AirBNB/VRBO vs RV. Go !!!

[Abe Froman]

The summer after next our family wants to take an extended vacation - and me - dare I say sabbatical (willing or not).
We are really feeling that a whole summer adventure with the boys before they get too old and not wanting to spend time with us, is really needed.

I am pushing the RV route as we had successfully rented an RV for 10 days out west and we all really enjoyed it.
BUT - the Mrs is advocating for a cost-effective AirBNB/Rental approach and just driving our Honda Minivan to all these places. Reason is that we will not be saddled with a big depreciating asset once we are done. She has a friend that sold everything (house, 2nd car, kitchen sink) bought an RV for a year cross country - and in the first couple weeks in stretching their RV legs - found out they hated it. So they listed the RV and went the AirBNB route with their car, and loved it.

Has anyone done a cost - benefit for AirBNB/VRBO approach with their own car VS buying an RV ?
What advantages and disadvantages did you encounter?

For context our goal is to "live like a local" if we can. This means not staying in hotels much or often, and keeping to locales that bring our family an immersive experience to where we are visiting. We love the idea of slow travel - but wonder how that would work.

In some light ... ok  heavy googling I found some cool van Mods or conversion kits (like https://oasiscampervans.com/for-sale). This might be an interesting compromise between being wedded to an RV and tricking out your current minivan to support that flexibility.

[LifeHappens]

For context our goal is to "live like a local" if we can. This means not staying in hotels much or often, and keeping to locales that bring our family an immersive experience to where we are visiting. We love the idea of slow travel - but wonder how that would work.

If this is your goal, you will be much better served going the AirBnB route. Parking for RVs tend to be outside the city center and often in isolated areas. By renting apartments you can get into residential neighborhoods.

[nurseart]

Some airbnbs offer massive discounts for longer stays (~50%) I personally would like the flexibility that would come with airbnbs, along with the location as the other poster mentions. I haven't done an RV before but that sounds like something that would be fun for 10 days and then start being really not fun around week 3 IMHO.

[WSUCoug1994]

I haven't done the math but rvshare.com (and others like it) is a good option for renting as opposed to purchasing an RV.  It is essentially Turo for RV's.

[Glenstache]

The costs on this are a very simple spreadsheet of cost per mile to drive an RV (6-10 mpg) vs minivan (25 mpg?). The rest depends on $/night for an airbnb or vrbo vs actual cost of the RV to obtain/get rid of. I suspect you will have to have a lot of nights in an airbnb to have that pencil out the same.

But, the goal is to have an experience in which you 'live like a local.' Unless you want to introduce your kids to the RV world, an RV will cocoon you from that world and be a big thing you need to take with you places (Unless you tow an additional car). If you want to be like a local and know what it is to have your front door be somewhere else, get a place with an actual front door.

[calimom]

Going Native in an RV sounds like boondocking, WorkSharing on a farm, or parking along the street in a city. As @Glenstache said, unless you want to only expose your children the the RV world, then that is what they will see. Short term rentals in obscure neighborhoods, as opposed to tourist centers seems like it could be the way to go.

Happy trails!

[Monkey Uncle]

I haven't actually implemented either route, but I've done quite a bit of investigating, as Mrs. Uncle and I want to do some semi-frequent traveling now that we are FIRE.  A little later this spring, we're going to do the VRBO/drive our own car thing out west.  We wanted to do this as a test to make sure we're comfortable with a lot of long-distance driving before we do something rash like invest in a RV.

I did some fairly in-depth spreadsheet comparisons of drive our car/stay in VRBO and hotels vs. buy a used travel trailer vs. buy a class C RV and tow our car.  Assuming we could get a decent used RV that would last us 10 years, the RV route would come out cheaper on per-trip out-of-pocket costs, and a little bit cheaper on overall 10 year costs.  But the amount of traveling we actually do would make a huge difference in which approach comes out ahead.  We would need to take several long trips per year to make the RV come out ahead.  If the RV makes one trip per year and sits in the driveway the rest of the time, it would be a money-loser compared to VRBO.

I did my comparisons assuming either (1) a used travel trailer in the $10k range, which also would require upgrading my truck to the tune of about $6k net upfront cost, vs (2) a used class C RV in the $10 - $15k range, plus towing apparatus for our car.  These two options would be pretty similar in terms of overall 10 yr costs.  The big question in my mind is whether we could actually get either of these rigs to last 10 years without major additional expense.  I think the travel trailer would be more likely to go the distance, as you can find some in the $10k range that are only a few years old.  With a class C, you're generally looking at a 20+ year old rig to get into the 10 - 15k price range.

[Dr Kidstache]

I do both and it sounds like, for your goals, the AirBnB/VRBO route would be better.
As others have noted, RVing puts you outside of cities. I RV when: I'm headed into nature or when doing long-term trips that include a mix of camping and driveway surfing with friends and relatives. I have stayed in my RV in campgrounds in cities but they are generally quite expensive and not convenient locations. I AirBnB/VRBO when: I'm visiting cities or areas where RV parking is challenging.

[fattest_foot]

I think it really comes down to personal preference on cities versus nature.

If you enjoy doing "city activities" or "nature activities."

I don't think either option precludes the other, but the RV route lends itself better to nature whereas rentals makes exploring a city easier.

[the_fixer]

Look at a fiberglass trailer if you are concerned about depreciation they frequently sell for the same or a slightly less than new cost even after a year or two of use or even a decade.

We purchased a new scamp and used it for 2 years and sold it for ~$200 less than our purchase price on the first day it was posted.

Escape, Oliver, Casita, scamp they are not huge but you could add a roof top tent for the boys to sleep in and they might enjoy it.

We went a different direction for our new trailer because the wife wanted a walk around queen bed and more creature comforts. Even still we paid $16200 brand new and it is pretty pimp (MSRP was around $24000).

You can get less expensive ones as well you just give up some of the fit / finish and quality but if you are just using it for a summer or year that should not be too much of an issue.

Typically you be able to buy a stick built (mass produced) trailer or RV for 30 - 40% of MSRP any day of the week. Check out MHSRV for examples of typical discounts that you can expect.

https://www.mhsrv.com

And since you are so far east you can get the best deals since you are near where most are built.






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[mm1970]

I think it really comes down to personal preference on cities versus nature.

If you enjoy doing "city activities" or "nature activities."

I don't think either option precludes the other, but the RV route lends itself better to nature whereas rentals makes exploring a city easier.

I was going to say this.

We tend to combo AirBNBs and hotels, sometimes tent camping, whenever we go away for anything more than 3 days.  Just got back from a trip.  I like AirBNBs because I like to have space, be able to cook, etc.  And honestly, any kind of place we stay like that is ALWAYS bigger than our house.

I have friends with a camper van, and their trips tend to be in that, because well, they own it.  They like visiting nature and National Parks. 

We like nature too, but our trips tend to be combos.  Our recent trip was great - AirBNB centrally located to lots of nice hiking spots.

[Gerard]

We tend to combo AirBNBs and hotels, sometimes tent camping

Yeah, I was gonna suggest something similar. A tent is easy to carry, and lets you have some super-nature-y nights with the luxury of a nice warm shower-equipped airbnb after a couple of days.

[Rocketman]

It depends on you - what you and your family like.
Me RV all the way!!!
We had a 5th wheel trailer for years - sold it a few years ago because we were only using it one week a year (down from three+ weeks a year) and we knew this wasn’t the unit we would “retire” in.

Just bought an older 36’ MotorHome, Alaska - here we come (later this year).