Full time in coach or rent

[CFleck]

Hi,my wife and I are going to retire soon. We are looking into buying a Prevost, but I have read alot of posts here and I was surprised at the cost of owning a coach. So now I am woundering if it would be cheaper and alot less hassel if we would just rent a condo for a month at the locations we want to see. Then move somewhere else for a month or longer and just continue to stay in places we want to see. Our plan was to buy a coach and travel, then I heard of the monthy upkeep and started thinking it may be better to have nice SUV, load it up and hit the road.Can anyone help me make the right choice.

[Kevin Erion]

The experience is priceless! Dive in with your eyes closed and start swimming.

[jelmore]

CFleck, I'm sure you will get lots of opinions. We're full time and travel all the time. Had I known better two years ago, I would have continued to look for a coach in better condition. However, we found the coach with the features that would let us spend a a great deal of time with it. Getting it right took some money (and an education). It's just right now, very dependable and easy to take care of.

Traveling is fun, but taking your home with you makes it great fun. Always on your own sheets, in your own bath, your own laundry, a complete kitchen with you, all the "stuff" you need.

And there's a terrific community of owners you'll be part of.

Find a coach that has been well taken care of, has been used regularly, is well documented and has been looked at carefully and your expenses will be relatively modest. Improvements are made by Prevost and the converters every year so newer will generally be better.

Join the club!!

[CFleck]

Thanks for the advise, have you ever rented from place to place.

[Will Garner]

Cfleck,

Renting condos monthly in a new location each month sounds too much like work to me. Now admittedly we have not tried doing that. I just know I like only having to pack when leaving on a trip and unpack upon arriving home. None of this repeated packing and unpacking at every stop along the way.

In June 2008, at the end of a 7,000 mile trip around America my wife suggests we sell the house and go full timing. I was the reluctant one to make that commitment. It is becoming more attractive to me as time goes by.

So just ditto to what others have said. Yes there are costs associated with coach ownership. NBC's Today show yesterday had vacation suggestions. Go RVing was one that they said had documented cost savings of 61% over hotels and airline tickets.

So, take your time looking and learning as well as reading all the POG Forum postings and when you see "The Coach" you will have a knowledge base to make an informed offer taking into consideration some of those ownership costs you referred to. For Carole and I the hunt was almost as much fun as the ownership experience. All those car trips and motel stays sure made me wish I had a Prevost!

[jelmore]

We've never rented from place to place. Are monthly rentals something that can be done? You'd be on their furniture, in their bed and bath, you'd be packing up and moving every month. Lots of day trips. I guess that could be fun in its own way. Maybe tow a trailer so you can explore the area a little more? We've thought about staying places 3 months at a time (Ventura, Seattle, Mobile, etc.) if we had an Airstream so we could camp. But the moving, I just don't know about that.

We really enjoy staying some places one night, some places a few nights, a few places a week. Sometimes in a campground and sometimes not. We joke, but there's some truth to this: one night for each 25,000 population will get you a good feel for the town.

[lloyd&pamela]

CFleck, Pamela and I have been fulltiming for the past 17 months and love it. If you are going to travel full time for an extended period I do not know of a better way to travel. No packing and unpacking, that is a big advantage for me. All of North America is our back yard. We do not think it would be any cheaper to rent condos and the convenience of having everything with us is nice. Remember there is only the two of us, no children or pets so we have a lot of freedom. We will be happy to answer any questions we can. Best to you in your decision.

[rfoster]

Cfleck: Have you ever lived in a Condo? Me neither. Just think - in a bus if you don't like your neighbors, you can move immediately. In a condo you might be stuck for 2', 3 weeks or more. The neighbors may have 4 kids and 4 yapping dogs. That take a dump on your porch.

There is no ROI on either, but you will have a bus to show for your money.


Like the fulltimers point out - you are sleeping in your own bed, using your own bathroom, and have your stuff with you without loading and unloading.

What about the fun of ownership - you just can't imagine till you pull the trigger.

It's a no brainer to me.

[garyde]

First things first. RVing is a lifestyle , not just a travel accomodation. Prevosts are part of that lifestyle but also owners have an over riding desire to own a Prevost rather than a plastic coach. Plastic Coaches are fine, Prevosts are the ultimate.
I own several Condo's by the beach and rent monthly and weekly. The minimum is $3000.00 a month in winters and $6000.00 to $8000.00 during the summer.
It is by far less expensive to own, drive, and live in an RV. The ability to move anytime you wish is also of great benefit.
One final thought, you meet the greatest people in POG.

[just2]

We are full-timers and have been for the past two years. Here are a fews costs that might help you decide on whether to rent condos or travel in a RV. We are golfers and never spend more than a week to 10 days anywhere. Over the past two years we spend about 1K a month for our RV sites, we could cut that about 20% if we stayed a month at a time. We were in 26 states and three Canadian Providences last year. We did all of the northeast. Our fuel cost averaged around $500.00 a month, and that was when fuel was at it's all time high. We are now traveling the central part of the US and our RV sites are costing about the same but our fuel cost are now about $300.00 a month. Best way in the world to travel for all the reasons that have already been posted. One our biggest expenses are our Green Fees. We spend about 2K a month on that. Good luck in your travels.

Gary and Dani Moss