Why an RV?
We’re all about saving money!
You will be surprised at how much it costs to travel as a missionary family!
Hotels
As a family of 6, we require two rooms (or a suite). Even the least expensive room will be at least $100/night, so a week on the road in hotels will cost us at least $1,000.
That’s way more than a truck and trailer payment combined. And that’s just one week that someone is paying for.
Of course staying in mission housing is a huge blessing, but it’s not always available, and as wonderful as many churches’ accommodations are, we’d love to have the same bed every night.
Meals
When you travel in a van, you have to eat out a lot more. That’s not only expensive, but it’s bad for our health.
With an RV, we can take a break and cook a simple meal, saving thousands of dollars over the course of our travels.
Being able to bulk shop and freeze food will also save us a bundle. We have already experienced living in an RV, so we can economize and maximize our efficiency.
Security
Most people will never know what it’s like to not have a home to go back to. Traveling full time in a van means a different bed every night, constant instability for our children, and unfamiliar surroundings every day.
With an RV, no matter where we park, we’re in the same beds, with stability and normality for our kids. You can’t put a price on that.
Isn’t an RV pretty luxurious?
Living in an RV is great…for a week or two. Then it gets small and cramped. Kids get underfoot. dirty laundry is everywhere. You have no place to put all your stuff. Then it rains and everyone has to stay inside and it really starts feeling small.
Don’t get us wrong: we’re excited about the RV aspect of our furlough. It’s just not the lap of luxury you might imagine.
Also remember that missionaries traveling to visit churches don’t have a house to go home to. The RV is their house. And a $30-50k RV isn’t too crazy when you think of housing prices these days. (Photos for reference only; we’re still planning our travel.)
Why not a motorhome?
Great question! Some families travel in a motorhome, whether a Class A (coach) or a Class C (Econoline or similar). These can be great options for some people, but…
…if you have an engine problem in your pickup truck, you can park the trailer and get the truck fixed. But if you have an engine problem in the motorhome, your entire house has to go into the shop, and then you’re left without a place to stay.
Both for this reason and based on our personal experiences on deputation and furlough, we are looking to travel in a travel trailer or (ideally) a fifth wheel and truck.
Travel expenses
Visiting churches and raising support is costly. Here’s a rough guesstimate of some expenses without an RV to help us reduce our costs:
Hotels (without an RV)
$45,000
Minimum, over the course of a year! Hopefully we can avoid all this cost by getting an RV! This would easily buy a nice fifth wheel.
Meal costs per day:
$300
Average meal cost eating out, family of 6. Most of this can be avoided with an RV and buying groceries.
Making it happen
Humanly speaking, here are the options.
Financing
Financing a pickup and RV will be costly, but with the LORD’s blessing and your help, we can swing it. Any help toward down payments or even paying it in full would be greatly appreciated. You can earmark any donations to our church with “Chile RV”.
Borrowing
If someone has an RV and/or pickup truck that they have but don’t use, maybe we could take over payments. We’d love to discuss it. We’re hoping for an arrangement that would allow us to use the RV for the entire length of the furlough.
Stealing
Just kidding! We’re trusting the LORD to make a way for us to visit all our churches and prepare for the future. If we’re able to purchase our own RV, then we’ll have a way to travel during future furloughs and other stateside visits.