Last year we got the RV and took it on a few trips to get the feel for owning something like it. Lessons learned and we definitely appreciate the benefits of having a RV over tent camping.
After having a couple of conversations with people inquiring about RV vs tenting I think the biggest reframe is that an RV/trailer is not like an upgrade from tent camping, it’s a different way to think about travel and vacations entirely. They are not interreplaceable options, even though in both cases you end up staying at campgrounds.
While in the campground setting having an RV or trailer has the benefit of a readily available bathroom and kitchen with room for all the equipment you want to cook an at-home meal. And you can avoid the midnight outhouse trips. That’s not the primary benefit.
Over the last year we have been in 2 situations where tenting would have been miserable. One case after some rainy days, nearly all the campsites were water puddles, having a tent would have meant requesting a new spot or turning around to go home. And in this recent Ontario storm, the tenters needed to pack up and bunker down in their car to wait out the high winds.
There are enough little benefits that add up to make an RV more like having a cottage on wheels. We can drive and stop, park-up for the night and bring our cottage with us. Ever want to have a second home in murtle beach or near Orlando or in the appalacian mountains? The RV allows us to bring our cottage there and try it out, see the sights and then move to the next location.
This summer we’re hitting the road for a nearly a month, I’ll be able to work on the go and stay productive. We are driving to Newfoundland – It’s the kind of trip that isn’t possible to take with a 2 week vacation budget. It also wouldn’t be doable with a tent due to the setup/teardown time and effort reqiured for cooking and lack of workspace.
My mind is already dreaming of the future trips we can take – the Florida Keys, Grand Canyon, Napa Valley, Vancouver Island. And all the places along the way that would never be a fly-in destination on their own can become interesting experiences on the side.
