World Traveler
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2014
- Messages
- 151
Thanks everyone for the inputs. I'm leaning RV then vrbo later on when I get tired of the nomad lifestyle.
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.
IMO, the important take away here is that occasional use of a vehicle is much more problematic than for a vehicle used every day. It is somewhat counter intuitive, but a very low mileage vehicle that has been sitting around can have a host of issues just waiting to surface. Rust (and corrosion) never sleeps..........
Even though I could actually shave in the stainless steel wrap-around located on the entire bottom of the motor home, DW and I will no longer entertain the idea of owning a motor home. YMMV
IMO, the important take away here is that occasional use of a vehicle is much more problematic that for a vehicle used every day. It is somewhat counter intuitive, but a very low mileage vehicle that has been sitting around can have a host of issues just waiting to surface. Rust (and corrosion) never sleeps.
IMO, the important take away here is that occasional use of a vehicle is much more problematic that for a vehicle used every day. It is somewhat counter intuitive, but a very low mileage vehicle that has been sitting around can have a host of issues just waiting to surface. Rust (and corrosion) never sleeps.
Trying to decide whether buying an RV is worth it to travel the US and Canada or hotels and VRBOs. Thoughts?
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.
DW and I used VRBO before we retired.
Last year, we purchased a 45ft, 10 yr old MH for $200K. I have pictures of it in the Motorhome Thread in this forum.
It depreciates $1k each month. Insurance is a little more than $2k annually and registration is about $2k annually as well. I budget around $8k for repairs and upgrades each year. On a trip last December, the turbo started leaking oil and was replaced.... That cost $4k.
We plan to use the MH for 5 months each year... 2 and 3 month long trips in the spring and fall. Storage when not in use costs $300 each month.
We also tow a jeep Cherokee. The towing setup cost $4k.
Using VRBO, airlines, and rental cars is a fine way to travel until you are ready to commit to an RV lifestyle. IRV2.com (own by the same guy who runs this forum), rvforum.net and rv.net are great places to learn about RVs from other peoples experiences. Also, start shopping for your coach at rvtrader.com and rvt.com
We chose the RV lifestyle because we wanted extended trips with all our stuff; mountain bikes, dogs, Clothing(jackets, sweaters, shorts) kitchen and outdoor grill equipment, etc.
Extended trips using vrbo and hotels was too much effort and too limiting and living out of a suitcase was too tedious.
And yes, the RV lifestyle is more social... I always seem to park (camp) next to the New Yorker guy who never shuts up We also meet some nice folks at the Jacuzzi or out walking the dogs.
My next travel season beings in early April. Plan to travel from SLC towards Page AZ and visit Monument Valley and Canyon De Chelly. We will tour AZ and Southern California during April, May and June. We will visit the Lake Tahoe area in early June and return to SLC mid June.
The fall travel season will start after Labor day and we will travel to Moab, Denver and attend the Balloon festival in Albuquerque.
When considering an RV, start figuring out your budgets; purchase, operating expense, repair and travel(fuel, camping fees, and activites).
Its going to be warm this week, so I will be pulling my coach out of storage and begin spring maintenance and repairs/upgrades
So your approx. fixed costs per month of use is around 5000 ( I know you used round numbers so it's not exact)? Any idea what your hook-up/camping fees and fuel add to that number? VRBO rentals do not actually always involve living out of a suitcase. Not having a lot of possessions to deal with actually makes traveling more enjoyable for us. To me the VRBO style is easier and more hassle-free then and RV. I'm glad this great country of ours offers so many options.
From time to time, we adjust our fees to better align with the value we provide. Some bookings require our platform to operate across different currencies. Starting April 1, 2024, for cross-currency bookings, the guest service fee will include an additional amount of up to 2% of the booking total before taxes. This will be applied when the currency the guest uses to pay differs from the currency that the Host set for their listing. See Airbnb Service Fees in the Help Center for further information.
From an email sent to me today: Another fee being added to Airbnb rentals.
Oh yeah, another tough fee like thing about renting Condos and VRBO/AirBNBs: significant deposits required and cancellation terms are extreme. You end up paying way in advance, and generally the remainder in full by 60 to 30 days ahead and no cancellation once you reach that 60/30 day window.
I'm not surprised. If you can find the same rental on VRBO, I'm confident that it will be even higher since you now need to pay both vendors. Yes, it is ridiculous.evolve is new to me. Seems to have same issues as AirBNB. Quote for a place I looked at was $1463 before tax and fees. After tax and fees, $2192. Yikes! 50% tax and fees.