Do you own an RV/camper?

[Ann@thebeach]

Do you use it as much as you thought you would? Do you regret the purchase? Do you love it?

 

We have toyed with the idea on/off a few times and are thinking about it again. There are a few great deals that have come up and we don't want to make a hasty decision KWIM? Our biggest fear is that we buy it and then never use it.

We used to travel every weekend when we lived in WA state and stayed in yurts, cabins, or hotels. There were lots of options. But now that we are back in Iowa we never travel because there just aren't as many great places to visit close by. We thought having a travel trailer might allow us to travel a little further away for long weekends. We would be getting a pull behind type-around 28ft. The bus/driving types are just out of our $$ league (even though they would make the traveling part nice!).

 

I know the kids would love it but with 4 kids we'd certainly be short on space for what we can haul with our truck. I keep thinking that we'd spend most of our time out/about and not in the trailer so it should be doable. The kids are totally nature oriented so I really think they would thrive on these trips and I grew up with tent and pop-up camper camping so I know about the experiences.

 

Thoughts? I'd love any feedback.

Thanks

Ann

Edited January 25, 2010 by Ann in IA

[EKS]

We have a campervan. We don't use it as much as I would like, but when we do use it, it's wonderful.

[milovany]

 

Here's a good family project!

[Pippen]

We bought a really big pop-up and we mostly love it. We do most of our camping with a bunch of other families from church and I think it will be some of the best childhood memories that my kids have.

 

The big problem with pop-ups, of course, is that they have to be set up and torn down each time and then set up again to dry out when you get home. We couldn't afford a trailer and we wanted to stick with our mini-van (with tow package) because we knew ours wouldn't do well stuffed in a truck.

[ChristusG]

We have a pop up and love it. Of course, we do not get to use it as much as we would like. I do not like to go just for a two day weekend.....too much time to pack up, set up, take down, clean, and unpack for one full day. Hopefully this year we can take some three or four day weekends and go more often.

 

I grew up camping and really wanted my kids to grow up camping as well. I have a lot of great camping memories from when I was a kid.

[Ann@thebeach]

We couldn't afford a trailer and we wanted to stick with our mini-van (with tow package) because we knew ours wouldn't do well stuffed in a truck.

 

I do worry about this too! We have the extended cab and it fits 6 fine-however, stuffed in there for more than an hour or 2 will get ugly I'm afraid-esp with 2 carseats! DH seems to think it's doable :001_huh: ....I rather get a Suburban!

[Pippen]

I do worry about this too! We have the extended cab and it fits 6 fine-however, stuffed in there for more than an hour or 2 will get ugly I'm afraid-esp with 2 carseats! DH seems to think it's doable :001_huh: ....I rather get a Suburban!

 

My husband thought it was do-able also, but there were only two kids in his family so there was some space between them in that backseat. We had three kids stuffed in the backseat and it was absolutely brutal on trips, especially as we grew older. I told him absolutely no on the truck.

 

The van has been fine although I don't think we'd do a trip in the Colorado moutains with it again.

[....]

We also have an 18 foot pop-up (Viking). The only regret I have is that I wish we would have spent more money and bought something bigger (like a bumper pull). We ended up living in it for a couple of months, so it definitely paid for itself.

 

We plan on trading it in next year and getting a big bumper pull (with 2 sets of bunk beds and a queen-sized bed).

[NavyWifeandMommy]

http://denofmamabear.blogspot.com/2009/06/our-camper-2006-antiqua-camper.html

 

This is our home on wheels. I have done tents as a child and once as a teen and hated it. My hubby loves tents. Our first year here he bought the very basic of pop ups. really cheap to see how I would like it. A year later we bought this and was sooo worth it. The bath area is small but we mostly use the campground because we don't get full hook. It doesn't slide out which is fine because we are outside most of the time. It's great to go visit family because we have our own space. Unfortatally she will be sitting for three years while we are living overseas due to hubby's orders. I am already counting down to the day we return because we are taking her to the Grand Canyon when we return. This model isn't sold anymore but a few years ago hubby and I saw some really nice models for the larger families. I could fit 13 into my camper. When we go to Grand Canyon we will have 7 maybe 10 people in the camper.

[lynn]

When we owned our Nash, we loved it. We have a lot of places within 3 hours that we went for the weekend and we brought it down to Camp Wilderness at Disney. We sold it when we moved to AZ and regret it because we loved that camper. We are looking for another one for we love to take weekend trips in our immediate are and plan some excursions further away like KeyWest, and here http://www.dogwoodvalleycampground.com/DogwoodValleyNews.aspx, and here http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/zion.htm, and here http://www.acadiamagic.com/acadia-lodging/camping.html oh there are to many to post. Yes we would use it. They are a lot of work but once you have assigned everyone their chores when you get ready to pack up and go, what to do once you arrive at the campground and what to do once they get home it will go pretty smoothly. We had somethings stored in the rv that were just there and ready to go for our weekend trip and we had grocery staples that we kept in the RV or I could run the store the day before to get.

[Michelle in MI]

We have a 30 ft travel trailer with quad bunk beds. We have 3 children 13-8 years old. We are gone most of the summer with it! Most every weekend with a week trip thrown in here and there. This summer we have rented a camping site for a whole month! It is only 45 minutes from our home so my husband is going to commute or come out as much as he can. Living in Michigan we have gorgeous campgrounds all over our state and of course lakes are everywhere. We try to stay at campgrounds with a pool and a lake since we also have a boat and my kids love to ski, tube, etc.

 

As far as space, we have never felt tight. We are outside most of the time. Even on rainy days we can sit under the awning at the picnic table and play games or read in a chair. There is also a table inside big enough for family game time. Each child has their own bunk bed so they can have their own space to play, read, color, etc. The campgrounds in this area have so many activities for kids that also keeps them busy.

 

I grew up with a cottage and have many wonderful memories but I honestly think this is even more fun. We have been to so many quaint towns and places, met so many neat people and have had more variety of family experiences than I ever did growing up with a cottage. I think it really depends on your family. Each family will have different needs...this just fits for us...our cottage on wheels!

[CalicoKat]

We bought a used big popup last spring and we love it! The ladies here will help you, as they helped me. Our only regret is that we didn't go for the hardside camper. The popup is nice and compact and a low committment but now that we know we love camping..... we want a bigger camper. :D

 

Mostly its for the our dogs. They'd be able to come more easily if we had a camper that was hardsided and with a/c so we could go more to do stuff like hiking. One of our doggies has a thing for bikes. And there are lots of bikes at campgrounds.....:tongue_smilie:

 

Our plans for this year are just getting firmed up. Last year we went 5 weekends. This year we're planning longer trips to far away destinations (Grand Canyon!)

 

Have fun. Camping is an adventure. You'll have tons of funny stories to share. Our ususally start like this, "The racoons...!"

[CalicoKat]

We also have an 18 foot pop-up (Viking). The only regret I have is that I wish we would have spent more money and bought something bigger (like a bumper pull). We ended up living in it for a couple of months, so it definitely paid for itself.

 

We plan on trading it in next year and getting a big bumper pull (with 2 sets of bunk beds and a queen-sized bed).

too funny! we have the 18 foot Viking too and you're trade-in thought are ours! DH's been following things on ebay recently. There's some out there right now that almost make you think you'd be at a luxury resort.

[Ann@thebeach]

That's a big concern too is how big should we go? Ideally, we'd want the 30 or 32ft size with the quad bunks since we have 4 kids. But that is the absolute towing capacity for DH's truck so he doesn't want to go that big.

 

He rather do 28ft with the double bunk (1 kid on top, 2 kids in bottom double bunk) and then the 4th child could sleep on couch so we wouldn't have to pull anything out. It still has the queen bed for us.

Then if we really did use it for a few yrs we'd upgrade to the "ideal" one and he'd get a Tundra with more towing capacity.

 

We know they depreciate like rocks so we'd get a used one for less than $10,000 to start (we found a few in the price range here). We figure if we used it a lot for 3 yrs it would almost pay for the motels/cabins we would have used and we can sell it for half of what we bought it for.

[....]

Yeah, when you look at towing capacity - figure in all the weight of the equipment/baggage you are also going to bring.