This may have been discussed before but I'm pretty new and haven't seen it.
Has anyone ever tried to justify the cost of buying and maintaining a camper over motels or vacations? I've seen what some ads say about the savings but a 6 person hot tub can't really hold 6 people. Have we ever developed a rule of thumb concerning savings on lodging? Being able to justify a big purchase by calculating a return on the investment. Just some camping thoughts for the off season...
To get our PUP on the road including purchase price: $2000.
Per night charge at state campgrounds (PA and NY): $35-45
5 years of camping, 4-5 trips/year, 2 nights each = 50 nights x $45/night = $2250.
50 nights x $125/night hotel = $6250
Our pup requires $6 registration fee a year, no inspection b/c it's not heavy enough, no extra insurance required.
Is it worth it? Yup. We generally take 1 week long trip and 3-5 weekend trips of 2-3 nights a year.
It's easier to take the camper than it is going to the beach for the week as the beach requires us to carry everything needed to keep house in the cottage we rent, including linen and paper products. The camper already has all that packed in it.
Yeah buddy! and, sometimes if you camp with the group, you can get an even better rate. Or camp in off season. Or are military, senior citizen, or disabled, you can get yet another discount. Oh yeah and AAA too. Once you get your ducks in a row and have your camper equipped and outfitted the way you want it, all you have to do is add food and humans and you're ready to go. It is a no brainer. Plus, the campgrounds often have activities for little or no cost. Can't get that at a motel.
This is like Deja Vue ... I'm sure I saw this exact same question posted on another site ... ??? I really hate it when people post a question on one site and when they don't get the answers they want, they post it someplace else ...
And since you ask ...
It is much cheaper owning/maintaining/towing and campering then it is to take a week or two week vacation some place ... Due to my job, I can fly just about anywhere in the World ... I have amazing discounts on hotels, cruises etc ... but I'm still looking at about $1000 for a week long vacation ... that's for a 3 star hotel, mid-size rental car, plus my costs to fly to said destination ... I can do a weeks worth of camping for a lot less, including my gas to tow the trailer ...
Oh .. and as was mentioned on the other site ... Not many people buy a trailer and look for a return on the investment ... they are like cars... value drops as soon as you sign on the dotted line....
My first popup cost me $800 and I had it for roughly 1 season. If it had fallen apart at the end of the first season, I would have been completly fine with it. I got my money's worth out of it and I sold it for $800 when I was done. My current trailer cost $1,500 and I have had it for 2 seasons. I hope to get one more season out of it and I will be at the same point, if it falls apart I'll junk it and not cry over it. My next one will probably cost about $5k-$9k depending on how rich my wife says we are 😉 but then it should last for much longer.
Thats my thought on the initial investment. Now for the weekend fee's....I look at it as I am eating the same food and drinking the same beer so the only additional costs are for the site (for arguments sake $40 per night) $80 and gas for a 4 hour round trip....say $40. $120 total.
To me, spending $120.....we'll say $150 to take a 2 night vacation is not bad.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
I have a much simpler take on this. For me, Camping is a Hobby/Sport. I don't spend time justifying a Hobby or Sport. (Do I need to know what the cost of lost footballs are to play the game). I either do it or don't.
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The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything that they have! |
We budget about $300 per weekend and camp once a month for 9 months of the year (Mar-Nov). ($100 food, $80 CG, $30 beverage, $60 fuel, $30 for ice and wood.) We would be spending the $130 for food and drink either way. We would spend another $70 for entertainment of 4 people at home (movies, bowling, eating out, etc). That leaves $100 x 9 months = $900 for an 18 day vacation somewhere else... doubt it!
The big plus is that we see 9 different locations where we can hike, kayak, swim, fish, play games, visit historical locations, spend time with friends and so much more.
[quote author=JoeCamper link=topic=1293.msg9880#msg9880 date=1323890885]
The big plus is that we see 9 different locations where we can hike, kayak, swim, fish, play games, visit historical locations, spend time with friends and so much more.
MasterCard commercial in the making...
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The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything that they have! |
I dont thinkl camping should be about the money. Whether its less expensive or more expensive. Its all about what happens when you are there. The way your kids interact with the wonders of nature. Waking up early and having the first cup of coffee in the morning and seeing a deer in the woods. Meeting with friends both new and old . Catching bugs with your kids. Seeing the turky on the roof of the bathroom. the way your clothes smell when you come home from the trip. The way your wifes face looks at the campfire. None of those things can have a price tag put on them. I have had some great trips at a hotel with my family that cost less then a few camping trips but nothing can compare to the feeling of camping for me at any cost. 🙂
about money, everybody has an argument. But camping in any RV kind is not justify by the money, just by the spirit and feelings of live. Furthermore when you pass your 40 birthday.
How can I justify 12$ a gas ga llon and the prohibition of RV camping in public land? this is the deal here where I live but my feelings, spirit and memories justify more than this, spending my time on the woods.
Joe and I recently had an eye opening experience with vacation this past year.
Last year we did just under 26 days in the camper with the journey taking us from NJ to S. Dakoka, Wyoming, Colorado and back. We had a fantastic time mountain biking and camping.
This year we decided to go with a group of friends for 10 days and fly from NJ to Colorado - rented mountain bikes, rented a house for 4 days, rented a hotel room for 6 days, rented a minivan (to hold the mountain bikes). Even with sharing the cost of the minivan and house, it still cost us about double for about 1/3 of the time away 😮
I had no idea how much less expensive it is to camp - I just know I enjoy it a lot more than putting up with airport nonsense, staying in hotels, and dealing with rental cars.
Next year - back out west with the camper & bikes, this time - - Colorado and Utah 🙂 I can't wait to get it all planned out.
We actually bought the PUP because of the cost. DW, me and the 3 kids go down to VA a few times a year to watch the races at Winchester Speedway. We would go down on Saturday, go to the track then stay Saturday night at a motel. The one with the best rate was around $100. Now we go to a campground and stay 2 nights for about $80, and we bring our own food so there isn't as much in meals either. We would also rent a cabin at campgrounds occasionally for the weekend, usually a few hundred dollars. Now we can do the whole weekend for what one night would cost. We've figured out that the PUP will pay for itself sometime in 2012 just doing what we had been doing.
[quote author=snow link=topic=1293.msg9863#msg9863 date=1323871744]
This is like Deja Vue ... I'm sure I saw this exact same question posted on another site ... ??? I really hate it when people post a question on one site and when they don't get the answers they want, they post it someplace else ...
And since you ask ...
It is much cheaper owning/maintaining/towing and campering then it is to take a week or two week vacation some place ... Due to my job, I can fly just about anywhere in the World ... I have amazing discounts on hotels, cruises etc ... but I'm still looking at about $1000 for a week long vacation ... that's for a 3 star hotel, mid-size rental car, plus my costs to fly to said destination ... I can do a weeks worth of camping for a lot less, including my gas to tow the trailer ...
Oh .. and as was mentioned on the other site ... Not many people buy a trailer and look for a return on the investment ... they are like cars... value drops as soon as you sign on the dotted line....
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