Is RVing still everything you hoped it would be after years of doing it? Or if you just started RVing, is the lifestyle living up to your expectations?
Is the expense of RVing in line with what you imagined? Are the monthly payments OK, not too much to handle?
We hope all of your answers are yes, that all is good. On the other hand, for whatever reasons, is the luster of RVing losing its glow? Is age catching up with you, and it’s not as easy to be on the road as it once was?
Have you been thinking of giving it up, maybe just staying more around home, or revisiting one of your hobbies that doesn’t require travel?
That’s our question today. Please leave a comment after you have responded.
Our age and health will be our limiting factors. We kept our home and our son and his family are renting it from us. He still has 6 kids living at home. We do not want to live with 6 teenagers. The last one will be 18 and hopefully off to college in 8 years. We are both 74. I doubt we will continue RVing in our 42 ft RV Beast into our 80’s. Our kids have offered to drive us to our destination(s) and fly home and fly back to drive us wherever. We will definitely take them up on that offer when the time comes…as long as our health allows and until all the kids leave, whichever come first.
My husband and I have been RV’n since 1985. It’s hard to completely give up because we love to travel. We downsized from a 42 ft fifth wheel to a slide on Camper. Now we boondock and don’t have to worry about over crowded campgrounds.
Every year when I have to try to find a camping spot 6 months out.
Started camping with my late wife a young family in 1978, got out of it for about 12 years due to her illness. I restarted in 2016 after she passed, now remarried to a wonderful lady who had camped with her family several years ago before her husband passed away. Now in our upper senior years we were in a 38’ motorhome and decided to downsize to a travel trailer that we pull with our Nissan Frontier and enjoying every minute. We just returned from a trip to Pensacola, FL for my youngest son’s wedding on the 12th and going on a weekend trip the last of this month for my wife’s birthday, so no we don’t plan on stopping until we can’t go any longer.
Eventually, time brings all of us to the edge of oblivion and the self-termination of many wonderful activities.
Think about it when they plant me. Hope there is RVing in the after life.
Our 2018 coach was purchased for the purpose of running dialysis while visiting family and beautiful places. I am alone now and no longer need the traveling clinic, but still have the RV bug. I may downsize and I definitely will continue to travel with grandkids and my full time companion dog, Sadie
(SIDE NOTE: Reading the criteria for commenting [“(?)” pop-up] is pretty hard to do with pop-up adds constantly blocking an estimated 2/3rds of the pop-up text).
We have had 5 great years as full-timers – traveling, caring for family, and serving as volunteers on disaster relief and more. Beginning this (our 6th year) we got the sense this past Summer that it was time to prep for getting a permanent home. To our surprise we are wrapping up a contract tomorrow on a home that we will be moving into next year. Though we will continue to travel, it will be “camping light.” We will sell our rig (RAM truck and Full-time and 4-Season rated 5th wheel) and will potentially gravitate to an SUV and small trailer that it can pull safely.
Could you please specify about what popup ad you are talking about? Do you mean the blue email sign up popup? If you can provide a screenshot, I’ll take a look into the issue. Thanks!
Other – Gave it up 6 years ago. I did miss the travel but after reading about current rates and crowding I am glad we did give it up. Have really saved a lot of money. Insurance, License, Maintenance, RV Parks and storage. I figure with all those costs and depreciation We were probably out over $10,000 per year.
Other, we’ll probably give up full timing within the next year or two if things continue to get worse as far as crowding, not just campgrounds and RV parks but also national parks and state parks are just so overcrowded anymore. Find that more and more quiet hours do not apply to a lot of people But we’ll continue to do occasionally as much off-season as possible.
Amen
“Other” because we only began RVing in 2016, but have no plans to stop. We have not thought about stopping. We are shopping for a smaller motorhome though. We are downsizing from 43′ to 36′ or 38′, probably 36′ given a recent stop at a dealer to look at real motorhomes (as opposed to seeing pictures on RV Trader or via web searches). That visit demonstrated that the leading 38′ MH (based on web info) has a floirplan that will NOT work for us.
I know that when the time comes for me to pull out the hitch for good, I will park the RV in the back yard on its pad for family to stay in when they visit and grand kids to play in.
We won’t give it up till we can’t do it because of health problems. We are retired & just rv when we get bored at home or someone asks us to go traveling or camping with them. Right now we are in Northern Michigan enjoying the fall foliage & visiting family. Life is good!
Camping long time. Still going to winter in Florida. Still going on trips with friends within 1 state of ours but canceled cross country due to covid and difficulty making reservations on the fly.
Trailer camped with folks as a kid. Van camped since married. In our “old age” we decided we needed to do “glamping” and got a Roadtrek van. Toilet and real bed. Ha!
Won’t stop until can’t or don’t want to drive.
We have 3 trips totally 4+ months planned for 2022. However, we know because of our ages, we may just decide one day, can’t do it any more. Is that next year, 3 yrs, 5yrs. Who knows. So we are still RV’ing, but we’ve discussed the inevitability of it.
Had to sell my Motor Home due to finances as I got caught in a real estate ponzi scheme and lost over $500,000. Did not want to stop but had to.
This is so sad. I’m sorry. Something similar happened to my widowed sister who lost her life savings through extremely bad advice from a very dishonest financial advisor in Tennessee. She recuped some of her loses but she didn’t get to retire until she was 70 and isn’t able to do the traveling she hoped to do. I really don’t like dishonest people.
MY g/f and I bought and fixed up an old class C seven years ago. She left me a few years back and I haven’t enjoyed using it as much as I did with her. Now with the price of fuel soaring I’m just staying local. I’m not planning on giving it up until the old motorhome does. (It’s 45 years old but everything still works)
We won’t give it up entirely but will probably scale it back especially considering fuel prices.
Recovering from a broken neck– c3 to c6 — I may have to give up what I love to do & that is Rving & fly fishing… Please be careful on ladders….
I had to when my husband passed away. Entering into my desicion was our RV need alot of work. I do miss it and I miss out trips to Texas.
After 14 years, we could not give it up. It is our way of life. It’s freeing. A bad neighbor? Move. Family visits…stay in our own place. Boondocking. Yep, resorts? Yep. Workamp? Yep. Affordable? Yep. Driving down a highway, gorgeous sunset, listening to Willie’s Roadhouse. What a life.we 💘 it. Karl and Lois
been rv ing just 6 yrs, part time, waiting for wifes health to improve…hopefully have another 6 years in us
I can’t give it up, it isn’t paid for yet.
I do think about it from time to time. I had originally thought to sell our trailer, and maybe get a used, small Class C, but now is not the right time to do that. We really do enjoy the lifestyle and appreciate having our own little house on wheels with us so we aren’t quite ready to let it go altogether. Like Roy Davis, we are “most timers.”
It’s been 5 years on the road.. Wife’s ready for a stick house and I’m not too far behind on that thinking.
I owned my “stick & brick” for 36 years (and had apartments for years before that). The ONLY things I miss are the deluxe shower & whirlpool tub, NOTHING else. For me, the biggest problem currently is the Covid Pandemic. I am fully vaccinated, wear a mask and follow “social distancing” the few times I have to leave the safety of my RV. Sadly, MANY people are careless (and are then surprised when they get Covid). They won’t wear a mask or take other simple & reasonable precautions when they’re out in public.
I’m on my second RV (the first was a fiberglass “egg” trailer I used extensively for 4 years). In 2014, I “graduated” to my current RV (it’s a TRUE Super-C, Freightliner based diesel puller that I’m in for 7.5 years now). I don’t expect to stop RVing ANYTIME in the foreseeable future as there’s still SO much I haven’t seen yet.
This year has been a trying year health wise. My wife has had some heart problems, I am having eye problems and other health issues. I think about quitting but precious memories keep emerging so will wait and see what happens.
You should have offered the choice of “occasionally but not too seriously”. My travel trailer is old and is showing the wear and tear badly. My health is causing me some concerns. And yet, every time I think of quitting RV traveling I also remember the moments that make me not quit.
See you on the road more than likely.
“Other” – already gave it up because it wasn’t fun or spontaneous any more. Loved extended and full-time RV travel for the 13 years we did it. Health and finances still allow it, but it got too hard to make reservations where/when we wanted and we were doing much less boon-docking as we got older. Don’t know if we’ll ever get another RV but I still read RV Travel newsletters to stay current with what’s going on.
I have lived in my motorhome since 2004. It was our ‘golden years dream’. My husband died a year ago after a 13 year battle with AD. I want to carry on our dream. I do think about giving up RV life but I can’t afford to rent an apartment. My MH is paid so all I have is park rent. Living in my MH is half the price living in an apartment would be.
I have often heard full timers on YouTube say everyone needs an exit plan. Well that is true if you’re a full timer. My wife and I will continue until we aren’t physically able anymore. We’re not full timers but what I call a “most” timer meaning we RV up to 10 months a year. We own a home base with a on site property manager (son) that maintains it.
Down sizing yes, giving up never.
We’re finished. Due to age and poor health, I just can’t do it anymore. Last year we only got out for a week. Couldn’t find a spot and we only camped at state parks. Just too much to take. We sold our TT in a couple hours for more than the asking price. Really miss living in our RV but definitely time to move on.
After this years travels and lack of places to stay I am considering giving it up. The fun of it is gone if I can’t roam.
About the only time I seriously considering giving up RV’ing, or camping is when I read this newsletter. It seems “All” your feature articles are very negative i.e. “Campground Crowding”. Even the cartoons are not funny.
I read and do for the most part enjoy the newsletter to stay abreast of what’s going on in the RV and campground industry, so lets keep with the news of the day and focus on the “Fun” most of us are having in the great outdoors.
I agree, Vincee. I think about unsubscribing a couple times a week these days. I guess just like main stream media, positive and happy stories don’t get readers/viewers as much as the negative ones.
Been doing this rv’ing thing since the 1970’s and now we are approaching our 80’s in age and our bodies are starting to complain. Getting more and more difficult to keep the motorhome’s maintenance up, setting up and taking down utilities at each stop and driving long distances. We have shortened our days of driving and also stay longer at our stops….which helps. But, I think next year just might be our last and put the coach and rv resort site up for sale and just stay home.
We have been full time for 4 years and love it. My wife is someone that needs to have everything planned out. So the crowding hasn’t affected us so much. We stay at Thousand Trails, Military FamCamps, COE’s, and some commercial campgrounds. We hope to have many more years on the road.
We are 87 years old, visited 49 states and realized it was time hang it up. Too many birthdays increased the driving reaction time and made it difficult to complete all the jobs necessary.
Happy trails!
For me, part of the magic of RVing is heading down the road, seeing a RV park coming up, and just saying, “Hey, let’s stop here and see what it’s like.” No plans, just livin’ in the moment. I miss that like breathing. It’s not the same anymore with crowds, people in newly purchased RVs who don’t know RV courtesy if it smacked them in the face, etc. So sad. I treasured “the old days.”
Exactly. More discouraging is that the lack of common courtesy isn’t limited to campground etiquette, it’s just far more common everywhere. This leads me to believe that things related to that won’t magically get better.
While we aren’t considering hanging it up yet, the appeal is certainly diminishing.
Agreed with the common courtesy lacking.
In our mid 70’s now and plan on continuing to rv as long as we are physically able. However, have to say that we are not enjoying it as much as a few years ago due to sites being harder to get in some places and all of the “newbies” with more kids and their toys.
I am 86 and have been rving since 1967(first motor home). Age and high tech systems are driving me out to pasture.
Not giving up, but certainly evolving as times change.
Regretfully, I gave it up shortly after my husband passed away. I took an extended trip alone and didn’t enjoy it as much without him. I also had three times on that trip when I did not feel completely safe. I do miss it very much.
We bought a nice smaller TT in 2018 that sleeps 3 with a Murphy bed and the convertible dinette/bed. We upgraded in 2020 in October to a much larger TT that sleeps 8 with bunkbed s and convertible sofa bed. It’s been in the dealer repair shop for way longer of time than we’ve camped in it. We’re on the 3rd a/c unit in the last 4 months, compressor keeps failing, and yes, IT IS a Coleman Mach unit. We also just found out when the dealer did our 1 year inspection, that the floor under the super slide is TOTALLY rotted underneath due to a leak from the IMPROPER installation of the bottom seal on the slide. Just HOW STUPID IS THAT? We’ve only “camped” in it twice for a total of 10 days since we’ve owned this TT and I’m about ready to sell it once the repairs are finished! No issues with the first Forest River Cruise Lite, but this one has been a NIGHTMARE, with having to cancel numerous other outings last Spring and this Summer and Fall seasons. And Forest River won’t extend my warranty!
As we get older we have to consider options. We have been full time for 16+ years and would like to stay in the coach even if we don’t travel, but as we age we have to consider mobility issues as well.
We have no plan to get off the road any time soon. Today is my 79th birthday and my wife will join me in 17 days. We have told our boys what we think we might plan to do when it is time to hang up the keys, but that is just planning for an eventuality, not a current desire. OTOH we are considering the possibility of a adding a 5th wheel with bath and 1/2 to our asset list so we will have a 2nd bathroom when we stay at our SKP Coop for several months in the winter. We just embarked on a cross country trip for the 23rd time. When it no longer feels safe or fun we will stop.
I voted Other. We may have to give it up for the time being. The old truck broke down on two out of three trips this past summer. It needs to be replaced and we are not in a position to buy a new truck right now–and good used ones are always in short supply in our area of the country. In addition, our 22 year old 17′ Casita seems tighter than it used to be and needs a little maintenance here and there that is getting harder for my husband to do. I really would like to sell it and I have my eye on another molded fiberglass trailer 4′ longer. Not in the cards right now. So we may give up RVing for now, but we’ll be back!
My wife and I and in our 80’s ( I am 86) so we know it can’t go on forever. I am not looking forward to when I must hang up the keys, but know it will happen..
my wife has mobility issues which severely limits what we can do together at a destination and I do not enjoy taking long walks or short-to-medium hikes alone…even if Maggie the Wonder Beagle is with me. getting ready for winter and spring is getting harder and our enjoyment of the MH is lessening.
might be time to sell. but then what? I’m glad we kept it this year as it was a lifeboat of sorts when my BIL passed away in California. his home was unlivable so we stayed in our MH while we spent nearly 3-months clearing, cleaning and selling his home and settling his affairs. but if we sell this year then what? we like to winter in AZ but I can’t see us in a condo, townhouse or apartment. park model? maybe. buy a second home in AZ? maybe but that seems overkill for 2-3-months a year as we don’t want to live there year round.
what to do…what to do
Give up? Never! We plan to RV as long as we are physically able.
Richard Mansell
If the 37% of those in this survey, who have thought of, or plan to quit rving, would give it up today, it would solve the overcrowding problem immediately. Just kidding. Don’t be so quick to give up on the life style.
I bought my first RV when I was 18 years old, (Pop Up Trailer counts right?), some 46+ years later and eleven RVs I have a three year old Cedar Creek that sits in its RV parking spot at home waiting for someplace to go. But as has been said many times the software junkies have built BOTs to make reservations for themselves and their friends to minimize competition for campground spaces months in advance that government campground operators don’t seem to mind, money is money I guess. Since private campgrounds or parking lots as I call them are more accessable but also far more expensive we have pretty much bailed on camping until these Covid campers get tired of the new RV they bought and rejoin the friendly sky’s of air travel. I think the camping situation will right itself over the next 24 months, between rising inflation and easing of the pandemic related travel inconvience the pressure on campgrounds will abate. In any case when the Cedar Creek turns 10 it’s history and I’m done.
Between RV’s right now. We are Van Camping at present. We will get another Travel trailer someday. Reasons for selling, too small unit, old unit.
I not only thought about it it but did back in September. Just grew weary of having to plan so far ahead. Getting older with more aches and pains didn’t help any.
Sometimes we think about it and it will all depend on out physical capabilities in the future.
There are times when I read about the overcrowding and the lack of spaces due to the COVID rv rush that I think about selling the rv. Complicating matters are those who make multiple reservations for the same time knowing and not cancelling them. It’s further exacerbated by companies and bots that will take up spaces and then resell them at higher than the regular price the campground charges. It’s saddening to me that a lot of the fun of the adventure has been adversely affected.
ask this a year ago and I would have said no. Now a year later and with all the trouble to find a place to camp this past year has taken the fun out of it. So now I am wondering if I still want to camp, since returning from our 12 weeks on the road can not get excited to go back out. Been trying to book some small trips but no open spaces even during middle of week
The only time we think about it is when we get the annual property tax bill on it…but then we turn to thinking we need to find another home state after retirement!
Sometimes I do, with the crowding and the covid. Also have elderly Mother and Mother in law that we help with.
At 85 it gets more difficult so maybe it would be time in the future
I won’t stop RVing, but I certainly changed how and where I do.
I will die with the Monaco coach keys in my hands!
Good comment.
I’ve had my RV for three years now. I did tent camping with the Boy Scouts for over 30! Its time I have some creature comforts with me when I go outdoors. Also, my main task when camping is to do everything I can to make sure DW has the most relaxing time ever. Eventually, I know we will have to give it up. Nothing lasts forever but the night sky. But for me, it’ll be a long time coming.