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Bookswithtea
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We own a pop up trailer. Dh grew up traveling in an old rv with his parents and brother and sings their praises.
Is it true that you can get up and make a sandwich or let your kids go to the bathroom without having to stop the vehicle? Is it safe to have your kids lounging on a couch or sitting at the table playing cards while Dad is driving?
We just finished a trip to Niagara Falls and the time spent in the car was sooooooooo long and boring and RVing is starting to look very appealing to me. And I keep thinking about all the cool field tripping we could do!
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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KC in TX
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Books,
That's how I felt after our trip to Colorado. My thought throughout the drive was how wonderful an RV seemed. Also, we didn't have to search for a hotel--one where we needed adjoining rooms for the family.
I'm interested also about whether we are able to get up or not. I would probably keep the kids in car seats except for bathroom trips, etc.
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KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
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And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
The Cabbage Patch
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folklaur
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I am also interested in this! We are thinking about buying an RV, and we have no idea where to start. 
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amiefriedl
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We've been considering purchasing one this year. We have a small business that we could work it with so it would be a tax-deduction of some sort.
We found one called a VR1 that has dbl bunks in the front, the table converts (we would replace the sofabed with a second booth/table/bed) so figuring small toddlers it would sleep 8-10. Don't forget to consider the cost of insurance, storage and maintenance. New ones come with good warrentys but the warrenty's don't transfer on used units.
But ohh, the ease of camping. I grew up tent camping every year for weeks at a time and I've had allllll of it I want (think watching tent roll down hill in storm - lightning striking tree next to car and other interesting challenges!  ).
Give me that stove/fridge and occasional A/C unit!! And I'm not worried about taking care of the RV problems - have a husband for that! 
Tax deduction or not - it is still tough to cough up the dough for any RV.
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In Christ the King through Mary our Mother,
Amie
Blessed with an awesome hubby and Mom of ds10, dd7, dd3 and dd 10months.
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mary
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is it possible to rent an rv? i'm shocked at how expensive they are.
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Bookswithtea
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Yes, you can rent an RV, but its not cheap, either. I think a week is close to 1400 dollars.
Trailers are cheaper than RV's and you can still get a lot of the benefits, but you can't travel in them. Dh says we could still pull over on the side of the road if someone had to go potty to use the bathroom or pull over to make lunch in the kitchen.
Maybe I should have started a thread like, "what do you do on long car trips to make them memorable and not snoorrrring!?"
I think what has me charmed about RV's is the idea of kids being able to play cards at a table while we drive, or just putting kids to bed and then driving into the night. It seems like we can never get as far as we'd like in one day because of all the food and potty stops we make. Plus, we take our 8 passenger mini van when we travel because it gets better gas mileage than our Suburban...but its extremely *tight* with all of us in it (we are a tall family).
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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JennGM
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My former boss bought a used RV. RVs depreciate faster than cars...they aren't a good investment if you don't use them. He enjoyed using it for a couple of trips, but it ended up sitting in his driveway too much, so he sold it back...and lost money. But for all the reasons mentioned above, it was great on the trips. His wife could fix sandwiches on the road, the views from the RV were more expansive, and the children being able to do other activities helped keep the road trips from being so boring.
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Wendi DeGrandpr
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We have a trailer and love it. You don't have many of the conveniences of the RV, but you can stop for meals anywhere and eat in the trailer as well as use it for bathroom stops. I have always loved tent camping and was not initially supportive of the purchase. We have taken a couple of trips bad weather that would have been ruined due to heavy rain if we had been in a tent. Our use has been more camping than long trips but I think it would make a long adventure enjoyable as well.
Good luck with your decision.
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Wendi
Mom to four blessings
"We can do no great things - only small things with great love." Blessed Mother Teresa
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Cay Gibson
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Ditto all that Wendi said. We stop along the way to use the bathroom, get snacks and fix sandwiches. The battery will stay charged (keeping the refrigerator cool, etc.) until you reach another camping spot.
We've gone through the whole enchilida.
Tent camping, renting a cabin (when we had a new baby with us), pop-up, and now a camper trailor.
Our pop-up lasted 10 years until we outgrew it with #5. A spilt glass of milk and three of us standing in it in the middle of the pop-up is what did us in finally. It was great except when the weather was bad and you were trying to put it up or take it down  . We have made camping trips where we reached the site at night and the bottom fell out of the sky and the children and I sat nestled in the vehicle while dh and oldest ds put the pop-up up in the glare of the headlight. Whew! Those were the days.
A camper trailer is much easier. My dh would like an RV but to me that's just an extra engine that needs repair work.
You can find very nice second-hand camper trailors at very good prices from people wanting to buy something newer, bigger, and better. I gladly take their rejects.
Our camper trailor more than paid for itself when we had to live in it for a whole month after Hurricane Rita last Sept. We had a place to live in when other people were having to drive as far as Tennessee and Kansas just to find a hotel room to stay in. The state park let us stay there for free and our camper was ours and we had no utility bills. We were very grateful for what we had.
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Cay Gibson
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Diane
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What kind of vehicle do you drive to pull the camper trailers? A Suburban (or its equivalent)?
We're planning on getting a pop-up when we return to the US next yr and making a 60-day cross-country trip. It will be a tight fit for all of us, but the kids are still pretty little so hopefully we'll be okay. We like the idea of a pop-up because we can pull it with our mini-van.
But Cay makes a good point about setting it up or taking it down in bad weather. I have done that too many times with the tent. My bil has a nice camper trailer that he'll let us use, but our van would never be able to pull it. I'm sure dh won't go for a Suburban. Hmmm...
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Bookswithtea
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Cay Gibson wrote:
It was great except when the weather was bad and you were trying to put it up or take it down . We have made camping trips where we reached the site at night and the bottom fell out of the sky and the children and I sat nestled in the vehicle while dh and oldest ds put the pop-up up in the glare of the headlight. Whew! Those were the days. |
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We arrived at two campsites around midnight recently (its easier on our littles to travel at night when they are sleeping). We had to pick sites in the dark and then ds and dh had to set up while I hung out in the car with the others. It was less than ideal. We were all so tired, and its hard to level a pop up in the dark if the site is not level. Plus, finding the bathrooms in the dark can be difficult, too. We have a portapotty in the pop up but no way to make it private, so only the littlest use it.
This was our first time camping with our latest addition, #5. It was definitely crowded.
I've been looking at RV's...they sure are expensive. Maybe a trailer is the way to go, after all.
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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ShawnaB
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We have an RV, "C" type which has the over-the-cab bunk. Ours was a major tax-write-off, and the only reason we purchased. I've found it to have both benefits and draw backs:
Benefits:
*Obvious extreme comfort in camping with a furnace, water heater, fridge, toilet, etc.
*MUCH more simple and convenient to pack for a trip. We keep ours stocked with the basics, so I only need to load our clothes and groceries.
*Somewhat more comfortable for traveling. Our children are little, so we still use carseats whenever moving, They really can't do much more than they would in a car. We always stop to use the toilet or prepare food. Its actually quite dangerous to be unrestrained in an RV as even a quick stop or turn can result in an injury.
Draw Backs
* Huge gas guzzler
* The size prohibits camping at some parks.
* Most beautiful, remote campgrounds do not have hookups. You can "boondock" in an RV for several days without hookups...but you'll definitely get the "stink eye" from the nature-loving tent campers when you fire up your generator.
* RV campgrounds (IMHO) are not that interesting. They resemble trailor parks, and do not feel like camping. They serve well as an alternative to hotel accomodations, but I definitly wouldn't want to hang out at an RV park.
* If you are touring in your RV, they are not exactly the easiest vehical to travel around a city in...and parking can be a nightmare. Ideally, you would tow a passenger car, and then after setting up in an RV park, you could go touring in your other vehical. In a large family, a large enough 2nd car may not be tow-able.
* Camper trailers could be a great alternative. They can definitely be towed by a suburban, or even smaller car if you purchase a lite-weight model. Trailers solve the problem of having to tow a passenger car. They are cheaper.
* Camper trailers do not qualify for the tax deduction that RVs do.
HTH!
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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Bookswithtea
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Thanks, Shawna, and everyone else, too. This has been so helpful. I've shared many of your posts with dh. Lots of food for thought.
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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lapazfarm
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We are a bit different I guess.
Being avid tent campers until dh's recent back troubles (and my aging body), and also not willing to spend the $$$ on a camper, we've been considering getting a van and converting it into a camper. We don't really need the potty or cooking facilities,but just a comfier place to sleep than on the ground. Don't need it to be too big because children will be kicked out into tents They can take it, makes them tough!
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Theresa
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folklaur
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lapazfarm wrote:
| We don't really need the potty or cooking facilities,but just a comfier place to sleep than on the ground. Don't need it to be too big because children will be kicked out into tents They can take it, makes them tough! |
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See - I do need the potty, as I have severe IBS and it has caused us to not camp at all in the past many years. And I do want the kids to enjoy going camping, as there are so many neat places here to go to.
My dh is is from Colorado, and his idea of camping is just to backpack up a mountain somewhere, set up a tarp, roll out a sleeping bag, and there ya go. Now, I am a city girl from Jersey, and never went camping until I was in my 20's. And I am okay with that 
He has taken one or two of the kids camping, but now that the youngest is four, he wants us all to go. So he figures an RV is at least a way we can do that. I am thinking the trailor might be a better idea - I hadn't thought of the "another engine to service".
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Topic: Do you have an RV?
