Motorhome v air & hotels

On 12/4/2007 9:31 PM Josh S plucked Senior Frog's Magic Twanger and said:
In article
,
wrote:


Has anyone travelled around the USA and Canada, in a motorhome? Would
you say it was better than travelling between places, by air/train/
coach and staying in hotels? Is it safe to travel by motorhome on
your own?


RV for the wilderness areas,
air/train/coach or car for the urban areas.
Many park/wilderness areas can only be seen with a motorhome, but stick
to a smaller motorhomes (24' Max.) else you won't be able to stay in
many parks and you'll have difficulty driving in them.
In off season some motorhome parks can be spooky; on occasion I've been
the only one there.

If I'm touring coastal areas, I'll take a cruise ship over an RV or Air
& Hotels. You only have to unpack and pack once. The food! It's better
than anything I can cook. Except for specialty restaurants the food
comes with your room. Room service is free too. Can anyone show me a
sea worthy RV?

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
Would you say it was better than travelling between places,
by air/train/ coach and staying in hotels?

Here's a list of pluses and minuses of recreational vehicles from
Wikipedia:

"Advantages of RVs include not having to move one's things in and
out of motel rooms, not having to rent multiple motel rooms, sleeping
in
a bed one is comfortable with. Also, preparing food oneself saves
money compared to eating in restaurants, and better meets any dietary
restrictions or preferences. At the same time, an RV provides more
organized living space and better protection from the weather than a
tent.

"Disadvantages of RVs include low fuel economy..., lack of maid
service...,
and the challenge of driving or towing larger RV models...."

One thing to consider is your destinations. If you're going to be
spending a lot of time in cities, a large RV may be a hassle. But if
you're going to be mostly visiting things like national parks, RVs
make a lot more sense.

James


Well said. In the late 1980's I bought a MH to travel the country during
a sabbatical from work. Was the best way with 2 kids and 2 months time.
Towed a VW Rabbit as a get around car. Very handy in that you did not
have to worry about finding a motel at the end of the day in a popular
place. Cost wise, may have been cheaper as we saved on eating out for all
meals. RV park was cheaper than a motel, and we parked for free in some
places. If you are just going to 1 or 2 large metropolitan areas, go the
hotel route. If a long trip and more than 1 person, go for an RV. For 1
or 2 you can get a small 20-21' Class C camper which is similar to a long
bed pickup in size. I have a slide in truck camper on a short bed crew cab
Chevy shortbed PU. Works well for the wife and I when we go on camping
trips and worked for us last year for a 7 week driving trip to Alaska.
Only stayed in hotels nights. That would also work for a trip around the
country with the benifit of not having to tow a sightseeing vehicle. My
camper is a PalominoRV B-800 camper which has a popup top, so get decent
milage while going down the road. My truck is a 2004 diesel and averaged
15 mpg for the 8200 mile AK trip.

I'm sure that your wife just LOVED having to continue to make meals. Some
holiday...for you, yes, not for her. A real vacation is when OTHERS do meal
prep.

"Jochen Kriegerowski" wrote in message
...
"Hatunen" schrieb

I've seen many, many in the USA that don't, including some of the
more ubiquitous ones, like Motel 6.

Maybe - I'm only familiar with the situation in Canada and thought
it would be more or less the same in the US.

Part of the problem with using motel cooking facilities is food
storage, since you will be on the road again in a day or two.
Either you must carry a lareg ice chest in your car or you must
buy your supplies in small, less economic quantities.

Oh, right, that's true. You shouldn't buy large quantities of
food that needs refrigeration. But then, I travel alone, so I
wouldn't want to buy cheaper 'family size' packages anyway:
I don't want to eat the same meals throughout my vacation g

Just think, with an RV you can enjoy the cameraderie of Slab
City, California: http://www.slabcity.org/

Well, ehmmm, "Chacun a son gout", as you said ;-)

Jochen

Lots of the hotels in Canada do not have a refrigerator or cooking
facilities. Most are the upscale variety. As to the bed in the RV, most
any more are innerspring mattresses, just like a home unit. Except my home
mattress is air filled (Select Comfort) and my slide in truck camper
mattress is an innerspring mattress. More comfortable than some of the
motel mattresses I have used. And you can park in just about any hospital
parking lot for free. They think you may have a loved one in the hospital
and do not hassle you. As I said depends on where you are traveling and
distances. Driving to Alaska, you can do the motel route, but talking to a
couple of people who were doing it that way, they said it was hard. You had
to time your travels and hope there was a room available. We used RV parks,
Provincial and State parks and some free camping.

"BrianK" wrote in message
...
On 12/4/2007 9:31 PM Josh S plucked Senior Frog's Magic Twanger and said:
In article
,
wrote:


Has anyone travelled around the USA and Canada, in a motorhome? Would
you say it was better than travelling between places, by air/train/
coach and staying in hotels? Is it safe to travel by motorhome on
your own?


RV for the wilderness areas, air/train/coach or car for the urban areas.
Many park/wilderness areas can only be seen with a motorhome, but stick
to a smaller motorhomes (24' Max.) else you won't be able to stay in many
parks and you'll have difficulty driving in them.
In off season some motorhome parks can be spooky; on occasion I've been
the only one there.

If I'm touring coastal areas, I'll take a cruise ship over an RV or Air &
Hotels. You only have to unpack and pack once. The food! It's better
than anything I can cook. Except for specialty restaurants the food comes
with your room. Room service is free too. Can anyone show me a sea
worthy RV?

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

And cruises are boring for some people. Been on a 16 day and a 7 day.
After about 8 days I and wife were going stir crazy. You stop at a port and
6 hours later you have to be back on the ship, does not matter if you would
like to stay longer. We enjoy staying in a place until we are bored and
then move on. Last couple of 4 week trips to Europe, we pick a region and
get reservations for when we land and the last night before flying out.
Then pick some towns and see the area around them and then move on when we
have seen what we want. As to the food on the ship. I get better food at
restaurants in my travels. The cruise ship food is just high class
institutional fare.

"sharx35" wrote in message
newsVO5j.26001$HH2.6972@edtnps82...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
Would you say it was better than travelling between places,
by air/train/ coach and staying in hotels?

Here's a list of pluses and minuses of recreational vehicles from
Wikipedia:

"Advantages of RVs include not having to move one's things in and
out of motel rooms, not having to rent multiple motel rooms, sleeping
in
a bed one is comfortable with. Also, preparing food oneself saves
money compared to eating in restaurants, and better meets any dietary
restrictions or preferences. At the same time, an RV provides more
organized living space and better protection from the weather than a
tent.

"Disadvantages of RVs include low fuel economy..., lack of maid
service...,
and the challenge of driving or towing larger RV models...."

One thing to consider is your destinations. If you're going to be
spending a lot of time in cities, a large RV may be a hassle. But if
you're going to be mostly visiting things like national parks, RVs
make a lot more sense.

James


Well said. In the late 1980's I bought a MH to travel the country during
a sabbatical from work. Was the best way with 2 kids and 2 months time.
Towed a VW Rabbit as a get around car. Very handy in that you did not
have to worry about finding a motel at the end of the day in a popular
place. Cost wise, may have been cheaper as we saved on eating out for all
meals. RV park was cheaper than a motel, and we parked for free in some
places. If you are just going to 1 or 2 large metropolitan areas, go the
hotel route. If a long trip and more than 1 person, go for an RV. For 1
or 2 you can get a small 20-21' Class C camper which is similar to a long
bed pickup in size. I have a slide in truck camper on a short bed crew
cab Chevy shortbed PU. Works well for the wife and I when we go on
camping trips and worked for us last year for a 7 week driving trip to
Alaska. Only stayed in hotels nights. That would also work for a trip
around the country with the benifit of not having to tow a sightseeing
vehicle. My camper is a PalominoRV B-800 camper which has a popup top,
so get decent milage while going down the road. My truck is a 2004
diesel and averaged 15 mpg for the 8200 mile AK trip.

I'm sure that your wife just LOVED having to continue to make meals. Some
holiday...for you, yes, not for her. A real vacation is when OTHERS do
meal prep.



I also cooked, unlike you I am handy. Plus we ate dinners out a lot. Other
than the cool, wet weather we both enjoyed the trip/

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

"Jochen Kriegerowski" wrote in message
...
"Hatunen" schrieb

I've seen many, many in the USA that don't, including some of the
more ubiquitous ones, like Motel 6.

Maybe - I'm only familiar with the situation in Canada and thought
it would be more or less the same in the US.

Part of the problem with using motel cooking facilities is food
storage, since you will be on the road again in a day or two.
Either you must carry a lareg ice chest in your car or you must
buy your supplies in small, less economic quantities.

Oh, right, that's true. You shouldn't buy large quantities of
food that needs refrigeration. But then, I travel alone, so I
wouldn't want to buy cheaper 'family size' packages anyway:
I don't want to eat the same meals throughout my vacation g

Just think, with an RV you can enjoy the cameraderie of Slab
City, California: http://www.slabcity.org/

Well, ehmmm, "Chacun a son gout", as you said ;-)

Jochen

Lots of the hotels in Canada do not have a refrigerator or cooking
facilities. Most are the upscale variety. As to the bed in the RV, most
any more are innerspring mattresses, just like a home unit. Except my
home mattress is air filled (Select Comfort) and my slide in truck camper
mattress is an innerspring mattress. More comfortable than some of the
motel mattresses I have used. And you can park in just about any hospital
parking lot for free. They think you may have a loved one in the hospital
and do not hassle you. As I said depends on where you are traveling and
distances. Driving to Alaska, you can do the motel route, but talking to
a couple of people who were doing it that way, they said it was hard. You
had to time your travels and hope there was a room available. We used RV
parks,

Uh, when we went up to Yukon and Alaska, we reserved AHEAD of time. What a
concept! That way, there was ALWAYS a room waiting for us, usually with a
small fridge and a stove.





Provincial and State parks and some free camping.

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

"sharx35" wrote in message
newsVO5j.26001$HH2.6972@edtnps82...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
Would you say it was better than travelling between places,
by air/train/ coach and staying in hotels?

Here's a list of pluses and minuses of recreational vehicles from
Wikipedia:

"Advantages of RVs include not having to move one's things in and
out of motel rooms, not having to rent multiple motel rooms, sleeping
in
a bed one is comfortable with. Also, preparing food oneself saves
money compared to eating in restaurants, and better meets any dietary
restrictions or preferences. At the same time, an RV provides more
organized living space and better protection from the weather than a
tent.

"Disadvantages of RVs include low fuel economy..., lack of maid
service...,
and the challenge of driving or towing larger RV models...."

One thing to consider is your destinations. If you're going to be
spending a lot of time in cities, a large RV may be a hassle. But if
you're going to be mostly visiting things like national parks, RVs
make a lot more sense.

James


Well said. In the late 1980's I bought a MH to travel the country
during a sabbatical from work. Was the best way with 2 kids and 2
months time. Towed a VW Rabbit as a get around car. Very handy in that
you did not have to worry about finding a motel at the end of the day in
a popular place. Cost wise, may have been cheaper as we saved on eating
out for all meals. RV park was cheaper than a motel, and we parked for
free in some places. If you are just going to 1 or 2 large metropolitan
areas, go the hotel route. If a long trip and more than 1 person, go for
an RV. For 1 or 2 you can get a small 20-21' Class C camper which is
similar to a long bed pickup in size. I have a slide in truck camper on
a short bed crew cab Chevy shortbed PU. Works well for the wife and I
when we go on camping trips and worked for us last year for a 7 week
driving trip to Alaska. Only stayed in hotels nights. That would also
work for a trip around the country with the benifit of not having to tow
a sightseeing vehicle. My camper is a PalominoRV B-800 camper which has
a popup top, so get decent milage while going down the road. My truck
is a 2004 diesel and averaged 15 mpg for the 8200 mile AK trip.

I'm sure that your wife just LOVED having to continue to make meals. Some
holiday...for you, yes, not for her. A real vacation is when OTHERS do
meal prep.



I also cooked, unlike you I am handy. Plus we ate dinners out a lot.
Other than the cool, wet weather we both enjoyed the trip/

Neither of us like cooking, aside from boiling water for tea or coffee. So,
we ate 2 meals out and snacked on cheese, rice cakes, etc. If the weather
turned bad, that was always a good reason to move on. Usually down the road
meant better weather.

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

"Jochen Kriegerowski" wrote in message
...
"Hatunen" schrieb

I've seen many, many in the USA that don't, including some of the
more ubiquitous ones, like Motel 6.

Maybe - I'm only familiar with the situation in Canada and thought
it would be more or less the same in the US.

Part of the problem with using motel cooking facilities is food
storage, since you will be on the road again in a day or two.
Either you must carry a lareg ice chest in your car or you must
buy your supplies in small, less economic quantities.

Oh, right, that's true. You shouldn't buy large quantities of
food that needs refrigeration. But then, I travel alone, so I
wouldn't want to buy cheaper 'family size' packages anyway:
I don't want to eat the same meals throughout my vacation g

Just think, with an RV you can enjoy the cameraderie of Slab
City, California: http://www.slabcity.org/

Well, ehmmm, "Chacun a son gout", as you said ;-)

Jochen

Lots of the hotels in Canada do not have a refrigerator or cooking
facilities. Most are the upscale variety. As to the bed in the RV, most
any more are innerspring mattresses, just like a home unit. Except my
home mattress is air filled (Select Comfort) and my slide in truck camper
mattress is an innerspring mattress. More comfortable than some of the
motel mattresses I have used. And you can park in just about any hospital
parking lot for free. They think you may have a loved one in the hospital
and do not hassle you. As I said depends on where you are traveling and
distances. Driving to Alaska, you can do the motel route, but talking to
a couple of people who were doing it that way, they said it was hard. You
had to time your travels and hope there was a room available. We used RV
parks, Provincial and State parks and some free camping.

Having driven to Alaska I wouldnt describe getting motel rooms as hard. It
may
be in August but in late June it was never a problem.

Keith

"sharx35" wrote in message
news:dUO6j.29193$Ji6.15484@edtnps89...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

"sharx35" wrote in message
newsVO5j.26001$HH2.6972@edtnps82...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
Would you say it was better than travelling between places,
by air/train/ coach and staying in hotels?

Here's a list of pluses and minuses of recreational vehicles from
Wikipedia:

"Advantages of RVs include not having to move one's things in and
out of motel rooms, not having to rent multiple motel rooms, sleeping
in
a bed one is comfortable with. Also, preparing food oneself saves
money compared to eating in restaurants, and better meets any dietary
restrictions or preferences. At the same time, an RV provides more
organized living space and better protection from the weather than a
tent.

"Disadvantages of RVs include low fuel economy..., lack of maid
service...,
and the challenge of driving or towing larger RV models...."

One thing to consider is your destinations. If you're going to be
spending a lot of time in cities, a large RV may be a hassle. But if
you're going to be mostly visiting things like national parks, RVs
make a lot more sense.

James


Well said. In the late 1980's I bought a MH to travel the country
during a sabbatical from work. Was the best way with 2 kids and 2
months time. Towed a VW Rabbit as a get around car. Very handy in that
you did not have to worry about finding a motel at the end of the day
in a popular place. Cost wise, may have been cheaper as we saved on
eating out for all meals. RV park was cheaper than a motel, and we
parked for free in some places. If you are just going to 1 or 2 large
metropolitan areas, go the hotel route. If a long trip and more than 1
person, go for an RV. For 1 or 2 you can get a small 20-21' Class C
camper which is similar to a long bed pickup in size. I have a slide in
truck camper on a short bed crew cab Chevy shortbed PU. Works well for
the wife and I when we go on camping trips and worked for us last year
for a 7 week driving trip to Alaska. Only stayed in hotels nights.
That would also work for a trip around the country with the benifit of
not having to tow a sightseeing vehicle. My camper is a PalominoRV
B-800 camper which has a popup top, so get decent milage while going
down the road. My truck is a 2004 diesel and averaged 15 mpg for the
8200 mile AK trip.

I'm sure that your wife just LOVED having to continue to make meals.
Some holiday...for you, yes, not for her. A real vacation is when OTHERS
do meal prep.



I also cooked, unlike you I am handy. Plus we ate dinners out a lot.
Other than the cool, wet weather we both enjoyed the trip/

Neither of us like cooking, aside from boiling water for tea or coffee.
So, we ate 2 meals out and snacked on cheese, rice cakes, etc. If the
weather turned bad, that was always a good reason to move on. Usually down
the road meant better weather.



Sort of like street people. Explains a lot.

"sharx35" wrote in message
news:FRO6j.29192$Ji6.18179@edtnps89...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

"Jochen Kriegerowski" wrote in message
...
"Hatunen" schrieb

I've seen many, many in the USA that don't, including some of the
more ubiquitous ones, like Motel 6.

Maybe - I'm only familiar with the situation in Canada and thought
it would be more or less the same in the US.

Part of the problem with using motel cooking facilities is food
storage, since you will be on the road again in a day or two.
Either you must carry a lareg ice chest in your car or you must
buy your supplies in small, less economic quantities.

Oh, right, that's true. You shouldn't buy large quantities of
food that needs refrigeration. But then, I travel alone, so I
wouldn't want to buy cheaper 'family size' packages anyway:
I don't want to eat the same meals throughout my vacation g

Just think, with an RV you can enjoy the cameraderie of Slab
City, California: http://www.slabcity.org/

Well, ehmmm, "Chacun a son gout", as you said ;-)

Jochen

Lots of the hotels in Canada do not have a refrigerator or cooking
facilities. Most are the upscale variety. As to the bed in the RV, most
any more are innerspring mattresses, just like a home unit. Except my
home mattress is air filled (Select Comfort) and my slide in truck camper
mattress is an innerspring mattress. More comfortable than some of the
motel mattresses I have used. And you can park in just about any
hospital parking lot for free. They think you may have a loved one in
the hospital and do not hassle you. As I said depends on where you are
traveling and distances. Driving to Alaska, you can do the motel route,
but talking to a couple of people who were doing it that way, they said
it was hard. You had to time your travels and hope there was a room
available. We used RV parks,

Uh, when we went up to Yukon and Alaska, we reserved AHEAD of time. What a
concept! That way, there was ALWAYS a room waiting for us, usually with a
small fridge and a stove.





Provincial and State parks and some free camping.




and you missed out on spur of the moment side trips. Your loss.