MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Dion on October 15, 2013, 12:18:38 AM
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This topic came up at work the other day when I was showing my camper to someone. They asked how much it was and replied "you could buy a lot of hotel rooms for that much!".
It got me thinking ... that we didn't buy our camper to save money. We bought it to visit places where there is often no accommodation there, so it's either camp or not stay there; e.g. National Parks.
Curious to see what others have used to "rationalise" their purchase?
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Rationale: roof won't collapse on me in a storm. Happened at Fraser Island 3.5yrs ago and don't want to ever endure again. Trying to sleep on a water logged foam mattress in rain and wind is not top of my bucket list(truth be told its not ever likely to be). The head says I would be better off having the money sitting on the mortgage, but I am not a smart or rational person.
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We've got a 4 year old AOR Quantum, paid $75k in the belief that if we wanted it to, it would last us until we're beyond camping. It'll go anywhere we want is comfortable, and built to last.
We have no reason thus far to question our decision.
BOUGHT TO EXPLORE. :cup: :cheers:
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Based on purchase price, and number of nights weve slept in it, our camper now costs $48 every night we stay in it. If we include mods of approx $3.5k, price jumps to $62. and increases more if you add accessories ($?).
How can we make it cheaper? Answer, go camping more.
For us, it was a balance between comfort, lifestyle and experience. One trip a year we stay in accomodation. Wifey loves it. I hate it, and would prefer to go camping for a month for the same bucks. But because we havent overcommitted on camper, feel we can afford to do both.
At the end of the day, the camper is ideal for trips away with the kids. So really, my response is it was a budget based lifestyle choice to provide lifetime memories whilst exploring parts of our great land!
Oh, and dont ask me about our trip to disneyland next year. Id prefer to do the big lap instead, but in our democracy, my vote is not equal to hers. Bugger!
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Brought it to explore. I have now spent around 110 nights in it though and with a family of 2A + 2C at a modest $80 a night (very cheap room) that's $8800 worth of accomodation. We rarely stay in van parks any more.
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I've Owned 5 off road camper trailers. I built them all, sold 4 of them for a profit so even after paying for the fifth I am in front by thousands. Having said that it was never about the money, you can't get hotel rooms where we travel!
It's all about freedom for me, freedom to go where I like, when I like and stop when I like.
Cheers Andrew
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I just did both, bought a camper to explore after selling the Goldstream and putting 1/3 of the proceeds on the mortgage and spending 2/3 on a new camper. Sure that is still a lot of hotel room nights but even one trip out camping with the family is priceless.
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Yes to both!
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To know the accommodation is with me . l can raid the mini bar in my room any time . The only down side is that it costs me 1or 2 extra litres per KM . Big Deal , my room at the beach is booked as is , in the bush , on the river , in the desert even at home when l get chucked out ( That wont happen :angel: )
Club Speewa is at the ready to explore in comfort . :cheers:
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For us it was about our daughter.
Our daughter was 4 when we bought our camper, now just over 5. We wanted her to grow up experiencing the bush and all of the great things our country has to offer. Being on the West Coast, alot of kids over here end up going to Bali before they have been anywhere in Australia.
Bali might be great for cheap T-Shirts but in my opinion the bush gives a much better education to young kids.
Yes, we could have done that without a camper trailer, but with the camper its just so much easier (which means we are much more likely to go more often)
It is a luxury, as someone has already mentioned a camper costs you heap unless you use it.. so we try to get out and use ours as often as possible.
We committed to ourselves to use the camper once a month, which for a couple both working fulltime is a big ask, but we generally do get away for at least an overnighter each month and the months we do not get away are usually offset by a bigger trip the next month.
I guess my short answer to the original question is to explore ;D
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def yes to both too
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The same question could be asked about buying a four wheel drive. While staying in Exmouth a few months back, unfortunately in a caravan park, but that is another story, a bloke in a commodore sedan towing a caravan set up beside us. Once he was set up I did the right thing, went over to say hello, standing at the back of our cruiser. This bloke straight away told me how he hates four wheel drives; he said he can go anywhere a four wheel drive can. Blah blah blah. Well I thought what a *******. I did not bother to tell him the places we have been in our camper and cruiser that he would not be able to go. Plus we soon discovered he and his wife were chain smokers and for the next 3 days we had to keep our camper’s windows zipped up to keep the smoke out. Don’t you just love caravan parks.... >:( That is why we have a camper and four wheel drive, so we don’t have to stay at caravan parks all of the time. ;D Kevin
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I bought a tent to save money & explore. The 4wd because I was sick of turning back from 4wd only tracks.
The campertrailer when I get one will be more about convenience & comfort and making those weekends away more likely ;D
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I'm not sure being on this site has saved me any money.. I keep bloody buying stuff!!
Swannie
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Ours was about giving our kids a holiday more frequently at a price we could afford in locations that motel rooms were not.
Tenting is ok, but with 3 kids there is only so much room in the cruiser, so getting a camper meant we could have everything at the ready, in one spot.
Once we feel we've had enough of camping (hope that day never comes), we can sell the camper and all our holidays have cost us two fifths of **** all!
Sent from my GT-N8020 using Tapatalk 4
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Simply to explore the outdoors with a product that I know will last at least the next 10 years, in and through most of the conditions Oz can throw at us.
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Bought to explore!
So much better for the kids to experience Australia as a camper IMHO
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Hubby works long hours and the reality was we just never went away on holiday. The money we saved for a holiday would be needed on something else, holidays came and went and we hadn't planned to go anywhere, hubby couldn't get time off work etc etc. We also try to get back to NZ at least once a year at Christmast which isn't cheap.
In the end, after much talk about going camping, we went on a camping weekend with 5 other families. Fortunately both hubby and I love camping so we make it a priority to go away as much as possible. Hubby often has to work long hours before we go away and works on and off while we're away but somethings are a sacrifice.
We started off with a tent and a very basic set-up. Eventually we realised that to take everything we needed away (2 kids were aged 5 and 7 at the time) we were going to need a trailer. Then on our 3rd camping trip, we had a family in a CT set-up beside us in less than 45 minutes- decision made that we needed a CT. Since then we have also needed to up-grade the car and eventually plan to get a 4WD so we can go to more remote places. Last year we spent 40 nights away in our CT and I can safely say the money saved in camping has probably paid for the CT already.
We sometimes forget how lucky we are to live in this beautiful state and the amazing weather we are blessed with. Getting out and exploring helps us to remember that fact. I know that the best holidays our kids still talk about have been the ones where we've been camping.
Problem with camping is there's always the next thing you need to buy. I'm happy as long as we have clean amenities, hot showers and in most cases flushing toilets.
We are already looking to the future (for when we're grey nomads) and what we will be camping in LOL.
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We started with the soft floor(still for sale) and then purchased the Goldstream. We originally got the soft floor to make camping easier. Well at least more comfortable. Then along came Koby our little surprise. Mum had to look after him while I did the set-up and it was to hard by myself......enter Goldstream.
Now we have dreams of Kakadu, The Cape, Fraser etc. Life was a blur of overseas holidays but we have paradise in our own back yard. Goldy MAKES us go and enjoy it.
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The same question could be asked about buying a four wheel drive. While staying in Exmouth a few months back, unfortunately in a caravan park, but that is another story, a bloke in a commodore sedan towing a caravan set up beside us. Once he was set up I did the right thing, went over to say hello, standing at the back of our cruiser. This bloke straight away told me how he hates four wheel drives; he said he can go anywhere a four wheel drive can. Blah blah blah. Well I thought what a *******. I did not bother to tell him the places we have been in our camper and cruiser that he would not be able to go. Plus we soon discovered he and his wife were chain smokers and for the next 3 days we had to keep our camper’s windows zipped up to keep the smoke out. Don’t you just love caravan parks.... >:( That is why we have a camper and four wheel drive, so we don’t have to stay at caravan parks all of the time. ;D Kevin
Should have asked him to follow you across the yardie creek crossing... that would have sorted him out
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That's an interesting concept, equating the camper cost to a cost per night. I estimate ours is running at $250-$300/night at present but this will come down. All our holidays are camping, even if we go to the big-smoke we set up in a caravan park.
A move to Tassie next year is on the cards, so it will get even more use done there because we WILL NOT have a garden to look after!
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Definitely for exploring, and also to make sure that we have the comforts of living around us wherever we go, be it in a Big 4 caravan park (where we stay most Christmas's as the children don't have enough room to put us up), down by the river just outside Boulia or in a clearing off the Oodnadatta Track. It certainly wasn't to save money as the 4wd and camper set us back over $90,000 in 2007, but the places we've been and the country we've seen makes it worth every penny (sorry, cent, that's the latent Pom in me showing through!).
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That's an interesting concept, equating the camper cost to a cost per night. I estimate ours is running at $250-$300/night at present but this will come down. All our holidays are camping, even if we go to the big-smoke we set up in a caravan park.
A move to Tassie next year is on the cards, so it will get even more use done there because we WILL NOT have a garden to look after!
Don't forget though, you sell the camper whenever ya want and recoup a fist ful of dollars.
Try selling a motel room you don't own.
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We Loved tenting but with 1 kid and another on the way the CT allows slightly more comfort and the ability to all fit comfortably under one roof, simple ;D
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We bought ours to escape & explore!
We love camping but a back injury has seen me avoiding lifting wherever possible and the KK makes for lift free camping. It also makes things much easier now we are three!
I also want my boy to grow up learning the practical skills that I learnt from camping since I was born.
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To Explore...................We paid as much as we could afford at the time to buy the best quality hard floor we could, with the goal of having it last us for many years no matter what we threw at it !!
I've always tried to buy on the value for money concept, not cheap and pay again later/soon ;) ...............so far so good :cup: :cheers:
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Definitely not to save money! In fact, get the guilt's just a little when I look at it in the shed, sometimes seems a lot of money sitting there waiting for the not often enough camping trips! With saying that, we don't always use the camper when exploring, have on occasion just packed the back of the cruiser with swag and esky and headed off for a simple camp.
Dee.
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For us, not about the money, but the exploring.
We got the best CT we could afford with available funds.
We found traveling with 3 x kids and hotels is not possible. Before CT, I tried to arrange a road trip from Gold Coast to country Vic and back, down Pacific and Princess hwy, back inland. I was not able to book a sequence of rooms hotel or other to accommodate us.
To go on a long trip to see the scatted family around the country side was the 1st reason to get a CT
Now, it has the bonus of turning into a quick weekend adventure toy. I love deciding to go away on a Thursday night for the weekend.
Kids love it to.
Oh, and we are yet to go see the relo's........ ;D
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Based on purchase price, and number of nights weve slept in it, our camper now costs $48 every night we stay in it. If we include mods of approx $3.5k, price jumps to $62. and increases more if you add accessories ($?).
If you factor in the estimated re-sale value, the cost per night drops a lot. We bought ours for exploring and the comforts it has included. Not sure where you could get a motel/unit for $62 per night!
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Based on purchase price, and number of nights weve slept in it, our camper now costs $48 every night we stay in it. If we include mods of approx $3.5k, price jumps to $62. and increases more if you add accessories ($?).
How can we make it cheaper? Answer, go camping more.
For us, it was a balance between comfort, lifestyle and experience. One trip a year we stay in accomodation. Wifey loves it. I hate it, and would prefer to go camping for a month for the same bucks. But because we havent overcommitted on camper, feel we can afford to do both.
At the end of the day, the camper is ideal for trips away with the kids. So really, my response is it was a budget based lifestyle choice to provide lifetime memories whilst exploring parts of our great land!
Oh, and dont ask me about our trip to disneyland next year. Id prefer to do the big lap instead, but in our democracy, my vote is not equal to hers. Bugger!
This my rationale exactly. I too get the "gee that's a lot of hotel rooms" quite often.
Gav
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We got ours to explore in comfort, probably would have been a money saver also if we hadnt of upgraded the car at the same time though.
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Hi,
I couldn't afford a hotel with a view like this.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-n5Uk4qxhwiE/UfJTY55VFJI/AAAAAAAAEa0/SQSzapcYmBg/w958-h719-no/DSC06993.JPG)
cheers
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Absolutely, we bought our camper to get out and explore as much as possible. We bought it with a long term view in mind so were prepared and able to spend the extra to get the camper we knew would meet our needs and last the distance.
Frankly, hotels do nothing for me. You sleep in a bed that a gazillion others have slept (and ??) in, the hair you find in the bathroom probably isnt yours, you are confined to a room that usually doesnt have a window that opens, you have to breathe recycled air day and night, everything costs twice what it should and it costs a bomb to park your car in the same building!
I do the reverse thinking of those who love hotels. For me whenever I stay in a hotel (usually travelling for work), I think about how many nights camping the same money would last for (excluding the initial outlay of the camper). There really is no comparison.
Fresh air, open spaces, no crowds, our bed, our food and usually locations and views that money cant buy [unless of course you buy a camper... lol ]
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I got mine to get away from the missus 8) but the bl00dy thing is too comfy and she comes along anyway :laugh:
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Hi,
I couldn't afford a hotel with a view like this.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-n5Uk4qxhwiE/UfJTY55VFJI/AAAAAAAAEa0/SQSzapcYmBg/w958-h719-no/DSC06993.JPG)
cheers
Nice picture. Looks to be at katoomba??
We bought a camper, to save time in packing and unpacking and to make our touring/getting away life easier. Had nothing to do with saving money
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Hey Dion, thise types of people who go on about cost of hotel rooms vs camping...... they don't really get it do they.
We've hosted a few families new to camping with our set up and generally they 'get it' and start to understand what it's all about and more importantly how to go about it.
But having said that we are very careful who we actually ask to come along!
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We bought a camper, to save time in packing and unpacking and to make our touring/getting away life easier. Had nothing to do with saving money
X2.
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We bought a camper, to save time in packing and unpacking and to make our touring/getting away life easier. Had nothing to do with saving money
X3
That sums me up perfectly.
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Nice picture. Looks to be at katoomba??
We bought a camper, to save time in packing and unpacking and to make our touring/getting away life easier. Had nothing to do with saving money
x19874 , still use the odd caravan park, but ct's setup and packup times are brilliant , wish I would have done it sooner , can quite happily leave in a moments notice without putting too much though into packing
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We're looking at getting a CT pretty soon... just bought a capable tourer and it's not really about "I want to stay at a 5 star resort just so I can say I did"(who has the money for that???)... I'd rather stay at a million star resort and show you the looks on my kids' faces!
We've always stayed in one tent or another... I hate setting up tents, 4 room or 1 room... they take too long for what you end up with.
I figure most of the time you have to pull a trailer anyway, so why not have it packed ready to go at the drop of a hat?
God, I hate dragging everything from the shed to the garage into the trailer... only to have to unpack it all and drag it back to the overpacked shed again!!!
I think our mind is made up... I can't sleep on stretchers for ever anyway!!!
So I guess we will buy one to explore and save money doing it!
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Same as some others here, to explore and show the kids some good times. Girls in the family not that keen on the tents, us boys more than happy in the swags.
Wife and I did the hiking thing BK now it's family time..... When it arrives.
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we unexpectedly came across a camper at an unbelievable price a month before our wedding, wich we hadnt planned anything honeymoon wise for as yet with a 1 year old in tow.So everynight in our camper is our honeymoon and im pretty sure when we sell to upgrade we will be in profit going by what these campers are going for and what we paid for it.... :cheers:
were looking at campers but not that serious before this one came along and having the 1st child made tenting ok but we knew we would be having another as we did welcome our 2nd boy some 5 weeks ago so the camper is a very handy way to see the countryside.
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Ours was about giving our kids a holiday more frequently at a price we could afford in locations that motel rooms were not.
Tenting is ok, but with 3 kids there is only so much room in the cruiser, so getting a camper meant we could have everything at the ready, in one spot.
Once we feel we've had enough of camping (hope that day never comes), we can sell the camper and all our holidays have cost us two fifths of **** all!
Same
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Seriously ... who wants to spend the rest of their lives staying in motel rooms and living out of a suitcase?
$ for $ regardless of what the value of each night ... camping with peace and quiet ... no highways out the front ... no yahoo's wandering by at all hours (or going to the room next door) ... country views that change with the locations ... early morning bird alarms ... can take my dogs ... set up the "window" which ever way I like ... I can have a fire ... I come in when I want and leave when I want ... we are the only ones who've slept in the bed ...
Who cares what it cost per night ... Life Is Always Better When I'm Camping!
Kit_e
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got sick of being kicked out to the shed at night and motels was not an option as i spent all my money a few hours earlier on booze - so yes to save money
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To explore and so we can take our Border Collie with us. Have u seen the prices to rent dog friendly houses? Just ridiculous.
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to get to and camp in and enjoy areas thatt here is no one else.
Love single car camp sites.
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The way I look at it is:
- with a hotel room you never get a return
- with a camper you may still pay for camping/park fees but you always have an asset that will provide a return if sold
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This is not a yes or no answer for us and is not based on financial decisions, more an emotional one.
We have had more holidays and weekends away since we had a ct compared to the time when we didn't.
Sounds strange but we make an effort to plan our leave to ensure our ct is used and not just sitting in the garage.
We get away much more as a family than any of our friends and family that do not have one. I often feel that they are jealous that we have the ability to plan ahead.
I'm an old fart (45) with young kids 6 and 9 and am getting a real buzz seeing how much they love the outdoor holiday life style any the way that they interact with other kids.
Personally I think we are creating great family memories for our little Australians.
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Explore.
I don't remember seeing many hotel rooms in some of the places we stop.
:cheers:
Peter