Non Full-timers and Not Retired-How often?

[dix39]

I've been retired since '94 and my wife a few years later.

We've had TCs since the late '70s and will make our first trip in a MH this Summer. We've also had a 22' Rienell cabin boat since about that time. Much of the time while I was working we had three day weekends. For many years we took the TC and boat to the Oregon coast to fish, explore and just have fun for three days. We made one two week trip to WA's San Juan Islands with the TC/boat, but stayed in the boat most of the time. During this time, and for the most part up to the present, we have also made an annual trip to various places across the US for about a month (6-8k miles) and a week bow hunting in the Oregon mountains. After retiring it was more like 1-2 months on the road and 1 month in the woods.

When traveling we usually stayed in rest areas, truck stops, but sometimes NP or FS/BLM campgrounds. For us it was more or less whatever was available.

If you have a RV, travel when you can and enjoy it. I don't think you will ever regret it.

Best of luck.

Steve

[UTTransplant]

I finally retired in August, but we camped a lot before that. We use a travel trailer, and we would be gone at least once a month during the season. We also planned one two week trip a year plus some extended weekends. Many years we had 60 nights in the trailer.

[Ysanchez4]

10-15 years from retirement. We try to go out 1-2 weekends a year, close to home. Luckily, you can camp year round in south Texas. Then 1-2 times a year we head out for a weeklong trip.

[stepside454]

Originally Posted by Ysanchez4

10-15 years from retirement. We try to go out 1-2 weekends a year, close to home. Luckily, you can camp year round in south Texas. Then 1-2 times a year we head out for a weeklong trip.

I guess I would have assumed it would be to hot to want to camp in the summer down there .

[jondrew55]

We're on our 2nd Class A in 2 years. We got our Excursion Jan 2015 and used it about 16 times before trading it for our Discovery. Since Jan of this year we've been out 8 times, mostly long weekends with a 1 week trip to the Keys. We're actually going to cancel a trip this month to catch our breath and catch up on house work and some coach maintenance.

We both still work and don't see retirement on the horizon. We have a lot of money tied up in the MH and plan using it as much as possible. I'd never be able to justify this "hobby" I'd we only got out 3 or 4 times a year

[nothermark]

FWIW It is easy to justify the cost of an RV against the cost of motel/restaurants. The issue is justifying traveling vs staying home.

[ArmandV]

Originally Posted by nothermark

FWIW It is easy to justify the cost of an RV against the cost of motel/restaurants. The issue is justifying traveling vs staying home.

Amen to that!

I am presently camping solo in Ventura, CA. It is a 40 mile drive from home, but the San Fernando Valley (where I live) is an oven this weekend and I am enjoying the cooler sea air (mid-70s).

This is the second time I've come here within 2 weeks. A pattern is beginning to develop.

[TMan59]

Originally Posted by pink toaster

Is that a GOOD "What a question!" or a BAD "What a question!"?

It's something I'm dealing with in my own head. We've got several years until retirement and I'm trying to think of usage vs cost while still working.

Our intent would be to use it often... but realistically I know it would not me every weekend and probably not even a weekend a month after the intial newness wears off. Then, of course, I start thinking about all that money spent on something that's just sitting parked and unused so much . But then the other side of me thinks about all the fun we could have. But then the other side of me starts again with the total usage... UGH!

Thanx everyone for your replys. So I'm not off base with my thoughts that we would most likely not be using this weekly or even monthly in a lot of cases, as life gets in the way .

That's a GOOD "What a question ".
Made me think!
I thought we should be traveling more!

[TMan59]

So just to follow up here:
We had a RV we just didn't use much.
I used it for racing motocross with the buds but not much for family travel.

So after having a hip replaced I needed something to do.
Thought "well, lets try this travel thing".
I knew we didn't want to travel in the RV we had so we sold it and bought the Windsor.
I wanted something that, if we didn't like traveling, it wasn't the coaches fault.
I wanted big, I wanted nice drive, I didn't want cramped.

The reason I thought it was a great question was I guess we didn't really have ANY expectations as to how much we would use it, but could never find out if we didn't have it.

Whats the worst thing that could happen?
We sell it 2 years later because it didn't get used much.

Whats the best thing that could happen?
Simply put, It could change our life.
We love traveling, it gave me a vision for our future, we go places we can't believe, do things we have never done.

The up side far outweighed the down side.

[Newmar2856]

In reality ours sits more than I'd like as we seem to get 20-25 nights out in the rig per year. If I start thinking about the cost of it and the truck from a purely financial viewpoint then it takes the fun out of it so I just don't do that anymore. We're still young, with at least 17 years until retirement, and we've decided we need to have some fun along the way because you really never know what you'll be in for 20 years from now. So, if you're not going to break the bank to do it now then enjoy it. We love our time out and look forward to our trips as they break up the work year.

[Lifemember]

Originally Posted by pink toaster

How often do you use your RVs? Do you go every weekend? Once a month? Once every 2 to 3 to 4 months?

Mostly in June and July when she is out of school (teacher) Then in the fall from Monday to Friday near her work. With weekend trips when we choose.

Where do you go... national/state parks? the beach? do you stay in RV parks? do you boondock? do you stay in Walmart/Truckstops/other parking lots? COE's, State Parks, RV parks, relatives house.

And what do you have? A/B/C? 5th wheel? trailer?

Class A

[biosensai]

Originally Posted by oakcreekeric

And I'll add.... If you have kids... like me... you'll find no better "memory maker"... My kids are 13, 14 & 16... and even though two of them are in HS.. they STILL look forward to going camping with Dad... to me... that's priceless..

My kids grew up taking a motorhome & a Sea Ray boat to visit their grandparents near Lake Shasta every summer. We'd leave the boat there (usually) then head off to Yellowstone, Canada, etc. Followed by another week at Shasta before heading back home to So Cal. After his first deployment to Afghanistan, my son requested we relive the experience. By that time, my daughter & her husband had purchased a tow hauler so her 2 kids could experience the great RV'ing memories she'd made growing up. We all trekked the 600+ miles up there at the request of my now full grown son. Those RV excursions were truly memory makers.

[Hammer bird]

As you can see by my signature we've grown up into our class a. We just got it in March and it's been to Florida, state parks, planning a long 2week trip to Colorado, do we use it enough? Well, what's enough? Never seems to be as often as we'd like! But we love every second!

[biosensai]

How often you use it may well be determined by where you live. And, pinktoaster, I'm guessing from a previous post, that you may well live in So Cal. As do I. When I first got out of college, married this cute little Home Ec teacher, we quite often, without planning to do so, left straight from work in our RV (1978 Toyota longbed with a shell) to go to Pismo or the Eastern Sierra, etc. No reservations. No problem. Only a few places where traffic even slowed. Sure can't do that now. If you are in an area where the population growth has drastically outpaced recreational activities (and roads) you are going to be faced with making reservations way ahead of time (check availability of sites at Doheny SP online right now). Add to that, many of the public facilities have become party central on the weekends. Drive thru the campground at Lake Skinner Friday or Saturday at dusk. Not to discourage you, but it is what it has become. We started RV'ing largely so I would have a place to 'decompress' when we visited my wife's parents 600 miles to the north. We were both teachers, so we took extended outings whenever school was out of session. We did not do weekend excursions as the years progressed for the aforementioned reasons. As far as cost analysis goes, you cannot put a cost on treasured memories. And as a guy heavily trained in disease epidemiology, I want nothing to do with airplanes nor motel rooms. If I must use a motel, I wear surgical gloves when using the remote!