How I decided that buying an RV was worth it for me

RVing certainly isn’t an inexpensive hobby, but depending on your priorities it can still be well worth it. Here’s how one RV owner came to the learn that buying an RV has been a good fit for her family’s vacation style.

By Jen Wendt, Marketing manager,  U.S. Bank

A few years ago, my partner and I started daydreaming about buying a travel trailer and living the RV life. We had visions of road-tripping to amazing destinations every weekend with our dog and getting out into nature – but without roughing it too much. Hanging out by a campfire to watch the sunset AND having air conditioning, running water and a queen-sized bed?... Sign me up!

After a year or two of doing some heavy-duty research, we ended up buying a brand new 24-foot travel trailer. Though the experiences we’ve had traveling around the upper Midwest in our RV have mostly lived up to our expectations, we’ve still encountered a few unexpected surprises.

Before deciding to make the leap into RV ownership, we learned that we had to ask ourselves some tough questions. Here are some of the pros and cons we weighed before settling on whether it was going to be worth it for us, and some things we know now that we wish we knew sooner.

The hidden costs of RV ownership

When you buy a camper or RV, be aware that the price of the camper won’t be the only expense involved – far from it, in fact.

Obviously a first step will be to determine what your budget is for the RV itself, and whether you’ll need to consider a loan to finance it.

You also need to budget for all the other ancillary costs involved with RV ownership, like insurance, maintenance, storage, and – if you’re buying a towable RV like a travel trailer – a suitable vehicle to tow it with if you don’t already have one.

(Side note: If you’re considering a travel trailer or fifth wheel, be sure to do your homework on what towing limits and payload capacity your vehicle needs to safely tow your camper. We discovered that it’s not as straightforward as we thought and you may need a more heavy-duty vehicle than you anticipate!)

And don’t forget about all the gadgets and accessories you’ll need to make your camping trips safe and enjoyable: Tools for handling repairs on the road, sewer hoses (ew, I know), power connectors, extra batteries and propane tanks, cooking gear, bedding, camping chairs and the like. We hit up Facebook Marketplace to find a lot of the extra items we needed secondhand, which did help us to stretch our budget quite a bit farther. But it still adds up so fast.

And though RV travel is usually less expensive than staying in hotels and traveling by plane, I still wouldn’t call it a completely “budget-friendly” travel option. It’s true that you can usually find relatively affordable RV sites at state parks, city parks, national parks and other public campgrounds, but those spots can be in high demand during peak season. And some of them aren’t suitable for larger sized rigs.

We’ve stayed at some beautiful privately owned RV resorts in the Black Hills of South Dakota that had a ton of amenities and close proximity to all the best sights in the area -- but prices for an RV site at a popular and well-equipped destination like that tend to start at around $70 per night and go up from there.  

Also, fuel costs in an RV can be intense. RVs are heavy vehicles – even the ones that are marketed as “lite” or “super lite” typically weigh thousands of pounds, which has a major impact on your fuel efficiency. We’ve learned that we average about 10 miles per gallon when towing our camper – a clear downgrade from what gas mileage we get without the trailer attached.  

The tradeoffs of buying new vs used

New campers and RVs are more expensive, but they’re typically covered under a warranty, and you may get more help from a dealer or manufacturer if something isn’t working right.

In fact, we went on a camping trip a few years ago with a friend who had just purchased a brand new – and very expensive – motorhome. The first night on our trip, there was a wiring malfunction that triggered an alarm to sporadically beep. ALL NIGHT LONG. It wasn’t the most restful weekend for us, but the good news is that our friend was able to bring his RV into the dealer and they fixed the problem at no extra cost.

On the other hand, buying a used camper can be a great way to score a great deal on a rig that’s already been put to the test for a few seasons. The tradeoff here is that it may need repairs, some of which aren’t immediately obvious. Keep an eye out for signs of water damage in a used RV; water can be the source of many of the most complicated and expensive repairs.

We have some friends, for example, who bought a used RV that they got for a great price. But once they got it home, they discovered hidden water damage from a leaky roof. Unfortunately, they spent most of their summer repairing the RV, instead of driving it to scenic state parks like they had planned.

But buying used can still be a great option for people who have good DIY skills and are willing to spend time doing a little bit of maintenance and repair work. 

Be honest with yourself: How much will you actually use your RV?

Everyone buys a camper or RV with the intention of using it. But the reality is that life often gets in the way, and many people who invest in an RV end up letting it sit idle for way more time than they expect. So, before you take the plunge into a big purchase like this, take a step back to ask yourself some questions about whether an RV fits into your lifestyle.

Here’s the key: Be honest with yourself. Don’t just think about what you wish your lifestyle will be like – consider what it’s actually like.

Here are some of the questions we considered:

• Location and climate: Based on your location, how many months out of the year do you think you’d be using a camper? (I live in Minnesota, which means there are only 4-5 months out of the year when the weather is RV-friendly!)
• Destinations and frequency of travel: What destinations do you want to with your RV? And how often would you go on these trips? Does your work schedule allow for the kinds of trips you want to take? Keep in mind that RV travel is usually a lot slower than driving a car!
• Friends and family: Do your friends and family like to camp or travel by RV too, and would they join you on some of your trips? If not, would you be okay with missing out on spending time with them?
• The kid factor: Do you have kids who are in sports or activities that would cut into your camping time? What age are your kids? Are they at an age when they'll enjoy family RV trips?
• Other responsibilities: What other obligations do you have during prime RV season? If you own a house, do you usually do yard work, house repairs or run errands on the weekends, and if so, would those tasks become overwhelming to you if your weekends weren’t free? 

For us, we decided that we could justify buying the RV if we used it for at least 3 weekend trips a year, plus one longer road trip each summer. It was easy to meet that goal the first year we owned the RV because we were so excited to get out and use it. But after the initial novelty wore off a little, we’ve just had to be a bit more intentional about fitting that time into our summer plans, reminding ourselves about the why we bought the camper in the first place. 

So… Is RV ownership really worth it?

I’m not going to sugar coat it: Financially speaking, RV ownership isn’t the smartest investment you’ll ever make. The costs add up over time, while the RV itself depreciates with use. And there seems to be an almost endless need to spend money on gear or repairs.

But for us, it’s been worth it in so many other ways: We love being able to easily travel with our dog in tow. We’ve been out to explore parts of our state we never would have gone to without traveling in the RV. We’ve taken it as far west as Devils Tower and as far east as Lake Michigan. It really is nice to relax in air-conditioned comfort after spending an afternoon out hiking in the hot sun. And the convenience of traveling with your very own little home on wheels really can’t be beat. 

Ready to start making plans for a big purchase like an RV? Learn about financing options or read up on how to set and track financial goals. 

Last updated on August 1, 2024.