Buying That First Travel Trailer

Today you're kicking back on a mountainside, the cool breeze calms your skin while the sounds of a thundering waterfall soothe your soul. Tomorrow you're off to a beach on the coast of the Pacific where you'll bask in the sun's rays and listen to the waves crashing on the shoreline. Buying that first travel trailer means home is wherever you want to be! You can change your scenery and neighbors as often as you like whether you're camping for a weekend or living in it full time. A travel trailer offers freedom like no other. Freedom from expenses, stressful environments, and most of all, the freedom to roam the land!

How Your Travel Trailer Saves You Cash

You're getting ready to plan a trip to the lovely Upper Peninsula to visit the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. You're going to be there for a week long relaxing vacation in Munising to see all the sights of the amazing waterfalls, great lakes, and old world charm. Let's take a look at typical expenses for a family of four to head up there for a week: Hotel Stay $ 690 Restaurant Meals $ 710 Total $1,400 Lodging costs were calculated based on a 6-night stay at the Pictured Rocks Inn & Suites. Meal costs were tallied for three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) based on local restaurant prices of popular eateries that weren't astronomically priced. You're looking at $1,400 for just lodging and food alone. Now let's take a look at what you'd be spending in a Travel Trailer: Campsite $ 234 Groceries for a week $ 289 Total $ 523 Campsite costs are based on a 6-night stay at the Munising Tourist Park Campground with a full hookup site. Grocery calculations were made based on what the U.S. Department of Agriculture states is a liberal cost plan for a week's worth of groceries. This is a savings of $877 for the week! If we were to take these costs and divide them down to get the cost on what it would be for a weekend stay, 2 nights and 3 days, here's what it would look like: Hotels & Restaurants Travel Trailer Lodging $230 $117 Food $303$123 Total $533 $240 So this is a savings of $293 every weekend you take a trip. If you planned a simple trip every weekend for the summer at these prices, you'd be looking at $6,929 for hotels and food, or $3,120 in your travel trailer each year! That is more than a 50% saving! This is just the basic cost saving as well. This doesn't even count the fact that you can actually get a tax break on your travel trailer since it's considered a 2^nd home in the eyes of the government! You can learn more about this tax break here!

Comforts

Staying in your travel trailer offers a ton of comforts you cannot get while staying at a hotel. You're bringing along all the luxuries of home and that helps you relax even more! Check out all the ways your travel trailer will provide a peaceful environment that kicks the pants off a hotel room any day!

The Bedroom

Staying in a hotel can be fun, but if you ever watch one of those shows where they take a closer look at them, your skin will crawl seeing what they find! They tend to find things like housekeepers who merely wipe out the glasses in the bathroom instead of replacing them with clean ones between guest, wiping the toilet down and then the remotes or phone with the same rag, and unwashed bedspreads being used. When they head in with their black lights they find "biohazards" all over the room from things like bodily fluids. When you head out with your travel trailer you have your own bed, your own linens, and your own dishes. Everything is as clean as you keep it and you can rest assured that there's no DNA left behind from a previous guest! You can crawl into your comfortable mattress knowing nothing is lurking in the sheets to feed on you at night. You can have the peace of mind knowing the drinking glass you use hasn't been used by a stranger and left unwashed for you!

Eating

When on the road without your travel trailer, you're typically at the mercy of restaurants. Aside from the financial costs of eating at restaurants, you'll also end up with health costs as well. With any restaurant you choose, you really won't know what goes on in the kitchen or where they get their supplies. This leaves you with no control over what goes into your food or how it's cooked. Even if you avoid fast food, there are still some concerns over what may go into your food such as preservatives, fatty oils used in the cooking process, and much more. When dining out, the meals are generally served in much larger portions as well. Unfortunately many of us tend to eat more due to these meal sizes, which as you know, is not good for your body. When you venture out in a travel trailer that has a full kitchen, you're no longer a slave to the roadside restaurants! You can make all the same meals you do at home after a trip to the grocery store or local farmers market! Stock your fridge with fresh fruits, veggies, and meats and create meals you know will nourish your family for those physically demanding camping activities! You now have full control over what goes into your food, how it's cooked, and who handles it! What's even greater is that you can stash those leftovers in the fridge for later!

The Bathroom

A travel trailer offers privacy in the bathroom like nothing else. Not only is it likely to be much cleaner than the hotel bathroom discussed above, but you also have all your favorite toiletries at your fingertips! If you've been a tent camper previously, you know that the campground bathroom can be a risky gamble. Many of them are dirty, germy, and unkept. Often you'll find yourself standing in line for a quick shower that actually costs you money! A shower in your own private bathroom offers all the time you need at no added cost. Get comfortable and sing loud and proud as you get ready for the day! Most have things like vent fans and skylights that add to the comfortable and homey atmosphere as well! Many rigs come with a bathtub, which is much easier when dealing with smaller children who aren't going to be happy about a shower.

Added Amenities

Depending on the travel trailer you've chosen, you may find some pretty great added amenities. Many RVs today come with large TVs, fireplaces, and ceiling fans to create a relaxing environment that keeps you occupied even when the weather isn't cooperating. If you have a family you can get a bunkhouse layout which will give the kids their own space while the parents have their own private master bedroom! Upgraded pillow top and memory foam mattresses come in the bedrooms. Closets are set up for the easy addition of a washer and dryer, and some even have laundry chutes that take dirty clothes directly to the pass thru storage and out of sight!

Concerns

As with any major purchase there can be some worries and concerns with buying that first travel trailer. Rest assured that many of these worries will subside once you take possession and get a few trips under your belt. You can find plenty of information on our blog covering common RV concerns like how to load and tow you travel trailer, how to empty and clean your tanks, and how to properly winterize your rig! Aside from emptying the tanks, one of the biggest issues with a travel trailer is knowing what you can and cannot flush, and many don't find out until it's too late! Make sure you read up on this or you're going to have one heck of a time once you reach the sanitation station. For other great RV-specific tips and tricks you can visit our blog! Get out and travel the world in that new home away from home! See the sights and save that cash to spend later on fun activities like a trip to the water park, tickets to a music festival, or just jam pack the freezer with ice cream!