Travel Trailer Use?

[FreeTime]

I figured all of my Disney friends would be the best to answer this question versus digging around out there on other boards. Thanks in advance!

We sold our pop up several years ago and have been "shopping" for a travel trailer for the last 2. We finally found one we love at a price well within our budget. Tomorrow is the day we plan to go purchase it. However, we are not questioning do we want to do this. Our thoughts are, we can rent a TT when we want to go somewhere. This would be cheaper in the long run since we won't have the huge upfront cost, monthly insurance, maintanence, etc. We also have DVC, so we told the kids all other vacations would be in the camper. Am I aready for that??

So the question in, how often do you use your camper? I am thinking we would probably use it for a long weekend 1X per month Apr-Oct, a non DVC week 1X per year and 2 weeks in the summer. Thoughts?

 

[WorldWacky]

We own a pop-up, but have never taken it to Disney. My husband says, if we're going to travel all that way, he wants to "do it the right way" and go for the hotel on property. BUT, we use our camper for at least 4 trips over the summer. My husband is a teacher, so we can take advantage of 4-7 night trips over the summer. The kids love it and it gives us a chance to "get away from it all."

How often did you use your pop-up when you had it? That might give you an idea as to how often you'll use the TT. Also remember that not all campgrounds are roughing it. You can go to more "resort" type campgrounds and still have the comfort of your own space. With the TT, packing will be easier than before as a lot of essentials can be stored in it from trip to trip. I don't know the ages of your kids, but camping is one of those family activities that stays with kids.

I only camp now because I remember doing it with my family and wanted to pass that down to my family. There is nothing like sitting around a crackling campfire with the family sharing stories. I say, if it's in the budget, go for it! You won't regret it.

 

[auntie]

We rented on site units in campging resorts before we made our purchase. This gave us a better understanding of what we needed/or liked in a trailer before making the investment. For instance..bunks, they don't last too long or really accomodate kids over 12. We also knew we wanted a slide out, after having spent a rainy weekend mostly inside the rental unit.
Seems to me that you are on the fence about the investment. Rent a few times, you may find you are comfortable with that and still have the benefit of your DVC. Or..you may find you want to use a TT a whole lot more often and take the plunge to make that investment. Whether you use your unit twice a year or 12 times a year, it's really up to the individual whether the expense is worth it. There are some things you can't put a price on.

 

[FortForever]

Last week, I saw a show on the reemergence of bed bugs. I decided on the spot, I would be staying in our own camper from now own. No more renting and we'll be avoiding hotels whenever possible. It's worth it to me to be able to bring our own, clean, non-infested beds along wherever we go.

Having a camper also saves on eating out when you have your own fridge, stove, grill along. No matter where you're heading (within reason) it's always cheaper to camp vs. hotel. Add in the food savings and the comfort of your own stuff with you, and I think it's worth it.

 

[dblr]

We are also DVC members and very active RV user, we average at least 60 nights or more in our rv,we even used it last year at FW but got my mom and my aunts a 2 bedroom unit ay SSR so we had the best of both worlds.
I get 8 weeks vacation a year so it we use the rv alot and at least one or more weekends a month, we also park it in 1 spot for the winter in Lancaster Pa and get to use it alot over the winter without having to tow it.

 

[amylevan]

We have a 5th wheel.

We average 1 week long vacation a summer, although it was 2 separate ones this past summer. Long vacations have included the beach, visiting family in Louisville KY, and Fort Wilderness. I have plans to get to the Outer Banks and Bar Harbor Maine in our camper within the next 2 years.

Then, in addition, we average 1 long weekend a month from May-September. I actually love these trips; it's a nice little break without much pressure.

It helps that we have another family that camps with us. We have kids the same age so the kids can play and entertain each other while the family relaxes.

 

[alexensmom]

We owned a couple pop-ups before purchasing a TT. It is much more convenient for us, easier to pack, easier to set up and pack up. We usually go with another family also and they have a pop-up. When we pack up to leave, we spend the majority of our time helping them pack up their camper since ours takes no time at all. You will love a TT.

Your amount of trips might depend on the ages and activities of your kids. When our daughter was younger, we took at least 5 weekend trips and a week long trip each summer. And because we weren't in a pop-up, we would do a weekend trip in the fall when it was cooler. Now that DD is in more summer activities, our trips are down to two to three a summer. We still wouldnt want to rent though. OPD (other people's dirt) YUCK! Since we do have the investment of a camper and want to make sure we use it, we plan our camping weekends early in the spring. If we wait until summer, our calendar will already be full and we wont make time to go.

We are actually selling our TT for a Hybrid with a slide (a little more room to move around for us and our greyhound) because it's not as much to tow and store. Once you 'condo camp' you'll never go back!

 

[phape]

Our kids have one week school breaks in February and April, we spend these in Florida (usually at FW), leaving the TT in storage in between. If we can get down in Oct or Nov, we'll leave the TT in Florida the whole winter. Other than these we do the Holiday Weekends (4) and a week or 2 in summer up north.

 

[bama_ed]

We've had a pop-up for 7 years and have used it every spring break for a week and an annual trip to Disney (nearly). So we have 120+ nights in it and in my opinion it has paid for itself not just in the saving from hotel costs (even with the gas differential) but being able to cook and eat at the camper. With 3 teenagers that has saved me BUCKETS of cash.

We're at an in-between stage of our lives right now where the camper gets used less. One kid is in college, one in high school, one in middle school. Schedules are impossible to get many weekends free to go camping now. But I garage store my pop-up and it's still in excellent condition so I foresee a time soon when DW and I will be able to "grab-and-go" on short notice.

Lots of memories wrapped up in those canvas bunk ends.

Bama ED

 

[5stljayhawks]

We have a 24' hybrid. There is usually a few weeks every other year at FW or we will take a week long 10 day trip on off wdw years. Then I also have turkey hunting 3 weekends and deer hunting that runs from sept to Jan at the farm, usually 5-7 weekends. There is no cost to me except the $10 dump fee on the way back..

Total we are normally 40-60 nights a year.

Storage $350, Ins. $70 from Ameriprise which is clumped in on my home insur. I was paying $365...

 

[manning]

Cheaper?...Maybe.

 

[mkoerner]

We have had a travel trailer for 6 years and we leave it parked on site not far from home due to my husband's work travel schedule. From April to Halloween, we use it almost every weekend. It seems silly, but we feel like we are still getting away from it all. Yesterday, we traded the TT for a beautiful 5th wheel which we will use for the same purpose. Using the camper most weekends for 7 months of the year, we feel we definitely get our money's worth. It's like having a less expensive vacation home. We also own DVC, which we and our adult sons also get our money's worth.

 

[manning]

We have had a travel trailer for 6 years and we leave it parked on site not far from home due to my husband's work travel schedule. From April to Halloween, we use it almost every weekend. It seems silly, but we feel like we are still getting away from it all. Yesterday, we traded the TT for a beautiful 5th wheel which we will use for the same purpose. Using the camper most weekends for 7 months of the year, we feel we definitely get our money's worth. It's like having a less expensive vacation home. We also own DVC, which we and our adult sons also get our money's worth.

That's the key, the usage. A lot of people don't take into account the price of the trailer and what they can get when it is time to sell it (depreciation). When you don't do that it looks cheaper. I ran numbers comparing with 100.00 per day motels plus meals etc., and it took years before hitting break even. That was based on 30 days a year usage.

You now get breakfast included with motels and you can get a cheap burger at McDonald/Burger King. We also have a small coleman stove and cooler in the SUV. We can stop and make a quick lunch at a rest stop/picnic area.


Now leaving it on site for as long as you use it will work. We did that years ago. Bought a lot at a private lake and it was cheaper than building a house.

If you are going to use it for only a small number of days consider doing it because you like the lifestyle. You will not save money.

Some of the things you have to think about are:

Purchase price
Depreciation
Trailer maintenance
insurance
storage
increased gas cost
Bigger tow vehicle based on size of trailer
Increased auto maintenance.

 

[CCIntrigue]

We bought our first RV in 1986 ... an Airstream TT. Paid for it within a few years. Had been staying in a suite at the Contemporary accommodating 7 people. Do the math and you will definitely save money. There's nothing liike having your own bed at the fort.

 

[mash]

We have owned a pop up camper since 1998. We used our camper a lot for many years. We live really close to Disney so we were able to go for several weekends a year. Between 2007 to 2011 we didn't use it as much because we had really outgrown it and it wasn't as fun to use. This year we upgraded to a bigger pop up in April and we've already used it 3 times this year. We have three more trips planned before the end of the year. Before we bought a new one we talked a lot about how much we would use it and make a commitment to ourselves and our family to use it as much as possible before our oldest leaves for college in a few years.

Before you purchase a camper you might want to sit down and decide how much camping you could do in a year and if you would really want to. Look at what limitations you might have that would make it hard to camp and spend time away from home.

Just remember that the decision you make today doesn't have to remain the same decision tomorrow. If you decide not to buy one now and rent for awhile you can always buy one in the future. If you buy and decide to sell it later that can be an ok decision, provided you get a good deal on your purchase. As an example, we paid $3,500 for our first pop up in 1998 and we sold it in 2010 for $3,000!

Good luck with your decision.