Is the future of travel in RVs?

[JanT]

My husband and I have been talking about whether the future of travel is heading to people buying/renting RVs and traveling in that manner vs getting on planes, etc. I told him I'd ask my TUGGER friends what they think. Thoughts from everyone?

 

[Timeshare Von]

I'm looking forward to our RV trip in Alaska . . . only sorry we have to fly to get there!

I'm all on board with the RV lifestyle . . . BEFORE COVID-19! I'd be in!!!

 

[2disneydads]

Shoot me first. No thank you. I'll take my chances on a plane than being locked in a car for days on end. I hate driving.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Passepartout]

Two happy days of a person's life- the day they buy an RV (or boat), and the day they sell it! We've been there, enjoyed it. Saw some great places, met some good friends. But RVing is a good bit of work. There are every system in them that's in your home, PLUS the means of moving it- either on it's own or a sufficient tow vehicle. You- or your significant other- simply have to be fairly handy with electrical, plumbing, mechanics, as well as having access to tools and a level of comfort in driving, parking, maneuvering a large vehicle. Sure, you can hire much of the work done, but that means finding it while you are away from home and if it has to go to a shop, you have to be elsewhere- it's your HOME.

I enjoyed RVing, hated the never-ending maintenance, and am happy to pull a roll-aboard suitcase onto and off an airplane enroute to a lovely timeshare or cruise ship.

Yes, our travel adventures are on hiatus now, but we'll be back at it when we can safely do it.

Jim

 

[Snazzylass]

My husband and I have been talking about whether the future of travel is heading to people buying/renting RVs and traveling in that manner vs getting on planes, etc. I told him I'd ask my TUGGER friends what they think. Thoughts from everyone?

Okay, clearly not for everyone. RV's are actually quite expensive and in my opinion, require a bit of mechanical knowledge.

Still, they have always been popular for many reasons! There was a report early that the RV industry would benefit. Fun fact - 1 million of the 11 million RV owners live in their rigs full time!

 

[Bailey#1]

Driving a RV is no picnic, especially if you pull a small car behind it. So its a no for me!

 

[DaveNV]

The short answer is No.

The longer answer: Committing to an RV vacation takes a certain amount of guts. Add in managing kids, pets, the driving or parking or camping skills required, and the overall costs, and it's not something that can just be adopted as the new way to vacation. Some people don't want that level of stress on their vacation. Nightly accommodations along the way have to be considered, as well as the destination reservations. Vacation days available have to be factored in, because the Getting There and Getting Home parts of the trip take time away from the Being There vacation experience. People not used to doing it would be so tightly wound by the time they got home, they'd need another vacation to get over that one. Cross-country RV trips would be a huge undertaking, even in the best of times. It would be very difficult to travel internationally and rent an RV without having someone there to drive it. Rental RVs are quite expensive for what amounts to basic accommodations, and owning a super good RV can easily cost as much as a home. What if there was an accident, or the RV had mechanical problems? You can't just drop into any old repair shop and ask them to diagnose and fix your RV's troubles. It's a very specialized industry.

My official Tugger opinion, (if you want to tell your husband), is that I think RV vacationing may become more popular in local areas, but not as a replacement for air travel or timeshare vacations. With air travel, you spend a few hours (or even many hours) and you're at your destination. People are not going to throw away that level of convenience.

Dave

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

You can't RV to Hawaii.

Still, there can be advantages. You can stay in comfort in places where there are no timeshares. There are lots of ways to look at it. It's more expensive that Timesharing, but it is not open ended, that too, can be an advantage. . .

 

[WVBaker]

Vacationing in an RV is an entirely different animal, so to speak. There are those that love that lifestyle and that's great however, most wouldn't think of driving any great distance in order to stay a few days, turn around and drive home again. RVs have their place, but that would not be one.

 

[WVBaker]

You can't RV to Hawaii.

Still, there can be advantages. You can stay in comfort in places where there are no timeshares. There are lots of ways to look at it. It's more expensive that Timesharing, but it is not open ended, that too, can be an advantage. . .

Never say never. They're working on that.

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["Roger"]

You can't RV to Hawaii.

Still, there can be advantages. You can stay in comfort in places where there are no timeshares. There are lots of ways to look at it. It's more expensive that Timesharing, but it is not open ended, that too, can be an advantage. . .

Also, I distinctly remember a travel agent reporting a customer who was afraid of flying and considered a boat too slow asking "Why can't I just that the train?"

 

[RX8]

My husband and I have been talking about whether the future of travel is heading to people buying/renting RVs and traveling in that manner vs getting on planes, etc. I told him I'd ask my TUGGER friends what they think. Thoughts from everyone?

I agree with your husband. I think that people will be looking to keep distance from others going forward and RVs are one way to do that. I've been thinking about this myself and just posted a thread asking to talk me into or out of an RV.

 

[queenofthehive]

Another thread was started with a similar question so I am following along there as well. I have thought about this as well. It would take a lot of getting my better half on board with the idea because in reality he would be the one stuck with a lot of the work - maintenance, driving, setting/backing it up etc.. So, for those reasons alone, it will be hard sell.

 

[Old Hickory]

Does operating an RV require additional driver's licensing or credentials like a truck driver?

 

[VacationForever]

Hell no for us. We are creatures of comfort and no way we want to sleep or potty in a RV. We don't camp, never have and never will. RV is just a step above camping. It is (still) going to be drive-to timeshare locations for us.

 

[Old Hickory]

The future of travel? No. I suspect there might be a bump in RV use initially but then that will fade as we return to pre-2020 travel norms.

 

[kwelty]

My husband and I have been talking about whether the future of travel is heading to people buying/renting RVs and traveling in that manner vs getting on planes, etc. I told him I'd ask my TUGGER friends what they think. Thoughts from everyone?

If you are thinking about buying an RV, isisdave and KarenG wrote about a low cost way of renting RV's to help relocate them. https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/apollo-rv-relocation-adventure.273601/
Apollo RV is one company that does it, but I think the rental fee may be higher than $1 a day they use to charge as their website talks about a waiting list to relocate them. https://www.apollorv.com/reloc.aspx
This might be a good way to try the experiance before making a big investment.
RVing never interested me, especially with their depreciation rate being very high (or so I understand).

 

[Luanne]

Has never appealed to us.

 

[PigsDad]

Another big issue / cost is storage. Most people do not have the space to store an RV, so they need to pay to store it when not in use. When just thinking of the financial side of things, RV'ing can be very expensive, from the initial investment, to all of the maintenance and operating costs, plus the nightly costs for campsites / hookups.

Kurt

 

[Passepartout]

Does operating an RV require additional driver's licensing or credentials like a truck driver?

No. A standard driver's license is all it takes. My personal take is that it should require a 'skills test' or endorsement- like a motorcycle operator requires, but it doesn't.

 

[DaveNV]

Does operating an RV require additional driver's licensing or credentials like a truck driver?

Not if it's a conventional RV. That's part of the issue - a lot of people who are not good drivers will climb behind the wheel of an RV and hit the road with only minimal experience. It can be a very bad thing.

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

Not if it's a conventional RV. That's part of the issue - a lot of people who are not good drivers will climb behind the wheel of an RV and hit the road with only minimal experience. It can be a very bad thing.

Unrelated, but similarly, U-Haul used to have a slogan on the back of their units, "Adventure in Moving". Whenever I saw one on it's side or broken down, I would say under my breath, 'Yep. Another "Adventure". Of course I was driving a moving van at the time.

 

[needvaca]

No, but I think the family road trip (rather than air travel) is going to make a resurgence.

 

[JanT]

I guess I should have also included that we are not considering RVing as a means of future travel (well I'm not). We've thought about it from time to time but I'm of the opinion that it will likely be much more of a PITA than it's worth. It might be a nice way to see some national parks, etc. but in general, I don't want the hassle of lumbering even a Class C motorhome through traffic, worrying about dumping tanks, showering in a postage stamp shower, loading one up to head out and unloading when we get home, all the planning for where you're going to stay, etc.

I think I'm a bit spoiled with nice hotel rooms and timeshare resorts and just can't see the allure of a lot of RVing. As I said, maybe to do some certain trips but as a general way of traveling it's really not for me. My husband on the other hand (who owned an RV with his 1st wife and they had 6 children) likes the idea of having another one and touring the country. Just between us TUGGERS I think he romanticizes the experience somewhat. Now, that being said, he is very knowledgeable about mechanics, electrical, etc., so I wouldn't worry so much about those kinds of issues. BUT, he is coming up on 71 and while he is still a good driver it scares me to death thinking about him maneuvering in traffic, etc., especially since every once in awhile his driving of our Toyota Tacoma makes me clench my teeth. So, I'm really at the point of "No" with an RV. I'd much rather drive, stay in nice hotels, and not have to worry about all the things associated with RVing.

I really was just curious if TUGGERs see an upward trend of people buying motorhomes based on what's happen now with COVID-19. I did see the other thread and am following that one as well to see what people say.

 

[DaveNV]

I guess I should have also included that we are not considering RVing as a means of future travel (well I'm not). We've thought about it from time to time but I'm of the opinion that it will likely be much more of a PITA than it's worth. It might be a nice way to see some national parks, etc. but in general, I don't want the hassle of lumbering even a Class C motorhome through traffic, worrying about dumping tanks, showering in a postage stamp shower, loading one up to head out and unloading when we get home, all the planning for where you're going to stay, etc.

I think I'm a bit spoiled with nice hotel rooms and timeshare resorts and just can't see the allure of a lot of RVing. As I said, maybe to do some certain trips but as a general way of traveling it's really not for me. My husband on the other hand (who owned an RV with his 1st wife and they had 6 children) likes the idea of having another one and touring the country. Just between us TUGGERS I think he romanticizes the experience somewhat. Now, that being said, he is very knowledgeable about mechanics, electrical, etc., so I wouldn't worry so much about those kinds of issues. BUT, he is coming up on 71 and while he is still a good driver it scares me to death thinking about him maneuvering in traffic, etc., especially since every once in awhile his driving of our Toyota Tacoma makes me clench my teeth. So, I'm really at the point of "No" with an RV. I'd much rather drive, stay in nice hotels, and not have to worry about all the things associated with RVing.

I really was just curious if TUGGERs see an upward trend of people buying motorhomes based on what's happen now with COVID-19. I did see the other thread and am following that one as well to see what people say.

I think what I posted in that other thread applies to your husband, as well: Rent one, and see how he likes it now, as compared to "back then." He may be remembering things a little fancifully. That long trip I made was in the mid-1990s, and things now are much more crowded, much more expensive, and much less "open road" than they used to be. Your husband's experience may be similar, and a current trip might be a good eye-opener.

Dave