Mike.... Here is an article I wrote for 'On Target Magazine" that addresses just what your are looking at.... Hope it helps......
FROM A SHOOTERS VIEW
By: Dan Thome
This month’s topic: Motel, trailer, or motor home?
A group of us were talking at a shoot last weekend in Crescent City and the subject of where we stay while at a shoot came up. I was asked why I always choose to stay in a motel when I travel to a shoot, rather than buy a trailer, etc. and use it instead. While I have done it both ways, a motel, for me, is the only logical choice given today’s economy. I’ll explain why I feel this way below.
The use of a trailer or motor home definitely has its advantages. It is handy, comfortable, convenient, and is close to the club to use for a getaway if needed. It’s especially nice if your wife travels with you. You can relax with friends that also have them, and many shooters will travel together and “circle the wagons” when they get to a shoot so they can socialize. Most of the shooters that travel this way enjoy it, and, for the most part, have no trouble affording to do so. All this is fine, but, the disadvantages, to me, far outweigh the good points, for the average shooter. A motor home or trailer requires more work and cost than I’m willing to put into it. First, there is the cost of the rig to start with. Then, there is the extra fuel use required to get it to, and from, the shoot, the additional cost for the insurance, the additional cost for licensing, and the additional cost for upkeep on it. Prior to going to a shoot, you must get the trailer ready. Stock it with food, fill the water tank, get the gray water tank ready and filled with chemicals, check the propane tanks, etc. While at a shoot, you cook your own meals which also require you to wash the dishes, etc. This needs to be done every day. When you get home from the shoot, you have to find a dump site for the sewer and flush the tanks, strip the bedding and wash it, clean out the trailer and re-stock it for the next trip. Then, you park it, waiting for the next shoot. While parked, the expenses of owning it continue. If you have a motor home, unless you have a tow rig, you are stuck at the shoot, unable to go anywhere because your rig is set up already. The list goes on.
By using a motel at a shoot, I can drive to a shoot and I know I have a place to stay. I’m not using any extra fuel to get to the shoot by towing a trailer. After the shoot, I’ll socialize with some friends, and maybe eat dinner at the club (no cooking or dishes required). Later, I’ll go to my room and relax. I’ll watch a little TV, wipe down my gun, get things ready for the next day, and, finally curl up in a nice, clean bed with freshly laundered linen (no changing bedding, or making beds for me). In the morning, I will make some coffee with the provided coffee maker, and go take a shower. After the shower, I throw the dirty towels, etc. on the floor, get dressed, and head for the club. If the club offers breakfast, I will eat there (again, no cooking or dishes). After the shoot is over, I will return to the motel to find a totally clean and re-done room waiting for me,
and I can do the whole thing over again. When the shoot is over, I leave the motel, and head for home. I have no concerns over any of the problems that always seemed to plague me while using a trailer.
So how, you ask, does this save money while traveling to a shoot? I stay in a motel approximately 30-40 days a year while at different shoots. At a cost of $50.00 to $60.00 a night in a motel, that adds up to about $1800.00 to $2400.00 per year for lodging. I usually try for a Motel6 if I can find it since I’m just looking for a place to sleep and shower, not a place to live. Using these figures, add up what the cost would be for using a trailer or a motor home. Figure in the extra time and effort it requires to use that trailer or motor home for your shoots. I’m sure you, like me, will soon see the benefits of a motel look better and better.
There is something to say for both when it comes to being comfortable and convenient. Those that like the trailer and motor home life wouldn’t change for anything, and those of us that like the motel route will stick with that as well. All this being said, from a strictly financial viewpoint, in my opinion, the motel is the best value for the average shooter if he is trying to watch his expenses while traveling back and forth to shoots. The choice is yours to make based on your own preferences……..Dan