Obviously is depends on individual choices but I am hoping for some input from those that have bought RV's.
Has buying an RV truly saved that much money compared to budget shopping mid range hotels and is it a hassle to find a place to park/camp when doing most shows?
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We are now full time RV'ers, so I might be a bit biased, but yes, we felt having a travel trailer saved us money. It does depend on the length of the trip, but we would travel 2-4 weeks at a time usually with multiple shows. For a trip that long we were happy to have our own bed, be able to cook our own food and have more peace and quiet than we would have in a hotel.
Some shows provide a location we could park for free and be within walking distance of our booth, love that arrangement, especially for those shows with traffic congestion issues.
If it's only one weekend at a time, you may not save money due to the increase in fuel for towing, but there can still a convenience factor if you can park very close to the show. We also tend to eat healthier when we can cook our own food and not eat out as often.
Mine was not an RV per se, but a tiny, cute travel trailer called a Scamp. It was 13 feet long, had a stove, sink, table, bed, fridge, fan, lights, electricity, etc. It was the cutest thing EVER! Weighed 900 lbs, and I could pull it with my van.
But I sold it. For starters, I never got comfortable towing it. Just the whole hitch-unhitch-hitch thing freaked me and stressed me.
Second, it used a TON of gas. Cut my mileage in half.
There were not always campsites within reasonable distances from the shows. The campsites were not always wonderful and not always cheap. Sometimes they WERE wonderful! Sometimes they were cheap! Sometimes they were just as fun as anything. But not always.
And I didn't have all mod cons, as the phrase goes. I found I missed the supplied comfort of even a cheap hotel - unlimited hot water, no towels to wash, no sheets to wash, a million channels of TV.
But I did love having My Own Bed. And always knowing that I could stop at any Wal-Mart or truck stop or Cracker Barrel and set up in the parking lot for free. And I loved my teeny camper.
Thanks Carrie, we used to have an 18' trailer for camping and loved it but you kind of bear out my concern with using one for shows. When camping all the hoopla that goes with using the rig is at the beginning and end and we are just hanging out and relaxing in between. Did you find it saved you much money in the long run?
Hi, Stephen - No, in the end, it didn't really save me any money. What I didn't spend in hotels and meals out, I did spend in gas, so it was really a wash. Sigh.