RV vs hotel

A "Weekend Warrior" type travel trailer that sleeps 6 and has a rear ramp for bikes and other toys can be rented from many outlets. See what's available in your area. Compare the price differences. Fuel consumption will be more but food and lodging costs will be less.

Lonnie

and.........with the hotel you have to pack and unpack, but someone else cleans. Motels are convenient, but RVs are fun. Some campgrounds are like a little village with all sorts of amenities not found in a hotel. More room to stretch your legs. Google "mototcycle campgrounds" I was surprised how many cater to MC riders.

The plus side of "camping" is the people and friendly environment of most Camp Grounds. For me the motel experience is no fun. Most folks simply lock themselves in their room and watch TV whereas in a camping environment folks are usually out and about and enjoy interacting with other campers.

The down side is dragging that damn camper down the highway. I enjoy seeing the country on two lane country roads when traveling but when pulling an RV it's a whole lot easier to use the Interstates. Then of course there's the 8 to 12 mpg, depending on the rig and tow vehicle, not to mention the cost of the trailer itself.

I've tried both a bumper pull and 5th wheel toy box. The 5th wheel is definitely more comfortable from both a comfort and towing stand point. Depending on the size of your sidecar rig you may have trouble finding a toy box wide enough to handle it and be aware of potential tire failure problems with the trailer. I use to think that all those blown out tire bits that you see along the highway were from tractor trailers but having owned two different toy box RV's I now believe that most of them are from travel trailers.

Good luck with your decision.

Lynn Keen NE Florida

I just moved up to the bigger rig,..on long hauls, everyone is comfy,..and I have the scoot for the day trips,...campgrounds are very helpful, quiet and full service,...we love them,the big diesel runs around 28mpg with over 400hp, so economy is still met and no one has a stiff back or sore butt when we get there, hehe ..good luck, crawf.

Thanks for the response,
We have looked at the "toyhaulers" and like them, they are higher priced!

We have stayed in some MC hotels and hotels with "character" and the sidecar always draws a crowd, this makes the hotels more fun!

Looking at the cost of campgrounds seems to be about $30+, KOA in Albuquerque was $40+! Seems for the best prices you need to PURCHASE the memberships (passport & others)! Hotels online can usually be found for $30-$40!

Lynn, when I was growing up on a farm we used all kinds of trailers, camper included, Dad stopped using trailer tires and used car tires on everything! Never had any problems!

The cost of the camper is another thing! Using just the truck(flatbed) we can take several trips, with hotels. for the price of a camper!

Crawf, is your mileage that good? That is a great looking rig and great points, not to mention no freezing rain, on the Blue Ridge trip the wife says we had on 7 layers counting rain gear!

thanks for the help and responses, I am amazed how many "viewers" and so few responses! It is a forum, forum=response

ya smitty, Thank-you,....as an old piston head with the gas jobs, I got quite the education when I finally went to the diesel,..there are several performance shops around here that with a cold air intake, high-flow exhaust and a stage 2 or three computer upgrade,..all for under $3000.00 you can turn a factory 400hp/580lb/tq into a 1100hp/1200lb/tq monster,...and still have better then 30mpg,..it is very amazing what can be done with them, I couldn't believe it til I saw it for myself on a friends Dodge, and his brother's chevy.factory that dually will chase a vette down, and runs 28mpg all day long..that 5th wheeler just came home here in September, at 50% off, I couldn't say no to it,..hehe travel safe and have fun, cheers,

We've had a small diesel motorhome (2003 Gulfstream based on a sprinter van) that got 21 mpg but had payments of $550 a month. We've had a largeish (33 ft) pull behind that got between 5-8 mpg with a gas powered truck and an 11ft camper on a 1989 diesel (non-turbo Ford F350 dually) that gets about 9 mpg (14 empty). Generally, if you aren't living in it, it makes little economic sense to own an RV. We keep doing it because we travel with our dogs. If you like camping more so than staying in a hotel or like to go places where there are no hotels - great. But it's hard to see how they are cheaper than a hotel.

Our 99 dodge gets 22mpg on the highway stock. So if we aren't pulling a trailer, just carrying the rig we should still be ok there! Camping is ok for a night maybe two, we use to camp alot with our kids! One of the problems is set up and tear down.... we do not stay in one spot for very long!

punkozuna - 11/16/2011 9:45 PM
...Generally, if you aren't living in it, it makes little economic sense to own an RV. We keep doing it because we travel with our dogs. If you like camping more so than staying in a hotel or like to go places where there are no hotels - great. But it's hard to see how they are cheaper than a hotel.

Yep, I've concluded much the same. If we traveled a lot, I would prefer a small RV pulling our rigs on a trailer. But, seeing whereas our longest trip in the last 10 years has been 3 nights out, we simply bunk at a motel or cabin. But the comments about the community spirit of a campground are correct. Seems the longest conversations at a motel tend to be at the coffee pot in the morning, 2 minutes at the most.

But renting an RV/trailer+camping fees is 'bout the same cost as motels -- unless you are traveling with several children and can really cut on the eating-out costs. Of course, with just Jena and me, eating-out is part of the journey. 🙂

Yes eating out can get expensive! Most hotels (even the little ones) offer their "continental" breakfest... bowl of cereal piece of fruit and a danish & early dinner at 3-4pm maybe a snack back at the hotel! Can be done cheaply!
Even at the hotels the sidecar rig draws a crowd, we usually go out and talk to most people, we normally don't return until dark or right at dark.
Some of the "biker friendly" one was... Biker Motel, Car Friendly... basicaly have an evening happy hour!

food was an issue for us too,..my daughter has some allergies,..so this way I buy the food, I prepare it, and no questions or issues,...I also like the fact I sleep on my own sheets,..hehe ..having the bike for day trips is fantastic,..but I'm too old and broken to be sleeping in a tent,..this way we get the best of both worlds,..I already had the truck, just dropping a trailer on it made sense. I felt an actual "motorhome unit" was foolish as the insurance, certification and brake/engine maintenance for a unit you drive for 4-5 weeks a year seemed excessive,..the trailer sits in my yard til I need it,..grease the wheels and go,..the smaller toy hauler was only $160/month brand new,..and it was a 28' light weight @5000lbs,..a lot cheaper then a cottage and far easier to move around, ..hehe cheers crawf. FYI.. this unit the door was too narrow for the rig,..I had to drop the car and slide it into the truck, 15 min to re-attach was a pain, so we opted for the fuzion...

Kind of backwards from the original thought line, but someone mentioned that the campground folks are usually very friendly folks.
I bought a Kwik Kamp several years ago to pull with my Goldwing on a 5100+ mile 10 day trip, very minimalist but like someone said, "I slept in my own bed."
After I get my VTX wired for it, I'll plan a local trip to see how well it pulls with it.

Doc

nice useable little camper there Doc,..the VTX should pull that easily, I've seen a couple of them on E-bay before, hard to find,...very nice, crawf.

The dodge I have was a 5th wheel hauler in a previous life, so adding a camper is no problem. Those bike/mini campers (saw a very small car pulling one this summer) aare very interesting! They just keep unfolding, like origami in reverse.
Any one have/know of, a good set of ramps to get the bike on the truck flatbed?