greetings:

Pros and cons

It's nice having your bedroom with you and having the ability to take things along.  I enjoy State parks and being out in nature.   I don't like motels.  It depends how often you use the RV as to actual cost per night.  I use mine at least 30 nights or more a year and feel I get a fair value, plus I dry camp at steam and  threshing shows every year.  I find it a worthwhile investment.  

Cons:  you have to have a place to store it when not in use.  RV's are expensive unless you use it enough.  It costs you to tow with much lower MPG.  Insurance costs are high.  It requires a proper tow Vehicle, which are expensive.  It all depends where you want to put your money,  Folks buy $60000 boats and only use them a few times a year.   I have owned an RV for 9 years and for me it has been a enjoyable experience.

Crankster78  2015 R-179 F-150  

If you have pets its easier to travel and find places to stay.

You can prepare your own meals which is much cheaper, healthier, and  usually more convenient than eating out all the time while on the road. I think this alone compensates for the additional fuel costs and then some.

You already have a good tow vehicle for a smaller travel trailer.

You can buy used and eliminate much of the depreciation.

Its really easier to prepare and go than packing for motel stays once you have the trailer set up the way you want. If you keep a set of clothes, personal hygiene articles, etc, in the trailer really you only need to bring perishable food. 

If you stay in public parks its much cheaper than hotel rooms.

Additional cons: 

You will have increased maintenance labor and expenses. The workmanship and materials on most travel trailers is not of the highest quality, and you have more wheels on the road and more tow vehicle maintenance as you are using it harder.

You  will be driving more slowly so will have to plan for more time on the road. 

If you aren't used to towing you will need to adjust to where you park and pull into gas stations, etc.

It will take you longer to get going in the mornings and set up for the evenings.

if you wind up not using the trailer much it will sit and end up taking you longer to prepare which will result in less use, becoming a vicious circle.

So I think the main thing to ask is, is this how you want to spend your limited time off work? When I was working full time I got rid of my RV because I wasn't using it enough. I got to where I avoided dealing with it because it always needed something done before I could use it. Now that I'm retired and I got another one I use it 40-60 days a year, its always ready to go, and its great. 

YOLO!

OTOH all these trailers use more or less the same appliances and systems as everyone else does, so things will inevitably break and they will take work to maintain. An RV is really a tiny house that gets shaken and bounced around all the time. They are all going to have maintenance and repairs to do, just the nature of the beast. 

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/ - Oliver..

That said.. ANY camper, pool, boat, plane, etc, isn't an "investment" monetarily. They are a money pit. All of them. Doesn't matter if you like them or not. They all devour expendable cash, sometimes at an alarming rate.

If you don't already enjoy, or want the "lifestyle" and traveling freedom of "camping", then honestly, it isn't for you if money matters.

A new, small TT is going to cost, ready to camp, between $20K and $70K.. You can stay in a lot of Holiday Inns for that..

But.. if sleeping in your own bed, fixing your own meals, being off the beaten path, hiking, watching sunrises and sunsets, communing with nature, etc etc are what you want to do with your time and energy.. then it's a nobrainer, and only money.

I would probably say that over half of our time in our RP179 has been at places without hookups. These involve truck stops, Walmarts, and a Vermont State Park. We don't turn down connections if they are available. We travel with our R-Pod and in the time we have owned it (since December, 2015) we have probably put over 30,000 miles on it.

The best thing is sleeping in our own bed. We don't cook as much as I thought we would when we are on the road, but when we are stopped for any length of time, we do more cooking. Much of that is outdoors on a Coleman Grill-Stove which keep the cooking fumes outside. We also carry an induction cooktop which comes in very handy when we do have shore power available or when I take the time to fire up the generator if we don't. We also have seen much of this country at ground level. That is something that is priceless.

We are both in our 60s. My thought is that it was worth doing rather than looking back and wishing we had done this. Camping was part my childhood (and also my wife's). We have camped in tents when we were younger. It got too difficult as the aches and pains of arthritis and consequences of injuries sustained while we were young have caught up with us. The R-Pod is comfortable and roomy. I wanted a Casita, but got scammed from a Craigslist post. While I still don't like that we sustained a loss there, I am happy we got our RP179. It has been a good fit for the two of us. We may get tempted by the new models (such as the 195) coming out, but I have done a lot of customizing to our 179 (see link in signature) and have some more modifications that will probably be done this winter after we get it back from the dealer where it is getting some service done. It would be hard giving those up. We are fortunate enough to be able to park our R-Pod in our driveway. It is very handy to have it there when I want to do some modifications.

Only you can decide what is right for you. You may not save much by having a small trailer such as an R-Pod, but the journey is part of the adventure. Flying and staying in motels might be cheaper, but then we would have missed out on many of the memories we have made.

I owned a Casita and they are quality rigs. If you search carefully and dont mind driving to pick one up (we traveled two days to get ours) you can find a nice used rig. We got one for $14.5K, sold it for the same amount a year later (I am 6'1" lol). Now happily towing an Rpod. One advantage you have is already owing a towing vehicle.

It's bigger so more comfortable for 2 adults; more storage space inside; better kitchen/prep area. Casita is definitely better quality construction. Systems are similar if not identical (heater, hot water, plumbing, etc). If the Casita was a bit taller we may have stuck with it. 

If you do not plan on spending much time inside the trailer except for sleeping/cooking/eating then the Casita is fine. RPod is bigger/better to hang out in. When we travel and where we travel (in the west) we are almost always outside all of the time.

OTOH, while I prefer to be outdoors unless the weather is very uncomfortable, my wife prefers to relax inside. We use the AC and a ceramic block heater if we have power. If we don't, we use the propane furnace for heat. If it is just too hot then I can fire up the generator and run the AC. For the most part, nights have been cool enough that just windows and fans have been sufficient.

One thing not mentioned is the benefit of having your own restroom facilities with you. It has been very handy at times when no rest stop was near to be able to pull off at an intersection and find a place to park for a quick trip into the R-Pod. There have been many times before we got it where things got very close to desperation and at least once where we just could not find a rest stop in time.

Stupid auto correct.

We also considered Casita, Scamp, and Jayco in our search for a used travel trailer.  I was, quite frankly, a bit worried about the very low ground clearance of both the Scamp and Casita and since we planned on boon docking, often traveling on less than ideal roads, I eliminated them even though I was at home with their sailboat like interior.  We, as offgrid, opted for a used trailer because it was a lot cheaper, but it has meant a number of repairs, most of which I've done myself.  On the other hand, reading about all the travails of those who bought new trailers, it seems we ended up fixing less than many of them.

People have pointed out many pro's and con's  and I agree with all of them.  One thing you said that will be a con for you is that you don't like to "fix" stuff.  That is going to be a big issue.  Dealing with even nice RV dealers is a hassle and it will cost you a lot of money.  And if you have a a less than honest dealer or shop fixing your trailer, be prepared.  

Finally, to get your money's worth from an RV you have to use it a lot.  As I look around my neighborhood, I see many trailers that are used only two or three times a year.  [It's not illegal here to park them on the street for extended periods.]  The cost per use, the amortized cost of the trailer, repairs and upkeep, insurance, licenser, etc. etc. makes it a very expensive yard decoration.  It reminds me of the boats berthed around my old sailboat in SF Bay.  Every time I went sailing which was often, but never often enough, those boats were always sitting there, never moving out of their berths.  That's a lot of money to have tied up in a rapidly depreciating thing.  And remember, you will never use the trailer as much as your dreams will tell you you will.  Stuff happens that results in cancelled trips.

I think regardless of trailer the one other main difference in camping vs staying in hotels is, you will meet people that are out doing like minded activities.  There is a very strong social aspect to camping if you want it.  That makes it worthwhile for us.

I agree. Especially if you go to an rPod Meetup, like we did last August at the NW Meetup in Cannon Beach, OR.

The Oliver and Bigfoot and maybe a very few others are actually insulated to prevent winter freezing, so you can use them all year.  Casitas and rPods are not, they are really 2.5-3 season campers.  You have to winterize them, which is very easy. You can still use them in cold (but not really cold) weather but you can't really use their water systems. So I see you want to spend time in the VA/MD/PA area near the civil war battlefields, that would limit you to say April through October/November.

I mentioned, as have others, renting a trailer.  It's not expensive and will let you know in two or three trips whether it is something you'd like.  The only draw back is backing up the trailer.  It's a skill that comes with practice and it's a little frustrating the first few times.  If you're only going to use the trailer 2 or 3 times a year, you'll save a boatload of money renting.  Not only for the capital cost, but as trailers sit, similarly to boats, stuff deteriorates from lack of use and you'll spend way too much time fixing things.

You can for sure run the roof a/c from a small generator, I've done it many times. A 2Kw Honda or other inverter/generator will run it fine as long as no other ac loads are turned on at the same time. Run it yes, but it won't start it unless you add a soft start device to the a/c, which many people here have done. Not a big deal. 

The problem with running the a/c on a generator is that pretty much all campgrounds have quiet hours so you can't run the genny at night, when at least for me its most needed. So, when its hot and humid you either need to not mind sweating all night, have hookups, or be boondocking somewhere where your genny won't bother anyone. 

Definitely if you're not sure your wife will take to camping you should rent a trailer first and give it a try a couple of times.  You probably don't even need to rent and tow the trailer, if you found a campground somewhere that has trailers already set up that you could rent, that would work too and probably be easier.  Otherwise if you don't already have one you'll need to have a brake controller and 7 pin connector installed in your truck. 

Is your tow vehicle already factory equipped with a 2" hitch receiver? Does it have a round electrical (Bargman) connector? It likely has both of those given the model truck you have, then you would need to get a trailer brake controller if it is not equipped with one from the factory. In my case, I chose the Hopkins InSIGHT Flex-Mount proportional controller. Others choose the Tekonsha Prodigy P3. One that does not require as much installation is the wireless Tekonsha Prodigy RF Wireless. You can see these and more at www.etrailer.com. As for a hitch, you could go with a simple ball hitch (cheap). However, it is good to have a hitch that will give you sway control, either a friction sway bar or something like the Progress Industries E2 which combines weight distribution and sway control and is relatively inexpensive. You could go all the way up to the Cadillac of hitches, the Hensley Cub, which is what I have (got it at a good discount) but it is way overkill for what you would need with that Dodge Ram. Weight distribution is not necessarily needed with an R-Pod, but it does help on those concrete roads where the seams get the truck and trailer porpoising (bouncing up and down). The sway control is not needed in most cases, but it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

If you rent a trailer, the company from which you rent it should be able to help with a hitch as well. It may be part of the rental package. You would have to check.

As for the remainder of the towing equipment, the place where you rent the trailer will set you up.  Your truck should be able to handle any trailer within it's towing capacity quite well.  If you go to a destination not too far from home, you'll find out all you need to know about whether you really want a trailer.

The braking system works like this:

1. When you press the brake pedal, a signal is sent to the brake controller.

2. The brake controller uses an inertial sensor to determine how much force to apply. The harder you press the brake pedal means that the sensor detects more change.

3. The brake controller sends current to the brakes on the trailer in proportion to braking force being applied to the tow vehicle.

4. When the tow vehicle is slowed down, the inertial force is less and the controller applies less power to the brakes. On mine, I will see a 0 displayed while sitting at a stop light.

5. When the brake pedal is no longer being pressed, the signal cuts off and the controller stops sending power to the brakes.

Things that need to be done regularly are similar to the things you should be doing for your truck. Checking tire pressure and checking the lug nuts to ensure they are tight is important. Some models have different items that will need to be checked. On our 179, the black water drain suspension has been problematic, coming loose twice. There won't be a third time as I made my own custom suspension bracket. Making sure water and drain connections inside are tight (remember, you are bouncing down the road and things can become loose) is important. Forest River specifies maintaining seals every 90 days. This is simply using something like ProtectAll rubber seal treatment to keep the rubger seals in good shape and silicone lubricant to keep the slide-out mechanism lubed and ready to work.

Every year the brakes and bearings should be checked. At this time, the bearings should be re-packed. FR recommends replacing the grease seals when the wheels are removed also.

Winterizing before freezing weather and getting the water system ready to go in the spring (flush the RV antifreeze and sanitize the water system) is not hard to do. These are the  most frequent ones.

As for repairs, it depends on the particular R-Pod. Some people will have things go wrong. Some have things happen that make repairs necessary (such as our accident). Some changes are because I wanted to do them, not because they were needed.

The R-Pod lends itself to tinkering but does not require a lot of tinkering to use it and to enjoy traveling with it.

I'm a life-long camper who, well, lives to camp. And to do other things too, but camping has always been one of my top priorities and I've always accomodated it with everything from backpacking to sleeping on a tarp on the ground to pickup-truck-bed sleeping to tent camping to now having an RPod. Which I wouldn't have chosen (having a trailer) but my guy came up with the idea, he did all the research, I trust his instincts & skills, we looked at and bought a 179 and we're having a blast with it. We also still do The Other Kinds of Camping (plus when I solo camp I don't take our trailer, it's just me and my truck) and we will until we can't. By which point we'll already be so spoiled by our Pod that there won't be any adjustment to make  

And that said, because I am such an experienced camper (stay with me here, there's a logical path), I also know that like many things in life, it's not for everyone. And that is very understandable. So my suggestion - based on your concerns about trailering and what-not - is that you not only rent, but that you rent an RV instead of a trailer. You are certainly quite capable of driving a Class B or Class C. And you think your wife won't be interested in camping as such; so if you have a comfortable rental vehicle for those times when she's into it, I'm guessing the opportunity for fun will be really high. And we all want you and your wife to have a lot of fun with this! A Class B or C allows you to just drive something a bit larger, use the systems that you don't own or have to service and see how it goes. It will remove the stress of any concern about [edited from breaks to brakes], WDH, how often you can use it, etc. etc. And who knows - maybe you and your wife will have so much fun in a rental a few times, that you will decide to buy one. I hope this helps, and that you will keep us posted and let us know what you decide. 

As a bumper sticker I saw once said, 'If It F*@#s, Floats, Or Flies, It's Cheaper To Rent it.'

I guess that applies to RVs as well.

Not sure what the trailer/RV corollary is.

Rent first.  If you really like both camping and always fixing the RV, then you can always buy one.  From my experience, and that of others on the board, a good used RV is best.  The workmanship on all RV's in the price class of the r-Pod is awful; probably on a lot of the high end ones too.  If you buy new, you have to deal with fighting over warranty issues until everything is fixed.  If you buy good condition used, someone else has done all the fighting for you.  But even if you buy the perfect RV, you'll still be messing with it all the time because they are high maintenance, like ...well I won't go there.

Airplane owners count funds for maintenance of their aircraft in AMU's (aviation monetary units) 1 AMU = $1K.

Greetings:

I think you now have enough information to make an informed decision.  Good luck and enjoy whatever your decision is.  Remember, it's only money!  

Cranster78  R-179

  

So don't worry so much about the money, it will, of necessity, be self limiting.  If you enjoy a trailer or some other kind of an RV, get one.  Just make sure the pleasure is consistent with the money and effort.

It sounds like you're getting there! It does help when you can show someone real-life examples of "this could be us doing this". Meaning, that your wife can picture some of the things you could do with an RV. I agree with the comment about a trailer being difficult for tailgating so more food for thought. Also when you're driving around places you want to go, think about "would I be here if I had 20 more feet of vehicle behind me?". Because when driving anything, let alone hauling a trailer, it's always good to remember the mantra that "everything is easier to get into than out of". Good luck and keep it fun! We're, um, pulling for you 

I had an '89 Coleman Sequoia pop up trailer for 15 years. 

Pros:

1. Easily towed. Does NOT require a weight distribution hitch.

2. Inexpensive, compared to other types of solid-wall RVs.

3. Roomy and large when set up, but nice and small while on the road.

4. More easily parked (because of smaller size.) than travel trailers.

5. Able to see over the top, from center rear view mirror of tow vehicle. (as long as you don't have an air conditioner than sticks up to obscure your view.)

6. Some have lots of the same interior appliances as larger travel trailers, ie; refrigerators, furnaces, hot water heaters, air conditioners, etc. (Some even have bathrooms, but they are spartan.)

7. Nice large beds. Mine had a king in the front and a double in the back, plus a large dinette that made into a bed.

8. Light weight. My Coleman was 1,200 lbs and I pulled it with a 2002 4 cyl Toyota Tacoma. I got 17 to 18 mpg on the road, but steep hills were out of the question, as was 5th gear. (You can move the tent trailer around by hand. Try THAT with a travel trailer!)

Cons:

1. Cold!! (The canvas is just like a tent.)

2. Noisy. (No solid walls means people can hear things outside, especially dogs who like to bark at strange noises in the middle of the night.) I was always quieting my dogs who would be spooked at odd hours by noises from outside.

3. A pain to set up, tear down. (They are not good RVs if you only stay one night and then move on to another destination, as we did numerous times.) You have to crawl around on the ground to pull the beds out, set up leveling jacks, etc, so you can get dirty. (My OCD wife fussed at me constantly for getting on the ground to set up and tear down. Many people heard her little tirades on dirt, especially with the acoustically-transparant canvas walls!!

4. Can be a REAL pain to set up, tear down in the rain! (I kept tarps over the beds for just this reason.)

5. Almost IMPOSSIBLE to 'stealth camp' with. A motor home, truck camper, conversion van, can easily be slept in without people knowing. A tent trailer MUST be set up to be used. (People give you weird looks in Walmart parking lots! We had to stay in a Walmart parking lot once in Tennessee on vacation when we got into town at 3 am. It was basically 'Circle up the wagons', and park near the big motor homes. I felt unsafe.)

6. Must be unhitched to be set up, as the front bed extends over the tongue. Again, if you're spending a week in one place (in the summer time) this isn't a big deal, but if you're stoping each night on a long trip it can be a problem.

7. NO overhead cabinet storage!!!

My Coleman had no fridge, no furnace, no bathroom (only a porta-potty.) We used block ice in ice chests and had a portable propane heater as well as 110 volt space heater for use with electrical hook ups.  I got tired of the 'cons', so we bought our rPod 180 this year. 

I paid $2,250 for it in 2002, and got $750 in trade on when I bought the rPod. It cost me $1,500 to own it for 15 years, exactly $100 a year. I replaced the propane tank once and the tires twice. I greased the 'wiffle-tree' gears that raise and lower the top once myself. I replaced the elastic cord that tightens the canvas around the beds once.

All in all it was fairly cheap to own. The 'repairs' didn't amount to much money at all, especially over the long run.

Under the right circumstances they are a lot of fun, mostly if you are going to one destination to stay for an extended time. And, of course, the weather is warm and comfortable.

But, even though my new rPod cost FAR more, I still love it compared to the Coleman.

To add one another consideration - there are places (and times) in parts of the western United States where only hard-sided camping is allowed due to grizzly bear activity. This may be the situation in parts of Canada as well, I don't know but it's worth checking out. 

For sure you're right about homebuilts getting around the crazy costs of flying. You don't require PMA's parts, as the builder you get to put anything in there you think makes sense. In the certificated aircraft world its just prohibitive these days, if you can get parts at all. I had a Grumman Tiger and a Beech Bonanza, both great flying airplanes but both money pits that would put any but perhaps the most complex high end class A RV to shame. 

Back to Royal1585's question re popups, that feels much more like actually camping than an enclosed travel trailer does. If you are uncertain about your wife enjoying the experience, a popup might not be the best introduction. 

Recreational time is less and less available to working people as time marches on. Compare the 70's and 80's to now. Back then generally one spouse worked and often only 40 hours a week. Now generally both work and who only works 40 hours a week anymore? 

One thing I've found I DO NOT like is to move the trailer every day. Its just too exhausting to set up break down camp that much. If you wanted to do that with an RV a Class B or possibly a C would be a much better choice. I've done those kind of "power" vacations in a smaller Class B and it worked out great. And you can always just pull into a motel to if you're in an urban area and that's more convenient. 

Being retired now I much prefer the trailer. I can set up for 4-7 days and get my car back to drive around and explore an area without having to drag my house around every time I want to go get a quart of milk. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgZJg6Mu0cU

Telsa/Westinghouse created ac power distribution, Edison advocated dc power distribution, Guess who won? 

Unfortunately for Tesla he was a genius but really bad business person, so died penniless.  

But, having owned class A's, B's, C's, and now a travel trailer, if I was still working and moving from place to place daily on vacation, I would opt for a small class B, and stay in motels part of the time. It's just easier and more flexible in terms of where you can stay and where you can park. 

We are both still working but we use it a lot on weekends, and we took a nice long trip this past summer for two weeks.

I've owned both and now own an RPod. The Casita (in my opinion) is better built but has a few inherent limitations. No slideout=less interior space. Low head clearance (doorway is like 5'8", inside ceiling is 6'1"). 

We love the freedom it gives us.  We can pack up and go at any time.  Sometimes we get where we are going and sometimes we don't. Thats ok!!

I really don't think you save any lodging and food money by owning an RV, it's just knowing you can go wherever, whenever you like.

What I like most, at my age, is having my bathroom with me!!!!

Maybe it just boils down to cubic feet per dollar? R-pods & Casitas are in the same general price range, but there are more square feet/cubic feet in the R-pod(s). I know the slide-outs in many of the R-pods make a huge difference in usable space, and none of the Casitas (that I've seen) have a slide out.

Still a bit of apples to oranges.

Basically, you may end up chasing wild geese in the used market, since the final test is the live inspection of the trailer.  Some might look great in pictures, but when you see them, you realize that they used some careful photography to avoid highlighting the defects.  Effectively, you have to add to the cost of the trailer, the cost of traveling to and from to see each prospective purchase.  That can add up fast.