REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? - Page 4

brewer12345 · 09-10-2006, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1

Wow - a cross border purchase?* That complicates things - out of my league.

Audrey

Based on my Dad'ds experience with a "bargain" cross-border purchase of an outboard engine, I would tread carefully.

SteveR · 09-10-2006, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

Based on my Dad'ds experience with a "bargain" cross-border purchase of an outboard engine, I would tread carefully.

I intend to.

Data will make or break this deal. Thanks for the feedback.

haha · 09-10-2006, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveR

after all I will have to travel 3000 miles to even see it and then drive it back so that is a big expense for me.* I am also looking at long range hauling but so far no luck with anybody able to move from Canada to the US with a rig this size.*

IMO, this is reason enough to stand down. They will understand that if you have traveled 3000 miles you will not want to go home empty handed. They will also understand that in this circumstance your wife will not want you to come home empty handed.

This unit may be rare but other equally nice ones with fewer problems are not. Remember, it is a manufactured product, not an emerald.

It isn't like no one else has been shown this unit before. I am sure the salesmen have been offered nice bonuses to get rid of it. Still, no one bit.

Might be a reason.

Ha

kowski · 09-10-2006, 09:51 PM

Seems like all bigfoot mh's are 20% off right off the bat here at this site.

http://www.travelandusa.com/adventur...ries/index.cfm

heyyou · 09-11-2006, 02:21 PM

Reply to original post: I know of one snowbird who lives in a big fifth wheel. In Arizona, he pays to have it towed semi-annually from one RV park at a warm, low elevation to another at a cooler, higher elevation. The tow distance is 60 miles. He only owns a tiny car. He has friends and neighbors at both places.
Also, there are groups who move from one winter RV park to a specific summer one several hundred miles away. So when they move, some of their friends and neighbors are also moving to the same place. Perhaps, they caravan.
In both situations, these people belong to a community in spite of appearing to be nomads.
Joe

Billy · 09-12-2006, 11:12 PM

Joe:

Quote:

In both situations, these people belong to a community in spite of appearing to be nomads.

I am familiar with this set up as well. Since we are PT's, we know a lot of travelers, and they come in all descriptions. Whether it's the Canadian snowbirds or the ones from our own northern climates -- or even the ones who visit us in Asia -- we all belong to communities and it feels like home wherever we are. We travel, yet we have friends and interests in many places.

It's the best of both worlds.

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

audreyh1 · 09-13-2006, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyou

In both situations, these people belong to a community in spite of appearing to be nomads.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akaisha

We travel, yet we have friends and interests in many places.

This is very true!* You don't have to live in a fixed location to be part of a community.* Especially in this internet age and a with highly mobile population.

Audrey

Billy · 09-17-2006, 01:37 PM

You are right, Audrey.

We have a great community in Arizona, in Mexico and in Thailand. We create community wherever we go. We visited Ecuador in 2004 for 2 months, and if we were going to be there much longer, it would be easy to begin volunteer work, help the locals, learn a new skill or whatever.

It's easier than ya think! Plus, like you said, with the digital wonders now available, we call home on Skype, do yahoo chat, do continued learning online and so on.

It's an amazing world!

Best,
Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

SteveR · 09-25-2006, 03:43 PM

Update...

The Canada deal fell apart when I talked with the dealer about US safety and EPA ratings....it got real quiet on his end and then he had to admit it would not meet US requirement without some "work".

We are going to see two different rigs this weekend and will then make our final cut before we start to really shop. We are in no real hurry but if one that meets our needs appears we will be in a much better position to jump on it.

We would like the cabin to sell first but are not adverse to using cash to buy it and then refill the cash account when the cabin does sell. Not ideal but since we are still both working it is not much of a risk.

SteveR · 09-28-2006, 05:24 PM

Is it my Karma or what?

We have been talking to an owner of one of the rigs we have been researching and he has been very open and forthcoming in providing tons of information and photos of his new rig. He invited us to come visit him and to see his rig and to take it to a nearby dealer to compare it with the other rig we are also considering. We are going there tomorrow for the weekend.

He told us the dealer had is trade which was a prototype of the rig we are considering but has a few less options and a little less storage than his new one. I got a quote from the factory on it and he also sent me photos of his old rig along with tons of specs and photos of it.

Today, I get a call from the factory and they tell me they now have a low mileage 2006 demonstrator of the exact model and trim we were considering with the traded unit but this one is a production model and is loaded with 95% of what we would have ordered in a brand new rig. Since it was never titled outside the company it is still "new" and will have a full mfg. waranty. It is also discounted because it was a demo. I put down a deposit to hold the rig until we can see the two this weekend.

The second weird thing was that a couple of months ago I put my name on a list for an enclosed RV rental space very near my house (2 miles) since I don't have the space for a 32' RV on my property and it is againt HOA rules to have one not garaged, in anticipation that in a few months I might need it when we did buy one. Well, today my name came up on the list for the unit.

I am now looking at insurance and other stuff to see if this could actually happen. We were looking at doing all this in the spring next year but this unit is a one of a kind and will save quite a bit over buying brand new plus being a demo. it was optioned out and treated very well since it was a show rig for the company. I don't have to worry about who owned it before and how it was treated and the factory will stand by it for the whole warranty period.

Some times the planets align and one needs to pay attention. We are looking forward to confirming our research and unless there is a show stopper, we could very well be RVing in a month.

Jane_Doe · 09-29-2006, 08:07 PM

Go, Steve, Go!!

Time to have FUN!

Jane

Sheryl · 09-30-2006, 01:33 PM

That's great news, Steve - I think the planets do align for a reason!

I hope you will give us lots of details and pics when you get the new unit - lots of us are still in the "young dreamers" catagory when it comes to RV's so we hope to benefit from your research efforts.

Keep us posted!

SteveR · 10-04-2006, 12:39 AM

We Did It!!
We will pich up our new rig 1200 miles away in a couple of weeks. It is a demo model from their first run of a new configuration in 2006. It still has a full 3 year factory warranty and has also been driven a few thousand miles to get it broken in and stuff fixed so we shoud be fine for our cross country maiden voyage back home with it.

We ended up with a 2006 Born Free 32 President RQ Kodiac gas chassis with just about every option you can get. Being a Class C will work out fine for the two of us and the occasional grand kid or visitor. Overflow can tent out under the awning. They are doing some minor upgrades and upgrading the hitch to a class iv for future use. The GPS unit is on order and we have started our "wish List " for goodies when we get it here. It will be a bit frugal driving from the factory to here with no personal items other than clothes and some linens. It is a start and one we know we will be enjoying.

We are going to pay it off once the cabin sells so he loan is no big deal right now and gives me a tax break for a second home; higher than the cabin. We are happy but also nervous at the same time driving that far with no real experience with the rig beyond some basic equipment use or functions.

We believe some things do happen for a reason and when they do, you better be ready to act or accept regret. We chose the former.

Caroline · 10-04-2006, 01:01 AM

I've been keeping an eye out for this report -- congratulations! I'm very happy for you.

Keep us posted, please, as events progress!

Rich_in_Tampa · 10-04-2006, 06:31 AM

Congrats, Steve. Sounds very nice.

Look forward to pictures, pictures, pictures. Of you empting the waste water, of course.

Careful on your first drive especially if it's windy. Gas prices are cooperating these days, so it's a great time to pick up the rig.

Enjoy.

SteveR · 10-04-2006, 09:34 AM

We just concluded the rental agreement on a RV garage less than two miles from my house. It will make it a lot easier to keep the rig out of the nasty weather this winter and give me a place to go to work on it as needed since we have no space at the house to store this beast. I can easily pull it out and run it around the city a couple of times a month to keep the batteries charged and the oil and other fluids moving.

Our first camping trip looks to be in January to St. George area. No vacation left until then

unless we can sneak away in November before the snow get bad around here. Otherwise, we might just try and overnighter in the driveway to check out all the stuff before we winterize it and put it into storage.

Here is a photo of a similar rig...ours does not have the fancy ($5000) paint job on the skirts but is exactly the same otherwise.

youbet · 10-04-2006, 09:59 AM

I went and checked it out on the mfg's web site. Very, very nice.

Now....we gotta get ya RE's so there's plenty of time to enjoy!

audreyh1 · 10-04-2006, 10:19 AM

OOOOOooooo! You bought a BornFree?!?! Very, very high quality product. Congrats. I have often admired those rigs. Too small (for us) to full time in now, but the kind of rig I imagine using if we ever go back to living in a house and want a smaller RV.

Of course we'll have to pare my husbands monster camera equipment way down before we'll ever fit in a smaller rig. I wonder if my husband will ever tire of running around with a his huge 600mm lens and giant tripod (with gimball head) that it requires.

Audrey

**Martha** · 10-04-2006, 11:10 AM

As Audrey says, ooooohs and ahhhhs on the Born Free. Lovely motorhome and the new heavy duty chasis too. The demo model sounds great. Born Free really makes the interiors nice.

You might consider a battery disconnect switch for the off season. We did that so we didn't have to worry about the little electrical things running down the charge.

09-10-2006, 09:51 PM	#64
kowski Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 89	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? Seems like all bigfoot mh's are 20% off right off the bat here at this site. http://www.travelandusa.com/adventur...ries/index.cfm __________________ If you think nobody cares whether you're alive or dead, try missing a couple of mortgage payments.

09-11-2006, 02:21 PM	#65
heyyou Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 231	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? Reply to original post: I know of one snowbird who lives in a big fifth wheel. In Arizona, he pays to have it towed semi-annually from one RV park at a warm, low elevation to another at a cooler, higher elevation. The tow distance is 60 miles. He only owns a tiny car. He has friends and neighbors at both places. Also, there are groups who move from one winter RV park to a specific summer one several hundred miles away. So when they move, some of their friends and neighbors are also moving to the same place. Perhaps, they caravan. In both situations, these people belong to a community in spite of appearing to be nomads. Joe

09-17-2006, 01:37 PM	#68
Billy Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 793	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? You are right, Audrey. We have a great community in Arizona, in Mexico and in Thailand. We create community wherever we go. We visited Ecuador in 2004 for 2 months, and if we were going to be there much longer, it would be easy to begin volunteer work, help the locals, learn a new skill or whatever. It's easier than ya think! Plus, like you said, with the digital wonders now available, we call home on Skype, do yahoo chat, do continued learning online and so on. It's an amazing world! Best, Akaisha Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement __________________ Self reliance builds confidence.** Retire Early Lifestyle

09-25-2006, 03:43 PM	#69
SteveR Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 2,675	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? Update... The Canada deal fell apart when I talked with the dealer about US safety and EPA ratings....it got real quiet on his end and then he had to admit it would not meet US requirement without some "work". We are going to see two different rigs this weekend and will then make our final cut before we start to really shop. We are in no real hurry but if one that meets our needs appears we will be in a much better position to jump on it. We would like the cabin to sell first but are not adverse to using cash to buy it and then refill the cash account when the cabin does sell. Not ideal but since we are still both working it is not much of a risk. __________________ Work? I don't have time to work....I'm retired.

09-28-2006, 05:24 PM	#70
SteveR Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 2,675	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? Is it my Karma or what? We have been talking to an owner of one of the rigs we have been researching and he has been very open and forthcoming in providing tons of information and photos of his new rig. He invited us to come visit him and to see his rig and to take it to a nearby dealer to compare it with the other rig we are also considering. We are going there tomorrow for the weekend. He told us the dealer had is trade which was a prototype of the rig we are considering but has a few less options and a little less storage than his new one. I got a quote from the factory on it and he also sent me photos of his old rig along with tons of specs and photos of it. Today, I get a call from the factory and they tell me they now have a low mileage 2006 demonstrator of the exact model and trim we were considering with the traded unit but this one is a production model and is loaded with 95% of what we would have ordered in a brand new rig. Since it was never titled outside the company it is still "new" and will have a full mfg. waranty. It is also discounted because it was a demo. I put down a deposit to hold the rig until we can see the two this weekend. The second weird thing was that a couple of months ago I put my name on a list for an enclosed RV rental space very near my house (2 miles) since I don't have the space for a 32' RV on my property and it is againt HOA rules to have one not garaged, in anticipation that in a few months I might need it when we did buy one. Well, today my name came up on the list for the unit. I am now looking at insurance and other stuff to see if this could actually happen. We were looking at doing all this in the spring next year but this unit is a one of a kind and will save quite a bit over buying brand new plus being a demo. it was optioned out and treated very well since it was a show rig for the company. I don't have to worry about who owned it before and how it was treated and the factory will stand by it for the whole warranty period. Some times the planets align and one needs to pay attention. We are looking forward to confirming our research and unless there is a show stopper, we could very well be RVing in a month. __________________ Work? I don't have time to work....I'm retired.

09-29-2006, 08:07 PM	#71
Jane_Doe Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 166	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? Go, Steve, Go!! Time to have FUN! Jane __________________ Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most!

09-30-2006, 01:33 PM	#72
Sheryl Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 1,461	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? That's great news, Steve - I think the planets do align for a reason! I hope you will give us lots of details and pics when you get the new unit - lots of us are still in the "young dreamers" catagory when it comes to RV's so we hope to benefit from your research efforts. Keep us posted!

10-04-2006, 12:39 AM	#73
SteveR Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 2,675	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? We Did It!! We will pich up our new rig 1200 miles away in a couple of weeks. It is a demo model from their first run of a new configuration in 2006. It still has a full 3 year factory warranty and has also been driven a few thousand miles to get it broken in and stuff fixed so we shoud be fine for our cross country maiden voyage back home with it. We ended up with a 2006 Born Free 32 President RQ Kodiac gas chassis with just about every option you can get. Being a Class C will work out fine for the two of us and the occasional grand kid or visitor. Overflow can tent out under the awning. They are doing some minor upgrades and upgrading the hitch to a class iv for future use. The GPS unit is on order and we have started our "wish List " for goodies when we get it here. It will be a bit frugal driving from the factory to here with no personal items other than clothes and some linens. It is a start and one we know we will be enjoying. We are going to pay it off once the cabin sells so he loan is no big deal right now and gives me a tax break for a second home; higher than the cabin. We are happy but also nervous at the same time driving that far with no real experience with the rig beyond some basic equipment use or functions. We believe some things do happen for a reason and when they do, you better be ready to act or accept regret. We chose the former. __________________ Work? I don't have time to work....I'm retired.

10-04-2006, 01:01 AM	#74
Caroline Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 904	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? I've been keeping an eye out for this report -- congratulations! I'm very happy for you. Keep us posted, please, as events progress!

10-04-2006, 06:31 AM	#75
Rich_in_Tampa Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Tampa Posts: 5,883	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? Congrats, Steve. Sounds very nice. Look forward to pictures, pictures, pictures. Of you empting the waste water, of course. Careful on your first drive especially if it's windy. Gas prices are cooperating these days, so it's a great time to pick up the rig. Enjoy. __________________ Rich Tampa, FL (10% retired) As if you didn't know..If the above message happens to contain medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any medical purpose whatsoever. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.

10-04-2006, 09:59 AM	#77
youbet Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4,388	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? I went and checked it out on the mfg's web site. Very, very nice. Now....we gotta get ya RE's so there's plenty of time to enjoy! __________________ Over all was the silence of the wilderness - Sigurd Olsen

10-04-2006, 10:19 AM	#78
audreyh1 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,203	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? OOOOOooooo! You bought a BornFree?!?! Very, very high quality product. Congrats. I have often admired those rigs. Too small (for us) to full time in now, but the kind of rig I imagine using if we ever go back to living in a house and want a smaller RV. Of course we'll have to pare my husbands monster camera equipment way down before we'll ever fit in a smaller rig. I wonder if my husband will ever tire of running around with a his huge 600mm lens and giant tripod (with gimball head) that it requires. Audrey

10-04-2006, 11:10 AM	#79
Martha Administrator Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: minnesota Posts: 9,863	Re: REduce burn rate with an RV. A used one? As Audrey says, ooooohs and ahhhhs on the Born Free. Lovely motorhome and the new heavy duty chasis too. The demo model sounds great. Born Free really makes the interiors nice. You might consider a battery disconnect switch for the off season. We did that so we didn't have to worry about the little electrical things running down the charge. __________________ . Do not rely on the information provided--my posts are not to be taken as legal advice. Needless to say you must consult with your legal representative. I am not responsible for errors. If I offended you with cya I apologize. If I did not, I tried.