Westways: Careening in a Can

In the June 2010 issue of Westways, the magazine for Auto Club members, there was a nice (and interesting) article about one family's "adventure"vacation in an RV.  We have been thinking about renting an RV and using it as a base for a similar "adventure."  With six people in the family, logistics is a little more difficult.

Now as for buying, we are not sure whether we could commit.  Some of the nice entry-level RVs run anywhere from $150k to the high $300s.  It seems to make it not worth it unless you are really going to use it the equivalent of about one weekend each month.  In addition, there is the maintenance on the engine, storage, sun damage, etc., etc.

An alternative is to get a trailer.  There are some nice trailers that can sleep six people and run below $30-40k.  One would need a truck that can handle the towing, maybe a 4x4 or a dually.  A truck could serve a dual purpose of running errands or for commuting as compared with an RV that serves one purpose. The dually would not be as practical for getting around town because of the wide rear axle.  The problem with a truck is that it needs to be able to hold six passengers and tow a decent sized trailer.

I am sure there are benefits with having a single electrical system in an RV, but the cost of a nice truck and trailer is much less than an RV.

Bottom line: not ready for an RV or a trailer/truck combination.

Click here to read the whole article.

Update:

I guess there are some Class C motorhomes that are priced between $75k to $100k that can sleep up to eight people at a time.  This may be an option in the future.