We love camping and road tripping. I will say that we usually find sites with full hookups out in CO and surrounding states for no more than 45 per night. We like to think that our camper is our home away from home since like someone else said you can keep all your essentials in it. We're getting ready to head out on a week long trip thru CO, UT and AZ and I wouldn't even want to look at home much hotels would cost in some of the areas like Grand Canyon, Moab, etc. For us it was a no brainer :-)

 

My 2 cents..get the camper. Your life will change forever. Do weekend trips close by, head to a favorite spot for 3-4 days. You will learn a system of literally keeping your camper packed at all times and take off on a moments notice. We go a minimum of 2 times a month and the trips are short but for us it works. Our camper: 2012 Keystone Outback 298RE bumper pull. Friends from work, family who ever we go camping with-its great. Good luck!!

 

This is a big one for us. If we start prepping the fiver for travel, the dog knows exactly what that means and goes nuts. In fact, I've never seen him howl and whine so badly as he did the one time I pulled the fiver out of the yard without him. It was just a test drive, but it made me feel horrible leaving him behind.

 

Yes Sir!! My German Shepard is bad ....But the Border Collie will howl and wine and jump and go berzerk

 

LOL, well my wife is almost as bad. Going camping is the one thing I never have to ask about twice!

 

Yepper.......
This camping (in comfort) stuff has really become a big hit.
It's great to be out in the middle of nowhere. The dogs can roam and we can forget about the world.

I carry a one hundred gallon tank of water with us to keep the shower people happy. Fits between the 5th wheel hitch and the cab. 850lbs along with the 2000lb pin weight.... the F-350 doesn't care.

 

You can go to the Reserve America website and check the prices for the state and federal parks in your area. We love ours we go to the State Park just six miles away from home. When you get there and setup it's like you are 100 miles from home. You can't see how tall your grass is getting and you sure can't hear the phone ring. Like someone said earlier you can check on Rving usa you can rent a trailer and try it out. Or check with your local Camping World I think they have Dealers at most stores and they offer rentals.

 

We are actually picking up our "new" travel trailer tomorrow. We got a 04 Fleetwood prowler 30 bhs for well under $10k from a family on craigslist. It has always been stored inside and looks like it has spent it's intire life in a bubble. The deals are out there. Also you can get some really great terms on a loan for one if you need too. My credit union offered 15 years on it.........

 

It's a lifestyle, not an alternative. Look around for a deal and give it a try. Worst case is that you'd sell it and have satisfied your curiosity.
Mike

 

My $.02.

We bought a 32' 5th wheel after my brother convinced my family to tent camp over July 4th in 100* weather with him and his wife a few years ago. After a night of sleeping in sweat we started looking.

The first year we slept in it nearly 40 nights. We haven't camped now since December and my whole family is itching to get back out.

If this will be your first camper, look for a used one. We bought our 2005 in early 2010 for under $10k. It's not top of the line, but it isn't junk either. We were patient and found someone wanting to get rid of it. If I was a full timer I would go for a nicer camper and spend more on it. But this thing sits 90% of it's life in a good camping year.

Get out there and enjoy life. There is nothing like hauling the camper to a place where Hotels don't exist.

 

I've had a travel trailer for years. My kids grew up on the camping experience and we have some very fond memories from it. Although the expense of a camper may not outweigh the convenience of a hotel room, its all about the memories and freedom. We primarily always camped in state parks with electrical/water hookups. I have found that in most state parks, your not stacked on top of other campers. Most state parks allow campfires and most private ones don't. State parks are less expensive than the private campgrounds as well.

 

and usually more scenic !!!

Petti Jean State park, MS, and lake Tawakoni, Tx to name two around us !

 

Some GREAT feedback here! I love the comments on it being a "lifestyle".

You will never be able to justify it on cost if using 1/year. Look into rentals?
But most find they end up using a lot more than that...

Some other big benefits:
1) NEVER have to use gas station rest rooms!
2) Get to take your time loading and unloading. Load the week before, unload the week after. We are on the road 15 minutes after getting home on Fridays.
3) Most stuff stays in trailer, no need to load at all!
4) A little research on "boondocking" will teach you how to pay $0 for campgrounds.
5) If you like to get away from it all, you'll find there are no hotels where the all is gone.

This is still a great time to buy used. If you decide no, you can likely sell in a couple years for minimal loss. Buying new would be a financial mistake.

 

I've got a 27' toy hauler. Kids are grown. No wife. Just a lady friend and her granddaughter. She's raising her granddaughter. I've got 2 hunting quads. The lady friend and the short person will go at the drop of a hat. You mention camping, well just add quadding, fishing, shooting and swimming. I live in the Sonoran desert and there's a great lake in this desert that no one seems to know about. Best kept secret in AZ. Miles and miles of trails, lake is 5miles long, over 1 mile wide. Quadding in the morning, fishing and swimming in the afternoon, quadding in the evening. I forgot to mention mudding with the quads too. No trip is complete without me having to clean up the quads when I get back. Campfire at night. Elk, deer, javelina, wild horses and wild burros. Plenty of jack rabbits, peter cottontail and coyotes, and foxes. Yes we have rattlesnakes but who doesn't have some kinda bad critters in their favorite camping spot.
I also use it for my hunting trips, elk tag so far, awaiting the draw for deer tags soon.
What I'm getting at is why do you need an excuse. You sleep in your own bed with your own stuff and if the short one get dirty, there's a shower. And yes, the short one will get dirty. No crowds, what people you meet are friendly and polite. And the Milky Way is there to light the night sky.
Hell, I think I'll go camping next weekend just because I can. Wish it was this weekend but fix it weekend is this weekend.

 

Try renting one first then try Craigslist in your area. There's always lotsa deals. Don't buy the first one you look at. You'll know when you find the right one. Don't go new on the first one. You can do that one when you retire. Or you've caught the camping bug so bad you can't scrape it off. Someone else wrote it's a life style. It's not only that it's LIFE.