RV vs Timeshare?

[bbodb1]

One of the recurring arguments against RV'ing is the rising cost of campground spaces. I can't imagine paying more than $5 a day for water and electrical hookups.
Some of the prices I've heard for hookups these days shows how far out of tune I am with current pricing.

 

[Bxian]

I went tent camping once as a Girl Scout back in the day-touched the canvas part of the tent while it was raining and was soaked the rest of the weekend-not a good decision....I have not camped since then. To some extent, RV-ing may be more popular in some regions than others. I have lived in 3 neighborhoods in the crowded Mid-Atlantic. No one owned RVs in any of these neighborhoods-but when we travel out West, we see them all over the place. More open space/places to camp?
We have friends that have owned an RV and also timeshared extensively. When we asked about the RV, they said that it was too much work and low gas mileage-they preferred timesharing. Other friends have rented an RV to travel to travel around the Southwest. I've thought about RV rental as an option. I have also started compiling a list of some state and national parks that have lodges or cabins-they appear to be relatively reasonable, and perhaps a good alternative to timesharing. As the case with timesharing, I am sure that you have to plan ahead. I have also read about large RV-style resorts where people spend several months in the winter, and where you can rent a stationary RV-stype structure for several months at a time. Here is one example: http://www.voyagerrv.com/.

 

[DaveNV]

One of the recurring arguments against RV'ing is the rising cost of campground spaces. I can't imagine paying more than $5 a day for water and electrical hookups.
Some of the prices I've heard for hookups these days shows how far out of tune I am with current pricing.

This website is an upscale luxury RV resort in Colorado. Check their nightly rates. It'll give you a reality check.

http://www.tigerrunresort.com/vacation-rentals-homes-search.asp

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

This website is an upscale luxury RV resort in Colorado. Check their nightly rates. It'll give you a reality check.

http://www.tigerrunresort.com/vacation-rentals-homes-search.asp

Dave

Here's one in W. Yellowstone. A 'Deluxe' site (80' long') is $82.95 a night. But ONLY $69.95 for a back-in site. https://grizzlyrv.com/camping-sites/
Maybe the owners can take that 245 day around the world cruise after the park closes . . . . My humble Island Park TS week looks pretty good now.

Jim

 

[DaveNV]

I know RVing has gone more uptown since I did my year on the road. We'd get full hookups for about $20 a night, nothing extra for electricity. Pay six nights and get the seventh free. We had cell phones we paid for, so no phone hookup needed. Monthly rates were around $300 a month if you wanted to stay that long. We had a Woodall's Directory, and we'd check the parks in the next town we wanted to stop in. Call them up, give them a credit card to reserve the time, and we'd show up. It was pretty easy. Granted, the places weren't nearly as fancy as these you and I have linked. But still - RVing ain't cheap anymore.

Dave

 

[Jan M.]

Wow, no wonder my sister said too many of the campgrounds were expensive! Our timeshare stays cost us less per night, no work and no driving something big in heavy traffic or bad weather conditions.

Neither my sister nor I are sissies about driving but I remember them saying that driving that big 5th wheel in heavy rain and high winds was something neither one of them ever wanted to do again. We still remember a trip years ago heading to the Outer Banks on the PA turnpike. There was extremely heavy rain, heavy enough to cause flood conditions in some areas. It started not long after we got on at the Route 8 Butler entrance and since the storm was tracking East it stayed with us the better part of the way until we got off at the Breezewood exit. I grew up in a town in Northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie and as an adult lived for a number of years in the Erie, PA area so I'm no stranger to driving in snow and blinding lake effect snowstorms. I've driven in some nasty ice storms and even tornado weather. None of it even begins to compare with that 3.5 hours of my life that I will never forget!

The big deal was that because of all the construction there were miles and miles of concrete dividers, we call them Jersey barriers, on both sides which trapped and channeled all that rain on the road so it was like a river. And if you are familiar with that part of the Country you know it isn't flat so imagine driving on the road when the river was flowing downhill. I was driving my 1986 Caprice Classic, a very big, heavy car that I always put top of the line Michelin tires on, and it was loaded to the max with 6 people all our stuff for a two week beach vacation. Which was a blessing as it held the road much better than most of the other cars around us. At times my husband and I could actually feel the car hydroplaning and for me behind the wheel at times it felt more like the car was floating down a river than I was driving it. Of course there was heavy traffic and a lot of big trucks. When the big trucks would pass on the other side of the middle barrier they threw so much water over on our side and for so long that I was literally often driving blind. I'm sure you are wondering why didn't I pull off. I was in the left lane and changing lanes under those driving conditions and in that heavy traffic was not an smart move. But it wouldn't have mattered anyways because all the underpasses were already full. Plus when we would periodically get out of the construction areas it was still raining so hard you couldn't see the exits or see well enough to even see the other cars on the side of the road far enough ahead to be able to safely slow down to pull off. If I couldn't see well enough to safely pull off that meant other cars couldn't see me if I did manage to pull off. When other drivers in the right lane hydroplaned and lost control we saw some of those cars that were pulled off get hit. The traffic was heavy enough and the road conditions bad enough that if you pulled off you weren't getting back on but of course a few idiots had to try. Being in the right lane was more dangerous than being in the left lane despite driving blind when the car got buried in a wall/wave of water from the trucks on the other side of the middle barrier!

My husband always had a large territory to cover for his job so did a lot of driving and he understood exactly how bad it was. Since I was focused on the keeping the car under control and trying to see ahead he saw more of what was happening with the cars around us. For him being the passenger was just as stressful as if he had been the one driving. There was no way to switch drivers and I wouldn't have switched anyways even if there had been a way to do so. It was my car and I was more familiar with how it handled than he was plus he was used to front wheel drive which my car didn't have. We had 4 kids with us, our son and the three kids from the two other families we shared the vacation house with. All 4 kids were older grade school age at the time. The only girl of the 4 kids had some issues as a result of our friend's break up and divorce a few years earlier and would have been traumatized and quietly freaking out if she had realized how bad things were. The families vacationed together for 10 years and there were times that she would be having a moment over something and her mother, my friend, would send her to talk to me. If I said I have this, it's all good, she would trust me and quit obsessing. She has grown up to be an amazing, strong and confidant woman who followed her dream and works in wildlife management going to new jobs and new places every few years on her own and making new friends. Knowing what she went through growing up makes us even more proud of her. Anyhow, we successfully kept from all of them how bad it was! Normally I drove the whole way to where we spent the night around Newport News before continuing on to the Outer Banks the next day but once the rain let up some and we got off the turnpike I was done for and had my husband drive. When we made our pit stop at Breezewood and could talk without the kids hearing my husband told me how grateful he was that he'd seen me handle adverse driving conditions in the past so knew I could handle it as well as possible, that I was amazing and asked if I was okay. We still laugh about me saying that I would live to tell the story but not sure my hands would unclench or the muscles in my arms, shoulders and back would relax anytime soon without the help of a muscle relaxant and that several glasses of wine would be good too.

 

[Timeshare Von]

One of the recurring arguments against RV'ing is the rising cost of campground spaces. I can't imagine paying more than $5 a day for water and electrical hookups.
Some of the prices I've heard for hookups these days shows how far out of tune I am with current pricing.

I've paid as much as $45 for private campground sites . . . think KOA sorta places. In state & national parks it is very affordable. And with the NPS lifetime passes (seniors or "access") it's even more so. For my upcoming trip this month, I'm paying $7 for Theodore Roosevelt NP, $22 for Badlands NP and $14 for Yellowstone NP. Supply & demand is in play when you pay more for what Badlands vs. Yellowstone.

Often while car camping . . . it's much more than just the hook-ups. Most have showers and flushing toilets in the campground for those of us without full RVs or campers. I'm very happy paying anything under $25/night for such in our state & national parks.

 

[Elan]

How do you like the A-frame? We've been thinking about one but haven't pulled the trigger.

We love the A-frame. I can be inside it doing something within 10 minutes of it being parked. Very little setup. Also, light enough to move by hand on a hard surface. Can see over it when towing and fits in the garage, although we store at a facility.
Ours is a Chalet, which along with Aliner were the early makers of A-frames. A few others have entered the market in the past 6 or 7 years.


Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[bcmiller529]

Getting close enough to retirement age that we have to start thinking about this question. I'd love to hear from anyone who has experienced both lifestyles and what their thoughts were on the advantages and disadvantages of each - in comparison. Right now I'm leaning towards a teardrop camper (or a fifth wheel) and experiencing both.

All are welcome to chime in with their thoughts, what's everyone think?

We are retired (2 years) and have both. We bought the timeshares (Hawaii) when we were younger and have used them for places that we wouldn't be able to take our motorhome, i.e. Hawaii, Europe, etc. It's been very hard to find places with our points. We recently tried to get into places in Italy with no luck (nothing available), so we went to airbnb. We also have a motor home (diesel pusher) and tow our vehicle behind it. We started with a pop-up camper when the kids were younger and had great trips in it. We use our motor home when we are traveling someplace we want to stay for a while, or if we want to make a long trip and stop places along the way. Both types of vacationing cost about the same, if you take into account annual maintenance fees, and RV maintenance/fuel. Our problem has been making time for using both. I also recommend renting different types of campers / motor homes before buying. It's a big investment. We purchased a used high quality motor home, but we are do-it-yourself-ers on maintenance and upgrades.
Hope this helps!

 

[jhac007]

We are retired (2 years) and have both. We bought the timeshares (Hawaii) when we were younger and have used them for places that we wouldn't be able to take our motorhome, i.e. Hawaii, Europe, etc. It's been very hard to find places with our points. We recently tried to get into places in Italy with no luck (nothing available), so we went to airbnb. We also have a motor home (diesel pusher) and tow our vehicle behind it. We started with a pop-up camper when the kids were younger and had great trips in it. We use our motor home when we are traveling someplace we want to stay for a while, or if we want to make a long trip and stop places along the way. Both types of vacationing cost about the same, if you take into account annual maintenance fees, and RV maintenance/fuel. Our problem has been making time for using both. I also recommend renting different types of campers / motor homes before buying. It's a big investment. We purchased a used high quality motor home, but we are do-it-yourself-ers on maintenance and upgrades.
Hope this helps!

What length is your diesel pusher? How much HP? What vehicle do you tow? How does the diesel pull in mountainous areas?

 

[Debster50]

Getting close enough to retirement age that we have to start thinking about this question. I'd love to hear from anyone who has experienced both lifestyles and what their thoughts were on the advantages and disadvantages of each - in comparison. Right now I'm leaning towards a teardrop camper (or a fifth wheel) and experiencing both.

All are welcome to chime in with their thoughts, what's everyone think?

My husband and I do both. We RV full time and take in a TS when able. We use our TS around 4 to five months a year. We enjoy both options of RVing and TS. We usually are able to park our 45ft RV in a nearby lot or on the TS lot so it makes it easier when needing things from it. We'll call the TS in advance to make sure we can park it on their lot. When we are unable to, we just store it at a nearby RV campground in their storage area. It all works out either way.

 

[Debster50]

One of the recurring arguments against RV'ing is the rising cost of campground spaces. I can't imagine paying more than $5 a day for water and electrical hookups.
Some of the prices I've heard for hookups these days shows how far out of tune I am with current pricing.

That's why we have a campground membership. Everything is included when you sign up to utlize any 180 listed campgrounds and then it's just check in, pick site, park and enjoy without cost. Love it!

 

[Elan]

The term RV is too generic. There are a lot of differences, on many fronts, between a 45' Class A and a 14' pop-up trailer, truck camper, or conversion van. I can't see ever owning a big motorhome, because the appeal of RV'ing to me is to be able to go places where a big motorhome can't go. Many RV parks that easily accommodate large motorhomes (with full hookups, etc) typically aren't that far from other accommodations (perhaps not TS, but hotels, vacation rentals, etc). There's nothing wrong with RV'ing that way, but it's vastly different from boondocking in a 4WD truck with a camper in the bed.

 

[bankr63]

We are ramping up for a combo of both as well. We are avid campers in the summer season (21' hybrid trailer), and use our timeshares in the fall and winter. First trip out for the season is this weekend (Victoria Day long weekend for Canada, camping in the Adirondacks). We are now just about 5 years out from retirement for DW (a teacher), I probably will never retire (an IT Project Manager). Our plans include upsizing the trailer and spending winters exploring the southern US, a couple of weeks in each destination then move one. We will probably supplement with timeshare stays in more exotic destinations, and like @Debster50, we will probably drive and park the RV nearby.

I fell in love with the idea of timesharing full time like other regulars here, but I really think I will want the feeling of "home" that you get with an RV. Our trailer feels like home no matter where we park it; a timeshare always feels like a rented space, not really your own space. Both have their pros and cons. We hope to leverage the pros and minimize the cons through judicious use of both options.

Of course DW insists on downsizing our home before we take the plunge and wants a "tiny home" near here in the country. I'm okay with a "tiny" home as long as it come with a "big ass" garage to park the RV and all my other toys.

 

[nkldavy]

Typing this from inside our '77 mini-motorhome. We've stayed here (Wisconsin) since I got stationed in Milwaukee in 1978 and have come back every summer except one. Our summer now runs from May to mid-October. We know more people here than we do in our "home" town. We do a lot of timesharing including Wisconsin Dells several times a year, Orlando, Daytona, the Poconos and Williamsburg. The travel gives opportunities to stop and see family and friends along the way. Our RV has been here since 1995 and we drive our car to it from Delaware Valley. Annual fee very reasonable.