OT: Summer Vacation Ideas and Experiences

[Hobie]

Enjoy the camping now. Once they hit high school, it is a giant pia to get family time or vacation together.

Coaches, band, etc. all ‘require’ attendance for every practice or the kid will not play the next game. This is a 6 day a week schedule.

[CA renter]

That’s why we try to keep the extracurricular activities at a recreational level, as opposed to a competitive level. I know it’s not the “tiger mom” thing to do, but the competitive-level stuff requires way too much from the parents and the rest of the family, not to mention the kids who are participating.

Probably will never get scholarships or anything, but the family time and overall life balance is worth it to us.

[paramount]

[quote=CA renter]We just bought a trailer at the RV show at Qualcomm Stadium today. Impulsive buy, even though we’ve been thinking about it for years, and I feel like throwing up (HATE spending money like that), but am hoping we will use the heck out of it.

[/quote]

Congrats on your RV purchase CAR…

I sold my TT 2 years ago just because it sat and rarely got used. As you point out the key is to use it, otherwise for me it just became another monthly (storage) bill.

I’m thinking about buying another PUP in the near future and storing it in my garage.

I’ve gotten used to staying in hotels though; in the big picture it’s probably cheaper given the cost of RV’s. But RVing is fun/adventure and that’s the intangible that you don’t get in a hotel room.

[NotCranky]

i am kind of interested in renting the RV vs. owning. If I owned one I would be too tempted to put a tenant in it.

[moneymaker]

RV’ing is not cheap when you consider depreciation, insurance, gas, storage, space rental fees at camp grounds, repairs. But we have one and we like it, doing some maintenace on the generator this week.

[NotCranky]

I don’t want to go anywhere. Just what I have to do to keep my kids lives from being terrible….a rental will do.

[spdrun]

My family rented an RV and went around the country one summer. I remember that the thing broke down about multiple times in the month we had it. Including a few days spent in the town of Black Duck, MN while the local truck mechanic sourced a replacement transmission!

RV’s are heavy, complicated beasts, and I suspect that a lot of rentals aren’t super well maintained. Buy one in winter, fix it up, play with it for half a summer, then sell it in August.

[zk]

[quote=CA renter]
BTW, am LOVING the longer days![/quote]

Yes! Longer days! Here’s how I think we should define summer here in San Diego: From the first day of daylight saving time to the last. That’s mid March to early November.

Gotta love it.

[NotCranky]

[quote=spdrun]My family rented an RV and went around the country one summer. I remember that the thing broke down about multiple times in the month we had it. Including a few days spent in the town of Black Duck, MN while the local truck mechanic sourced a replacement transmission!

RV’s are heavy, complicated beasts, and I suspect that a lot of rentals aren’t super well maintained. Buy one in winter, fix it up, play with it for half a summer, then sell it in August.[/quote]

Not a bad idea.

[CA renter]

[quote=paramount]
Congrats on your RV purchase CAR…

I sold my TT 2 years ago just because it sat and rarely got used. As you point out the key is to use it, otherwise for me it just became another monthly (storage) bill.

I’m thinking about buying another PUP in the near future and storing it in my garage.

I’ve gotten used to staying in hotels though; in the big picture it’s probably cheaper given the cost of RV’s. But RVing is fun/adventure and that’s the intangible that you don’t get in a hotel room.[/quote]

Thanks, paramount.

Are you referring to getting a tent trailer (PUP)? If so, that’s a pretty nice option that will cost less and be easier to store. We had one of those when I was growing up, and we traveled across the country almost every summer. Have wonderful memories from those trips.

Having the trailer sit is definitely one of our bigger worries. At least the beach campgrounds are nearby so we can at least camp there, especially during the off-season. I think the key is to keep the RV on your lot, or at least in a local storage place. Having it far away makes it more of a chore to pick up, etc., so people are probably less likely to use it. We’re still trying to figure out if we can make room for it on our lot, but it will take more money to make that happen, naturally. The storage fees around here are crazy!

[CA renter]

[quote=spdrun]My family rented an RV and went around the country one summer. I remember that the thing broke down about multiple times in the month we had it. Including a few days spent in the town of Black Duck, MN while the local truck mechanic sourced a replacement transmission!

RV’s are heavy, complicated beasts, and I suspect that a lot of rentals aren’t super well maintained. Buy one in winter, fix it up, play with it for half a summer, then sell it in August.[/quote]

The RVs we’ve rented were all brand new. While some of them had issues, the great thing about renting them is that someone else has to deal with it…a definite plus.

We got a trailer instead of a motorhome specifically because we wanted to avoid the headaches associated with another engine, transmission, etc. We also like the ability to unhook it and drive around in a normal vehicle when visiting people, museums, etc. And then, there’s the price difference.

[spdrun]

If you’re driving a rare semi-custom vehicle and it breaks down in rural Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, chances are that you’ll be dealing with the local mechanic as well as the RV place over the phone. Granted, you’ll probably be reimbursed in the end, but AFAIK most RV rental places don’t have national infrastructure, so you won’t end up with them sending out a wrecker, towing it to the local franchise, and handing you the keys to a replacement vehicle.

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=Blogstar]I don’t want to go anywhere. Just what I have to do to keep my kids lives from being terrible….a rental will do.[/quote]

there is nowhere to go.

family vacations are pure torture.

[The-Shoveler]

That’s the problem with living in SD,
If we go somewhere I end up missing taking a long walk on the beach that week.
Or I end up on some humid sweltering Island getting bit by mosquitoes just so I can go snorkeling a few times.
I vote staycation but I think the wife will not go for it.

[spdrun]

They weren’t when I was a kid. I think the key (which my family did) is to pack light, be spontaneous, and enjoy the trip rather than stressing about planning.

Unless you’re going to a third-world country, you don’t need to bring all of the equipment to be self-sufficient for six months!

[Author]

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