re: Do RVs ever wind up paying themselves off?

A mere 3 million for this baby

At a certain point, sleeping on the dirt is just not easy as you get old

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Do RVs ever wind up paying themselves off?

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Maybe if you are running a high priced mobile prostitution gimmick.

On the other hand, have you considered the cost of owning and operating a boat of comparable value?

This week I will turnover to a consignment sales group, our 11 year old 30 foot Georgetown motor home. We put 65000 miles on it in the western United States, making two round trips to Alaska and eight trips through Montana, Idaho , Utah, etc. To see the west, you have to have 4-5 months a year and camp out in the national forests. The big windshield and large western views cannot be done any other way.
To utilize a motor home, you do have to be a competent mechanic/electrician. It's a complex system that shakes and vibrates going down the highway. Georgetown also used cheap materials that required maintenance.
My monthly cost over the 11 years was about 700 dollars. And I would do it again. The western US has many things to experience

add on..........Our most enjoyable trip was going up the haul road to prudhoe bay in Alaska. Well above the arctic circle- no nights sun never set. Camped out on stream beds, no campgrounds. The Alyeska pipe line folks would stop and introduce themselves and offer help as needed. We drove over atigun pass, remember ice road truckers. Got pictures of the artillery used to drop avalanches. Rentals will not let you go there.

This place looks nice

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Hotel rooms, eating out for every meal, depending on rest stops and gas station bathrooms for travel vs towing your own bedroom, kitchen and bathroom (all likely much cleaner than random hotel rooms) behind you and spending much less per night at campgrounds. If you have kids, especially young ones, keeping them contained in the camper while stopped for lunch can relieve some stress on mom. Having your kitchen and fridge with you makes it a lot cheaper than eating out every meal. Waking up in the woods at campgrounds is a lot nicer than a random hotel room. The economics depend on how much you use it. If you’ve committed the money to owning the camper, you’ve got motivation to use it as much as you can. Every destination will likely have a rv park or campground nearby. You’ve already bought the camper; nightly charges, towing fuel and free time are all you need to go anywhere. You’ve got to be a little handy doing small repairs, maintenance, etc. or you’ll have to spend to pay someone else to do that work for you.

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You are a regretful owner that still hasn't reached the acceptance phase in the RV purchase cycle.

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My monthly cost over the 11 years was about 700 dollars. And I would do it again. The western US has many things to experience

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I know it’s no where near the same, but for a poor baw, wouldn’t a truck bed camper suffice for two? If you get a really nice one. Especially if you already have the truck. Might do that when I retire instead of dropping 200k.

Not only no, but hell no. Everytime you think you save money by not paying for a hotel, cabin, etc you wind up with a repair bill of some kind.

Why does everything have to be an investment? I don’t buy a car thinking it’s going to make me rich. RVs should only be bought to have fun.

We use ours to go back and forth between Florida and Montana, to visit family and friends around the country, and to travel when we feel like it. I'd never give it up to go back to hotels and guest rooms. You can't put a price on having your own home when you stop at rest areas and gas stations or when visiting your in-laws.

I'd also never want to see the national parks and BLM land out west from a hotel.