RVing TUGgers?

[CO skier]

but the need to plan around timeshare destinations and fixed reservations goes away when you have your bed with you.

That "freedom from planning" can easily yield "failure to plan" results. That is what Mike and Jennifer Wendland, RVers with 15 years experience, discovered when they spent $60 to endure a fitful night's sleep at a "noisy" Love's Truck Stop next to an interstate highway, because all the slots at the RV camp where they had stayed before were taken by people who had planned ahead and had reservations there.

 

[klpca]

Where do you want to go and what do you want to do? Do you want to stay in one place or take long road trips? Have you camped before? Are you aware of the difficulty in securing campsites? Also, not every campsite will accommodate larger RVs, so you will have even fewer options when searching for sites with a Class A vs a Class C. Getting campsites for multiple days makes exchanging timeshares look easy. And if you can't get a campsite in a national or state park, are you ok staying a half hour away in a parking lot like RV park? Do you have space to park and RV at your home or will it need to be stored when not in use?

We used to camp in a tent trailer when our kids were young, but once they got into high school, we didn't have the time to camp much because of their schedules so we sold it. We still tent camp though. I regularly get RV envy when we are tent camping, but when I am honest with myself we just wouldn't use it enough to make it worth it. We still hike a lot and it is hard enough to park a truck at a trailhead. Parking an RV at a trailhead would be tough. We are contemplating a pop up truck camper (Four Wheel Campers) but we can't quite pull the trigger.

We just completed a 23 day road trip in July from San Diego to Washington state - 10 nights were timeshares - WM Deer Harbor (4) and Otter Rock Resort(6), 1 night in an Airbnb, 1 night in a hotel, 4 nights of tent camping (Redwoods NP and Lassen NP) and the rest were staying with family or friends. It was a great trip and it was great to mix up the different stays. I especially loved getting to the timeshares and having a hot shower, a refrigerator and the laundry facilities. Even though we loved it and had a great time, I was happy to get home so I think that 3 weeks is about the maximum time that I would be comfortable being away from home.

I agree with others to consider renting before committing to an RV. You can easily spend $100k-$200k on a nice van conversion or used rig. You can consider Ourdoorsy.com, El Monte RV rentals, or even Cruise America. One thing that we do when we rent an RV is that we rent one as close as possible to our destination. For example when we camped in the late winter/early spring in Yosemite, we drove to Clovis and rented one there. That way most of the drive up north was in our car (much quieter and better mpg) plus we have a separate vehicle and the RV could just stay parked at the campsite. We haven't done this since covid though. It used to be easy to get a site in late March-mid April but not anymore. I am just sick of playing the game trying to get a site rental so we have to go somewhere else. This past year we did a couple of nights in Death Valley, then visited family in Truckee, and then our final two nights were at WM Bass Lake. It was better than nothing.

Good luck and happy camping!

 

[Elan]

That "freedom from planning" can easily yield "failure to plan" results. That is what Mike and Jennifer Wendland, RVers with 15 years experience, discovered when they spent $60 to endure a fitful night's sleep at a "noisy" Love's Truck Stop next to an interstate highway, because all the slots at the RV camp where they had stayed before were taken by people who had planned ahead and had reservations there.

I never stated, nor inferred, that there was no planning required. The fact is that with an RV, a wide spot on a forest service road, or a plot of BLM land can be adequate for an overnight. Could be hundreds of miles from a timeshare.

Comparing RVing to timesharing is nonsensical for the vast majority of true RVers. For most that buy RVs it's the journey as much as the destination. Most RV owners don't just hit the freeway to get from point A to B as quickly as possible. More typically, they might choose a destination and then start looking for cool sights to visit along the way -- often spots without hotels, much less timeshares. Then they can start to plan their itinerary, including overnight stays. The ultimate destination might be a week or two at a hotel or timeshare resort, but that's only part of the overall trip/vacation experience.

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[jeffox]

Do you have space to park and RV at your home or will it need to be stored when not in use?

My Dad had this problem, so he bought a house with a giant RV garage. He then had to upgrade his RV to a Class C with slide outs. Then a Jeep to tow when he doesn't tow his motorcycle.

 

[Pennytx]

I never stated, nor inferred, that there was no planning required. The fact is that with an RV, a wide spot on a forest service road, or a plot of BLM land can be adequate for an overnight. Could be hundreds of miles from a timeshare.

Comparing RVing to timesharing is nonsensical for the vast majority of true RVers. For most that buy RVs it's the journey as much as the destination. Most RV owners don't just hit the freeway to get from point A to B as quickly as possible. More typically, they might choose a destination and then start looking for cool sights to visit along the way -- often spots without hotels, much less timeshares. Then they can start to plan their itinerary, including overnight stays. The ultimate destination might be a week or two at a hotel or timeshare resort, but that's only part of the overall trip/vacation experience.

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There is a great site called harvest host that caters to unusual places to stay
Some are wineries, farms etc
Very reasonable to join etc

 

[Elan]

There is a great site called harvest host that caters to unusual places to stay
Some are wineries, farms etc
Very reasonable to join etc

Yes, I posted this earlier.

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[AwayWeGo]

Our 1 & only RV is a 36-foot non-traveling travel trailer in a nice little campground on the back side of Rehoboth Bay in Delaware.

We got into it in 2002, after a few years on the waiting list. (That was about the same time we got into timeshare vacationing also. Go figure.)

The trailer serves as a low-cost, high-convenience small home away from home when we feel like impromptu time away. The road trip there from home is 3-4 hours, depending on traffic.

Not only do we not travel in the trailer, we don't even own a tow vehicle. When we upgraded to our current trailer, we had to hire some guys with a truck to move it from Lot 65 (its old site within the camp) to Lot 55 (our campground site).

Getting the trailer moved was easier said than done. The ground was so soft that the wheels on the street side did not turn but just dug in all the way to the axle, giving the trailer a major serious tilt. It took the 2 guys some heavy-duty hand shoveling to create a path that accommodated the dug-in wheels. Their effort paid off. The trailer did not tip over. All 4 wheels started turning when they reached the paved road joining all the trailer sites. Moving the trailer the rest of the way from Lot 65 to Lot 55 was a piece of cake, relatively speaking. Fortunately, the ground was solid at Lot 55, meaning it was lots easier to position the trailer at its new site than it was to pull it out of its old site.

Our campground trailer experience has grown into a family affair. Our son & daughter-in-law have their own trailer a few spaces down from ours. The Chief Of Staff's sister has a spot somewhat further down. Our nephew has a trailer roughly in between. His married daughter has a trailer somewhat further back but still inside the same campground. Our nephew's mother-in-law also has a trailer in among those others. Other family groups have their own similar arrangements.

It's not timesharing, but it suits us. Life is good.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[moonstone]

We started camping in a tent in the late '70's and spent the whole month of April in St. Augustine FL in that 10X12 canvas tent for 4 years in a row. We also camped many weekends all summer. We bought our first timeshare in 1982. We upgraded to a pop-up tent trailer when our first child was born in 1984 then to a 22ft travel trailer in 1985 just before our 2nd son arrived. So we camped and had timeshare vacations right up until 3 years ago when we sold our trailer. Only once did we camp then have a timeshare stay in the same trip and that was the spring before our DD was born in '88. We camped in St Augustine Beach FL in the site next to my in-laws for 2 weeks then left our trailer on the site for my father-in-law's brother & his wife from England to stay in while we moved up the road to our timeshare for a week.

Camping gave us different vacations than timesharing and in locations were there were no timeshares. Our kids (more so the boys) really enjoyed camping. Camping also allowed us to take many 3-4 day mini-vacations several times a summer which our weeks timeshare didnt permit. Before we got our points timeshare we contemplated buying a newer truck and a 5th wheel to do a lot of travelling in our retirement. When we talked to others and calculated the probable costs for gas and campgrounds (even if for only for 4-5 nights a week), it was going to be cost prohibitive. We decided we could do road trips staying in motels and timeshares for much less.

We miss camping and are thinking of flying to Calgary and renting a class C motorhome to drive through the Rockies for a week or 2 next summer or early fall. We have friends who are work camp hosts in a provincial park near Kananaskis AB in their 5th wheel every summer and can get us a 'good spot'.


~Diane

 

[carl2591]

We fulltime RV in a 30 ft airstream and own TS in the Myrtle beach SC area. We have used a TS week several times during the past 5 yrs but not as much as we would like.. One of the biggest issues is parking.. MANY place will not allow RVs of any kind to park on the property.. A few do or did but it rare.. If you have a pickup with camper in back that might be one way to do it.. We travel and stay in the Thousand trails system so sometimes we can get a camp spot for two weeks and do TS for one of the two week no problem.. Some do it for cruises near the tampa port.. many RV places want you to be there for the most part ..

having an RV and TS make for some interesting hoops to jump through at times but worth it for the most part.

 

[Pennytx]

We fulltime RV in a 30 ft airstream and own TS in the Myrtle beach SC area. We have used a TS week several times during the past 5 yrs but not as much as we would like.. One of the biggest issues is parking.. MANY place will not allow RVs of any kind to park on the property.. A few do or did but it rare.. If you have a pickup with camper in back that might be one way to do it.. We travel and stay in the Thousand trails system so sometimes we can get a camp spot for two weeks and do TS for one of the two week no problem.. Some do it for cruises near the tampa port.. many RV places want you to be there for the most part ..

having an RV and TS make for some interesting hoops to jump through at times but worth it for the most part.

What a very life you’ve lived!

 

[Pennytx]

We started camping in a tent in the late '70's and spent the whole month of April in St. Augustine FL in that 10X12 canvas tent for 4 years in a row. We also camped many weekends all summer. We bought our first timeshare in 1982. We upgraded to a pop-up tent trailer when our first child was born in 1984 then to a 22ft travel trailer in 1985 just before our 2nd son arrived. So we camped and had timeshare vacations right up until 3 years ago when we sold our trailer. Only once did we camp then have a timeshare stay in the same trip and that was the spring before our DD was born in '88. We camped in St Augustine Beach FL in the site next to my in-laws for 2 weeks then left our trailer on the site for my father-in-law's brother & his wife from England to stay in while we moved up the road to our timeshare for a week.

Camping gave us different vacations than timesharing and in locations were there were no timeshares. Our kids (more so the boys) really enjoyed camping. Camping also allowed us to take many 3-4 day mini-vacations several times a summer which our weeks timeshare didnt permit. Before we got our points timeshare we contemplated buying a newer truck and a 5th wheel to do a lot of travelling in our retirement. When we talked to others and calculated the probable costs for gas and campgrounds (even if for only for 4-5 nights a week), it was going to be cost prohibitive. We decided we could do road trips staying in motels and timeshares for much less.

We miss camping and are thinking of flying to Calgary and renting a class C motorhome to drive through the Rockies for a week or 2 next summer or early fall. We have friends who are work camp hosts in a provincial park near Kananaskis AB in their 5th wheel every summer and can get us a 'good spot'.


~Diane

Truly admire you

 

[Pennytx]

I’m just now learning to live a different way
I really love the people here and their life stories
They are inspirational

 

[Timeshare Von]

Hello TUGgers,

I hope you are well! I am curious if any of my TUGging friends are RV owners, and if so, what advice and counsel you would give to a newbie? My wife and I continue to love our timeshare trips, but are now approaching a phase of life where we think we will explore the Beautiful USA more?

We would welcome any suggestions and comments -- thank you!

Best,

Greg

I'm not an RV owner (yet) . . . but like you have been considering what's next in retirement. DH and I have done several RV adventures in Alaska in a 29' Winnegago (class C RV) over the past 15 years and enjoy it a lot. My sister and I have also done a cross country trip from IA to AK in a campervan (class B RV) just a year ago. And for the past 15 years, I've also done a fair amount of car camping both east and west of Wisconsin . . . to either coast and back. So I feel I have had a lot of experience seeing the country (and Canada) on the ground by car, van & RV.

Over that same period of time, I have also thought about, dreamed about selling everything and living 24/7 in a nice RV or a fifth wheel set up. I've waffled about "how much" we need to be comfortable . . . but since it's my dream and not my hubby's . . . it will probably never happen. I have lowered my expectations for the duration of such, to maybe just over the summer and maybe as a camp host at places we're interested in visiting and living "short term" (under 3 months). Earlier this summer I did a 2 week camp hosting gig at a state park in New York and loved it. For that, I just had my SUV and a tent. I slept in the SUV and used the tent for added leisure space. My sister even joined me for a week of the 2 there.

I've shopped around and even test drove a used 25' RV. I get close to thinking I've found what I want (and can afford) only to snap back into reality with what ALL of the costs are to own one and travel that way. Realistically, if I/we are only going to use whatever we have for 4 or 5 months of the year full-time, it might make sense financially. MAYBE. But otherwise, for a couple/few large trips (say 3-5 of a week or 2 each), it really is more cost effective to rent an RV to fit the needs of the trip.

The campervans are nice . . . but minimalistic in terms of sleeping space. Even for must my sister & me, the Winnebago Solis we had last year for our 17 day RV2AK adventure was really tight. If it were just me traveling, I would be comfortable . . . but at what price? They run well over $125-150K new and around $80-100K used.

And as we get older (I'm 68 and my DH is 64) . . . the hassles of ownership and dealing with things like winterization, routine & emergency maintenance and storage when not in use . . . become a big detractor in ownership.

I feel like I may have 5-10 good years (if I'm lucky) left in me from a health & physical perspective to enjoy such a nomadic lifestyle, even if just on a limited basis. It becomes difficult to make sense of the purchase price, insurance and upkeep vs. rental with few of the hassles to own. So that is where I am at today. That said, if a GREAT DEAL on the right RV (or campervan) were to fall into my lap, I might consider it. But for now . . . it's a pass for us today.

My biggest suggestion would be to get out and explore what it's really like living the RV life traveling the country. Maybe you have and you know what's really entailed? I just know several people who made the plunge and within a couple of years were miserable and selling their campers/rigs. Have you seen the movie "About Schmidt" with Jack Nicholson? That along with the classic Robin Williams' "RV" should be mandatory viewing for anyone considering RV life. There's also a Lucy & Desi flick from the 50's I just love . . . "The Long, Long Trailer." OMG . . . it's so darn funny . . . and true in so many ways.

Whatever you decide, best wishes to you. I have divested myself of all of my timeshares. I'm dividing my time between taking cruises and camping . . . it's working well for me. Now that my hubby has retired and we're making plans for "US" we'll see how things evolve in the future since he has zero interest in cruise ships.

 

[DeniseM]

Our active senior neighbors bought a medium sized, self-contained travel trailer early during the COVID pandemic, so they could get out of town and do some trips a little more safely. For about 5 years they really seemed to enjoy it, although as time went on, we noticed they used it less and less. Recently, they told us that after 5 years they were tired of the maintenance, setup and clean up required, and they just didn't want to do it anymore, so they sold it

 

[Timeshare Von]

<<SNIPPED>> . . . they told us that after 5 years they were tired of the maintenance, setup and clean up required, and they just didn't want to do it anymore, so they sold it

Exactly . . . lots of used units 3-5 years old hitting the market. Also, others that have gone through foreclosure because they were bought during COVID with high hopes & expectations, only to have people displaced and unemployed due to the pandemic.

 

[jp10558]

Recently, they told us that after 5 years they were tired of the maintenance, setup and clean up required, and they just didn't want to do it anymore, so they sold it

This is my concern as well with so many things, the purchase is pretty easy (more or less) but the keeping it going is hard. We've had this issue with old used backhoe loaders. Also with some other stuff family members want - like a dog. It's also usually not obvious till you do the thing how much of a PITA you'll find whatever the setup / teardown etc. Some people are less bothered than others with various tasks.

TS at the worst is "just" a money pit in that you don't "have" to do anything with them but pay the bills. If you don't go you wasted some money, but it's also more or less "ready" for you to go.

 

[Timeshare Von]

This is my concern as well with so many things, the purchase is pretty easy (more or less) but the keeping it going is hard. We've had this issue with old used backhoe loaders. Also with some other stuff family members want - like a dog. It's also usually not obvious till you do the thing how much of a PITA you'll find whatever the setup / teardown etc. Some people are less bothered than others with various tasks.

TS at the worst is "just" a money pit in that you don't "have" to do anything with them but pay the bills. If you don't go you wasted some money, but it's also more or less "ready" for you to go.

This is 100% correct. I have to tell you . . . even adding a decent tent to my car camping set up for 2 weeks this summer was a bit of hassle and then a challenge when a critter tried getting into it and poking holes in the screen(s). I have been active with a number of RVer groups on Facebook, and their horror stories are enough to keep me grounded in my actual capabilities and willingness to deal with stuff.

The TS money pit, plus limitations of where you can go, sometimes can be a deterrent too. Ultimately, that's why I have gotten rid of all of my ownerships.

 

[jp10558]

This is 100% correct. I have to tell you . . . even adding a decent tent to my car camping set up for 2 weeks this summer was a bit of hassle and then a challenge when a critter tried getting into it and poking holes in the screen(s). I have been active with a number of RVer groups on Facebook, and their horror stories are enough to keep me grounded in my actual capabilities and willingness to deal with stuff.

Yea - the biggest "annoyance" with like the backhoes is that we can do general maintenance like change out a blown hydraulic line or clean a carb or change spark plugs, but when spark goes out we're not pros in figuring out the issue. It took 2-3 years on one, solved by buying another of a very similar model and realizing the first one some previous owner had hacked in a random distributor, so that's why we could never find compatible parts or a way that made sense to test it from docs. One new distributor "of a correct model" for $35 later and backhoe is in business again. Stuff like that isn't a huge problem when you're at home and can have spares, but I do really think I'd be freaking out if I was on the road and something weird happened with an RV (and I couldn't just call the rental company to make it right). The "what you know how to deal with" can quickly and unexpectedly end up well past your non pro knowledge or tools. What's even more concerning to me is that it's often not obvious that there's a subtle "deeper issue" that a pro (might) realize but we don't. Like we assumed someone didn't do a hack job in the past that "barely worked".

The TS money pit, plus limitations of where you can go, sometimes can be a deterrent too. Ultimately, that's why I have gotten rid of all of my ownerships.

This is exactly why I agree - you have to do your best to realize what you like to do and what you can do, for your situation. I'm still finding new locations or at least new TSs to try in various areas that helps convince me to travel and see new things. I've also been finding some places I like to return to (or want to return to), so for me it's easy. However, I can also imagine that eventually I may change what I want to do or how I want to commit money so at that point I would change my TS setup for sure.

 

[Timeshare Von]

<<SNIPPED>>

Wyndham Smoky Mountains
Foxrun Lake Lure

P.S. I love these two resorts having been to Lake Lure twice and W/SM twice as well, with another trip scheduled for March (using my Wyndham Limited Edition ownership after doing the certified exit earlier this year).

 

[jp10558]

P.S. I love these two resorts having been to Lake Lure twice and W/SM twice as well, with another trip scheduled for March (using my Wyndham Limited Edition ownership after doing the certified exit earlier this year).

I did really enjoy the Smoky Mountains, and plan to go back, but probably not early next year - maybe in 2027. I've been holding off Lake Lure because of the damage from the hurricane, but I'll probably also try and go in 2027 - perhaps chain the trip together.

 

[Timeshare Von]

@pj10558 Why timeshares are so great . . . such a wonderful memory from Lake Lure, from May 2011. My mother-in-law is still with us too . . . at the age of 93.

 

[RX8]

Our campground trailer experience has grown into a family affair. Our son & daughter-in-law have their own trailer a few spaces down from ours. The Chief Of Staff's sister has a spot somewhat further down. Our nephew has a trailer roughly in between. His married daughter has a trailer somewhat further back but still inside the same campground. Our nephew's mother-in-law also has a trailer in among those others. Other family groups have their own similar arrangements.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Sounds like you have your own family compound. What a great idea for the whole extended family to do.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Sounds like you have your own family compound. What a great idea for the whole extended family to do.

It's rare when everybody shows up all at the same time.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Timeshare Von]

Spontaneity is great though, when you can just pack up and go with short notice and not a lot of planning involved. While 2 weeks out might not seem like much of a spontaneous trip . . . I did just book a return visit to the W NY state park I've fallen in love with. I'm going for a long weekend for a bowling event and maybe catch some fall festivals and leaf peeping. Car camping fits well into such an impromptu trip.

 

[WanderingHiker]

We're outdoor lovers and regularly take all types of camping trips. We have a truck camper, we also have a large heavy tent for car camping, and we have an ultralight backpacking tent for stays in remote wilderness. The truck camper used to be our main travel lodging. We would just as often stay at developed campgrounds as we would at off the grid primitive sites. However, in recent years, the cost to stay at most developed RV campgrounds exceeds the cost of timesharing. So now we only use the camper for boondocking. There is no longer any benefit to driving around a large vehicle to stay at an overpriced RV "resort" (and I use that term loosely), when we can take our nice easy to drive car with more than double the MPG to a relaxing and comfortable timeshare resort using a last call or extra vacation (or even as a last resort, just renting on VRBO or Airbnb).