When we first started thinking about a road trip, our divergent thinking had us considering a fifth-wheel camper. Isn’t that what senior citizens do? In 2025, we will celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary. I’ve joked that it might be time to consider having kids. But on a more serious note, doing something “different” and celebratory seemed appropriate.

So we started our research. The research got interrupted when I spotted a truck for sale on the Internet at our favorite dealer! Then we were driving by the dealer on a different mission and they were cleaning the snow off it. Coincidence or Karma?

Fast-forward a bit: We bought the truck. We’d mentioned our anticipated camper purchase. One of the owners said, “You can rent a lot of hotel rooms for what you’ll pay for a camper.” That started the wheels in my head turning almost as fast as those on our 2017 Ram.

One of the things we liked about the camper idea was that it could be a “turtle house.” Now I am a bit obsessive about efficiency, and the idea of a vacation home on wheels seemed to have a lot of advantages. But so do hotel rooms that require no maintenance but include maid service and breakfast bars.

I did a comparison of several planned trips–one version with a camper, the other at hotels. There truly wasn’t much difference in cost. (Your results may vary–it depends on how you like to travel.) The big financial factor becomes that we’d be paying for the camper even when not using it.

One benefit of simulating our trips was facing the reality that campers mean work. Some experienced fifth wheelers suggest that set up and pack up take at least an hour each. So our travel days would include 5-6 hours of driving, followed by at least an hour of setting up. Then comes supper. The next morning we would spend an hour packing up and repeat the process again.

Our financial advisor loves to remind us that–at our age–the two most important words are “comfort and fun.” Climbing on top of a fifth wheel to sweep off the slide-outs and disconnecting a sewer hookup does not qualify in my book.

The more good news is that we discovered that the Ram is a great travel vehicle and the cap makes it even more so! (More to come about that in “Three to Get Ready.”) The cap that would have to go if we wanted to install a hitch is now a big plus!

I should add that we are experimenting with VRBOs during Road Trip 2024. Oh! Did I mention that we decided not to wait until 2025 to make our big trip? Two for the Show!

One for the money is the start of a children’s nursery rhyme dating back to the 1800’s. “One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go!”