Are you enjoying your RV life today as much as you did five years ago? Or has it lost its appeal for one reason or another?
For veteran RVers, the last five years have affected their RV lifestyle in significant ways. For the first couple of years, things stayed about the same. And then the Pandemic arrived — and it turned the RV life upside down. Suddenly it seems everyone wanted to buy an RV and travel with it: It was a whole lot safer, after all, than exposing themselves to COVID-19 by traveling by plane and staying in hotels.
Campgrounds filled up, often with new RVers who didn’t understand what they were doing, or the proper way to conduct themselves. For veteran RVers, it wasn’t always pleasant.
So, how do you feel about RVing today compared to five years ago? That’s our question today. Please feel free to leave a comment.
Less enjoyable .. Reserve America and it’s ilk as well as USFS “concessionairs” instead of Rangers and volunteers are what cause me the most mental pain.
Hey, Bill…Do you remember the old Forest Ranger campfire talks at the forest camps? What good days those were…Since the Forest Service has been taken out of the camping equation, absolutely, to me, the experience has never been the same. They made it very special in those days.
Enjoying at the same level but find us a bit stuck in a rut – only going the same places in FL until we retire & can travel with fewer sites opening up at the great places (not going to the beautiful state parks in the keys cause getting a reservation with our new system cannot be done unless you are a BOT). WIsh FL would shift their reservation system (have tossed a few solutions… no complaints unless you can offer a solution always.
Find camper etiquette just a bit lacking – hopeful for that to improve.
Camper now 10 yrs old & had planned on shifting gears but like everyone else COVID tossed a wrench in that one. On the positive side I have gotten pretty good at creative solutions when something breaks!
Haha I can’t of anything that’s as good let alone better at age 80. But honestly most of the most iconic places are being loved to death. And overcrowding applies to life in general now. Many more people have the time and money. And even many of the most remote state and national parks are full up during peak season. “Getting away ” ain’t what it used to be. But I am very happy I got to most of the “biggies” before today’s crowds. My days of cross country trips to the big name locations are over. My advice to folks, go early or late and avoid the worst of the crowds. Those with kids who can only go in summer, good luck.
mostly due to health and diet restrictions….not as many new spontaneous experiences but still like getting away, especially in winter
Honestly, no, but that is because of several extenuating circumstances.
As everyone has mentioned, fuel prices are a big burden, and keeps us closer to home than we’d usually go. Another reason is crowded campgrounds – When I had a 4/10 shift and had Su/M/Tu off, no one was at our local State Parks. Now, working M-F and being on call, means I’m tethered and have to be ready to go at a moments notice. Finally, with my wife working graveyard, it falls on me to get everything together, get to the park, set up, then she shows up, spends one night and leaves before I have to pack out so she can run errands that she’s too tired to run on her way home.
Now, when we were coming back from Oklahoma last spring, and went to the race at Phoenix on our way back to Seattle – yes, we had a blast. But that was because we fell into our usual routine and had plenty of time to leave when we wanted to.
Absolutely not
My parents were part of the Greatest generation.
I don’t know what you call us but the new generation is the self entitled generation. They talk back to their parents. The throw trash around and wont pick it up. Seems they do what they {bleeped} well please.Campsites are either crowded or 1/2 empty as they guarantee themselves a spot by overbooking. It seems they have money and that buys anything, but manners!
Not as much “fun” as it was before school started. In order to take our great-grand kids with us – boys age 9, & 7, (we haven’t taken the girls yet – age 5 and 2), now we have to plan around school and sports activities like baseball, football and even fishing. Doesn’t leave much time for Rv’ing too far away or beyond a weekend!
Also the government imposed gas prices at 8 mpg are a major concern in smaller or out-of-way communities which are higher than the major cities. Age is also a factor and due to my wife’s health, she is unable to assist with most things except meal prep.
So the “fun factor” is down – but we do still enjoy the memories and hope to make more….
The gov’t doesn’t impose gas prices, the free market does.
Agreed!
“Whatever the buyer will pay” is the motto of the oil suppliers around the world .. Not the station owners ..
The “experience” of RVing is just as enjoyable and exciting today as it was 16 years. The “process” of getting to RV sites absolutely sucks. We drove to all 49 states and the western part of Canada from 2006- 2014 without making advanced reservations (except for Holidays). Now in order to go someplace it requires 3-6 months (places like Florida Keys can be 12 months out). We are taking off to a RV park that up until about 2018 we could just drive in and get a spot. Now, we have to make reservations 3 months in advance. No, going RVing is not as much fun.
Enjoy the actual camping just as much. It is getting the sites that are more difficult.
We are enjoying RV travel more now than five years ago. In 2017 we were living in a 43′ DP while our house was being built 1/4 of a mile away. We were both working full-time. Getting ready to travel then was a major undertaking then, partly because we had work obligations that took precedence. Also, we were unskilled at finding spots for such a large RV. Finally, I had covered very few miles behind the wheel of an RV and anxiety was my constant driving companion in addition to navigator DW. We now live in the house, are retired, and have downsized to a 36′ DP. Although living space once we are parked is considerably less now, the greater number of sites that our rig fits, its many additional safety features, our greater knowledge of owning and operating an RV, and our increased experience in finding camping spots have all increased the enjoyment that we now get from RVing.
we have 34-years under our belts in 3-motorhomes. it is not as enjoyable as it once was. why?
– we’re both older with health issues
– my wife can no longer help with the setup and takedown chores
– she can’t go on our walks and hikes and I don’t like going alone
– campgrounds and parks are full. our 4-week slow trek from our home to our snowbird park now requires reservations complicating our planning.
– some of the newer RVers apparently never learned how to behave in public or as part of a group.
– we had the most fun in our first MH. footloose and fancy free! 30-yrs of saving and careful planning we bought our dream MH that, we thought, would take us into retirement and beyond. it was more like a nightmare! too many to detail here.
because of all of the above we have decided to sell the MH and call it a day. lots of great memories and we will miss it but we are at peace.
20+ years, not as pleasurable now mostly because of increasing physical infirmaties as we age … back & leg problems.
Playing the reservation game makes long trips a nightmare to plan. This is especially true if your time goes over multiple weekends.
Yes, now retired! Transitioned from our beloved Aliner camper (13 years) to a 33′ motorhome in 2019. Spending our winters in warmer weather and transversing the good ol’ U.S. of A. 2023 so far on the books is 6 months on the road. Life is good!
We still enjoy being on the road. But the trend of almost every commercial RV Park toward becoming full-time trailer parks is extremely disturbing, and puts us off when staying in them overnight. It’s not going to stop us from traveling, but it does take some of the enjoyment out of it.
I have to agree with this comment. The long term ‘campers’ are taking up easy access prime spots that used to be used by daily or weekly travelers. IMHO, the campgrounds should dedicate long term areas away from one used for transitory campers.
These sites have decks, storage sheds and cars parked for long term, along with chairs, bicycles, grills and other things in disarray encroaching on neighboring sites.
Some of the better but also more expensive places we stayed at this year were well planned and had very nice separate areas for long term or permanent rvs vs short term rvs. It’s seems like this trend is increasing and it makes sense for park owners financially. Separate but equal seems like a smart financial decision to me.
Yes , This is my biggest problem with RVing now . But it is not going to stop me , at least not yet . – Yet I must admit that as a fulltimer I guess I am part of the problem at my favorite winter campground.
It’s a mix. We upgraded our RV this year, so that’s a LOT more pleasurable for us. But the higher price of fuel and difficulty in making near-term campground reservations have diminished the joy somewhat.
Going on 17 years, the great open spaces, truck routes through rural America and leaving behind weather issues and bad neighbors is motivating. We’re able to see family , scattered around america and always have our own bed. We enjoy each other’s company and we’re still tourist. We got up early (5am) this past October, just to drive through Houston on a Sunday morning. We’ve always bypassed this city. To summarize, I’d say enjoy your miles, the open road and stay alert. This is our dream. It’s better than the alternative. Lois
Funny you should mention Houston. Every year we need to make 2-3 trips here from our home in the Reno area. We always plan to leave early Sunday morning to try to avoid as much of the hellish traffic as possible. It helps – a little.
Yup, many trips thru Houston. Like Tommy said above. Time your trip thru at off peak hours. This also applies to most major cities. I also pull out at 4 or 5 am to beat rush hour in some cities. Very early morning or late evening avoids the worst.
No, and the reason being is twofold- can’t afford to travel very far anymore, and can’t get reservations anywhere.
It’s more enjoyable to us because five years ago we were traveling in a trailer that was just too small. Now that we have a larger unit, we have fun rain or shine!
More fun than ever camping with my wife!