Let’s talk about RV’s and Wildlife Photography

[TonyDownunder]

This may go against the grain but my wife and I have considered this for some time. Here is where we netted out. A travel trailer and truck to haul it would end up being north of 100,000 USD by the time all was said and done. A Motorhome would be that much or more and we would need to haul an automobile to drive around in once we reached the destination. Saying an average night in a motel is $150, that would be over 650 hotel nights before we broke even without even considering the cost for campgrounds, hookups, maintenance on the trailer or motorhome etc.

We could spend a whole lot of time in motels before ever breaking even. Yes, with motorhomes we may be able to get closer to where we wanted to photograph but in reality, one still has to drive to a trail head and then hike.

Another drawback to the "van life" or "camper life" is how much togetherness can a happily married couple endure and remain happily married?

Leslie and I have been married for 40 years this year. She has her things to do, I have my things to do, and we have our things to do. One of the "our" things is nature and wildlife photography. She is my partner and I cherish every minute on the trail with her. As much as I love her (and I do with all my heart and mind) I'm not sure I would want to spend every waking and sleeping minute with her in a camper or motorhome. I would be afraid she would strangle me in my sleep after a couple months. At the risk of being overly crude, between flatus attacks, bowel movements, snoring (even with CPAP) and various other bodily sounds, I am not the most easy person to live with. I won't talk about her various sounds and smells because we all know wives have none of those issues (or so the ladies will try to convince us).

For these reasons we've decided to drive to our photo destinations, sleep on soft beds, eat in restaurants, and pack picnic lunches and breakfasts for the days afield. We spend 3-5 days per week year around in the field with our cameras. Many of those are within an hour drive from home but several times a year we go on a trip to photograph wildlife and nature. Nature photography is our passion and I'm a fortunate man to have a life partner who shares the same passion as I do.

Hope this helps. I don't want to be "Debbie downer" on this and if it's something you want to do, great, go for it and don't look back. I'm just trying to add a little different perspective.

Jeff (and Leslie).

It is like buying a boat to go fishing. You can buy a lot of fish for the price and running costs of a boat…BUT!

 

[Paul T]

Talk about language differences in the English speaking world. I have just had to translate a number of phrases from American English to Aussie English so I could get my head around what was being spoken about. I am sure it is the same for US citizens when they read/hear Aussie terminology.

Back to the subject at hand. My wife and I generally subscribe to the theory that we can get more bang for the buck by staying in motels/hotels rather than laying out huge dollars on recreational vehicles, with one (for us) very important caveat. Our travels take us to the remotest and most isolated parts of Australia where motels etc are seperated by huge distances.

So some years ago we bit the bullet and purchased a ‘Camper Trailer’ which is basically a tent on wheels, although in this case a very rugged and sophisticated tent on wheels. I think they may be called pop up trailers in the US. It has served us very well over the years. However as we are aging we are now moving to what is a called a hybrid caravan ( travel trailer).

Again a very sophisticated type that will go nearly everywhere our tow vehicle will go. Same width as our tow vehicle (four wheel drive) and only 3.4 metres (11 feet) in length. Also very easy to set up in comparison to the camper trailer.

As for photography and rv’s I know that many of the images I have captured over the years would have been impossible to capture if not for our ability to travel and stay in very remote parts of Oz. I would assume this would be the same for many parts of the world.

 

[PAUL50]

It is like buying a boat to go fishing. You can buy a lot of fish for the price and running costs of a boat…BUT!

That’s funny!

 

[PAUL50]

Life isn't all about saving money.

Would I be buying Nikon if I did?! LOL! Thanks.

 

[PAUL50]

I wasn't singling anyone out or any brands either. lol

LOL! I hear you!

 

[fulltimewanderer]

Everything has pros and cons. We all have different needs a wants. And for the most part we all have the privilege to choose what fills our needs. As we start our 7th year as a full timer I wouldn’t change anything, that said most of us have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Full time RVing is not cheap and not for everyone. Price of RV’s keep going up fuel keeps going up, well I guess everything keeps going up. For me dragging everything in and out of the motel didn’t work. Looking forward to spending the summer in Cody. As for next winter no plans yet, Florida is not a bad place, birding is pretty good. So where ever you call home or where ever your travels take you or how you get there is not really important. Enjoy your life’s destination, keep shooting and take a little time , set the camera down and enjoy the moment.

 

[PAUL50]

Everything has pros and cons. We all have different needs a wants. And for the most part we all have the privilege to choose what fills our needs. As we start our 7th year as a full timer I wouldn’t change anything, that said most of us have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Full time RVing is not cheap and not for everyone. Price of RV’s keep going up fuel keeps going up, well I guess everything keeps going up. For me dragging everything in and out of the motel didn’t work. Looking forward to spending the summer in Cody. As for next winter no plans yet, Florida is not a bad place, birding is pretty good. So where ever you call home or where ever your travels take you or how you get there is not really important. Enjoy your life’s destination, keep shooting and take a little time , set the camera down and enjoy the moment.

Could not agree more!

 

[Anjin San]

It is like buying a boat to go fishing. You can buy a lot of fish for the price and running costs of a boat…BUT!

True enough…and before one buys an RV for occasional use they need to evaluate cost, budget, how much use it will get, disposable income, etc, etc and decide whether it makes good economic sense. Getting one for full time living is another idea entirely…it will get used 24/7/365 so the cost per camping day issue is gone. If you're going to travel 6 months of the year like we did…then doing it via RV is a no brainer compared to living in hotels or something else economically. And part of the deal on "do we want to live full time in an RV" consists of deciding whether to tow a car, use the tow vehicle, or keep a second car…and there are economic pros and cons to all the options. We chose to have both the truck tow vehicle for the 5th wheel as well as a separate car that my wife drove on travel days for a couple reasons…terrible mileage on the truck and really hard to find parking spaces for a dualley truck in a lot of places…Alaska not so much as everybody there practically has a dualley pickup but in other places or in cities parking is an issue for one. Plus the car just rides nicer for when you're not towing the RV…although once we upgraded from the F450 to the RAM 5500HD with air rear suspension the ride in the truck got immeasurably better.

For us…because we wanted to go places and see things…for extended periods of time…the RV made perfect economic sense and although we did have the drawbacks of smaller living space it wasn't something that we really found a downside…lots less to keep clean and no 30 years of junk in the attic to worry about any more.

 

[Anjin San]

Hotels are the least expensive way to travel but even with ones with kitchenettes we end up with many meals in restaurants.

Depends on how long you're staying in them really. You'll be hard pressed to find many hotels for less than $100 these days and then unless you've got a kitchenette style you're dropping another $50 probably per day for 2 people eating out. Compare that to an average of $31.something/day we paid for 8 years and the ability to eat at home except when we chose to go out so eating costs were exactly the same as before we moved into the RV. We actually spent less money to live per year in a paid for RV than we spent to live per year in a mortgage free home in the VA DC suburbs…and we lived better. Ate out at least two nights a week…we like dive bars…as compared to maybe once a week when working before retirement/RV life…and did a whole lot more what we called Fun Stuff© in the RV despite spending less money.

 

[AnnetteJane]

Might not be for everyone, but this is what we settled on because we can really go off road and not limited to trailer parks and such but still have some of the amenities such as power to charge our camera batteries. We will put a roof nest on top of the trailer and actually sleep on top and use the inside bottom as a sitting area in bad weather.
Has awnings that come out and we set up a potable toilet and shower.
https://valiantexp.com/the-xtd

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[fulltimewanderer]

Price of campgrounds is far from “cheap”. Campground that we have been a guest at off and on since the late 80’s just outside the Smokies National Park in Townsend have raised prices late 80’s $25 a night this April will be $95 a night. You can stay inside the park and dry camp(no hook ups) for around $22 a night. We have stayed at the campground at Cades Cove in past for up to17-18 nights normally in October-November. Cades Cove is a very special place for those who haven’t had the opportunity I suggest putting it at the top of your list. A benefit of work camping is normally you will get your site for free. This does vary by campground but even the worst case is still much cheaper than the going rate. Work camping hours vary as do days off. Currently we prefer 30-32 hours a week and 4 days on 3 days off and a fixed schedule so you can plan accordingly. However if you would like a different day off normally you can just trade with another work camper.

 

[Calson]

Where an RV is advantageous is in areas where there are no hotels or even a bed and breakfast place near where one wants to explore and photograph. I am thinking of the limited places to stay around Bosque del Apache where one needs to book 6 months in advance and then drive to where the birds are and then back again in the morning and again in the evening. There are also areas in the west where no tent camping is allowed as there are no public toilet and so the RV must be self-contained.

A 20 foot travel trailer can be purchased on the used market for less than $30,000 and towed with a medium RV or a 1/2 ton pickup. A 17 foot travel trailer fully equipped can be purchased for less than $20,000. A used Class C motorhome with less than 100,000 miles on the odometer can be purchased for less than $80,000. With motorhomes the price is more a function of the year of manufacturer than the number of miles it has been driven and most owners put less than 4000 miles per year on their vehicles.

The pickup with a crew cab provides the most flexibility and I first experienced this when I flew to Calgary in Canada and rented a 4WD 1-ton crew cab pickup with a large slide-in camper. We would put our jackets and photo gear in the rear of the cab where it was fast to grab and be able to park anywhere with the rig. We could take a break and fix a meal and review our pictures while sitting at the dinette area and then continue with our explorations. The advantage of the travel trailer is that it is a much simpler setup and the cost per square foot of space is far less than for a motorhome. And when not traveling the SUV or pickup can be used the remainder of the year.

We prefer staying at hotels or small inns to being in any RV but we much prefer fixing our own food to eating at restaurants in small towns where we travel. It is why we look for extended stay type hotels where there is a fridge and stove and microwave and coffee maker so we can cook our own meals.

A tip for us has been switching our credit cards to get points with affiliated hotel chains instead of the airlines. 90% of the time we do not pay for the hotel room and get an upgrade to concierge level as well. And there are no issues as with airlines where the special seats are allocated and seldom available for our trips.

 

[Abinoone]

Im headed to Florida Friday to shoot for 7 days and in the middle of the week we are going to stop by for a day or two at the Tampa RV show.

I’ve been doing more and more photography over the years but traveling and doing photography has been difficult. Having two dogs one of which who is 95% blind and requires medicine 4 times a day makes life a little more challenging.

I’m fortunate to have had a work from home job for the last 20 years and continue to have this luxury. My spouse is a homemaker and we have no kids.

This gives us flexibility to be more mobile than most with the exception of our dogs. We have even talked about selling our home and going full time RV life but I’m a long ways from willing to make that commitment. What I do find appealing is being able to take week long trips to say the coast of TX in the winter, few weeks in Yellowstone, maybe a month or so in FL during the winter and the ultimate dream would be spend most of a year slowly working our way from TX to Alaska doing photography along the way.

In todays world if I can have cell service and internet most of the time I can have a pretty cool work life balance. Add with unlimited vacation time I’ve got some flexibility to travel with my spouse and dogs and see and do some cool things while still earning a living.

I don’t know if we want small that can be towed by most large SUV or something larger needing an HD truck. Also considering a class A and tow a car.

One hiccup is longer trips I could see wanting more space but that comes with the inability to park inside Yellowstone for example and just a little more difficult to travel when compared to smaller more nimble rigs. A side note I know dogs can’t go inside Yellowstone and I’m guessing that might be the case for some national parks so that does change things a bit.

So with all that being said do any of you use RV’s? If so do you use it as an ability to do more photography? Do you use it just for vacation or are you working from it as well?

I look forward to any guidance you can provide.

I've heard that Cousin Eddie's camper is for sale. With a little elbow grease, it'll probably buff right out

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[fulltimewanderer]

Everything has good and bad. Our pop-up was pulled with a full size van. Van was convenient if stopping for a night and didn’t want the setup the pop up. Pop up wasn’t great in bad weather, required additional means of refrigeration, not the most secure. First 5th wheel was towed with a 1/2 extended cab pickup, pretty easy to get around. Second and third 5th wheels were towed with 1 ton dually’s crew cabs not so easy to get around or trying to park inside a National Park. 5th wheels had pretty much all the creature comfort’s of home, each one got bigger and heavier than the previous. Now just moved into our first motorhome, Pull a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind the motorhome. So far I’d have to say it’s the worst fuel mileage of anything we’ve owned, but Jeep will do better than any of the trucks. Jeep will ride better than the trucks did and will be easier to get around in. Without getting into all the details, everything has pros and cons. It all comes down to research to the best of your abilities and whatever you choose, enjoy it. Just like Sony, Canon, Nikon enjoy your choice they all are awesome.

 

[Anjin San]

Price of campgrounds is far from “cheap”.

CGs right outside or in highly popular NPs can get expensive…but in the long run campgrounds aren't expensive…we averaged $31.something per night for our 8 years of full timing and that's considerably cheaper than hotels would be. As I said in another reply…an RV for a few weekends or a few weeks a year won't pay for itself…but it might be worth it to a person for the other benefits like having your stuff, your bed, and not having to eat every meal out. Recreational RV usage is quite different than living in one full time…one is vacation and one is life…one means you're still paying for a house (sticks and bricks as RVers would call them) and one *is* your house. There are drawbacks of living in one…and there are really nice points as well.

 

[fulltimewanderer]

Since Covid (and actually a little before) RV sales have been through the roof. As a result prices of RV’s, campgrounds, and accessories are all up. We never gave much thought finding a campground for a one night stay when traveling, doesn’t hold true any longer. A campground that we recently worked at would not have taken down the “No Vacancy” sign from May 1st through mid September if it wasn’t for the inner state being closed on several occasions.