RV vs VRBO, Airbnb

[World Traveler]

Trying to decide whether buying an RV is worth it to travel the US and Canada or hotels and VRBOs. Thoughts?

 

[davismills]

I've owned two RVs since 1999 and quite frankly, it's probably much more economical to go the hotel route. I continue to own an RV because I enjoy the lifestyle and avoid the constant packing and re-packing of hotel stays.

 

[Sarah in SC]

If you like staying in parks and such, the RV may get you closer to nature than the hotel route. But it probably not cheaper, and you will need to be comfortable with road miles on a big vehicle.

We "car camp" in an old school bus, and we got to stay in a lot of very beautiful camp areas in the US and Canada as a result. But the hotel beds and showers were far superior in comfort!

 

[Gone4Good]

It depends on where you want to go. If you're primarily interested in visiting cities then using Airbnb & Hotels is the way to go.

But it's a big country and the best way to explore all those miles outside a handful of the coastal cities is with a camper of some kind.

It's true that you don't absolutely need a camper. Some of the national parks have lodges inside park borders. But I doubt you'd find Airbnb offerings everywhere you wanted to go. And some of the worst, most depressing, hotels we've experienced anywhere in the world we found on a coast to coast car trip in the good old U. S. of A.

After spending 4 years R.V.ing in North America and 2 years backpacking the globe using hotels and Airbnb's, our opinion is that traveling by motorhome in the U.S. is hands down the more enjoyable way to travel.

 

[photoguy]

I think you need to decide what you are going to see first. You're not going to be staying in a vrbo in a national park. Likewise you won't be dragging your RV downtown and finding street parking.


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[ivinsfan]

What is your definition of worth it...are you concerned with costs, flexibility in travel or the comfort of sleeping in the same bed every night?

I suspect answers will vary wildly without a little more information from you.

 

[travelover]

I have an inexpensive RV and do both. It all depends on what you consider for be adequate for a person of your tastes and style.

 

[MBAustin]

They are very different experiences. If you have never had an RV before, I strongly suggest you rent once (or more) to see if it's to your liking. We love our RV, but also know others who bought one and rarely used it because they just didn't enjoy the experience (some people really dislike dumping the waste tanks!).

 

[folivier]

RV's can be an expensive option unless you are a DIY'er. Even a new one with a warranty could be a major hassle just getting warranty work done. We lived full-time in a Newell 45' 2 slide coach for 2 years. Excellent build quality and factory support. But it wasn't trouble free. It would have been expensive if I didn't do most of the regular maintenance myself.
That said last year we spent 4 months renting VRBOs in Utah and Colorado. Very different experience. More spacious but debatable if it was more comfortable than our 45'er.
In an RV you don't need reservations as much or as far in advance as VRBOs. So we are finding there is more planning involved than in an RV. But if you find the VRBO is a dump you're pretty much stuck there. In an RV you can move on. We had that happen in a rental in Colorado. Fortunately we had only booked 2 weeks and left money behind when we moved out in less than a week. Couldn't stomach dog hair everywhere....

 

[World Traveler]

What is your definition of worth it...are you concerned with costs, flexibility in travel or the comfort of sleeping in the same bed every night?

I suspect answers will vary wildly without a little more information from you.

It's a lot of money for a nice new or used RV. What I was wondering is the cost of parks, RV vs hotel, lodges and vrbo. Cities vs country we want to see it all.


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[folivier]

Size of the RV is important depending on where you want to stay. 40'+ limits you to nicer parks and limited sites available in national/state parks. 45' even more limited. Not just the size of the site but the turns getting into the site. We had to back out of parks a couple times because of the turns.
RV parks range from ~ $20/night up to over a hundred or so at a very nice resort (not all "resorts" are the same). Could be cheaper nightly rate if staying for a week or less for a month. There are also places where with the right size setup where you can stay on public land for nothing or only a couple bucks/night.
If you have an RV you would probably need to tow a car for sightseeing, grocery trips, etc. Another expense.
I'd suggest going over to the Escapees forum and spending time reading there. Escapees Discussion Forum

 

[Sarah in SC]

It's a lot of money for a nice new or used RV. What I was wondering is the cost of parks, RV vs hotel, lodges and vrbo. Cities vs country we want to see it all.


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Costs are incredibly variable. What hotels do you consider reasonable? Motel 6 or the Hilton? What RV do you consider reasonable? A big newer Class A or the 1976 Airstream motorhome we bought for $7 grand?
Switching to VRBO and AirBnB...are you willing to stay in just a room in someone's house with a shared bath, or do you want the whole place to yourself?

All of these have vastly different price points. I can tell you how to do stuff on the cheap and fun, but my standards are way lower than most folks. It all depends on what you consider reasonable.

One thing you could do is model the costs for a 4 week trip, using your "reasonable" hotel prices for each night or comparable VRBO, then plug in the mileage for an RV you would consider buying, and the costs of the kinds of campgrounds you'd want to stay.

That won't factor in the cost of the RV, but really, you don't want to know how much it "really" costs, much like owning a boat. Pro tip...they both go down in value!

 

[Nemo2]

but my standards are way lower than most folks.

To quote the Four Yorkshiremen', "Luxury!"

 

[Sarah in SC]

To quote the Four Yorkshiremen', "Luxury!"

Hard to pick a best of from that skit, but this seems applicable:
House? You were lucky to have a HOUSE! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of FALLING!

TG: You were lucky to have a ROOM! *We* used to have to live in a corridor!

MP: Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph.

EI: Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpolin, but it was a house to US.

GC: We were evicted from *our* hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!

TG: You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.

 

[Nemo2]

"But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'".

 

[Gone4Good]

Costs are incredibly variable.

So true.

Whenever anyone asks me "how much does travel cost?" My answer is always the same. It doesn't matter whether we're talking RVing or any other kind. Travel always costs exactly as much as you can afford.

 

[Nemo2]

Travel always costs exactly as much as you can afford.

For us it's what we're prepared to spend...which, thus far (and likely forever), is (often substantially) less than we can 'afford'.

 

[Gone4Good]

For us it's what we're prepared to spend...which, thus far (and likely forever), is (often substantially) less than we can 'afford'.

I don't see them as necessarily different.

 

[ivinsfan]

It's a lot of money for a nice new or used RV. What I was wondering is the cost of parks, RV vs hotel, lodges and vrbo. Cities vs country we want to see it all.


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Okay, well total cost will depend on your travel style. Hotel.. flexible, probably more costly and if you want to prepare meals instead of eat your meals out, choices are limited. I feel noise can be a problem in a lot of hotels, if this is important to you. It seems as though the newer the hotel, the more noise you hear from above.

VRBO... our style is to go for around a 30 day rental and not hit a place during "peak season". A lot of 30 day rentals will cost around 50% per day less then a weekly or daily rental. You would have a full kitchen in most of them and perhaps washer, dryer and free wi-fi.

RV I know nothing of RV costs, but some RV'ers here can probably help you out . Don't forget to be honest about depreciation when you are figuring cost per night.

 

[Nemo2]

I don't see them as necessarily different.

So, if Bill Gates stayed at a Motel 6 you wouldn't see any incongruity?

 

[Gone4Good]

So, if Bill Gates stayed at a Motel 6 you wouldn't see any incongruity?

I'm not sure I get your point.

If Bill Gates only felt comfortable spending for a motel 6, (or Warren Buffet only feels comfortable living in the same house he bought in 1958 for $31K) are you saying you know better?

What you can "afford" is largely subjective. And I assume you agree seeing as how when you initially used the words you too put it in quotes.

Technically I have the money to buy lots of things . . . yachts, mansions, private plane rides, etc. I do not feel I can "afford" them though. Others in my position may feel differently.

 

[Nemo2]

What you can "afford" is largely subjective.

Whereas my responses were more 'objectively' based.......'can' as opposed to 'feels he can'.......semantics...chacun à son goût, I guess.

Thanks for the dance.

 

[USA]

I believe you can pick up a used RV for a song. Do you have a place to store it? Used I think is fine. As for maintenance, you're taking a "house" down the road and shaking it. Maintenance capability (if you have the talent) is a real plus. We roll with 36' length. Smaller is better for parks & camping. I stay with what we've got as I don't want to give up any "rooms". Best of all I find it so relaxing. DH is in control and I love it. We still do the "condo" when needed due to time constraints as DH doesn't retire until this June. The rig we have, has driven the Al/Can Hwy to Ak & back. You can't do that comfortably another way, absent a cruise which isn't our thing. Driving does take more concentration than a with a big rig than a car I think. If you have disabilities (ie back pain) your time may be limited to 4/5 hours.


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[Bamaman]

When you buy a recreational vehicle, you're buying into a lifestyle. We've got a year old fifth wheel trailer, and have been RV'ers for the last 20 years.

I read a number of online RV forums. And I often read of those that sell all their personal assets and home and hit the road full time for a number of years. They're so brave for following their dreams. Funny thing is that I seldom read of full timers that don't love the lifestyle and the freedom they have.

I've got the truck and trailer to go full time, but we just use our RV as our mountain residence away from home. We seldom leave the campground we're part owner of. Whenever we're going to the camper, we call the campground and they move it on a campsite for us. It costs us about $750 per year in fees, which is not very much as we can camp 2 weeks per month there.

We are perpetual travelers, but most of our travel is on cruises and in Europe. I traveled the U.S. so much for work that we really travel very little domestically.

 

[38Chevy454]

I agree that the RV choice is a lifestyle decision more than a financial decision. I have a big motorhome, and I like that I can go places that I could not with hotels or houses. It just depends what you like. The RV route you do have to be able to fix stuff yourself. You have more flexibility with the RV. Do you like driving and spending days on the road? Do you want to be able to go to state or national parks and stay inside them? Do you like cooking your own meals? Staying in your own bed? Length of stay, many parks have 2 week limits, so forced to move around more. Taking any pets with you?

If you have not had much experience with RV, the rental suggestion is a good one. The cost for an RV can be reduced a lot buying used. Size or type of RV is what you prefer, many options out there.

My main enjoyment of the RV is being able to go places I would not otherwise be able to, or at least not without considerable expense or difficulty.

All travel costs money, going by RV just spends it differently. An RV is not more expensive, but not necessarily less expensive.