Timeshare or RV? Which gives you more value?

[Djette1]

Originally Posted by jrobe

The best value of all is a hotel. There is no up front purchase, no commitment, no maintenance, no insurance, no storage, complete flexility, etc etc etc..

...and no fun!

[adriandieleman]

How about a time-share RV?

[Rocketman53]

Originally Posted by Djette1

...and no fun!

To each his own...of course, in a Class B you can always just pull over at Walmart!

[SeabeckStan]

For us it has been "all of the above". And I fully agree that the answer is how you use it. We have a Roadtrek that we bought four years ago and love it. We like to boondock as well as stay in RV parks. Depends on where we are and what we want to do. But we also have points in Disney Vacation Club for visiting Disney World every other year. Orlando is just too far from Washington state to drive there every year. We also own two weeks every other year on Maui and love it there. But you just can't drive to Maui from here!

We bought our RT used to get the best bang for the buck. With DVC we bought on the resale market for the best price; you have absolutely NO trouble unloading DVC when you're done with it. And Maui? I found two one-week deals for $1 each. Just paid closing costs. I might pay a little more - say $500 for something I really want, but so far haven't had to. And never ever buy a timeshare new!

[VaVet962]

A timeshare holds no value for me - just the hassles of a limited time (typically a week or two a year) and annually increasing fees I have no control over. For us it’s a timing issue. We will travel in our Class B as long as our health holds up - usually 6 - 7 months per year. Then we’ll likely buy a condo on one of our favorite Florida beaches.

[NFRicaS]

Originally Posted by jrobe

The best value of all is a hotel. There is no up front purchase, no commitment, no maintenance, no insurance, no storage, complete flexility, etc etc etc..

As a widowed woman who travels alone, I feel MUCH safer in my Class B...I do not trust safety in Hotels, plus lugging my stuff in and out (often multiple trips to car and back) is a pain, plus I always leave something in a hotel..My B just works all the way around!! All my stuff in place, quiet, comfy, AND I know who/what has been in/on my sheets!! 🤮

[mrshowtime3]

Timeshares are a remnant of a different time. They make zero sense now. Lawyers specialize in helping people get out of those things for a reason. Think theres like 5% satisfaction among people who bought into one. Go hotel or AirBnB.

You can get a lot of nights of hotels or AirBnb for the cost of a lot of these new vans. Ive gotten more interested in the micro campers. Easy daily driver. Can camp a night or two if you find a great BLM spot. Low cost to own. Easy to fit in AirBnBs since some driveways can be tight.

Unless you are full timing or close to it I have a hard time saying spending crazy money on a RV is worth it for most people. Spending on a RV and then still paying for campgrounds every night is the real head scratcher.

[Davydd]

Has anyone been reading the Sally Forth comic strip? The Forth's Sally and Ted are borrowing their neighbor's Class C RV. Why the neighbor lent it is a mystery but I guess the writer of the strip never intended for the Forth's to continue RVing after this summer. It is a cliche of adventures for first time RVers. You might want to equate that to borrowing, renting or time share adventures.

[RossWilliams]

The best value is probably a tent.

It seems to me that the wide range or RV's and timeshares makes a generic answer the question of value almost impossible. If you want to spend a couple weeks in the same warm spot once a year, then the timeshare is almost certainly a better value than buying an RV for that purpose. If you want to spend several months, you might do better with an RV. If you want to travel to a wide range of places the RV is probably a better choice, although some timeshares make swapping so easy that you can basically used them like personal hotel chain. Value here is really a personal choice.

[Rocketman53]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Has anyone been reading the Sally Forth comic strip?

Where can you find comic strips these days. Most daily newspapers won't even line a bird cage these days. Even Sundays are iffy on that count.

[RossWilliams]

Where can you find comic strips these days

I don't think there is much reason to get a daily newspaper UNLESS it has comics. The Duluth MN Tribune has daily and sunday comics, including Sally Forth.

Current story line is they are going camping for the first time in a borrowed (Class C) RV. Today was backing into a campsite, humorous if it wasn't so realistic. I especially liked the kid asking "Why are we BACKING in?" The answer, to make it easier to pull out, has always struck me as slightly absurd.

[avanti]

Here you go:

https://www.comicskingdom.com/sally-forth

[danielewilderman]

Like a lot of things, “it depends”.
1. How much do you expect (can afford) to budget for vacations each year?
2. Any travel issues, including money and health?
3. Domestic or foreign travel preferred?
4. Are you the sort of person who prefers the comfort/convenience of going to the same vacation location almost every year?
5. Don’t think of Disney Timeshares as typical, most are not an asset at all, just a kind of expense to budget for for vacations. The hope of selling and getting anything significant back is rarely realistic.
6. Are you a plan ahead kind of person? Planning 6 months to a year ahead is simply necessary to timeshare “success”. if you need to be able to just go on the spur of the moment, a timeshare will probably not do it for you.
7. My wife and I own a timeshare and a class B. Cost of timeshare is over $1000 per year, not counting travel, food, etc. - and it is basically a use it or lose it deal. Renting out your time share is pretty dicy at best, and will not normally even cover your owner fees, only reduce them (net).
8. With regard to our class B, our case is atypical: for health reasons my wife really can’t travel commercial or by car. Therefore we use our class B as our sole vehicle, and don’t store it between trips. However, since we are retired (no commute) our vehicle cost of ownership isn’t much more than a regular full size car, especially since our total miles per year is only around 10K. Depreciation doesn’t matter unless you sell. We don’t plan to sell anytime soon. i.e. - everybody is different.

[Davydd]

I delivered newspapers since I was 8 years old and have a longtime association through my teens and my muscle memory is automatic that I can still fold and toss a paper. I had trouble reading until I was 8 years old and learned more by reading my product than school.

I now subscribe to a facsimile print edition to two newspapers, the Minneapolis StarTribune and the Washington Post. Not paper anymore but I prefer browsing that way. Comic strips are still going strong and I kind of think of them as the dessert at the end of the paper. My cousin in-law, Bill Hinds, draws Tank MacNamara and Cleats. I especially like Cleats, about kids athletics, as he gives characters names of family members I easily recognize. Georgie, spelled with an e, is the blonde adult. That was my mother's name.

[Rocketman53]

Like anything, it's your money to spend however you like. One can rationalize for weeks the pros and cons. In many ways it's a false choice - like comparing motorcycles to autos. RVs and Time Shares are both generally vacation choices, neither of which is inexpensive to buy and maintain. Motorcycles and cars are both vehicles, both require a fair amount of "investment". In either case, one or the other (maybe both) is generally superfluous in the big scheme of life. None of the four things would fairly qualify as an investment. Now, which gives you more "value"? The answer is more than dollars and cents. As others said, it depends on a number of personal variables.

It's your money. Have at it.

[Rocketman53]

Originally Posted by Davydd

... my muscle memory is automatic that I can still fold and toss a paper.

I'm sure there are several "paperboys" out here. I can still sub, level and stack the Sunday papers, I think. Balance those heavy, full bags on a bike, and ride. Sadly, those days are long gone, like pick-up ball games and riding a bike around the neighborhood without a helmet (or much parental supervision).

Originally Posted by Davydd

I now subscribe to a facsimile print edition to two newspapers, the Minneapolis StarTribune and the Washington Post. Not paper anymore but I prefer browsing that way.

Reading the afternoon paper was a ritual. Today, it's not. The electronic versions run 24/7, with new stories and revisions posted around the clock. The dead tree editions are about dead in many places, modern buggy whips. Reportage vastly shrunken, with some apparent slippage, especially locally.

And such is life.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Rocketman53

...and riding a bike around the neighborhood without a helmet.

"That's one I happen to agree with."
--Groundhog Day.

[danielewilderman]

With all due respect, if the discussion is about the merits (or not) of newpapers, please change the header.

[Rocketman53]

Originally Posted by danielewilderman

With all due respect, if the discussion is about the merits (or not) of newpapers, please change the header.

With all due respect...duly noted.

[Kaypay]

Originally Posted by jrobe

The best value of all is a hotel. There is no up front purchase, no commitment, no maintenance, no insurance, no storage, complete flexility, etc etc etc..

Quite true but with my RV I know there are no bugs and I know who slept in the bed last night and when the sheets were changed last and when the toilet was cleaned.