The Economics of Owning a Small Travel Trailer
If you’re like me, you probably want to stay in a nice place when travelling. A place that is both clean and comfortable and located in a desirable location. And, the lodging cost must not be exorbitantly expensive. Everyone has different standards regarding what is an acceptable accommodation, and this will greatly determine the outcome of a cost comparison between buying a small travel trailer vs. staying in a hotel when travelling. For people who don’t mind staying in inexpensive motels and whose main objective is to save money (and perhaps don’t desire or appreciate the experiences and beauty of staying right inside a National or State Park or are not concerned about bed bugs), buying a small travel trailer may not make economic sense. But, for many, the case for buying a small travel trailer is compelling.
A lot of people who own small travel trailers likely don’t purchase one with the sole purpose of saving money. They like the freedom of having their own home on wheels they can take with them whenever they get the desire to travel. And they enjoy the comfort a small travel trailer provides — having a small travel trailer means the interior can be tailored to the owner’s preferences, including colors, deluxe bedding and personalized amenities (like shampoos, gourmet food, etc.). And, there are far fewer concerns about germs since everything in your space is yours! This is especially true during the pandemic. For us, the main reason we decided to buy a small travel trailer is so that we could stay in the midst of beautiful State and National Parks (where it would be almost impossible, extremely expensive or uncomfortable to stay otherwise).
The average rate at a Hilton hotel in the U.S. last year was around $145 / night and slightly over $200 / night at a Marriott. And, rates at hotels within National Parks are often much higher. For example, as of this writing, the rate at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite for June 2021 starts at $341 / night (and goes up to $1,302 / night). Lodging rates in larger popular cities, such as San Francisco, also tend to be particularly high. In contrast, campsite rates at State and National Parks are typically $45 or less / night. It is important to note that there is often rate inflation, annually pushing nightly hotel rates continually higher year after year. In contrast, once you buy your small travel trailer, the only rate inflation you may experience will be the campground fees (which generally are very low). And, after spending a night at a hotel, you’ve spent your money and walk away (just carrying away the experience). In contrast, at the end of your trip staying in your small travel trailer, you get to drive it home and use it again and again! And, interestingly, small fiberglass travel trailers like the Scamp, typically hold their value very well over time so you shouldn’t experience significant depreciation either.
Because everyone’s situation is different (e.g. hotel preference, RV preference, number of people travelling, type of tow vehicle, food preference, # of days travelling….), it would be very superficial to draw a specific exact numerical conclusion on the cost savings which may be achieved by travelling by small travel trailer. But, in general, the savings tend to be significant because nightly rates at campgrounds are usually significantly less than at hotels and food can be brought along and prepared in the trailer vs. paying a premium at restaurants. However, there are some considerations that may make travelling by small travel trailer more expensive or less desirable. For example, if a tow vehicle is not already owned, this could be a significant expense. Also, driving long distances each day can significantly raise the cost of a driving trip due to fuel costs. Additionally, buying a more expensive small travel trailer (e.g. Airstream) or paying a lot to rent one can eliminate any cost savings as well. And, some people may just prefer hotels and eating out at restaurants despite higher costs. And, in some situations, hotels may be better situated for a specific location preference.
Having just completed our first year owning our 2020 Scamp 13’ small travel trailer — spending 31 nights during 6 trips and visiting 22 locations – our experience has been extremely positive and economically sound. We paid about $18K for our almost fully loaded Scamp (with wider 54” bed and front bathroom), including the $2,195 delivery charge (driven from the Scamp factory in Backus, Minnesota to our home in San Diego, California). We store our Scamp in our garage, so there are no storage costs. We pay less than $400 / year for travel trailer insurance. California PTI registration (for travel trailers 16’ or less) is only $10 every 5 years! Maintenance costs on small travel trailers are extremely low. Our campground stays for the year averaged around $33 / night for a total of just over $1K for our first year (31 nights) of travelling in our Scamp 13’. One contributing factor to this low rate is that a number of stay overs were for free at either relative’s homes or Harvest Hosts or Boondockers Welcome sites. We also brought our own food along for all our trips or had meals with relatives at their homes. If we had stayed in hotels for the 31 nights and purchased meals each day, we probably would have conservatively spent around $200 / night or over $6K for our first year [31 nights x ($150 / night + $50 / meals / day for 2 people)]. So, in our case, based on our first year of travel, we saved roughly $5K in one year by owning a small travel trailer, which is almost 30% the cost of the trailer in savings. It’s easy to see, that if one purchases a reasonably priced small travel trailer (<$20K), it will likely pay for itself in just a few years of travel if used regularly.
We’ve found the benefits of owning and travelling with a small travel trailer go way beyond economic. We’ve been able to experience exquisitely beautiful locations in a variety of different settings in State and National Parks over the past year (see our Adventures section). Despite what is regularly reported in the news, we did not experience crowds at the campgrounds we’ve visited. We did have some difficulty in finding open campgrounds at the last minute, but always found alternative available locations. The campsites have usually been extremely quiet. And, we have not missed the typical noises coming from behind a hotel room wall, sheet inspections of a hotel room bed, being very hygienically careful in hotel bathrooms or wondering about food safety when eating out. It’s been great waking up in nature and making pancakes on our stove or meeting up with friends also staying at the campground for a hike. Watching a movie at a remote location is also a special treat (see How to Watch Movies in the Wild). We’ve also enjoyed staying over in relatives’ driveways to visit as well as free stay overs at farms (Harvest Hosts / Boondockers Welcome). Lastly, we’ve made a number of friends who we never would have met without staying in campgrounds.
Owning a small travel trailer can not only be an economic win as a travelling solution, but may also provide unexpected social, culinary, fitness, and soul filling opportunities along the way. Highly recommended!
Disclaimer: You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale. These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences. However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer. It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly.
