MOBY introduces an article written by a writer who actually enjoys staying in the car and camping car from the web magazine DRIMO, which distributes information on camping, staying in the car, van life, outdoor & car trips, including camping car information. To do. *The contents of the following article are quotes and references from DRIMO
Considering only the cost aspect, it is a “loss”, but why do you still want to buy a camper
If you only consider the money side, you shouldn’t buy a camper… but I bought a camper.
From here, I would like to touch on the reasons why I was inclined to purchase.
It can be said that being able to use it anytime you like is the lifeline of purchasing a camper
When discussing the goodness of a camper, the word “freedom” almost always appears.
This means that if you have a camper, you can spend time with your loved ones at any time and place. However, the advantage is that it is possible to respond even if you suddenly get a day off.
The “freedom” here refers to the “high degree of freedom” in using a camper, but in another sense, renting a camper is the good thing about a camper, which is the “freedom”. You may lose it.
Rental is an overwhelmingly cost-effective way to use a camper in terms of low cost and low expenditure due to not owning it. It has both aspects.
Rentals must be reserved in advance. If you need to make a reservation in advance, the possibility of being able to rent the car you want is very limited in situations where “tomorrow or the day after tomorrow suddenly becomes a consecutive holiday”.
If it is a weekend or consecutive holidays when many people want to use it, or if it is a high season such as summer vacation, it will be hopeless to suddenly rent the car you want.
Furthermore, even if you can rent one, the rental fee is often higher on weekends and during high season, so you have to be prepared for the cost burden to be higher than usual even for the same 1-2 night camp. Hmm.
“I gave up because the forecast was for rain, but the weather suddenly improved, so I want to go out tomorrow.” I can handle such a sudden schedule without any problems if I own it myself.
In terms of being able to make use of the “freedom” that is a major feature of a camper without losing it, “purchasing and owning” is definitely worth it.
Even if you suddenly want to go out, if you have a self-owned camper that is always equipped with the minimum camping equipment, you can take food, a change of clothes, and toiletries, and then start the engine and you are ready to go.
I think this is the biggest merit of self-owning a camper even if you push the cost burden.
The important thing is that you can go out whenever you want.
You can create your own outdoor style
Another thing, if there is a point in “buying and owning”, it will be the aspect of remodeling and customizing.
It’s a strange thing, but cars are something that makes you want to touch them for some reason, but the more you touch them, the more you become attached to them, and the more you want to touch them… the same is true for campers.
Moreover, it is quite natural that a camper, which spends more time in the car than other passenger cars, wants to make the living space comfortable.
For example, people who like to stay in the car, which is popular now, want to enjoy not only sleeping but also all of their “life” such as cooking and eating inside the car. Well, I’m trying to create a space with a distance from the outside (just my impression).
There are storage compartments under the bed and built-in storage shelves in the car, so many people always have tools and tools ready to go out to enjoy sleeping in the car at any time.
Each person modifies or customizes according to their own tastes and outdoor style, but I think that being able to enjoy the “modification” and “customization” itself is one of the attractions of the camper.
The author also used the camper all the time, saying, “Where should we go with the camper?” I’m thinking about camping and making campers more comfortable, which is also fun.
However, of course, you cannot attach curtains or change the color of the rental camper without permission.
The same is true for car sharing between individuals, and it is not permissible to modify or customize a car as you like without the owner’s permission.
The point of high personal satisfaction around that seems to be a weak point of rental.
Expectations as a tool to maintain life in emergencies such as disasters
I’m not sure if everyone who buys a camper is aware of this, but at least the author positions the camper as an important piece of how to survive the few days immediately after a disaster strikes.
If you manage to survive when a disaster strikes, you have to survive on your own for several days until rescue and relief arrives.
In that case, if you have a camper, you will be able to at least have a bed where you can stretch out and rest, as well as food and water that you always have, and you will be more likely to get through the first few days.
Considering the economy class syndrome, it is very important to stretch your arms and legs and rest, and you can supply power with the on-board sub-battery, and you can quench your hunger and thirst with stock cup noodles, retort food, drinking water, etc. maybe you can.
Of course, having a camper doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be saved, but I still appreciate the camper as my own preparation.
Time to think about with corona
Now, I have to be a little cautious about “borrowing someone else’s things” and “letting them use it”, not just for campers.
The recent increase in the number of people infected with the corona virus is frightening, but most people no longer think that it will be okay if they just listen to what the government, local governments, and the media say.
Under such circumstances, I am worried about the risk of corona infection by renting a camper.
It is important to fully check the response of the rental company and car share owner to the coronavirus before renting out.
In the with corona era, there are parts where you can’t help but be a little nervous about lending and borrowing things, and depending on your way of thinking, you may be more inclined to “buy” than “borrow”.
Advice when actually buying a camper
There are things you don’t know until you buy a camper.
Regardless of the good or bad aspects, there are many things that are different from what was assumed before purchase.
Here, I would like to tell you what I found out after actually buying it.
The style of the camper varies depending on your outdoor style
Camping cars come in a variety of shapes and contents, from simple specifications such as a commercial van with a bed attached, to luxurious full-scale motor homes.
Of course, everyone tends to think that if the price is the same, it’s better to have a lot of equipment and luxury, but I don’t think that’s the case with campers.
Simply put, equipment that is not used, no matter how luxurious it is, is nothing more than a “useless item”.
For example, if I talk about it, there is only a seat that can unfold the bed, a 1500W sub-battery, a ventilation fan, and a refrigerator, and there is no built-in cupboard, storage, water supply, sink, shower head, stove, or IH heater.
It looks really simple and cheap, so it tends to be seen as a poor man’s camper, but it’s completely different.
My camping style is “playing outside” and “mealing outside”, so I sort my tools into containers according to their use and unload them when I arrive at the campsite. So if you store your tools in the built-in cupboard, you don’t need a cupboard because it takes extra effort to retrieve them.
Similarly, all meals are cooked and eaten outdoors, so there is no need for a kitchen with plumbing, sinks, and heaters inside the car.
Of course, the price is cheaper because there is no such equipment, but it is not a choice because it is cheap, but a choice not to waste money by adding unnecessary things. It’s similar, but it’s a little different.
In other words, the more equipment a camper is, the more luxurious and expensive it is, the more it will not necessarily work positively for your outdoor activities.
Your outdoor style and what kind of camping you want to do are important, so I think you should choose a camper that suits you, not price or equipment.
A new car has the goodness of a new car, a used car has the goodness of a used car
When you buy a camper, do you assume only a new car?
I bought a used car. There are three reasons.
1. Cheap price for the same grade and equipment
Low prices are an important factor in purchasing an expensive camper. However, whether or not the desired equipment is attached, or whether additional equipment is possible, depends on luck.
2. Immediate delivery possible
This condition is one of the big reasons why I chose a used car. In my case, I ordered an additional external power supply connection, so it took some time to work on it, but it was basically “immediate delivery”. I was told that if I purchased a new car with the same specifications, I would have to wait half a year, so the immediate delivery used car was a big attraction.
3. Can be used without hesitation
The shock of scratching or scratching a new car for the first time is considerable (laughs).
But if it’s a used car, it already has one or two scratches in the first place, so I don’t mind if there’s one more small scratch (depending on the person). From the beginning of the purchase, the author intended to rent out the car through car sharing between individuals, so there is an aspect that he chose a used car.
I thought I could rent it out with a generous feeling.
According to what I hear, in addition to the recent camping boom, camping car boom, and sleeping in the car boom, orders have increased in the first place. It seems that the delivery time for orders is more than a year.
If the car is in good condition and is in a satisfactory condition, how about considering a used car?
Can Peer-to-peer Car Sharing Help Pay for Households at the Time of Purchase?
If you become a camper owner yourself, you can use it as a landlord instead of a lessee.
Based on my experience as a registered car sharing service, car sharing between individuals takes the form of joint ownership and is not for profit, so the rental fee is not as high as I thought.
In addition, since you pay a commission to the service provider, the actual amount you receive is surprisingly small. However, it is still a big merit that you can reduce the loan payment amount a little.
It’s difficult to make money from it, but if your weekends are weekdays, you may be able to make a certain amount of profit if you can rent it out every weekend when you don’t use it yourself.
If you think about cost performance, it’s a rental, but…
If judging only by the financial burden on the family budget, unless the camper is used very frequently, rentals and car sharing between individuals are better. If you buy it, it may be quite difficult to get the approval of your family on the cost side.
But there’s a priceless appeal to campervans, and it’s an exhilarating, exciting feeling.
In addition, considering the times of disasters and the era of with corona, I feel that “purchasing and owning” can demonstrate its goodness.
Writer: Enjoy Camper
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