Why I think RVing Sucks.

[Martha]

Ah hah! Some sites are noted "Users say No Overnight Parking" and others left blank in the same town near me. So, it is not a city ordinance, or somehow the law is specific to each store. Or is it at the discretion of the store manager? Also, a user-reported site and not an official one by Walmart.

I also use the yahoo group, walmartrving@yahoogroups.com, to vet free places to overnight. For example, when I passed through Albuquerque late they suggested skipping the walmarts, making it to the west side, and either parking at a casino or at Camping World. They also have a list of walmarts and their status.

 

[audreyh1]

I also use the yahoo group, walmartrving@yahoogroups.com, to vet free places to overnight. For example, when I passed through Albuquerque late they suggested skipping the walmarts, making it to the west side, and either parking at a casino or at Camping World. They also have a list of walmarts and their status.

Although at ABQ the High Desert RV park is not bad at all for a one- or few-nighter - not far from Camping World. That's where we stay when crossing country fast via I-40. OK - it's not free.

Of course we spent 3+ weeks "free camping" in the heart of downtown ABQ at the Cummins facility, waiting for a new radiator (so not free)! Got snowed on - 11 inches! City got stuck in snow for weeks after this 50 year snowstorm event. Total mess.

Now - that would be a good reason to conclude why RVing sucks - the inevitable breakdowns. They happen. Goes with the territory.

Audrey

 

[NW-Bound]

I must add this about mobile home parks.

A best friend of my wife lives in a mobile home park in Mesa, a city east of Phoenix. They retire early and apparently are of more limited means. We have visited them. Though they are full-time residents, many (most?) of the park residents are snowbirds, and this is their winter home. The park is nice and clean. The residents, being mostly older folks, are nice, quiet, and courteous.

Compare the people living there to the jerks in a more upscale neighborhood near me. I have seen more than one not slowing to 15mph, or passing other cars in a school zone. Recently, I have seen speed bumps added to a residential street, I guess due to complaints of some residents there. Think about it, this is pretty sad. That area has houses valued from $800K to several $M, even after this housing bubble burst.

So, don't tell me to value a person based on what he/she drives or where he/she lives.

 

[NW-Bound]

Back to RV'ing, I myself would not buy one if I were still working full-time. Come to think of it, what does one do with an RV if he has only 2 or 3 weeks of vacation a year? Fly-n-Drive is the way to do it. Leave the slow-paced travel to the sad folks who have to wonder about what to do all day ;-)

Man, oh man. My grandiose plan of slowly crossing North America would take a long time. It would be limited by the seasons of course, and will have to be spread out over a few years. In between travels, I will come back to my permanent homes to rest, to contemplate the meaning of life. OMG, what rest? I need to do maintenance work, or they would be reduced to ruins. What to do all day, indeed. :-(

 

[RonBoyd]

That's good to know. I'll be getting one shortly and wondered how well it would work out in the wilds.

We, too, use a Verizon Wireless "Card." Actually it is more of a "system." It consists of a UM150VW USB device (the Wireless Card) from Verizon, a CTR500 Router (plugged in to the 110v circuit), and a Wilson RV / Trucker Cellular Antenna (Part #301133).

The reason for the Router is so that both of us can be online at the same time through a LAN.

The RV/Trucker Antenna is probably the most important part of the puzzle because we have never been without 3G access. This, however, is not true of our Blackberry Cell Phones using the same Verizon service. There have been times when we had 3G access through the UM150VW and gotten a "no service" message on the cell phones. (We then use the Wi-Fi function on the Cells Phones routed through the CTR500 network.)

The total cost was about $300 but we have never been without Internet Service while on the road -- whether stopped or going down the road at 60 MPH.

(I should also mention that 3G Store has the most knowledgable staff I have ever worked with -- both the sales people as well as the techicians.)

 

[audreyh1]

Yep - same here. Kyocera verizon data card. Kyocera router for RV-wide wifi. Large window suction-cup mounted antenna. The Kyocera card itself is very sensitive (more than our voice cellphones), but the antenna does help when we are out in the boonies.

We're occasionally without service because we are in some kind of "hole". But it doesn't happen very often.

Audrey

 

[REWahoo]

In between travels, I will come back to my permanent homes to rest, to contemplate the meaning of life. OMG, what rest? I need to do maintenance work, or they would be reduced to ruins. What to do all day, indeed. :-(

If you plan on keeping the two residences long term I suspect a significant portion of your RVing could be [-]maintenance runs[/-] traveling between homes...

 

[audreyh1]

If you plan on keeping the two residences long term I suspect a significant portion of your RVing could be [-]maintenance runs[/-] traveling between homes...

And that is an excellent reason to own an RV. It's the most practical way to travel between two residences (assuming they are far apart).

Plenty of snowbirds down here own a summer and winter home, and use a smaller RV to make a leisurely transit.

Audrey

 

[RonBoyd]

Large window suction-cup mounted antenna.

I attached mine (semi)permanently.



The antenna attached to the window is supposed to amplify the cell phone signal. I installed it yesterday -- we will be driving to Annapolis/ DC next week so we'll see if it works.

The "fins" are to direct the hot air/cold air from the Air Conditioner/Heat Pump. The problem with these "hidden" devices is the air flow is not "factory."

The little thing above the doors in the light is the back-up camera.

 

[audreyh1]

Ours is mounted inside, FWIW.

Audrey

 

[REWahoo]

The "fins" are to direct the hot air/cold air from the Air Conditioner/Heat Pump.

Glad you explained it. I was sure they were horizontal stabilizers....

 

[RonBoyd]

Glad you explained it. I was sure they were horizontal stabilizers....

That's generally how I explain them -- aids in fuel economy.

Anyway, what happens is the AC unit will suck in the hot air that was being discharged. (The opposite when in Heat Pump mode.) One summer night in Texas with the A/C running non-stop was the "Mother of Invention" -- I constructed a temporary fix out of cardboard. It was surprising how much colder the air was and the unit could relax a bit. When we got home I built what you see in the image. (It was supposedly a "temporary" fix also -- note the wrong size rivets -- but has held up for a couple years so it is not on my list anymore.)

 

[RonBoyd]

Ours is mounted inside,

I have one inside also:



It is on a six foot tether to the Router and boosts the Wi-Fi signal so that we can use our laptops away from the RV. I am amazed at how far away we can be -- inside, at the far end of the house, when visiting F & Rs. However, I originally purchased it for that remote possibility of needing to stay at a hotel/motel and needing a secure connection.

 

[winger]

We, too, use a Verizon Wireless "Card." Actually it is more of a "system." It consists of a UM150VW USB device (the Wireless Card) from Verizon, a CTR500 Router (plugged in to the 110v circuit), and a Wilson RV / Trucker Cellular Antenna (Part #301133)..

(I should also mention that 3G Store has the most knowledgable staff I have ever worked with -- both the sales people as well as the techicians.)

Our system is similar. Kyocera USB card and a KR2 Router. Also have a Trucker antenna mounted on an extendable paint pole. I only use it if we have 2 bars or less.

I've learned all the EVDO stuff we need at the 3G website.

 

[RonBoyd]

Our system is similar. Kyocera USB card and a KR2 Router. Also have a Trucker antenna mounted on an extendable paint pole. I only use it if we have 2 bars or less.

I've learned all the EVDO stuff we need at the 3G website.

Again, we use ours quite a bit while driving down the highway. Permanently mounting it just seemed to make more sense than worrying whether there were enough bars.

Yeah, if you are impressed with their online stuff, you should give them a call. It's like they are just waiting for someone to call them so they can teach you all the great things they learned in class yesterday. Tell them what you want to do and they will find the least complicated -- and least expensive way -- of doing it.

 

[NW-Bound]

If you plan on keeping the two residences long term I suspect a significant portion of your RVing could be [-]maintenance runs[/-] traveling between homes...

And that is an excellent reason to own an RV. It's the most practical way to travel between two residences (assuming they are far apart).

Plenty of snowbirds down here own a summer and winter home, and use a smaller RV to make a leisurely transit.

Audrey

Well, I am more fortunate. It takes but 2.5 hrs of driving at posted speed limits to go from a low-desert chigger-infested area , boasting a record high of 122F in June (but it's dry heat!), to an elevation of 7000ft with a record low of -26F in January. See how easy it is to play snowbirds in my own state?

Westernskies also has a 2nd home in the Mogollon Rim area. There is a nice subdivision that has its own airstrip, for use only by its residents. With a private plane, one can make the trip in 45 min, including the time to taxi to one's own hangar attached to the house. I remember Westernskies said in a post that his house was in that subdivision, but I do not recall mentioning of a plane. Of course depending on where one lives, driving from one's city home to one of the airparks in the Metropolitan Phoenix may take longer than 45min. We have traffic jams too, you know, although they are not yet as monumental as those in LA.

Anyway, talking about traffic jams, I wonder if the chiggers here have been wiped out, fumigated by auto exhaust fumes. Time to do some research!

 

[audreyh1]

Well, chiggers require livestock or wildlife (mammals) to reproduce. So unless you are walking through areas that have recently had such, you might not encounter chiggers. In our suburban yard in Austin it was never an issue, but if you went hiking our in any natural area or on a farm, you might get 'em. Also in someone else's yard next to a wilder area. Usually mostly an issue in taller grass, but I remember enjoying sitting in my chair in a grassy area in a Corps of Engineers park in Arkansas near my campsite - all nicely mowed short - and boy howdy! did I get chigger bit.

Audrey

 

[REWahoo]

The title of this thread needs to be changed to "Why chiggers suck"...

 

[audreyh1]

The title of this thread needs to be changed to "Why chiggers suck"...

Why Chiggers Suck

Chiggers the larval stage of the harvest mite. They require cell fluid from a mammal skin cell in order to change to their next stage.

After crawling onto their host, they inject digestive enzymes into the skin that break down skin cells. They do not actually "bite," but instead form a hole in the skin called a stylostome and chew up tiny parts of the inner skin, thus causing severe irritation and swelling. Trombiculidae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

After they get what they need, they drop off the host and morph into the next stage. It is the reaction to the digestive enzymes as well as the skin damage that causes the irritation and swelling. As far as I know, not everyone has a reaction to the chigger "bites".

Anyway - that's why chiggers suck on mammal skin cells.

Audrey

 

[REWahoo]

After they get what they need, they drop off the host and morph into the next [adult] stage.

Damn teenagers...

 

[NW-Bound]

Before I bought my used class C, I did a lot of research on the Web. Mainly, I read blogs of people who traveled in a van conversion like Hankster's, truck campers, class Bs like RonBoyd's, and of course class Cs. What do they do? Where do they go? I would try to put myself in their shoes, to live vicariously through their blogs, trying to find a fit.

I quickly ruled out the large and roomy fifth wheels and the class As. They are more suitable for full-timers who need more room. I want to travel a little leaner and meaner. Well, not as lean as a van conversion or a truck camper. The truck camper is the toughest, and can get you into tough spots that make other RV'ers cry, but it is not for me. Whatever I chose, it must also be with considerations for my wife, whom I need to go along. We rarely travel without each other, and when we do so, it is usually for business.

So, it was for me a hard debate between a class B or class C. We probably would be happy with a class B too, if I ran across a good used one to buy. They seem to be in higher demand, and any unit offered in the market got snatched up fairly quickly. It seems people still remember the past days of $4/gal prices, and shy away from larger motorhomes. I missed out on a couple of Rialtas; these are pretty hot. So, when I saw this class C in decent shape, I decided that I could not wait forever.

I learned a lot by reading RV blogs, and to understand the pro and con of each type of vehicle. For example, a traveler pointed out a drawback of using a toad to explore away from the "mother ship"; when finding an interesting place, he cannot stay and has to backtrack to fetch his larger motorhome. RonBoyd probably is nodding in agreement here Another person in a van conversion regretted not going with a truck camper, so that she could go deeper into the wilderness.

There are no right or wrong, just different styles. I saw the allure of them all, and in the end settled down with something that I most likely would be able to enjoy. A friend told me of a relative who started out with a class C, then switched to a RoadTrek. He is now back to a class C! Let's see if I will flip/flop after having some treks on my belt. Hey, how 'bout one of each, so you can take the "right" one for a particular trip?

Happy RV'ing!

 

[NW-Bound]

Any suggestions about web sites to visit to look for RVs (like Cars.com or Autotrader.com)?

Here are a few in no particular order:

RV Trader® - Fleetwood, Airstream, Winnebago, Keystone, Forest River RVs and More - RVTraderOnline.com
RV Online® Used RVs for sale, Used Motorhomes, RVs, Fifth Wheels, Travel Trailers, Used Campers, and Used RVs
Used RVs and Preowned motorhomes for sale. Search our RV classifieds.
Used RVs, Motorhomes, and Consigned sales - PPL Motor Homes

When shopping for my used RV, I visited those frequently to see if there were new listings. There were a few more that I frequented daily to look for deals. See below.

I also visited a few local dealers to have an idea of the different floor plans. It is too tough to imagine how to live inside one of these, just by looking at photos. The dealers did have decent prices (they lowered the prices as I talked to them, but as I was not sure of buying, I did not make an offer), and there were a couple of RVs that I seriously considered buying. I was holding back simply because I was hoping to buy from a private party, which saved me the sales tax due to the laws in AZ. In my experience, private sellers tended to expect too much for their vehicles, and set the prices too high. Some did not even bother to clean up their vehicles, which was a real turn-off to the potential buyers. I don't understand why they failed to see that.

I also watched eBay and craiglists. Even if the sales were not local, watching them gave me an idea of what the fair prices were. There was one 400 miles from me that I liked, and I would have driven there to get it, but my wife did not like to have to drive our car back by herself.

In the end, I ended up buying from a local craigslist seller, as he just listed it the same morning. By that time, I knew what the fair price was, so did not haggle it down too much from his asking price, and both sides were happy with the deal.

By the way, the used RV market in AZ is not too bad. Big population centers like TX or CA also have many listings. I saw some good deals in "Timbuktu", but had to pass because of the expense and effort involved in getting there and driving it back. These poor owners in isolated locations would have a tough time unloading their vehicles, and perhaps are the sources for my local dealers to obtain used RVs to resell.

RV Trader for New and Used Motorhomes, Class A, Diesel, Class C, Class B For Sale in USA and Canada | RVMotorized.com

Used RVs for Sale | Used RVs for Sale | RVs.Oodle.com


PS. I always checked asking prices against www.nadaguides.com. Some models, particularly smaller motor homes, consistently sold at higher than the NADA listed prices, so I am not sure how reliable it is.

 

[REWahoo]

In my experience, private sellers tended to expect too much for their vehicles, and set the prices too high.

That tracks with my experience as well. When we were shopping the used RV market a few years ago it was obvious to me that many sellers set the price based on what they owed on the note, not on market value.

We ended up buying from a private seller who had originally used the "I'm only asking what I owe" method to price his five year old motor home. He had it on the market for a year and had lowered his asking price by more than 20% before I began negotiating with him. I made an offer of what I had determined to be fair market value (using recent sales information from PPL in Houston) but he wouldn't budge saying he had already cut his price drastically.

We really liked his motor home and stayed in touch. A few weeks later he began to show some price flexibility and we came to terms. After all was said and done I learned the reason he loosened up was his wife found a vacation home in Colorado she wanted to buy immediately (they lived in TX and it was July ). They couldn't qualify for the mortgage until the note on the motor home was paid off. I figure he only had to add $20K to the check I gave him to get that done.

 

[NW-Bound]

.. the reason he loosened up was his wife found a vacation home in Colorado she wanted to buy immediately (they lived in TX and it was July )...

They could have driven the RV to CO to escape the heat, no? I guess people always have to try something different. Some start with RV, then switch to 2nd home.

Some got 2nd home first, then add RV.

 

[haha]

That tracks with my experience as well. When we were shopping the used RV market a few years ago it was obvious to me that many sellers set the price based on what they owed on the note, not on market value.

We ended up buying from a private seller who had originally used the "I'm only asking what I owe" method to price his five year old motor home. He had it on the market for a year and had lowered his asking price by more than 20% before I began negotiating with him. I made an offer of what I had determined to be fair market value (using recent sales information from PPL in Houston) but he wouldn't budge saying he had already cut his price drastically.

We really liked his motor home and stayed in touch. A few weeks later he began to show some price flexibility and we came to terms. After all was said and done I learned the reason he loosened up was his wife found a vacation home in Colorado she wanted to buy immediately (they lived in TX and it was July ). They couldn't qualify for the mortgage until the note on the motor home was paid off. I figure he only had to add $20K to the check I gave him to get that done.

Wahoo, is it typical to be underwater on the note on a well maintained RV? Or was there an unusual price drop that the lenders hadn't priced into their amortization schedules?

Ha