typically go out once a month in season and have a/c and a heater. Taken a week long trip in it too. Campsites vary from $15 city campgrounds with electric only and basic bathrooms to nice resort style that can be $60/night for a holiday.

You make it what you want. I was never a camper person, but DH has turned me and the family loves it. We take our dogs with us too!

[covergirl82]

We own a trailer. We are still making payments on it, which are $200/month (trailer was about $18,000 and we bought it new). (We are hoping to pay it off by the end of this year.) As of now, we have not had to do any maintenance on it except buy new tires, which was around $500.

Insurance - Very cheap, I think it's $100 or so a year.

Camp sites - We tend to try to get full hook-up sites (saves you the hassle of having to dump before you leave, or potentially filling up your tank before you leave), and most sites run between $50-$70/night, depending on the campground and time of year. (We've only camped in MI, so those prices are based on MI campgrounds.)

ETA:  Storage - We can store our trailer for free in a barn on a family farm.

My two cents: Camping would only be a savings for us (from other vacations) if we didn't have payments on our trailer. As it stands, camping costs us upwards of $3,000 a year after you take the payments, campground reservations, gas, and insurance each year. You can take a nice vacation for that. What I do like about camping is that we can go to multiple different places each camping season, so it's nice to see new places. We do have a couple favorites that we go to each year. And we can easily bring our dog with us, which is generally not possible if we stayed in a hotel. (We have a German Shepherd, and she does not board well due to separation anxiety.) I would definitely try renting a trailer before you buy one to see if it's something you like.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[flygirl]

Jan 23, 2019 15:36:36 GMT -5 VillainV said:

I forget the name of the service, but there are people who essentially Air BNB their RVs when they're not using them to recoup part of the cost. Similar to how Air BNB is generally cheaper than getting a hotel room, renting privately owned RVs is less expensive than renting through a large company. You might consider renting other people's RVs for a year's worth of trips to see how much you use, what the hidden costs are, and what kind of features you prefer. Then if you decide to purchase, you could consider renting out your RV when not using it.

ETA:  Looks like RV Share is a big one, as is Outdoorsy.  

We considered this and I still think we should try it to see if we (well I) actually would want to do it on a regular basis. The biggest issue long term is we have dogs we’d also have to pay to board while gone if it wasn’t our own camper.  But the hidden costs are what scare me!  Friends have a 2 yr old camper where the heat is already needing replacement.  It’s under warranty but I’m sure there are still costs associated with getting it fixed and lost use.

covergirl82-we have a GSD with separation anxiety issues too 😀. How is your space for the dog and what do you do if you run somewhere without the dog?  We’re thinking we’ll have to have space for a kennel as he’d tear the place apart if left alone.

[Nonny]

We don't have an RV, but everyone in my family has one (my parents have two!), and I spent my childhood RV camping on the Oregon Coast.  It was a great experience as a younger child, but it was a huge source of misery for me as a teenager -- my parents and grandmother all snore like crazy and I would get basically no sleep, and that combined with zero privacy made me extremely grouchy and angry.  

Couple of things to consider:

Do you have a vehicle capable of towing the RV you are considering?  If yes, does it have the appropriate tow hitch?  If no, are you willing to buy a new vehicle for this endeavor?  

Have either of you driven one or towed anything before?  Parking these things can be a beast, and hooking up and parking the RV is by far the biggest source of fighting between my parents that I've ever witnessed.  So much cursing.  LOL!  This wouldn't be a monetary cost, but it might be a mental cost if the actual moving of the RV is a stressor.  

Have you considered a used RV?  RVs depreciate in value even quicker than cars, and often times people will buy them with grand plans and then realize they either don't like camping or don't use it often enough to justify keeping it, so often you can pick up a used one for a lot cheaper than new.  

Do you have a place to store it at your house, and if not, have you looked into the monthly rental fees for storage elsewhere?  This will vary based on your location.

I would encourage you to rent an RV for a trip or two if you've never camped in one before.  It's a different experience than tent camping or a trip where you stay in a hotel, and it can definitely be a lot of fun, but it's also an expensive commitment. 

[DazeyDee]

We have a travel trailer - a 2016 Jayco. As much as we love it, we barely use it and will be selling it in the spring. It's expensive, no matter how you look at it.

Purchase price: 21,000 (sticker was 29k. We bought at the end of the season and negotiated HARD)
Monthly storage: $50. This is the cheapest safe place around us, since our HOA will not allow us to keep it at our house
Insurance: $60/month. There are cheaper options, this is through Good Sam.

We also pay $500 a month for a truck that can tow the 34 foot monster, which also adds about $60 a month to our car insurance. It was a couple thousand to stock the trailer (you basically stock a small apartment - ours has 3 beds, so sheets, blankets, towels, kitchen stuff, etc). Towing it kills gas mileage, so plan on double the fuel costs when towing at least. We pay anywhere from $60-120 per night at campsites.

Maintenance isn't much because we do a lot of it - but can be a lot more if you're paying for it. Winterizing is a couple hundred dollars at the dealership (and about $20 to do yourself. It's not hard to learn). Because ours is pretty new and has barely been used, we don't have a lot of issues yet.

We may look into renting it out, but I think DH is ready to just be done. With what we pay for it, we could take a couple of good trips every year, and I think that works better for us.

[CrazyLucky]

We have a pop-up. We bought the first one when DD was almost 2. She wouldn't take a nap because the tent was a million degrees and then she stayed up screaming until 2am. In a campground. We were not popular.
The first one we bought was a 1994. We wanted a cheap one because we weren't sure we'd like it. We loved it! Last year, we upgraded to a 2014. We bought that in October for $6900, so we haven't actually used it yet, but we're excited to. We pay the registration and insurance, which is cheap. We don't really do a lot of maintenance.
It fits in our garage, so no storage fee. I do miss parking a car in a garage. We pull ours with a minivan. Typical gas mileage is about 22mpg, but with the pop-up, it's closer to 16mpg. You can't just add a hitch to a vehicle and tow with it though. It needs to have a tow package, which includes things like a way to cool the transmission.
We are campers and live in NC. The main reason we bought it was for the AC. We go camping about 8 times a year and take the pop-up for 5 or 6 times. I think we get enough to make it worth the cost of the pop-up. We don't have a bathroom in ours (don't want one!), so we just get water/electric sites. They typically run $30-$35/night.
Nonny has a point about parking that damn thing. Until you get used it to it, it's a pain. Have you seen the memes that are like, "I'm sorry for those things I said when we were parking the trailer"? It's for real!

[lolalolalola]

We rent one every summer for a week. We looked at the annual costs and hassle and decided it wasn't for us. We actually rent them directly though individuals on a website. It's fantastic, we just have to bring our pillows and sleeping bags, everything else is typically included.

If we went more often or had free storage available we may have looked further into buying one. Last year, the pipes under the sink started leaking. Not our problem :-)

[hamster]

We bought one a year ago. It's a 23' travel trailer.

In short, we love it. I love not schlepping to the outhouse or squatting, I have a real (albeit firm) bed, a heater, a real kitchen, and bunk beds for kids. It's almost perfect, though next time we will opt for an outdoor kitchen over a second bathroom.

But we camp a lot. I think we went 8 times last year. It's our main source of recreation. We wont use it as much this year with an 18m old and a newborn, but next year is game on.

Its under warranty so no costs yet other than outfitting it (so many amazon boxes!!). The loan is for $300 a month, and our campsites are typically 12-18 per night, but we stay in rural campgrounds not rv parks typically. It lives in our driveway.

I dont foresee ever giving it up.

[sandandsea]

We have an enclosed trailer for racing, not an RV and the biggest cost is storage as it’s against our CC&Rs to park it at our house.

[dirtyred]

My DH and I looked into getting one a few years ago.  We decided we could rent a LOT of hotel rooms for the cost of the RV and maintenance.

[brewco]

I don't normally go here, but came across this post some how. My H and I have a travel trailer, which we bought used and renovated the entire interior. We paid $5000 cash and then put maybe $1000 into new floors, paint, fabric, tires and furnishing it. We spend approx 50 nights in our camper during the summer and fall- so we use it a ton. Insurance is $100 a year & $300 a year for storage. We do a lot of the maintenance ourselves and even with an older trailer, maintenance isn't terrible. We already had a truck capable of towing and the truck was paid off. Michigan has a super awesome state park system where campsites are usually $25-35 a night with electrical hookups. Full hook up sites are often 50-75 a night depending on the other amenities available. Part of the reason we use our camper so much is the large network of family and friends who camp too.

[186momx]

We have a 2011, 29ft Hideout. It is paid for so annual cost is about $100 for insurance, and $250 for tags every 2 years. We've been lucky and only had one major repair bill since buying it in 2012. We take it out maybe twice a year it does have a super slide that makes it cozy. We've had 3 labs, 4 adults, and the elementary age kid and we weren't tripping over each other or feeling cramped. I find camping a ton of work and not enjoyable which is why we don't go very often. Tires wear out just sitting so those need to be replaced every few year. This last time we bought heavy duty ones in hopes they lasted a little longer having a blow out on the road sucks.

State campgrounds run 30-40 a night for electric. We use the bathrooms and showers at the park so full hookups isn't worth it. You can dry camp and just use your batteries to run lights and those camps spots can be super cheap.

Towing with the truck makes the MPG about 8 or 9 and it takes longer to get places as our max speed is about 60 on the flats. Mountains roads and we hang with the slow mow truckers. I looked into taking it to the Redwoods over the summer and the trailer is to too long to stay in any of the campgrounds so went to look at RV parks and had sticker shock. We could easily do a hotel for those prices and save on the fuel costs.

[dutchgirl678]

WE bought a used pop-up several years ago for $7k cash. Last summer we found a mouse after opening it up before a trip, and after a good cleaning all that is needed is some new curtains (there are some holes). We pay $85 a month for storage. I am actually looking to book a few more trips this year, last year I think we used it twice. Most campgrounds are $30-40 per night, but some are so popular you need to book them far in advance.

[childofhiphop]

I recommend renting first. You don’t even have to tow or have the vehicle to tow.

Many places will have them delivered and hooked up at your campsite. You just pull in with your bedding and food.

We’ll be doing it this way this summer.

[flygirl]

Thank you for all the advice - just to answer a few questions, we do have a tow vehicle and H is a pro at backing trailers, boats, etc up so I’m not worried there.  We have borrowed someone else’s camper which we really enjoyed.  We went to a few RV shows and have gotten advice from other people we know with campers-a lot of them have 5th wheels though which are nice, but I’m not willing to spend the additional money on one.  We’ve found a couple 2018 models which have decent prices on them but it’s amazing how many updates they are making to 2019s and 2020s as more people buy them.  It makes me want to throw up laying out the cash to get one but I’m seeing a lot of the pros.  As I said, we have two dogs so not having to board to even go visit people we know would be huge in itself.  

[gibbinator]

We have a 10ft pop up trailer. We bought it last year for $5000. It's fun to camp in it, especially in a downpour! I like knowing I'm not going to wake up in a puddle.

That said, dh is the one who really wanted to buy it and we literally used it 2 times last summer and only close to home. Dh won't drive it any distance because he doesn't want to take it on the highway and it eats up a ton of gas. He keeps suggesting we tent! It's madness.

The only reason I'm happy with the money we spent is that we bought a piece of land on a lake where it will likely remain parked and actually get used frequently this summer.

[Crazy Latina]

We have a new Rpod
www.forestriverinc.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=173&Image=5054&ShowParent=1

It's small but big enough for us.. We park it in the driveway but I heard storage is cheap.

Insurance is $200 a year

Since the trailer is light I am able to pull it with my SUV. I just had a hitch installed.

We love trailer camping.