Another Exciting Episode in Audrey's Great RV Adventure

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd This is what 40,000 miles looked to us... well the "lodging" cost anyway. We stayed at friends and relatives for a number of nights (e.g., two weeks in Annapolis MD and 1½ weeks in Pittsburg PA). There were a few multi-night stays in here that are not obvious (none over three nights). The most we paid was in Key West FL and Jackson WY.

Wow Ron - that's a lot of KOAs!

Audrey

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Wow Ron - that's a lot of KOAs!

Yeah, after a busy day we are not inclined to risk ending up at a "dump." We have found the use of a "franchise" to be in our best interests since the quality is, if nothing else, consistent across the chain. (We, actually, learned that from many years of hotel stays.) In any event, $30 a night is still a long ways from the $100 plus stay at a hotel.

Staying at KOA does have several perks for us, however. We have a "VIP" card that assures we are treated very well -- in fact, I am amazed by how much. We also have (last I looked) four "free stays" built up in our account.

But, you are correct. If we were not "Travelers," KOA (Keep On Adding) would not be in the cards.

That spreadsheet, BTW, is the first step in creating a map(s) from your suggestion.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Yeah, after a busy day we are not inclined to risk ending up at a "dump." We have found the use of a "franchise" to be in our best interests since the quality is, if nothing else, consistent across the chain. (We, actually, learned that from many years of hotel stays.) In any event, $30 a night is still a long ways from the $100 plus stay at a hotel. Staying at KOA does have several perks for us, however. We have a "VIP" card that assures we are treated very well -- in fact, I am amazed by how much. We also have (last I looked) four "free stays" built up in our account. But, you are correct. If we were not "Travelers," KOA (Keep On Adding) would not be in the cards. That spreadsheet, BTW, is the first step in creating a map(s) from your suggestion.

Here's how we avoid staying at a "dump": RV Park Reviews and "The Big Rig Directory" really helps us when we are in travel mode.

We have stayed at several decent KOAs and a few of them are definite returns. But even with all our wandering I would say we don't stay KOAs that often, mainly because for a given area there seem to usually be a better option. RV Park Reviews reviews are pretty hard on KOAs!

I recommend the Crescent City KOA near Crescent City CA - lovely spot with redwoods on site! We've often stopped at the one 10 miles north of Carlsbad in New Mexico - it's convenient to crossing NM, and has great birding. Most of the others are pretty forgettable and often downright yucky near major urban areas.

Audrey

[NW-Bound]

I certainly have given a wrong impression as being too calculating in a recreation activity and taking away a lot of the fun. But really, I never keep close track of expenses, and would not know how much we pay for RE taxes, insurance, car expenses, etc... That's my wife/secretary's job.

The reason for my apparent indecision is that I see the allure of different types of RV, and must read up other people's experience to see where I fit.

Little R-Pods or their equivalent look interesting until we went out to look at them. Neat for weekend trips, but for month-long treks, where would we stow our "stuff"?

We looked at some class As. Nice and roomy, but I can see myself getting upset trying to back it into tight corners. If I dent a corner of it, while my wife was out giving directions, we would be blaming each other for quite some time. I do not want to become a source of free entertainment to bystanders. In addition, I understand that National Parks have a limit of length, and that may lock out the As.

I knew about macerator pumps. Can it be retrofitted on?

The above are the things I am educating myself about. I just want to prepare myself about pros and cons. Does all this preparation take away the spontaneity of RV'ing? I beg to differ. It should prepare myself about the negative aspects of this activity, so I would have more fun. The spontaneity will come later, and hopefully will never cease.

Here's another example. Flat towing a car is not as simple as I thought, once I read about Andy's experience. After spending significantly more than I expected, he still had not had a tow-brake system installed in his dinghy, a Honda FIT. I would have bought a Stehl tow dolly with electric brakes for less than $1500. Why didn't Andy? What's the pro and con?

Andy's Web Blog: Follow the leader

Anyway, talking about RVs may bore some people, but I am obsessed with it now. It gives me a diversion from discussions about SWR, MFs, mortgage payments and such. My mileage does vary.

PS. I am trying to get my wife to go look at another used class C today.

[hankster]

More info than you probably need about pulling a toad:

RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Dinghy Towing

[brewer12345]

FWIW, we thought about an RV for a while and finally rented one for a week a couple of summers ago for a trip in CO and NM. Although it was pretty easy to determine that a Class C would not be the best choice for us, we were pretty quickly hooked on the general idea. But I would not have realized what kind of floorplan, size, etc. would work for us without spending some time in an RV (pretty much any RV).

As for the longer trip issue, we have done up to a week in our little trailer with 2 adults, 2 kids and 2 dogs. Were it just the two of us, I suspect that we could go for a month plus in the size trailer we have, although we might prefer a different floorplan in that case.

[audreyh1]

No way would I ever use a dolly! It's an extra piece that you gotta store while camping. I'd say hassle factor would be really high.

We just bought one of the cars that towed well four wheels down - there is a list of these is several places on the web. Other people modify their toads to make them OK for pulling four wheels down.

The car (a Jeep Liberty) was mostly ready to go, but we installed a braking system and the lights for towing. We didi it ourselves but a lot of places would have done it for us.

Once you get the right pieces on your toad, the rest of it is pretty darn easy.

Audrey

[walkinwood]

This thread can be turned into a book!

I have no desire to RV (uh, well, maybe just a teensy bit now), but have enjoyed reading your posts. Thanks for allowing me to RV vicariously.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkinwood I have no desire to RV (uh, well, maybe just a teensy bit now), but have enjoyed reading your posts. Thanks for allowing me to RV vicariously.

Same here-- I don't mind living/camping/boondocking in an RV-- it's the driving & maintenance/repairs that I don't care for!

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Same here-- I don't mind living/camping/boondocking in an RV-- it's the driving & maintenance/repairs that I don't care for!

Well, for me it's all of that PLUS the purchase prices are pretty heady for someone like me.

Believe it or not, there actually is an advantage provided by having an RV that appeals to me despite all my comments on the forum through the years. That is that if the electricity, plumbing, A/C, roof, or something else fails in my home, the RV parked in the back yard could function like a "spare house", so to speak, and I would still have my creature comforts while waiting out the storm or whatever had caused the problem and waiting for someone to come and fix it. Now that aspect of RV'ing is one that nobody has mentioned, but it seems nice to me. It isn't enough to get me to actually buy an RV, but it is an advantage.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire Well, for me it's all of that PLUS the purchase prices are pretty heady for someone like me. Believe it or not, there actually is an advantage provided by having an RV that appeals to me despite all my comments on the forum through the years. That is that if the electricity, plumbing, A/C, roof, or something else fails in my home, the RV parked in the back yard could function like a "spare house", so to speak, and I would still have my creature comforts while waiting out the storm or whatever had caused the problem and waiting for someone to come and fix it. Now that aspect of RV'ing is one that nobody has mentioned, but it seems nice to me. It isn't enough to get me to actually buy an RV, but it is an advantage.

That is a definite consideration for us. If we had had the camper when we did the kitchen rennovation it would have been a lot less painful. And if we lose power during teh winter and have no heat, it will be a night spent in the camper with the heat on.

[hankster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 That is a definite consideration for us. If we had had the camper when we did the kitchen rennovation it would have been a lot less painful. And if we lose power during teh winter and have no heat, it will be a night spent in the camper with the heat on.

We had this happen a few times when our rural power line went down during cold weather. We just made up the bed in our travel trailer, fired up the propane furnace and fixed dinner in our much smaller, yet cozy second home on wheels.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire Well, for me it's all of that PLUS the purchase prices are pretty heady for someone like me. Believe it or not, there actually is an advantage provided by having an RV that appeals to me despite all my comments on the forum through the years. That is that if the electricity, plumbing, A/C, roof, or something else fails in my home, the RV parked in the back yard could function like a "spare house", so to speak, and I would still have my creature comforts while waiting out the storm or whatever had caused the problem and waiting for someone to come and fix it. Now that aspect of RV'ing is one that nobody has mentioned, but it seems nice to me. It isn't enough to get me to actually buy an RV, but it is an advantage.

Not only that - but you could get the heck outta Dodge if that nasty weather was coming and go somewhere nicer, taking a bunch of your creature comfort stuff and pets with you!

Audrey

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Not only that - but you could get the heck outta Dodge if that nasty weather was coming and go somewhere nicer, taking a bunch of your creature comfort stuff and pets with you! Audrey

Good point! And definitely something to consider.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 In short, I do not find towing to be much of an issue even with a tow vehicle that isn't really designed for heavy duty towing (minivan).

Same here. We used something called a sway-bar that limits fishtailing, and we didn't drive like idiots. But an adequately powered tow vehicle and adequate braking is a must.

Audrey

[Rich_in_Tampa]

In my search for a motorhome I ultimately gave up buying it privately (Craig's List, EBay, etc.). There was just too much BS to waste my time on.

In the current RV market you can get great prices from over-inventoried dealers, though I am told the prices are starting to rise a bit here and there.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa In my search for a motorhome I ultimately gave up buying it privately (Craig's List, EBay, etc.). There was just too much BS to waste my time on. In the current RV market you can get great prices from over-inventoried dealers, though I am told the prices are starting to rise a bit here and there.

It is certainly true that individuals tend to price their vehicles too high, whether it's an RV or a car. It also takes time to go out to look at them. Occasionally, I found what seemed to be a good deal, but it is in Timbuktu. Then, I hate to take a flight there just to see it's full of rust.

Dealers do have good prices, and they clean up the vehicle nicely. Yes, their prices are competitive with private sales. But I still like to be able to skip the sales tax when buying from individuals though.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound But I still like to be able to skip the sales tax when buying from individuals though.

I think I understand what you're saying here, but would you mind elaborating?

[Martha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I think I understand what you're saying here, but would you mind elaborating?

I know that where I am from even though the seller doesn't collect the sales tax in these circumstances, you still have to pay it as buyer when you go register the vehicle.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa In my search for a motorhome I ultimately gave up buying it privately (Craig's List, EBay, etc.). There was just too much BS to waste my time on. In the current RV market you can get great prices from over-inventoried dealers, though I am told the prices are starting to rise a bit here and there.

In my shopping for an A-Liner, I've found it's too late to find bargains due to high inventory levels. Dealers have near zero inventory and their web sites carry messages that they won't be bringing in an inventory for next spring. They want you to look at their demo's and have them order you one from the factory. Looks like I could have saved 5% - 10% had I bought one from on the lot inventory last spring........