Having a travel trailer can be an incredible way to explore the country and make lifelong memories. However, it also comes with costs, responsibilities, and challenges that many first-time buyers don’t consider. I’ll walk you through 12 key questions that will help you decide if RV ownership is the right move for you.

It should give you a realistic look at what this lifestyle really takes.

#1 How comfortable are you with the additional cost of RVing?

An in dependent inspection will cost at least $500.00. A WDH can be anywhere from a couple hundred to over a thousand dollars depending on what you choose. Then there are all the necessary things you will need to buy just to be able to use your travel trailer. You will need a sewer hose, freshwater hose, chemicals for your black tank, an EMS surge protector, water pressure regulator, leveling blocks, and on and on. Amazon prime will become your best friend.

Next, you will need to pay the following:

Also, remember stopping a travel trailer is just as important as pulling one.

Towing is more that moving along a level plane, or having the ability to make wide turns, you might even get into a situation where you need to back up. Tail swing is an important consideration, in particular at gas stations. As you turn, the tail of your travel trailer moves one foot in the opposite direction for every three feet you drive forward.  Towing is not as easy as some make it look so get ready to practice.

#3 How comfortable are you Setting up a hitch?

A weight distribution hitch distributes the weight of the trailer across the vehicles. A properly adjusted WDH will prevent your trailer from swinging wildly while going down the highway.  It’s not a nice to have, it is a must have. You are responsible to make sure you don’t turn another motorist’s travels into a nightmare. I’ve never found a dealership yet, that sets them up to my satisfaction.   So, I always do my own.

#4 How comfortable are you Setting up a travel trailer?

      You will need to back it up into your campsite because not every site is a pull-through. In addition you will need to level it side to side and back to front. The leveling needs to be done before you put your slides out. You need to be able to safely chock your wheels and disconnect from the tow vehicle. Then you will need to hook up your power and water, etc. I recommend hooking up your power right after you level the trailer so you have enough power to move the slides. As you can see, setting up isn’t as simple as pulling into a site and climbing into the travel trailer. However, back in the 90’s when we had trailers without slides, it almost was that easy.

#5 How comfortable are you with General Maintenance?

Be prepared because things are going to break. It might be something easy to fix like wall trim, or something more complicated.

Roof and seals need to be inspected often and maintained.

Water lines and water heaters need to be drained after each trip

AC’s inspected, cleaned, and tightened

Wheel bearings need to be inspected and repacked yearly.

Plumbing needs to be checked regularly for leaks

Brakes need to be adjusted if you don’t have self adjusting brakes. All brakes should be inspected when you do your bearings.

#6 How comfortable are you Dealing with sewage and grey water?

If you’re not willing to deal with this, it’s not a lifestyle for you.  It’s not a pleasant chore. Youve heard the expression “S&*t happens!”, yeah it does. You will need to understand the correct process for dumping your black and grey tanks. Double check all your fittings before you pull the dump levers otherwise you will be the neighbors entertainment, and you might need to throw your shoes away.

#7 How comfortable are you Dealing with Propane systems?

Run out of propane once on a cold night, and you’ll quickly understand why staying on top of it matters. Beyond that, you need to know how the propane regulator works, how to disconnect and reconnect your tanks, and how to check for leaks. Leaks can also happen inside the trailer. If the propane alarm goes off, get out immediately and shut off the tanks. Then you—or a technician—must figure out what’s causing the problem.

#8 How comfortable are you Dealing with two different types of electricity.

A travel trailer uses both AC power (like your house) and DC power (like your car). Shore power supplies the AC electricity from a campground pedestal or a generator. Your RV battery supplies DC power, and the converter charges it—think of the converter as a large battery charger. Converters do fail; I’m on my third one in eight years, so it’s something to keep in mind.

Sometimes an appliance will use both types of electricity.

Without the AC, you’re not going to be running your AC, TV, Microwave, Fireplace, or residential fridge. Without DC, you’ll be without your lights, furnace, water pump, water heater, standard RV fridge.

#9 How comfortable are you Dealing with RV systems/appliances.

All of these systems need to be maintained – even more so than your home systems. Clean the AC filters about once a week while you’re using the trailer, and clean the AC coils annually.

There are no filters on the furnace, so you need to vacuum that area regularly. It won’t take much dog fur or dust bunnies to interfere with the sale switch, then your furnace wont run.

Drain your water heater and water lines after each trip, and flush out the water heater as well. If the water heater has an anode rod, you will need to inspect it regularly and replace it as needed.

#10 How comfortable are you Dealing with heights?

You need to clean and inspect the roof, window seals, cap seals, and sidewall seals. If you’re not comfortable working on the RV roof or climbing a ladder, pay someone to handle it. A fall will cost far more than hiring an RV technician to take care of these tasks.

#11 How comfortable are you Dealing with off season winterization

 One of the most critical parts of owning an RV is winterizing it. I won’t go into details here, but doing this incorrectly can cost you hundreds of dollars in spring repairs, including broken water lines, ruptured water heater tanks, and other damage. If you’re not comfortable doing the job yourself, have a dealership or a mobile RV technician handle it.

#12 How comfortable are you with campgrounds?

Here’s the deal breaker. Many times, you won’t know what kind of campground you are checking into.  Some are great and some are horrible.  All of them have rules – think of it as a Home Owners Association.

Never let a campground host direct you into a site you’re not comfortable with—the risk falls on you. If a campground looks bad when you pull in, leave and find another one. We’ve done exactly that.

If you can’t tolerate occasional sub-standard campgrounds, road noise, or close neighbors who ignore the rules or act rudely, this lifestyle isn’t for you. Those situations will happen. How you handle them will make or break your camping experience, which is why researching campgrounds ahead of time matters.

In conclusion: If the 12 points above feel like too much work, you’re not wrong. RVing can be demanding, frustrating, and sometimes expensive. If that reality turns you off, this probably isn’t a lifestyle you’ll enjoy.

So, if you’re Thinking of Buying Your First RV, I hope answering these 12 questions helped you get a clearer picture of what RV ownership is really like. If so, then you’re already ahead of the game.  RVing can be one of the most rewarding lifestyles out there, but only if you go into it prepared.

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Well, this study cherry picks the least costly option when it came to traveling to Orlando, Florida.  They chose a pop-up camper as the RV of choice.  Pop-ups are lighter than a reg travel trailer so gas efficiency will be better.  Pop-ups do not make up the majority of RVs, travel trailers do, then fifth wheels after that.

The study concluded that a family of four taking a 7-day vacation from Atlanta, GA to Orlando, FL would spend $3,216 for a road trip in a family car and staying at hotels and motels. The same vacation in a folding camping trailer would cost $1,712, a 47% savings.

I did my own computation based on trips I’ve taken from Wisconsin to Orlando and plugged in the numbers. Also, I only used two people in my scenarios.

I didn’t use resort campgrounds during the trip or while in Orlando. Then I calculated my diesel round trip of 2600 miles at 3.25 a gallon.  I budgeted 400.00 for groceries. Total cost of the trip = 2,070.00

For the folks not using an RV I used flights to Orlando, a rental car, a three-star hotel with continental breakfast, all other meals out, and fuel costs.  Total Cost of the trip = 2,669.00

If the folks drove from Wisconsin, the cost of their trip would be 1,593.00. Since they were driving, I added two days of lodging and meals on.

The result was that I came up with a cost savings of about 1100.00 dollars if using a Travel Trailer like mine, when airfare is the comparison.

However, if the 2 non-RV folks drive, They save 447 dollars over the RV folks. However, if you add two children into the mix, it’s about 300 dollars cheaper to travel in the RV.

But there’s really more to this story:

If you factor in an RV payment, Storage Costs, and RV insurance, those numbers are going to change drastically in favor of the Non-RV trip.

I’ll bet outside storage will run 100/month

Now add your RV payment which could be anywhere from 225/month and up.

Plus, you still have your monthly Insurance Premium.  I’m sure it’ll be over 100 per month.

So, if we add those costs into the equation just for that month, it may still look rosy for the RV owner, with a savings around 175 dollars for the week in Orlando over the vacation with flights. However, those RV payments don’t stop when the vacation is over.

I don’t say any of this to dissuade an RV purchase. Just keep in mind everything the RV industry puts out is not 100% truthful.

In fact, the study that the RVIA put together factored in a bunch of extraneous stuff in their footnotes such as estimated cost of RV ownership is based upon published data regarding average ownership periods, residual values, annual days of use, insurance, and other costs of ownership, as well as any applicable tax benefits.  That sounds like the warnings at the end of a drug commercial, “May cause drowsiness and loose stools”.

So those numbers are really skewed in my opinion. How would anyone be able to factor in all those things to come up with a weekly trip cost?

RVing is a great way to see the country, but it’s not cheap. So don’t enter into it thinking that in some way you will be saving money, because you won’t.  In fact, you will be spending additional money each year on repair and maintenance.  So just go in with your eyes wide open. You’ll be happy if you’re prepared for the RV life. RV’s are like any other hobby, sometimes is best not to try and justify the costs, and just enjoy them.

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Even new RV furnaces are not very efficient. So every bit of heat you can capture is beneficial. There could be a number of issues that are keeping you from getting the heat you expect. Locating your furnace and doing a simple inspection may help you get to the root of your problem. There are a number of things that could be the source of low air flow.

1. A detached duct at the furnace
2. A kink in the flexible duct work
3. Debris in the duct work
4. Air flow escaping around the ducts where they attach at the furnace

Of course it could also be that you are getting all the heat your furnace can provide in which case your search is over.

We noticed when we ran our furnace that the drawers above the cabinet where the furnace was located, became very warm. This is not an unusual problem for our brand and model of travel trailer. There are many posts on line related to this particular issue.

So, I removed the cabinet drawer over the furnace in order to do an inspection of the duct work. What I found was that all the duct work was attached securely. The next thing I did was to turn the furnace on and then feel for air leaks. What I noticed almost immediately is that there is an amazing amount of air loss around the furnace panel. The panel itself just slides down over the unit without any sort of gasket. Additional duct work is attached to this panel.

As a result of the air loss, I purchased some high temp furnace tape and sealed the furnace panel to the unit and at the same time taped the top duct entry points.

The difference in air flow through the duct work increased rather dramatically. In addition, the drawers above the furnace are now cool when the furnace runs.

Now keep in mind I’m not advocating that you do what I did. However if you are not getting proper air flow through your ducts, I would certainly spend a little time investigation the cause. Remember, your furnace should be approached with caution and if you think there is an issue that you are not comfortable dealing with you should seek out a qualified repair person.

Cold Weather Ahead – Stay Warm!

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Every travel trailer seems to come with the same inadequate steps that have been around forever.  They are the typical steel free standing steps.  Not only do they flex and move when you step on them, they also rock the entire trailer.  Eventually the stock steel steps rust and become an eye sore.

Stock Travel Trailer steps typically have a rise in excess of 8 inches which makes them harder to climb.  I measured the rise on our factory steps and it was a whopping 9.25 inches. A large rise makes it difficult for dogs, small children, and adults with mobility issues to climb into or out of the trailer. Add to the large rise, the rocking of the trailer while using the steps. Now you have a real opportunity for a fall from your “Fun House” steps.

The other draw back to the factory steps is that at some campgrounds you may need an additional platform to use as your first step; the factory steps can’t account for the wide variety in terrain. We have found the higher we raise the front of the trailer (to achieve level) the higher our lowest factory step raises off the ground.  Then we need an additional platform to reach the lowest step.

The additional platform complicates things, since it can shift out of place. That doesn’t instill a great deal of confidence in either of us or our two big shepherds.

While replacing these steps isn’t required you might find it to be one of the best modifications you can make from a safety standpoint.

Enter the GlowStep Revolution. A new solid way of entering and exiting your travel trailer.  Although other manufacturers make aftermarket steps, GlowSteps offer clear advantages over the current models.

1. They fold up and store away under the trailer vs. storing inside the doorway. which brings in dirt and debris, and in tight spots will block your ability to enter the travel trailer.
2. You can adjust them from an almost vertical ladder position to full extension, unlike other models that remain fixed. This leaves you in a real bind if you are in a spot with no room to put them out.
3. The upper step has three levels of adjustment and the lower landing gear legs have five levels of adjustment.  This provides a great deal of flexibility for different terrain.
4. The steps are designed with a 7.5” riser height, which is the industry standard in the home construction business, and this is a first in the RV industry.
5. They have small illuminated squares on the outside of each step. These light up for ten hours with only ten minutes of daylight or artificial light.
6. There are a number of accessories available that you can add to your steps, such as a handrail, a shoe brush, and some back covers so your pets’ feet don’t slip off the steps.
7. You can add a step or remove a step if you change the height of your trailer, or if you transfer the steps to a new trailer with different height requirements.
8. Made and assembled in the USA, these use materials sourced from the United States.
9. These steps come with a lifetime warranty.  That should tell you something about how well they are manufactured.

The amount of upward adjustment is really impressive. As is the ability of the landing feet to be adjusted to account for uneven terrain.

There are many different sizes available, so you will need to take a few measurements to make sure you order the correct model.

You can install them with a friend or by yourself using a few simple tools. There are two methoods specified in the owners manual. One method, if you are installing them alone, is to remove the stairs from the base. Next the base is installed, and then the step assembly is reattached. The other option is to expand the stairs and have a friend hold them while you raise the base into position and put the nuts and bolts though the assembly.

However, despite the above instructions, I came up with my own plan which involved using my motorcycle lift. I simply raised the lift in order to hold the old steps in place. Then I removed the existing four bolts, and lowered the old steps to the ground. Then it was just a matter of reversing the process with the new steps. All of this I did by myself without expanding the steps or removing them. It took a couple of wrenches and in fifty minutes I was done with the installation.

What an amazing difference these steps make.

These steps are not inexpensive, but remember, you really do get what you pay for.  As with everything else, do your research and I think you’ll find this may be a great if not necessary option for your travel trailer.

On a side note, the folks at TorkLift International are amazing. You won’t find a nicer group of people on the planet. They will be there for you if you need them, which is really rare these days. To read more about the TorkLift Glowsteps click here.

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