Many of our readers embrace RVing for its freedom, adventure, and the chance to explore the outdoors. Have you ever given thought to what might make you hit the brakes on RVing? Today’s poll asks: Do you see yourself RVing in five years?
Let’s look at what makes some RVers stay and why others eventually decide to park the rig for good.
Health concerns
One of the most common reasons RVers leave the lifestyle is health. As we get older, the physical demands of RVing can become challenging. Handling maintenance, setting up camp, navigating large vehicles, or even just the long drives can be tough on anyone dealing with mobility issues or chronic health problems.
For many RVers, staying active and engaged with the outdoors is the goal, but personal health has to come first. This often means a decision to take fewer RV trips or come off the road permanently.
Rising costs
The rising costs of fuel, maintenance, campground fees, and repairs are also significant factors driving some RVers to reassess. Gas prices, in particular, are no small expense when driving cross-country in a vehicle that gets less-than-stellar mileage.
When you add in the cost of regular maintenance and frequent repairs, the expense of RVing can stack up quickly. Even campgrounds have seen cost increases, making it harder for RVers to keep traveling as frequently as they’d like.
Shifting interests and family ties
For many, RVing starts out as an exciting way to see the world. Over time, interests change. Some RVers discover new hobbies, interests, or activities that they’re eager to pursue, and these interests become more important than RVing.
Some RVers decide to spend more time at home with family, especially when grandkids arrive, or other family commitments increase. While RVing can bring flexibility, it may also limit the time RVers spend with loved ones, which is a big reason people hang up their keys.
Burnout
Despite the perks, there may come a time when you become tired of RVing. When we first began RVing, we imagined a life filled with scenic vistas and daily adventures. The reality is that RVing involves a lot of planning, routine maintenance, and sometimes even stressful situations (e.g., breakdowns, crowded campgrounds).
Eventually, some RVers find themselves preferring the comforts of their stix-n-brix home, like a stable internet connection, a regular community, or simply the ease of being close to familiar services.
The big question
Knowing why some RVers stop can help us reflect on our own journeys. Let’s hear what you think:
Do you see yourself still RVing in five years? Please vote and then add your thoughts in the comments below.
No matter your answer, it’s good to reflect on how RVing fits into your future. Who knows where the road will take you?
My trailer is a 2011, my tow vehicle is a 2011 and I am a 1948. I think we are all getting close to aging out!
Eight years your junior with a 2018 TT and 2019 Ram. Heck, we gonna be around in five years, lol!
Clever comment Fox. Our trailer is a 2012, tow vehicle is a 2016 F-350, and I’m a 1946 model. If nothing major changes I see us still RV’ing but probably not all that far from home.
Agree. I am a 45 model, wife a 48, and our fifth RV is a 2018. With the many two to three month long trips in the past, we are already staying closer to home for shorter time periods
For all the reasons stated in the article. As fulltimers, quitting on our terms was important. Don’t wait for someone else to make your decision. Move forward into a new lifestyle while you can still fully appreciate and participate in it.
We’re now on our “third last RV”…if health permits, there may be a “4th last RV”
Hi, Skip. Good luck on getting to your “4th last RV”. We wish you both many healthy and happy years of RVing to come.🤞 Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
We are snowbirds and love the lifestyle. This past winter it was difficult to make FL State Park reservations because of changes in the reservation system. We liked moving every 2 wks. This winter we’re staying in private ‘resorts’ for a month at a time. We’ll see how we like being packed in and sans campfires.
We Trial-show- our dogs. The RV allows us to get to get to the trial site and then dry camp. We live in the metro Philly Pa. area and travel from Conn. down to N. Carolina and out to Ohio. Age and health would be the only reason to quit.
My wife and I are both in our70s but in relatively good health. Aside from arthritis we get along fairly well so I see no reason to stop. But we know all things are subject to change. Our plans are written in sand.
At 86 years of age I doubt if I’ll be around in 5 years. LoL!
Ya never know, Mel. Hopefully you have many healthy and happy years ahead. Take care.🤗 –Diane at RVtravel.com
We mainly use the RV to be able to attend dog sports trials, either dry camping at the event or in a nearby RV park. We take a few short recreational trips to. As long as the bodies hold out we’ll keep doing it. And the RV is also our “guest cottage” when we have overnight visitors.
I’m almost 70, my younger husband has almost 3 years until retirement. We’ll never be full-timers, but we plan to travel as long as we safely can. We know that we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow, let alone years. We had to curtail plans last year due to my husband’s accident; this year due to my surgery. We continue to make plans, and adjust as necessary, but we return to places we love and explore others.
Sounds like a great plan, Andrea. We wish you and your husband many happy and healthy years of RVing, especially after his upcoming retirement. Have a great day. 😀 -Diane at RVtravel.com
Don’t expect anything to get cheaper now that elections are over…including anything RV related.
No, after several years of RV’ing around the country, including Canada and Alaska my wife stated while returning from our Spring 2024 Western Trip she was done with the long trips, so I am prepping our 2019 Montana fiver to sell next Spring. I’ll also be selling our 2018 F350 diesel. She said she just cannot take all the travel days sitting in the truck anymore and we are in our mid-70s.
At 85 years old, I’ve made my last trip across country, but still healthy ( no meds) and able to do summer trips. Hate to give up “ Minnie” because of all the 20 years of fantastic adventures we have shared. . .. …”she” is like family!
I live in a co-op mobile home community, of old Rv’ers my observation is that around 85 years old most of us hang up our Rving days. Still there are a few holdouts, mostly Class A types. I am now 81 with 82 just around the corner, so 5 more years seems like a long way off, but by then I’ll be 87 and not so sure if I’ll still be RV’ing by then. It all depends on my older friends that I go with each summer, back up north to Minnesota, to get away from Texas’s long hot summers, I do have family there still to see and visit with. So we shall see if that will be, or not!
We have a 2003 40′ Allegro Bus, a 2000 24′ Dynamax Isata, and a 2000 21′ Coachman Starflyte. They all run great and everything works on them. We use all of them for different areas of camping and none of them are aging out as they were built good back then. I’m a 1952 model and not aging out…yet, so we plan on Rving for at least 5 more years.
I’m in the process now of hanging up my spurs….selling the motorhome and RV Resort lot. It’s just not fun anymore with the high fuel prices and California’s insistence on removing all internal combustion engines from the face of the earth.
Agreed.It’s been a helluva ride though.
Hmmm… at 88 with a 94 Class A, and now alone – seems improbable; on the other hand who knows? God be willing and the creeks don’t rise…. as the saying goes. Still in good health and have a good energy level. If I can figure out this cooking thing, I may survive!
Like others, if I was 65 again I would go for another 20. However, at 81 with already 19 years of RVing, I’m looking at going to 85 and then “see what happens” from there. Obviously, the great days of just taking off to see America are well over with top pricing and reservations made over 6 months in advance. Geeeeeezzzzz.
Jerry, don’t go to private campgrounds. . .state parks and Army Corp of Engineers, National Parks, etc. have reasonable prices, electricity , and better, bigger sites.
I totally agree and that was my first thought too. I’m 78 and barring health issues, which I have none currently, I will be towing my Casita another 5 years and loving it. I may consider a Class B after that as I travel solo and that appeals to me. I had one about 15 yrs ago and have fond memories.
We’ve been travelling in a 21′ Class B for the past 8 years. Class Bs just make everything easier and simpler as long as you can enjoy the limited space lifestyle. At 70 now, I can’t imagine dealing with any of the large RVs. Our health is good thankfully. Now that we’ve completed our RV travel bucket list and more though, we may not keep it much longer. There are lots of great travel options out there that don’t require the care and feeding of an RV.
I agree with you Roger. We have now downsized to a Pleasureway Ontour 2.2 Class B and it has allowed us to stay in camping for a while. We are also in our mid to late 70s and this coach has everything we need to stay on the road for a while without a lot of extra work.
In 5 years I will be 89, if possible will use my 20 year old E-450, hoping it will not fall apart then.
Completely depends on health issues.
At 76 and facing major surgery on my back, I’m not sure how many more years I’ll be traveling. Hubby is younger and in great shape, we just bought a new 45’ Class A and the goal is to have at least 5 more years (also our 3rd “last” coach) but it’s all dependent on health.
Good luck with your back surgery, Linda.🤞 We wish you and your husband many years of happy and healthy RVing in your new Class A. Have a good evening/night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
You would have to ask this question right after my birthday! This is just one more thing I didn’t need to be thinking about. LOL Burnout? – never. Cost? – I’ll just reset my priorities. That darned Age and Health question, however…. I’m not the one that can answer the question 5 years out. I don’t know how long they can keep patching me up and replacing parts in order to keep me going.
Happy Belated Birthday, Kelly!🎂 Sorry I missed it. (Or maybe I’m just ±360 days early for the next one?) Wishing you a happy and healthy year and many more to come.🤗 –Diane
I’m 76, wife 68 and we plan to go as long as we can. Aside from my wife’s arthritis, I’m in good shape see no reason to quit, unless something fails us.
This is different. I am so used to writing here as the Odd-Man-Out that I am wondering what happened. We have a 50+yo classic that we love, but this year has been my medical stuff year as a result, she never even got the spring service. There are not many places that will do what she needs and many that just slam the door in my face. I really don’t want to explain my year as I detest “organ recitals”, but if I can get healed up for next year, this may be the end of our travels times. I dread the thought.
We are three years away from retirement. We own a Winnebago Travato 59K now. This is our 4th RV. To me the big problem is I don’t want big and nothing under 25 feet can tow my Jeep Rubicon at 7000 pounds. Then towing with the Jeep 3000 pounds is so limited on travel trailers. Then the money. Larger is more money. Not wanting to go back to 10 mpg. So I see us using the van east of the Mississippi travel and Jeep and B&B in the West. Living in Arizona we use our Jeep. Utah, Colorado are our go to Jeep trips.
I didn’t think I would be RVing 10 years ago so as to what I am going to be doing in 5 is anyone’s guess. I’m just not going to be working that’s for sure.
We can’t see getting burned out…we’d rather camp (minus hookups) than go out to dinner. We are 81 & 82. Sometimes we just go around 10 or 20 miles away just to get away for a few days……easy to do in Montana. We’ll go as long as we can.
Hi, Barb and Norm. I predict many more happy and healthy years of camping for you two, with your positive attitude.👍 I’m the same way regarding my priorities. There’s nothing I’d rather do than to get out and enjoy Mother Nature, i.e., not go someplace full of people. Happy Thanksgiving! And have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Since the wife and I are just 57 & 56, we will be RVing for quite some time to come.
Thank you, Gail! Yes, unless some major health problem arises. Happy new year and safe travels!
After reading about RVlng in the next five years I decided to share our story. In Aug ‘17 after retiring we decided to buy a ‘99 Hurricane 31’ and travel to see the USA. (not FT). After 4 yrs we visited 46 capitals and enjoyed the experience but then thought we had enough of the RV life and sold ‘Harvey the RV”. I’ve learned never to say never but I did not ever think that we would RV again. However, we plan on selling our home this spring in MN and move to TX by one of our 4 kids – then to escape the summer heat of TX, we decided to buy an RV and spend those months in the north to see our other 3 kids. So we now own a 2017 38’ Thor Challenger and are returning to the good life!
I’m ready to hang it up because I want to be around my grandchildren while they are still young.
It depends on my health. I’m 71 years old this year and have some Arthritis that isn’t too bad. So maybe another 5 years, or maybe 10 years. This will be my last year camp hosting though.
In 5 more years, I will no longer be paying child support to my ex wife (actually ends next year once my daughter graduates), and in just over 2 years I’ll have my journeyman card (with accompanying pay raise), so my wife and I will have more money available. In 3 more years, I get an extra week of vacation time at my job, and my wife will have more vacation time from her job, so we’ll have more time available to us. So we’ll more than likely be doing more traveling and camping than we do now, barring something unforeseen!
If all the parts inside the skin keep working, probably will still be RV’ing, but less than the multiple months a year we are currently out. We have been active travelers our whole lives, both on land and by sea, recreationally and working. We do have to admit we are starting to slow down, both now in our 80’s. For us the key word is travel and its rewards with exposure to other people, cultures and environments. We have travelled by car, boat/ship, or air for most of our lives, on all seven continents, and by motorhome for more than a decade in the US, Canada and New Zealand.
Wow! You two sure get around! And you sure don’t look your age! (At least you didn’t when I met you a few years ago!) I went to the doctor for my first so-called “annual” physical today in about a decade. Yep, according to her I’m still alive and kickin’. When I walk at the local high school track every day I’ve told acquaintances up there that as long as I’m vertical and moving, I’m doing good.😉 (The doctor agreed that I’m doing good.😀) I hope you folks have many happy and healthy RVing years to come.🤞 Take care, and have a good night, Jack and Jean. 🤗 –Diane
I consider waking up on the right side of the dirt a blessing —
That’s good, David!👍 And I definitely would not want to wake up on the wrong side of the dirt.😱😉 My doctor told me 66 years ago (when I was 12), “No running and no downhill skiing”– because my knees were already shot. Well, they’re still shot but they’re still working, so I feel very fortunate to be able to walk at the local track 1.5 miles every day. Have a great day! 😀 –Diane
probably not with a land locked RV. I own a trailer trawler. Fully live aboard. I now stay at campgrounds only to get to a launch site/marina. I do not play golf. I do not play pickleball or tennis. I will not swim in a public pool. I will not cook on a public grill/BBQ. Capiche? This “resort” idea is of no value to me. Campgrounds are not a destination.
Health and RV prices would be the thing to stop us. We go to closer trips now but will not stop for as long as health permits. Now 85 and 84.
Your article on a five-year future of continued RV hit the nail on the head for many. We are both 78 and it is getting old packing unpacking planning due to the physical aspects involved. Although we continue to love being outdoors, our health has now become a major issue as to why there is no way we will be, pulling an RV in five years. And yes, there are six grandchildren and three children close by, but the campground that we stay at is 50 miles from our home in the Pocono mountains and convenient for the children to visit on weekends. Basically we’re up at the campground during the week and if the kids cannot come up to visit, we go back home for the weekend and then when they go to worK
by the way, we forgot to mention that we leave our 35 foot travel trailer at the campground all summer and when traveling back-and-forth to our home, it’s a quick jaunt without towing.
I answered “probably not” as an indication of reality rather than desire. My partner is not as mobile as she was and can no longer get into the motor home, and I wouldn’t feel right traveling without her. So though I still have the urge to hit the road, sadly, it probably isn’t going to happen.