TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post

03-09-2005, 10:45 PM

I didn't see very many answers to the original question: Rent versus Buy.

I started out camping at age 6 months, or so I've been told. I have never rented or owned any sort of RV. I grew up tent camping. I have borrowed my in-laws class A 5 times.

We use the class A for Wednesday through Sunday at a mountain bike race. Having an RV allows us to stay on-site instead of commuting from a motel 10 miles away. We are busy at the race from 7 am until 8 pm. We always pick up the motor home the Saturday before the race and return in the Saturday after the race. That means I have possession for two weeks, so that I can use it for four days.

It takes more time than you might think to figure out what you want to take, and then where to put it. After returning home it takes awhile to empty and clean it up.

My expectation, when our TM arrives in a few weeks, is that I will pull it out of the garage and park it on the street the weekend before we leave to load it. It won't take as long to load as we can keep some of our stuff permanently inside. Come Sunday night it goes back into the garage, fully loaded, except for perishable items.

The night before departure it comes back out and stays on the street overnight. I take it to work the next day and leave directly from work. The rest of the family will meet up with me later.

I expect that the logistics will be a lot easier when I can keep a trailer in the garage instead of driving across town to rent one or driving 50 miles one way to borrow one.

I don't know how long I will keep it. I normally keep my cars for 16 years or 200,000 miles, whichever comes first. I would hope that a TM would outlast the tow vehicle. Amortized over 20 years is only a little over a thousand dollars per year, ignoring interest. Motels are 100 dollars per night, times two rooms, times 4 nights, which is 800 dollars. Plus we have to eat out for all meals. It will cost 160 dollars for the campsite (no hookups). We can do our own cooking. The cost of renting a motel room is very similar to the cost of owning a camping trailer. Any additional usage will be almost free as the cost of ownership is mostly fixed.

I recommend you figure out what your minimal usage will be per year and for how many years. My kids are 24 and 21. You might think I don't need the space, as they will be moving out. Wanna bet? We have a very tight family. Our son is a very serious mountain bike racer. His older sister and my wife and I attend as many races as we can. Usually 6 to 8 per year. We can only camp at 2 or 3 of them. As the kids get even older I anticipate they will borrow it occasionally. I just don't see it in their budget for them to purchase one. They should buy a house first. Fixer upper starter homes start at 350,000 bucks. Hard to find money in the budget to buy a camping trailer.

Everyone’s situation is different.

03-09-2005, 10:45 PM	#8
PopBeavers Guest Posts: n/a	Answer to Rent versus Buy I didn't see very many answers to the original question: Rent versus Buy. I started out camping at age 6 months, or so I've been told. I have never rented or owned any sort of RV. I grew up tent camping. I have borrowed my in-laws class A 5 times. We use the class A for Wednesday through Sunday at a mountain bike race. Having an RV allows us to stay on-site instead of commuting from a motel 10 miles away. We are busy at the race from 7 am until 8 pm. We always pick up the motor home the Saturday before the race and return in the Saturday after the race. That means I have possession for two weeks, so that I can use it for four days. It takes more time than you might think to figure out what you want to take, and then where to put it. After returning home it takes awhile to empty and clean it up. My expectation, when our TM arrives in a few weeks, is that I will pull it out of the garage and park it on the street the weekend before we leave to load it. It won't take as long to load as we can keep some of our stuff permanently inside. Come Sunday night it goes back into the garage, fully loaded, except for perishable items. The night before departure it comes back out and stays on the street overnight. I take it to work the next day and leave directly from work. The rest of the family will meet up with me later. I expect that the logistics will be a lot easier when I can keep a trailer in the garage instead of driving across town to rent one or driving 50 miles one way to borrow one. I don't know how long I will keep it. I normally keep my cars for 16 years or 200,000 miles, whichever comes first. I would hope that a TM would outlast the tow vehicle. Amortized over 20 years is only a little over a thousand dollars per year, ignoring interest. Motels are 100 dollars per night, times two rooms, times 4 nights, which is 800 dollars. Plus we have to eat out for all meals. It will cost 160 dollars for the campsite (no hookups). We can do our own cooking. The cost of renting a motel room is very similar to the cost of owning a camping trailer. Any additional usage will be almost free as the cost of ownership is mostly fixed. I recommend you figure out what your minimal usage will be per year and for how many years. My kids are 24 and 21. You might think I don't need the space, as they will be moving out. Wanna bet? We have a very tight family. Our son is a very serious mountain bike racer. His older sister and my wife and I attend as many races as we can. Usually 6 to 8 per year. We can only camp at 2 or 3 of them. As the kids get even older I anticipate they will borrow it occasionally. I just don't see it in their budget for them to purchase one. They should buy a house first. Fixer upper starter homes start at 350,000 bucks. Hard to find money in the budget to buy a camping trailer. Everyone’s situation is different.