Try RVing even before you purchase your own rig

During the Independence Day Weekend – known as the 4th of July to most – we camped in northern Michigan on the Manistee River, near my hometown. It was there that I saw a few young campers, reminding me of my husband and I when we started camping in tents. Some of them had tents, some popup campers and some with nothing at all. But they weren’t left out in the cold, they were in a cabin.

Like many RV parks and campgrounds, this park offers campers without the accessories – a popup camper, travel trailer, motorhome or even tent – to spend the weekend with their camping friends or on their own, enjoying the RV lifestyle with out the investment. The camping cabins or even RV rentals at many parks are rented to the user who then brings his own items for the weekend.

Some, like Sherwood Forest Camping & RV Park in the Wisconsin Dells, rent the camping cabin basic, leaving it up to the new “RVers” to bring all their needs for the weekend, week or even longer vacation. The camping cabin provides them with a place to sleep, relax, hold their bonfires and even watch TV or use their laptop computers, if they so desire. The weekend campers use the same restrooms and showers that are available to other RVers, but they don’t haul in their own RV or tent.

Others, like Camp Bell Campground in Campbell, NY, near Finger Lakes, offer a camping cabins or travel trailer rentals. Campers can really get an idea of what RVing is like, and dip their toe in the water so to speak, before buying an RV or their own.

And for those who truly enjoy pampering of sorts, Compton Ridge Campground in Branson, Mo., offers three types of camping cabins, including its luxury cabins that include a full kitchen with appliances, a bathroom with a shower, a screened porch, a fireplace and cable TV. They also offer two other cabins for those who prefer to “rough it” just a little more.

And whether they ever do buy an RV, the weekend rentals allow you to have a great RV vacation without buying the RV. It’s a nice way to introduce newcomers, or even those who make it one trip a year and don’t want to buy an RV, to enjoy the lifestyle.

RVing a good way to vacation even in the current economy.

While the daily news continues to discuss the lagging economy and we’ve seen RV companies being impacted by slow sales, using the RV to travel is still a good deal, even with high gas prices.

With gas prices well over $4 a gallon around the country, hauling an RV gives you a moment to consider another means of travel. But once you start adding in your meals on the road, hotel rooms and airfare if you’re flying, taking your RV is still an economical and practical means for travel.

According to the biannual Campfire Canvass survey conducted by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) found that despite high fuel prices, 82 percent of RV owners say RV vacations cost less than other types of vacations and they still plan to use their RVs.

According to the latest survey, 76 percent of RV owners intend to use their RVs at least as much this spring and summer as last year, but some changes were noted. Fifty-eight percent of those who said their travel plans would be affected said they would travel closer to home and 35 percent said they’d travel fewer miles. Another 34 percent of RVers said they’d stay longer in one destination.

My family is following suit. We are staying closer to home this summer and we are staying in one place longer. But we aren’t suffering for the choices. We still get to travel and still enjoy family time, just maybe closer to home. But it gives us a chance to discover things we may not have otherwise paid attention to in our own “backyard.”

However, there are those who aren’t changing plans. The study found that one-third of RV owners say fuel costs won't affect their travel plans. We also fit this group for our one long vacation. We’re still planning a trip to West Virginia to white water raft in August – before our oldest heads out to college. We’re looking forward to the adventure, but I’m not sure we would do it if we didn’t have our travel trailer.

Eating “at home” in the RV saves money, and renting a space for about $35 a night beats the price of a hotel room, which when I checked were around $110 a night. Even at the 10 to 12 mpg we get in the truck while hauling the camper, we’re saving money. And if gas prices are really a concern, there are always popup campers, which because of the light weight don’t have as great of an impact on the gas mileage.

So, if you’ve considered an RV, but think now’s not the time, you might want to think again. This might be just the right time to make your best deal since some RV companies are giving incentives for those in the market for a new RV in today’s economy.

And while the immediate picture may not be bright, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association believes that the appeal for RVs will continue since “the basic demand for RVs is deeply rooted in family values, the enduring appeal of the natural environment and people’s desire to instill in the next generation their cherished traditions.”