Is my math wrong?

[Tonya Harding]

Sound advice from all...be diligent as hay in choice & ask any & all questions on what you plan to purchase; had I spent as much time on school stuff in my youth as I do now studying purchases, Id have been a Rhode's scholar...if need be, find a pal that knows their stuff & have 'em go w/ you if/when you look, peace of mind has no price...

 

[Toedtoes]

Isn't that the truth. And all that math that you were certain you would never need in real life....

When my niece turned 13, I took her on a day trip. That morning, I gave her a map of the town, a list of sights to see, and a notepad. I told her to pick what she wanted to see, figure out the best route between them and order to see them in, and to make sure we had enough time to do it all. She spent the ride down figuring things out.

She suddenly looked up and said "this is like those word problems we do in math class".

 

[Detroit_Iron]

Again thanks for the replies. If you stuck around this thread this long to read this then I’ll ask here instead of a new post. The two units I’m looking at are

Coachman Apex 193BH
Forest River Wolf Pup 18TO Black Label

I’ve only owed a few pop ups and all have been Starcraft. Any common issues to look out for between the two manufacturers themselves or are new campers pretty much all the same quality wise?

 

[jmkay1]

That morning, I gave her a map of the town, a list of sights to see, and a notepad. I told her to pick what she wanted to see, figure out the best route between them and order to see them in, and to make sure we had enough time to do it all.

Love this idea, may have to try it myself if I ever get my nieces attention anymore. Problem is her attention span is small. However it will help build her research strength.

 

[BillyMc]

Is it dealing with the colder temperature? Do you store your PUP at home? Do you need hard side or an actual TT? If all you need is hard side and have room to store a PUP at home there are options. A-frames and Trailmanors are both hard side and similar in size to a PUP when closed, except the larger Trailmanors. Due to HOA rules I had to store my boat away from home when I lived in Florida. The hassle of having to load everything in the truck and go to the storage yard, get the boat, then drive to the water meant the boat almost never got used. The storage fee was just salt in the wound. Swore I would never be in that situation again.

 

[CO Hiker]

Keep an eye out for RV show prices. Last Sept, $3k-6k off price at the show for 2018/19 models

 

[yetavon]

1st off good luck in your Quest. I'll agree with your perspective change. At the end you wont be wishing you spent more time at work making more money. Just to add Our limited opinions and experiences to the mix..and we have only been camping together 35 years.
Moving to a Hybrid made it SO MUCH EASIER for us to do short weekend trips, its always packed and ready to go....State Parks, Boondock at friends... 10 3 day trips makes a month...Longer trips... Multiple times have done quick overnight stops without unhooking. 3 1/2 week run to Maine this year. That in itself is worth the expense.
Camper choice...Keep stashing money into your fund, and keep looking around... Spend time going to RV places, sitting around in different models...DONT overlook used ones... a lot of folks buy campers with big dreams... and they get sold at a big loss with very little use...
Most warranty work is already discovered and fixed in 2 years... let someone else sit at home while the campers getting repaired...
Climbing over each other.... Your 2 choices appear to still have you doing that.. Thats one thing we would like to change.

 

[BillyMc]

Camper is around 20k and I’m guessing closer to 27k after all payments are made and the hitch and maintenance over the 6 years.

You can get a camper in the 20'-22' range far cheaper than 20k. DW had to keep me from jumping on a 2019 Jayflight 184BS for 12k.

 

[silverfz]

Let me add a twist, we have a dog. So she travels with us. I been spoiled with the Travel Trailer. For the all complaining i do. My Back which caused me to move from PUP to TT went for good. So no RV as i cannot hitch anything for a few months. Now instead of camping i look for AirBNB and other rental with dog. either board for 300 a week or take her with us . the cost is scary and i swear i will never complain about the rv payment any more. Instead of a week costing 150-250 depending on type of campground i am paying 1000-1200 yikes

i do have to say i am not really wise with money, went to school to make enough money that 20k camper should never be financed as it close to what make in a month but i have had bad habits and been wiser and digging myself out of it . So having education and money does not make you wiser.

 

[J Starsky]

Here's my deal....
-Why buy new when slightly used will do? Let someone else spank the new off of it, buy one in late fall in the snow belt before they store it - like I did.
-Insurance, gas and miles don't figure for me. I run 80 miles per day and don't care about that cost, nor will I fret with a camper.
-Every seen someone camping at a midsized TT frowning? Nope
-It is just as easy to get into a "divorce" situation with a PUP as is a TT. Ask any bad lawyer

If you want it, can afford it, and don't have to choose between eating and fun $ do what make your life go along. Life isn't dollars and cents if you're doing what you like.

 

[NMroamer]

I have been looking to go hard sides for a few years now. My wife has some heath issues that make camping with the pop up not an option for her in the colder months which means I go alone or not at all. Ive been looking at a 22’ that would fit my needs perfectly. When I break down the math of a new camper I’m having a hard time justifying the cost. Is my math wrong? I’m estimating over a 6 year period. Camper is around 20k and I’m guessing closer to 27k after all payments are made and the hitch and maintenance over the 6 years. Saying $70 a month storage since I don’t have room at home for it and let’s say $200 a year for insurance. So looking like close to 33k over 6 years for all camper costs. We camp about 7-8 times a year. So over 6 years, each of the 7-8 trips will basically cost me around $700 per trip just for the cost of the camper. It’s hard for me to grasp a 20k camper will cost me that much per trip. I understand the more years go by the cheaper the cost and also this isn’t including a down payment on the camper, and the camper might still be worth half it’s original value after 6 years and would put the number closer to $375 a trip but still seems like a absurd amount of cost per trip.

My sister in law does that for every camper that they have ever had. She figures how many trips they need to make every year to make the camper worth the payments.
They have wore out three tow vehicles in the process.

 

[Sjm9911]

Lucky for me math isn't my strong point!

 

[neighbormike]

Lucky for me math isn't my strong point!

Amen to that! I played that game when I bought my new pup... no way I will put myself through it with my TT! Pretty sure I have the world’s most expensive cheap hobby!

 

[silverfz]

Amen to that! I played that game when I bought my new pup... no way I will put myself through it with my TT! Pretty sure I have the world’s most expensive cheap hobby!

haha he is talking on a TT. Wait till you addicted to motorcycles especially the Italian ones....

 

[Detroit_Iron]

Thanks, I’m definitely not opposed to a used unit. I’ve made a list of my “must haves” and “wants” and started searching again for different units. Seems most of my “must haves” are more common on 2018+ trailers. Maybe when I’m ready to purchase there will be more newer stuff in the pre owned market

 

[MintHillBill]

I got a 08 20 footer for $5K. No warrantee issues, it ALL WORKS, DW doesnt go camping, so i go alone or with my oldest son (40). I got it since it is a bit easier to setup than my pup, which we just decided to sell.

 

[Detroit_Iron]

Update: decided to pull the trigger on a 2020 Apex 193bhs. Got a smoking deal on it and has a bunch of upgrades over the base model. Now just have to wait for the governor to lift these “stay at home” orders so my dealership can open back up and I can take delivery. To my surprise I even had a buyer for my pup within like 15 minutes of friends finding out we where going to sell it

 

[Sjm9911]

Noce , good luck with it!