Irover
Where ever the Good Lord Wills
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Joined: 07/04/2010
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 To each their own, but, I have the option to move if I don't like my surroundings; many activities or the serenity of many state, BLM, COE and State forests. As stated above in a dfferent twist; Whatever floats your boat. Oh; and live and work from mine fulltime. Irover
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alfredmay
West Milford, NJ / Donna, TX
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Joined: 05/18/2002
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Owning my RV (after paying for it) is cheap. $125 for insurance and $24 to register it for a year. Using it is expensive, given camping fees and fuel costs.
However, I also own a mobile home in the RVG. I pay land rent, insurance, and property taxes on it. I also have to pay for fuel to get to my winter home. None of this comes cheap.
Alfred May
2005 Excursion V10 4.30 4x4
2002 Cedar Creek 30RBS TT by Forest River
Reese Dual Cam
Tekonsha Prodigy
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westslope2
spokane wa
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Joined: 02/13/2011
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We are looking at the same economic situation in regards to wintering in the SW. There are a lot of mobile homes, condos, park models etc throughout AZ that are incredible bargains right now. When I look at upgrading our TT to something a little more spacious then compare that to housing prices I wonder if it the right decision. We have considered keeping our 20' TT for traveling and staying at state campgrounds and boondocking. And buying or renting something in AZ for 4-5 months a year. It gets complicated when considering having two residences to care for. For simplicity I think selling everything and buying a larger TT and living in it full time would be the best. However my wife and I do enjoy our current home and it would be a good place to live if in the future health issues kept us from RVing.
There is a lot to consider and we will continue to travel and enjoy our current lifestyle while deciding what we want to do when we grow up.
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Keith M
Cle Elum
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Joined: 07/28/2002
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I have 11 seasons of snowbirding mostly out in the desert so I know how cheap it can be done. But I am rethinking things with the cost of fuel $1200 or more and the cost of a newer rig. Current truck is 10 years old and 5er is 16. A condo or a desert house is certainly an alternative which 5 years ago really didnt exist. Hard to ignore prices that have fallen 50-70% off the peak for condo's and houses. There is a lifestyle in an RV park but I am thinking a similar or different lifestyle in a condo community might be just as appealing. Just my thoughts.
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sdianel
Tampa, FL
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Joined: 07/24/2005
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you can still find bargains at campgrounds if you are willing to give up amenities for location and move every couple of weeks to another campground nearby. State park, corps of engineers parks, smaller older campgrounds offer lower monthly rates. Some don't have sewer hookups, cable TV, etc but are in beautiful areas. We save on other things so we can still enjoy the lifestyle. We recently found a beautiful new park in NW FL for just over $600 per month plus electric. In off season you can find parks for $300 per month and up. We bought fuel for $3.74 per gal. In our opinion always going to the same place would get boring.
Lonny & Diane
2004 Country Coach Allure 33' "Big Blue"
Towing 2008 Chev Colorado 4x4
Semper Fi
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mockturtle
WA
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Joined: 05/31/2005
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For several years we had a house in the NW, a park model in AZ and an DP (we later sold the DP and bought a small TT). Park models are a good deal if you intend to stay in the same park indefinitely and like the idea of a 'community'. There is a nice feeling of security and continuity to it but it also can get tedious. Even so, I think if we had it to do over we'd have kept the park model and the DP and sold the S&B. Before the real estate bust.
2000 Born Free 24RB Class C
6.8L Ford V-10 Engine, E450 Chassis
2002 Honda CR-V toad
Roadmaster Sterling A/T towbar
VIP braking system
Eddyline Merlin kayak
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nina_70
On wheels, USA
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Joined: 07/06/2009
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Well, my take is that it takes many years to pay-back the cost of a condo (compared to snow-birding) and there are still a lot of options for cheaper camping in the SW. If you simply LOVE a specific area and are sure you want to go back every year, then buying property may make sense, but if you're flexible in where you go snowbirding is still cheaper than owning property.
12 paws, 40-feet and the open road
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Eycom
32043
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Joined: 09/12/2004
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RVIA estimates 8.9 million households own an RV. The over 55 group, those more likely to snowbird, make up approximately 8.6%. In relation to snow birding my question would be, if the current costs associated with condo ownership is comparable to or better than using an RV, why are so many units languishing on the real estate market in those popular locales? You'd think they would be scarfed up quickly. Apparently, for what ever reasons, the majority of those 765,000 potential snowbirds aren't coming to the same conclusions.
There will continue to be a diversity of condos, park models, and full timer rigs for folks who prefer those lifestyles. But I'm not counting the snowbird RVer down and out. I don't believe the boom years are over. I think they're just over the horizon. I've lived in Florida a long time, seen a lot of peaks and valleys, even been guilty of longing for the "good ol' days". But from a growth perspective, the numbers are there and they will eventually arrive.
RVn Full-time
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Nolan
Full-timing
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Joined: 04/15/2001
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Working in an office at a RV park I have had at least one call per week on people wanting to rent a park model. Several have told me that RVing costs have become to much. Storage, maintenace, fuel to get some place, ect. It is cheaper to fly down and rent a car for the season to driving their own car down and renting a park model then owning an RV.
Nolan and JoAnn
2000 Kenworth T600. (The Little Blue Truck)
2004 NuWa Hitchhiker Champagne 33LKTG
2009 Toyota Matrix
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Cloud Dancer
San Antonio and Livingston TX USA
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Joined: 06/08/2001
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But, how many of us do it primarily with the economics in mind? IMO most of us start out because we're attracted to a certain lifestyle. Many of us go ahead with the plan knowing full well it's not the most economical lifestyle choice.
I know when we decided to try the fulltiming lifestyle we knew it was going to be expensive. We bought a new big motorhome,....it wasn't cheap. Plus, with us, we knew that at some point we would get to the point where we would want more of what a foundation house has to offer. We build our house where the weather was such that it was the best compromise for us. And, we occasionally go RVing.
The question is the same for us. How long will we be able to afford this wonderful lifestyle?
Willie & Betty Sue
Miko & Sparky
2003 41 ft Dutch Star Diesel Pusher/Spartan
Floorplan 4010
Blazer toad & Ranger bassboat
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