fundraising battledress: Families Stress 'Family Time' on RV Vacations

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Families Stress 'Family Time' on RV Vacations | RV Business

For Kirk Wong of southwest Washington, there?s only one way to travel: He loads up his 37-foot motor home with two kids, four bikes, two dogs and a tortoise, and he and his wife Andrea take off for some much-needed, uninterrupted family time.

?In our house we?re always scattered and our schedules have us running,? Wong said in an article for MSNBC. ?But in the RV, this time is invaluable. The boys take turns sitting next to me when I drive, we talk. For me, it?s never about the destination; it really is about the journey.?

Suzi and Jason Jewett of Forest Grove, Ore., hail the benefits of traveling with their 29-foot pull-behind trailer this way: ?It drives family time,? she said. ?We actually sit down together and we can play board games for hours.?

More than 30 million Americans travel by RV. Despite high fuel prices, this number seems to be on the rise, with more families realizing a surefire way to spend time together and enjoy nature in a comfy home on wheels.

Brent Peterson, author of ?The Complete Idiot?s Guide to RVing? (the third edition was just published), cites another reason for the rise.

?Air travel is becoming uncomfortable and expensive enough that it?s pushing more people into RVing,? he said. ?RVing has grown through hard economic times, and if done right, it can be economical.?

MSNBC reported that many young families, he said, start by pulling a pop-up trailer and then move up to bigger RVs as their needs grow. By seeking out $30 campgrounds, fixing your own meals, and traveling at times of lower fuel prices, families can enjoy cheaper trips than had they flown, stayed in hotels and eaten out every meal.

?I don?t have the ability to save money when I?m traveling without my RV because I have to stay in a hotel, buy meals and pay for every little thing,? Peterson said. ?Traveling by RV gives you choices.?

And it is the choice that appeals to the Wong and Jewett families, too. The Wongs, who this summer plan to take weekend trips to the Oregon coast and a bigger trek to Yosemite National Park in August, like that they don?t need a travel agenda.

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