How many have left Rving?

[GEM1N1]

Originally Posted by Fiesta48

I'm hoping the newbies buying the 500,000 new RVs in recent years find out fast RVING is not for the faint of heart types.
The loading and unloading every trip.
Servicing and maintaining an RV before each trip, hoping nothings broken.
Fuel on their guzzler
Park fees
Just try to find a place to camp on weekends and holidays is a challenge.
Large unruly crowds on weekends and holidays.
Gotta haves and duplicates, same things in their house, now got 2 of everything.
Driving the beast in traffic in far worse than a car.
Trying to park and back up the beast.
Watching out for the idiots and stupids on the highway because we are bigger and slower.
Poor neighbors, dogs barking, camp fires blowing at you.
Cleaning a second home.
Finding out they don't have the time they expected to go camping.
Poor weather: rain, wind, heat, cold stuck inside a tin can.

I think I'm starting to have second thoughts myself...

You are making me want to pump the brakes on picking my new coach up next week... [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

[JFXG]

Originally Posted by larliebler

....This conversation made me wonder: how many folks has the RV industry lost over the years because of the difficulties we all struggle...

Everyone who’s not here raise your hand!

[Cacique]

For every one that leaves there is at least 5 arriving [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

[Russ Potteng]

It’s a matter of living a balanced life.
RVing as one of the perks and benefits of a life of hard work.

[GEM1N1]

This may be opposite to some but for me it’s about ease of traveling and sleeping in your own “home” when you get there. I travel a lot for work and hate the hotel/suitcase dance. Now add a wife and two 5 year olds to that.

As previously mentioned by another poster as a negative having to have duplicate everything (toaster, coffee maker, clothes, pots/pans). That my favorite part. We can go on a trip without packing anything. Hit a grocery store when we get there and we’re golden.

Expensive? Yes. But we justify it by thinking of it as a vacation home except we aren’t locked into one location. Only difference is you are absolutely losing money every year with a motorhome. Buying memories i guess.

[nathaniel]

A lot have mentioned the fact the deprishiation of MH. Other than a house everything we buy loses value. Like any car truck boat motorcycle it is not a cash investment and like any of the above listed when you sell more than likely you will get much less than you paid forget trade value unless you paid cash. Just like a car or truck if you finance a truck and try to trade it in only having it for 1/3 of the life of the loan you are upside down. I guess the point I'm making is it is all relative and I posted earlier if you enjoy it you will find a way to do it we have seen and done more with the MH than without. The kids love it and it makes the trips more enjoyable not having to stop for bathrooms or snacks. TV entertainment for them and the destination is always fun. We plan ahead and even with overnight stops we Google on the way to find where we want to stay and have yet not been turned away. I plan on keeping the SB when I retire but will be doing extended trips Simi full time.

[Cacique]

Originally Posted by nathaniel

A lot have mentioned the fact the deprishiation of MH. Other than a house everything we buy loses value. Like any car truck boat motorcycle it is not a cash investment and like any of the above listed when you sell more than likely you will get much less than you paid forget trade value unless you paid cash. Just like a car or truck if you finance a truck and try to trade it in only having it for 1/3 of the life of the loan you are upside down. I guess the point I'm making is it is all relative and I posted earlier if you enjoy it you will find a way to do it we have seen and done more with the MH than without. The kids love it and it makes the trips more enjoyable not having to stop for bathrooms or snacks. TV entertainment for them and the destination is always fun. We plan ahead and even with overnight stops we Google on the way to find where we want to stay and have yet not been turned away. I plan on keeping the SB when I retire but will be doing extended trips Simi full time.

Well in most cases this is the truth but for some of us who do our home work when buying do our preventive and regular maintenance, make improvements and upgrades we can actualy make money while enjoying the RV life. Just like anything in live. One mans loss is another mas gain.
[emoji2]

[rvethereyet]

Originally Posted by GEM1N1

Only difference is you are absolutely losing money every year with a motorhome. Buying memories i guess.

only if you sale

[brabono]

Didn’t buy a MH till 68years old. Now 80 and health issues and age are forcing us out. I am really sad. Another issue is at our age could we climb through window in case of fire

[GEM1N1]

Originally Posted by brabono

Didn’t buy a MH till 68years old. Now 80 and health issues and age are forcing us out. I am really sad. Another issue is at our age could we climb through window in case of fire

Very valid point. Not related to this thread but your comment got me thinking. The MH I’m purchasing is “all electric” no propane. Would that decrease risk of fire? Wondering what the most common cause of RV fire is.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by GEM1N1

Very valid point. Not related to this thread but your comment got me thinking. The MH I’m purchasing is “all electric” no propane. Would that decrease risk of fire? Wondering what the most common cause of RV fire is.

Engines, brakes, ammonia absorption refrigerators. Maybe high-current, compromised electrical wiring (ATS, battery, converter, shore power terminations/reels.


Not in any particular order.

[Algonquin]

Originally Posted by bobmac

My own advice that I would offer to anyone contemplating the purchase of an RV - if you aren't handy or willing to fix almost all issues yourself, consider another leisure activity. If you are unwilling or unable, your RV will spend a significant portion of its life - particularly if you purchase a brand new RV - awaiting service at a repair shop. Ugly advice to offer but very true.

Boy, did you hit the nail on the head!

[grindstone01]

Originally Posted by brabono

Didn’t buy a MH till 68years old. Now 80 and health issues and age are forcing us out. I am really sad. Another issue is at our age could we climb through window in case of fire

Having a RV fire or house fire is not very high on my list of things to worry about. Fires just don't happen that often, but they get a lot of publicity when they do happen which makes them more frightful then I believe they really are.

[BOOZE TRAVEL]

I am 51yrs old. We never camped in 29yrs of marriage but have owned a large boat for 20 years.
I was not really looking for a coach but ours landed in my lap in July of 17. I had 24hrs to make a decision so I found this forum and other resources and read all I could about the coach.
We decided to go ahead and buy it figuring I could easily sell it for more than I paid if we didn’t like it. We brought it home, cleaned it up and took it to a festival that we go to every year and loved it. Then 2 weeks later we took it to another festival and decided to keep it.
We then updated the interior and mades some changes before heading west for 2 mos. Our friends thought we were crazy to try to live in 320 sq/ft! I told them we would either be back in 2 weeks and sell it or we would see them in the spring! We reluctantly came home in April!
As far as costs, it is a wash compared it hotel/condo rentals for us. We tracked expenses for the 8wk trip and did a spreadsheet after we got home looking at fuel, camp fees, groceries, restaurants, and one time purchases (things we bought to keep in the coach).
This year after Christmas we are heading west for 4 mos and will probably spend the same as we spent in 2 last year because we learned a lot from others on the road and we are not going to be moving constantly this trip. Fuel was the big hit on the budget for us.
We will do this until we decide we don’t want to anymore. We don’t have a payment and that helps but many of the negatives we see on here are overblown. We had 1 time a campground was full due to spring break but got a better spot 2mi away in a State Park and made 2 new friends at a $14/day site!