To buy or not to buy.....an RV
 

Ok, So my wife expressed an interested in us going RVing. We almost purchased a 5er about a month ago. I've pulled quite a few different types and lengths of tailers over the years, but never a Fifth Wheel.

We decided that a bumper pull TT would make more sense for our limited use scenario. We are very new to the RVing lifestyle and would probably only go a few times a year. I know that an RV is more of an investment in Family time and not in the RV itself, but I would like some opinions on buying vs. renting one.

Our budget for a Fifth Wheel was originally around $65k. Once we realized we didn't need something so big, we started looking at TTs instead.
This unit actually: New & Used Travel Trailers/Fifth 5th Wheels | Top Selling Towable Brands

We would pay cash for the RV, but are concerned about the actual ROI (Return on investment) of buying on vs renting. We figure that it would have to be used about 12 times a year to justify RVing over renting a lodge or hotel room.

I've included a poll to ask some questions about RVing from current owners, regardless of fifth wheel, travel trailer, or motor home.

This boils down to personal preference to me. Renting is by far the less expensive option for my family and I suspect most "casual" campers. We tent camp far more than we RV camp. Yet, we still bought a 5th wheel. I love ours. Renting would have been far less expensive, but it didn't offer the selection that we wanted. We couldn't set it up for exactly what we wanted or how we wanted. We didn't want other peoples germs and lack of respect for the unit either. This is huge to my wife as she is a germ FREAK. Renting is a great way to see if this is for your family and if you will get into it before dropping large dollars. That's my opinion.

Thanks is exactly the type of response I was looking for. How often do you use yours? Do you store it at your home or at a lot? What are your biggest concerns as an owner? Sorry for all the questions. I tend to over analyze before purchasing something big..

We recently upgraded to a Fuzion FZ302 (34') fifth wheel toyhauler from a Tailgator TG-210 toyhauler (21'). We use it for travel and for camping in the middle of nowhere. We all (wife, 8 year old son, and dog) enjoy traveling with it as we can bring all of our stuff along and it feels like home.

I will not suggest that this method will save you any money, trailers are expensive, require maintenance, cost more in fuel to get anywhere, you get the point. For us owning made more sense, it can be packed and ready to go which is convenient and we can just go somewhere at the drop of a hat if we want.

We sold our boat when we bought the first trailer and told ourselves that we would just rent a boat when we wanted to go out, 3-4 years later we still haven't rented a boat. Since we have the trailer, and it is easy and convenient to use, we go at least once a month or more, we wouldn't do that if we were renting one.

We don't regret our decision, but we did it for family fun, not for a wise investment.

JMHO

Leon

Just like all depreciable assests, (virtually anything that has wheels that isn't classic!), you have to look at ROI not in quantitative dollars but need, use, and purpose. I like having my 5th because we can load it with what we want and have the peace of mind knowing that what we want is ready at our disposal. On the financial side, I use mine as another tax break, so I see return in not giving Uncle Sam more than I have to give him!!

Word of advice while shopping for one, start getting quotes from online dealers and the likes. Those dealers like moving lots of units and will drop the price dramatically. I did that, then went to my local dealer who had the exact same model and used it to barter my price. I saved roughly $19k off of list and walked away feeling satisfied without having to drive 3 states away to get what I wanted!

We only drag the beast out about 5-6 times a year because of schedules but I enjoy it everytime!!

When you say RV, well, that is wide open to lots of different things...

We've had Class A Diesel Pusher motorhomes before and the whole experience sucked big time. We will never own another. Names like Freightliner and Caterpillar normally are associated with quality stuff.. Not in my opinion any longer.. Of course the coach builders are mostly a bunch of minimum wage clods that will just slap stuff together with absolutely not a care in the world for quality or safety..

However, we are planning on retiring soon and are currently looking for a quality fifth wheel Toy Hauler (used) and we will start out by just snow-birding it... Later on, we plan on seeing this great country of ours. The toy hauler will be used to carry a side-by-side UTV and possibly a small scooter.

Bottom line is that your buying a lifestyle, there is no real return on investment or break even point along the line.

There is not much if any real saving over staying in a motel and eating out for every meal. But, I do know who was sleeping in my bed that last night and prancing in my shower, not to mention other personal hygiene items as to who last held my remote control or what they had been doing just before laying their hands upon it.

Like I said, it's a life style and peace of mind form of travel.

I am the worst person to ask that question to. I will answer you on how we use it, not on how it ended up. You see my mother steals it from us for months out of the year. She lived in it behind our house. We love it...so we are fine with it.

We use our about 3-5 weekends a year. They are usually 2 long weekends of 3-4 days. That's it. All there is time for. We do a lot of four wheeling and we can't take the fiver and the wheeler's at the same time. Only recently have we discovered a way to haul the 5 four wheelers in a toy hauler safely and then we'd use it more often, but the kids are getting older and I'm not sure we'll do it.

We store ours indoors all winter. We live on a heavily wooded lot and trees fall all winter long. It's just not worth the risk to me. I already had it get bumped once and that was a new roof and a $9k claim. You could store it outdoors for next to nothing at a surface lot. I spend more than I'm willing to admit here on storage, but it works for us.

My biggest concerns as an owner are having fun with it. I paid cash for it so I'm fortunate that I don't have a payment. Other than that, it's what do I do when we are ready to move on with it. I think it would be easy to trade in, but we may or may not be ready for another unit then. I may end up just selling it and buying another one later. I'm not sure of the time tables as there are a lot of factors with my kids heading to college soon (I have a junior in HS to a 8th grader to a 7th grader).

Good luck!

My family had a 1986 34 ft. class A that our family of 5 traveled in. We gave it to my grandparents because it had a fuel delivery issue that took most of my retired grandpas time to track down. Anyways, it was our home away from home. It feels totally different than staying at a hotel. I don't know if you could put a price on taking your home wherever you are.

I haven't voted yet.. not quite an answer fit.

got laid off last year unexpectedly.. decided to retire.. travel around.
can't leave the pets home, can't afford to board them too, so take em with us. gotta have a trailer for that.. we tent, tent trailer and bumper pull (29ft) trailer camped til we moved to texas 15 yrs ago (hot when we have free time, sold the TT cause bunks ain't cool for teenagers!)

decided to buy a FW, swapped my F250 for a dually. then got another job!.
we have taken it out on a couple weekends, but plan to go see family (1200 miles away nearest) and sights.. (the now grown kids (with kids) think we are crazy! but complain we don't visit them enough...)

use it for the tax deduction too.

The pets are an excellent point. I just took that for granted :). No pets on rentals that I have ever found.

the diabetic (on insulin) cat has never been anywhere.. the dog will be at the car as soon as I pick up my keys, every single time.

our daugher & SIL are living with us now as he preps to take the Texas Bar exam (starting tomorrow) after they moved back from Chicago. They tell us that the (wiener) dog will bark and howl whenever we leave, EVEN when he knows they are still home.. (he does bark about every 2 minutes when I am in the shop for long periods of time and mom is not home) so the dog in the trailer idea may take some training. he lost his brother now coming on 2 yrs ago, so was never alone before that

Good point Sam. Dogs (like people) are not all the same. My wife's dog rides with us on the trails. Goes everywhere with us...
http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/s...-58-29_283.jpg

Cute goggles!..

yeh, its the rest of the time.. can't go in restaurants, can't leave in the car, etc, lots more cant's than can's. we don't 4wheel, or do outdoor activities like that. maybe walk trails to GET somewhere, not for 'fun'.

This is a huge thing to remember with pets. Our dog barks like crazy when we are gone. We throw her in her kennel (wire dog cage) and go. She won't do any damage (being in the kennel), but she is obnoxiously annoying when we are gone. So normal campsites can be challenging if we are going to go to dinner. So we often stay at camp with the dog or go places we can take her. Or we stay off the grid and not worry about it :)

We wrestled with this decision 5 years ago, when I was looking at the possibility of having to travel to get work. We went "all in"! Purchased a 08 Sunnybrook, 36' 5th wheel with 3 slides. We have made the most of it, my wife didn't want to stay home while I was away for months at a time working, so she travels with me. We love rv'ing! We've lived in our RV 8-10 months/yr since we bought it..just look forward to when we can choose our destinations instead of going where my work takes us. Sleeping in MY bed and using MY bathroom were big plusses for as well. Our unit has basically paid for itself by allowing me the mobility to go where the job was. We also got lucky with the unit we purchased, as it has proven to be very durable so far! Still looks nice and have had no problems other than regular maintenance items and a couple blowouts. Greg

I had some similar thoughts to you, however I like going to well out of the way places - places that you won't get a conventional TT or 5th wheel to.
I also didn't like the cost for a lot of these, the purchase price, then tags, tires, ****ty fuel consumption etc. so I bought a lightweight truck camper.

It won't meet many peoples needs, as its certainly space restricted in comparison to towing anything, so not suitable for big families, but I get 16.5mpg with it on, it will go almost anywhere I can get the truck anyway, its easy to store, and a lot more comfortable than a tent.


After travelling with your own accommodation (in any form), its hard to go back to staying in hotels or even renting a trailer. Renting a trailer might be a good way to work out if you do like the whole idea though.

Without the fifth wheel, I'd have no valid reason to drive a Super Duty. Besides, it does allow us much more freedom to travel, since our dogs go where we go. For a few months a year, we park it at the coast and tow the boat down on the weekends. This saves me from having to buy a beach house and maintain it year round.

I started with a big popup then moved to a 5er in '76. We sold that thinking that there were other things to do. We started over with a mid sized truck camper - bad idea for us so then had a succession of bumper pulls. Moved back to a 3 slide 34' 5er in 2009 and last week moved up to a 37' Montana with 4 slides. Now you ask - ROI. That's not even in the equation. It's a lifestyle and it costs money. Trailers unfortunately depreciate pretty fast. Then there is the fact that they are complicated with lots of 'gadgets' and those 'gadgets' need maintenance or replacement just like in your home or even your vehicles. Then as mentioned - pets. Some take to it like it's partially their decision and way of life as well. Our pup only needs the word "camper" and she's the first one in and ready to go. We took her along with us when we were looking - again, first one up the steps. Then there is the other costs of ownership - license tags, insurance, that second set of everything your stick and brick home has - dishes, pot 'n' pans, entertainment, clothes, tools, flatware just to name a few. And campgrounds are no longer 8-10 bucks a night, but probably closer to $30-$40 with full hook ups. Hundred buck 50 amp extension cords just because you didn't park close enough, 25 and up sewer hoses, 25 and up potable water hoses, etc,etc,etc.

This is a commitment and not inexpensive

Amen! I voted the second option even though it is not an issue of not expecting the expense, it is just plain expensive! It isn't for everbody, that's for sure.

I look at it a little different than some. My interest is tax deductible, it is always loaded and ready to go on short notice, it affords me time with the kids that I probably wouldn't have otherwise, it allows me to provide some quality vacation time for relatives that otherwise couldn't, it is a better family use of money than drag racing/ automotive hobbies and I actually do save money on some of our trips.

We go to Disney Ft Wilderness every other year. It costs me somewhere around $3000 less to camp while still being able to bring 4 relatives along for the ride. We eat what we want and enjoy for every meal at a fraction of the cost of a resort meal plan or dining out. I've also never seen the kids have as much fun in a hotel as they do in campgrounds.

Another point for me is the wife and kids spend 2 weeks a summer at beach campgrounds. It costs me less than $600/week for them/us to do that. Last time we rented a house in the Outer Banks it cost me $3,000 for the week. When you factor the cost of the camper, I'm not really saving money, but I'm vacationing a lot more than I would without it and doing it on my own terms. If we want to go spend the weekend at the dirt track races, we just pick up and go live in their grass parking lot. Same for truck and tractor pulls. Why fight the traffic at midnight when you can tailgate the whole day before the event, a few hours after and then craw right into your own bed without having to drive home? I figure we need to spend at least 25 nights a year in for it to be worthwhile.

The RV is an expense, but if used to its full potential, it pays high dividends!

If anyone comes up with a good way to make this expense expenditure into an investment expenditure, please let me know...

There are dozens of valid reasons and un refutable rationale
(dogs, cats, kids, germs, bed-bugs, ___insert your favorite here___) ...
But in the long run, I've always found that it would have been less expensive to just fly somewhere, rent a car, stay in a motel...

Now you might ask - So why the heck are you wanting to buy a Fifth Wheel rig?
Because I am brain damaged and just have to keep trying to live the dream...

Yeah, make it profitable? Easy. Sell the space on the sides, back and top as advertising. Be a 42' rolling advertisement for a ambulance chasing lawyer.......representing Big Rig accident victims.

That would be great to do! :)

Seems all you need to do is add "recreational" to the name of the moveable item and it starts to depreciate. Boats, PWC, ATV's, Trailers, Motorhomes, etc. The only "recreational" item that appreciates is a cottage but that's because it doesn't move around. LOL

This is my reason. I have a Jeep here on one ton axles and all that happy stuff. It's an absolute money pit, and even for a 1/4 of what I've got in it, I can't sell it. My wife used to enjoy going out in it but doesn't much care for it anymore. Anytime it breaks is cost big money to fix. We have been going camping since I turned 21, started with a borrowed pop up from my grandparents that's now mine, and mounted on a 24' gooseneck so I could use the trailer and Jeep. That never panned out. All we do is take the camper places and have a 17' deck. I've gotten seriously into mountain biking along with all my buddies that used to 4 wheel. Now we just go camping and ride out bikes, ton's cheaper, staying in shape, and all that.

We are hunting for a toyhauler to keep the bikes inside, because while I thought the prices people pay for bikes is nuts, well, lets just say I must be nuts too. We want the garage for a 2nd bedroom. The trailer is an investment, but not one I'm expecting to get anything back on. I just want to be able to go at the drop of a hat, get away from it all, relax, spend time with the wife and friends. My wife struggles with how much we would use it, and the money laid out to buy, and upkeep. I'm not too concerned because she has NO idea how much upkeep the jeep was..................

Bottom line, if you want to do it, do it. Life's too short to govern your life by what others do. I use my 31' 5er 5 to7 times per year. Is it economical, NO. But it's what I like to do and part of that is with me and the grandaughter. Some moments are worth more than others. What's important in you'r life? You can't judge that by others experiences.

I voted for the first choice. We love ours and use it a lot. We use it for personal and sometimes when the better half has to work out of town.

It is always cheaper in the long run, imho to use the 5th wheel for traveling. Especially for the longer stays.

For me, it's got nothing to do with money.

1. For my work, I stay roughly 200 nights/year in hotels. I only get to see my family maybe 3 days/week. At the end of each year I figure I've only experienced half of my kids lives and they're 7 and 12.

2. Taking the wife, kids, dog on the road and choosing where to go and what to do is pure heaven. I know for a fact that a 10 day stay at Port Orange, Fl is cheaper in the camper and we get to eat our own food and be together and have privacy.

3. We use ours about 4-6 times per year. Traveling to visit extended family is about half of our trips and we simply park in their driveway or yard and stay in our camper. It's fantastic when you can visit family and not have to invade their homes.

4. As you know, it's not about money and I choose to not even think about that. For me I will never have enough cash to buy something that big outright but the monthly payments are very low.

5. I don't think I'd advise anyone to rent an Rv. It's just not the same. Just make the commitment, enjoy it for a couple years and either move on or keep using it.

5th wheels are great but you could spend alot of nights in a pretty flash hotel for the money it will cost you.
You have to love camping!!

I had bought 3 trucks to pull campers with before we ever bought one. Then went with a 5er that was too big to pull with said truck. Bought two diesel duallies in last 4 years and never a regret. As much as we work, we knew our son would be gone before we knew it, like ruschejj said. Our work now gives us 3 days together every three weeks, so we are camping every third weekend now. All year long! I want to make memories with him while he still wants to go with us. So, whatever it takes.
On a side note, here is a camping funny.

We started with renting a pop-up trailer to see how that would work. Quickly discovered that having a sit-down toilet, shower, and decent size fridge were necessities!

Some things to check out when shopping for a TT or 5th wheel:

Your trucks tow ratings, and pin weight capacity if you go 5th wheel.

Sit on the toilet (fully clothed works!) and see if you have room and are comfortable. Some RV's are really small/tight on toilet space!

What will you bring with you and is there enough storage space?

Where will you store it? If it's kept at home it's far easier to clean it, wash it, load/unload it, etc.

What is the water tank, gray tank, and black tank capacity?

Does it have a generator?

Lay on the bed with your wife.... is there enough room to be truly comfortable? If ya can't sleep, you'll both be miserable!

And so on, and so on....

Another important issue would be the HVAC capabilities of the unit.
Just my .02 :-X22

2 A/C units is almost a must in the larger 5th wheels.

Agree totally with that statement!

We've owned one for about 30 years now, this is my take..
-There is no return on investment, unless you have a restored Air Stream or something similar.
-We enjoy it much better than hotels.
-It's a great way to de-compress for awhile.
-We have a TT. A lot of the state parks we go to are old and small. The TT is much better for them.
-We had a 33' fiver, loved it, but it was too big for a lot of the parks we go to.
-We don't spend a lot of time in our RV. I see tons of people pull in and spend hours setting up their dish network or something. Our thought is, if I'm gonna watch tv, stay home.
-It really boils down to what you are planning to do, and how much dollars you are willing to part with.
-I've got a buddy that has a old popup and just rents a truck when he wants to go. He and his wife only go 2 or 3 times are year, it is much more cost effective.
-Hope I've helped.

We bought one last summer, a Keystone Cougar 327RES 5th wheel. We like it a lot and would like to use it more often. A couple of things to consider and my lessons learned from the past year of ownership:
- How far do you plan to take it. Based on gas prices there is a law of diminishing returns based on distance to destination. Going back-n-forth from NC to TX definitely is expensive when getting 11-12 MPG. It also takes about 2.5 days each way. Determine the distance to the places you'd take it most often and compare costs for gas/RV sites to airfare and hotels in the area. I've determined that a single day's drive (~500 miles) is the most I prefer to take it as I only get about 250 miles to a tank of gas.
-How often you can use it. If only 3 or 4 times a year probably best to rent or just get a hotel room.
-Do you like DIY work. RV are like houses and require scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Its often a big hassle to get the manufacturer to cover items under warranty so you need some basic electrical, plumbing and basic upkeep knowledge.
-Additional costs for storage and insurance but, if you finance you can write off the interest (just like a house).
-Get the airbags.
-Get the second A/C if you're in the south or plan to travel down here.
-Work a decent deep cycle battery into the deal. Remove the battery while in storage.
-Don't skimp on quality tires. One blow-out can cause serious damage (not to mention scare the heck out of you).
-Winterization: Learn it. Live it.
-All RV sites/spaces look bigger in the pictures on their websites
-Teach your wife how to help you back it into a small RV site using a two-way radio before travelling (have you ever tried to teach her to drive a 5-speed?...similar experience).

Its been a fun yet trying year at times.

use your cellphones! One couple even did facetime/screenshare for the camera.

Cell phones for this are a good idea, but you have to be in range of a cell tower! }>

FRS Radios are really good for this and can be had for dirt cheap and kept in the trailer or glove box of the truck.

I really like some of the responses here.. They have really caused me to think and assess / re-assess my own needs and goals...

RE: Investment

Another angle is that you are investing in your own pleasure and relaxation. If it works for you, you've really found something worth spending your dollars on...

x3. We bought ours with one and ended up adding the second unit. Cost us more...:'(

Different people relax in different ways. They may find watching a movie together to be relaxing.

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