Why I think RVing Sucks.

[Eder]

Congratulations!


...but we want photos!

...and stories, both good and bad.

Wow - 250K buys a pretty nice diesel class A!

Congrats

Audrey

Ok...I uploaded this one of the new barn on wheels. This is at Cattail Cove on Lake Havesu.

Wow. Three weeks from the start of this thread to the purchase of a big-ticket motor home is the stuff of legend.

We want details!

I retired at 53 after a career in construction. I spent my 1st 5 months of retirement traveling around Canada & USA in our van and overnighting in all sorts of motels. Since wife & I love to travel we agreed that something nicer than Motel 6 was needed.

We looked at buying a condo in Puerto Vallarta, Vegas, and Fort Lauderdale, but although we love being in these places we couldn't see being happy in the same place for 6 months at a time.

I read the wife some of the early posts in this thread...she immediately wanted to buy a van conversion & tour North America in that. After looking at various rv's, I decided I liked the idea of a luxury rv....I've never owned any toys in my life, so this is the first one.

We figure we'll sell our house to help offset the dent the rv purchase put in our retirement funds, and the rv is much nicer to live in than my $650k home in Alberta.

I dont have any good stories yet, although I have never driven anything larger than a pickup before flying to Iowa & driving this rig back to Alberta. I did make it without any dents, but the 1st few hours on the interstate where pretty exciting haha.

Other day I took wrong turn & ended up going down Las Vegas Blvd...no real problem since even the cabbies are scared of a rig this size, and surrender plenty of room.

I think I am really going to enjoy this thing for many years....but it is a ridiculous amount of money (it's worth every penny)

 

[REWahoo]

She is a beauty! Is that a Monaco? 42' or 45'?

I admire your "just do it" spirit. Quite a change from what we usually see when it comes to making an RV purchasing decision - agonizing over every possible type, floor plan and option for months and months before finally [-]giving up[/-] pulling the trigger. Heck, I searched for more than three months before I bought and still worried I was making a snap decision. Didn't last long though...

 

[hankster]

Wow, nice coach! You could probably pull our conversion van behind that as a "toad"

 

[Eder]

Its a 2010 Itasca Ellipse....just under 43'. I'm not sure how we picked it out so quick....more like it picked us. Love at 1st sight etc.

I did have a feeling of impending doom for a few days after signing the purchase agreement, but that disappeared quickly...and any financial regrets are a distant memory haha.

 

[heyduke]

sweet rig...

 

[Eder]

Quick update...still havn't made it home. RV is fun!! Should have done this 10 years ago.

Just finishing up a stint at Silver Strand state park near San Diego...saw the DOW was down again so turned CNN off and a bottle of 2 buck chuck ON lol.

I will go back to Canada next month....passport is expiring...so Halifax seems like the target for August....mmm $5 lobster!!

 

[RonBoyd]

Quick update...still havn't made it home. RV is fun!! Should have done this 10 years ago.

 

[HFWR]

...saw the DOW was down again so turned CNN off and a bottle of 2 buck chuck ON lol.

+1

 

[e86s54]

Quick update...still havn't made it home. RV is fun!! Should have done this 10 years ago.

Just finishing up a stint at Silver Strand state park near San Diego...saw the DOW was down again so turned CNN off and a bottle of 2 buck chuck ON lol.

I will go back to Canada next month....passport is expiring...so Halifax seems like the target for August....mmm $5 lobster!!

Eder,

Love San Diego...

When back in Canada, go past Halifax to Newfoundland! very much worth the extra distance!

 

[e86s54]

As the OP, I can't believe this thread is still going on. It has been good in some parts!

I don't actually believe RVing sucks...as it is a vehicle and where it ends up depends on the driver.

I may buy a Class A in the future and tow a convertible. It may very well be the best way to visit all the state, provincial and national parks.

E86S54

 

[Retire Soon]

True for the most part but there can be exceptions.

For example: Lion Country Safari - KOA Camp Ground

One of the nicest parks that we've ever stayed in and certainly the most unique! We stayed there last October for three nights and received a free two day pass to Lion Country Safari. My dog was a little scared though as the wild animals can be heard throughout the day. The groundskeeper was very helpful and gave us back road directions to the Florida Keys.

 

[Gone4Good]

Here's an update from the road . . .

We got our RV and moved in full-time about 1 month and a half ago. So far we've . . .

1) Visited Boston, MA
2) Visited Cambridge, MA
3) Visited Providence, RI
4) Visited Hyde Park, NY
5) Visited Mystic, CT
6) Visited Stonington,CT
7) Gone hiking to water falls
8) Gone hiking to ice caves
9) Biked Block Island, RI
10) Biked to lighthouses
11) Visited Gillette Castle
12) Visited Lyndhurst Castle
13) Visited Newport & Bristol, RI
14) Attended a classical music concert in a museum designed after a Venetian Palazzi
15) Laid out at the beach
16) Laid out at the pool

I'm sure I'm missing stuff. I know we spent a day or two doing laundry and every once in a while I need to go grocery shopping.

But the OP is right, RVing really sucks.

 

[oma]

Here's an update from the road . . .

We got our RV and moved in full-time about 1 month and a half ago. So far we've . . .

1) Visited Boston, MA
2) Visited Cambridge, MA
3) Visited Providence, RI
4) Visited Hyde Park, NY
5) Visited Mystic, CT
6) Visited Stonington,CT
7) Gone hiking to water falls
8) Gone hiking to ice caves
9) Biked Block Island, RI
10) Biked to lighthouses
11) Visited Gillette Castle
12) Visited Lyndhurst Castle
13) Visited Newport & Bristol, RI
14) Attended a classical music concert in a museum designed after a Venetian Palazzi
15) Laid out at the beach
16) Laid out at the pool

I'm sure I'm missing stuff. I know we spent a day or two doing laundry and every once in a while I need to go grocery shopping.

But the OP is right, RVing really sucks.

Did you have to have an RV to do all of that?

 

[RonBoyd]

Did you have to have an RV to do all of that?

Oh my, yes!... to do it properly. (or is the word "justice"?)

 

[Gone4Good]

Did you have to have an RV to do all of that?

Nope, could have stayed in hotels and motels. Although I do prefer to sleep in my own bed. I also enjoy cooking, and think my meals are better than most meals I find out, even when paying up. If you've ever done any kind of extended travel you come to find that eating every meal of every day out gets to be a drag, and usually isn't that healthy.

Places like Boston are probably better visited while staying in a hotel (although I still have the option to do that) but waking up in the middle of a national park is way better than waking up at the Comfort Inn on Route 3.

So sure, I could do what I'm doing (a several year exploration of North America) without an RV. Personally I don't think it would be as good of a trip. But the OP seemed to think that the only thing to do with an RV is sit around campgrounds . . . clearly that ain't true.

 

[KM]

Been catching up on this thread and have seen some good info - will definitely have to check out 3G. DH and I dont own an RV yet, because we still work FT and it seems like such a waste of money for something we could only use 2-4 weeks/year max. But we already know that as soon as we retire (2 more years if the market cooperates at least a little), we will be in an RV at least 1/3 - 1/2 of the year. I think doing your homework can help save money, though. Or at least I really hope so, because we have spent the last 5 years [-]dreaming of[/-] researching RVs.

We are going into this knowing it will be expensive, as well as challenging at times, but I think half the fun is the adventure. When it no longer is fun, we will sell and do something else.




But I am completely convinced that we will on at least one occassion:

• drive off and leave something we need at the campsite, and not realize it until we are in the next state
• drive off from the campsite with something still hooked, extended, attached....which will bring great amusement to anybody watching
• make some turn at a busy intersection too tight and hold up traffic for at least 30 minutes while we figure out how to "move that beast" out of everyone's way
• forget we dont have unlimited internet and run up a $2000 bill some month
• pull into some campground late some night, only to wake up the next morning to some place we would never stay at in a million years had it been daylight out (but for the record, I can think of 3 times we have done this with hotels, so if we only do it once in an RV, we're ahead of the game....)
• leave the steps down and subsequently rip them off at the first gas station we pull into
• smack a toll attendent with the huge sideview mirror, because I pull too close to the toll booth

Oh wait, I already did those last two with my mother's RV, so I guess I can cross them off my list!

I am sure many of you have other things I can put in their place, though.

 

[W2R]

Bear in mind that I don't have an RV, but I had some comments anyway just because I felt like commenting:

But I am completely convinced that we will on at least one occassion:

• drive off and leave something we need at the campsite, and not realize it until we are in the next state Think of the cost of gas for this RV journey. The cost to replace some little thing you *might* forget will probably be trivial in comparison with that.
• drive off from the campsite with something still hooked, extended, attached....which will bring great amusement to anybody watching So, do you do this often at a gas station, pulling the gas pump along with you by the hose? Probably not, because you are more careful than that.
• make some turn at a busy intersection too tight and hold up traffic for at least 30 minutes while we figure out how to "move that beast" out of everyone's way I would imagine that after doing this once, you would scrupulously avoid getting into a similar situation a second time.
• forget we dont have unlimited internet and run up a $2000 bill some month I dunno - - don't most of these RV folks have an aircard or iPad on 3G or something? I have no clue but thought you could get a lot of internet for a basic fee.
• pull into some campground late some night, only to wake up the next morning to some place we would never stay at in a million years had it been daylight out (but for the record, I can think of 3 times we have done this with hotels, so if we only do it once in an RV, we're ahead of the game....) See? There you go. Things happen whether you have an RV or not.
• leave the steps down and subsequently rip them off at the first gas station we pull into Maybe you can have a take-off checklist like a pilot would have.
• smack a toll attendent with the huge sideview mirror, because I pull too close to the toll booth Hmm.

Oh wait, I already did those last two with my mother's RV, so I guess I can cross them off my list! Aha! There you go.

I am sure many of you have other things I can put in their place, though.

 

[heyduke]

still patiently waiting for my turn....

 

[audreyh1]

But I am completely convinced that we will on at least one occassion:

• drive off and leave something we need at the campsite, and not realize it until we are in the next state
• drive off from the campsite with something still hooked, extended, attached....which will bring great amusement to anybody watching
• make some turn at a busy intersection too tight and hold up traffic for at least 30 minutes while we figure out how to "move that beast" out of everyone's way
• forget we dont have unlimited internet and run up a $2000 bill some month
• pull into some campground late some night, only to wake up the next morning to some place we would never stay at in a million years had it been daylight out (but for the record, I can think of 3 times we have done this with hotels, so if we only do it once in an RV, we're ahead of the game....)
• leave the steps down and subsequently rip them off at the first gas station we pull into
• smack a toll attendent with the huge sideview mirror, because I pull too close to the toll booth

Oh wait, I already did those last two with my mother's RV, so I guess I can cross them off my list!

I am sure many of you have other things I can put in their place, though.

OK - I so risk jinxing myself on this. But 5 years of fulltiming and none of the above has happened to me YET. (Knock on wood!)

We are very careful. Especially about checking the camping area before leaving, and carefully inspecting and testing toad connections. And we have setup and take down procedures that we tend to follow in order so as not to mess up. And we always do a walk around check before leaving an area.

I was always worried about forgetting to set the brake on the toad before disconnecting and have it roll away. Or have the toad connections fail while underway.

We have tried to drive off with the television antenna up though - twice. Another RVer flagged us down.

Don't let other RVer's or campground owners distract you while setting up. The one booboo and another close call were because other people were trying to "help" and distracted us.

I've done the drive off and left things in motel rooms a few times!!!! And not realize until out of state. I think it's easier to do that than with the RV.

Audrey

P.S. Ouch - I hope the toll attendant didn't get a bruise.

P.P.S. We have unlimited internet.

 

[Tesaje]

leave the steps down and subsequently rip them off at the first gas station we pull into Maybe you can have a take-off checklist like a pilot would have.

I thought this would be a good idea too. In fact, I have read of RV'ing people who do just this.

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah - we're pretty close to using a checklist.

Actually we started with a printed one. It's burned into our heads now, and we rarely deviate from "standard procedure".

Audrey

 

[NW-Bound]

...I think half the fun is the adventure. When it no longer is fun, we will sell and do something else.

YES! Five years ago, we never thought of owning an RV. Then, I found that this was a different form of travel that we would have enjoyed. Our first 2-night trip six weeks ago was a big success. Since then, I have been working on the RV to install some electronics and do a bit more research on RV travel.

When I am free of my jury duty, next month we will take a longer trip, and play it by ear. It might be a couple of weeks, or a month. Or two.

"Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end ..." - Moon River, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer
​

 

[flyfishnevada]

As the OP, I can't believe this thread is still going on. It has been good in some parts!

Oh great! I stopped reading this on page three and now I found it it contains good stuff. Looks like I have something to do tomorrow.

 

[Nords]

Maybe you can have a take-off checklist like a pilot would have.

We have tried to drive off with the television antenna up though - twice. Another RVer flagged us down.

Yeah - we're pretty close to using a checklist.
Actually we started with a printed one. It's burned into our heads now, and we rarely deviate from "standard procedure".

As W2R says and as Gumby & M_Paquette would appreciate, you RVers all need a "rig for drive" checklist.

"Burned into your heads" is fine, but it's always worth the extra minute (and a lot cheaper) to read over the list before you put it into gear.

 

[brewer12345]

Maybe its because we have a small, simple trailer, but we have never had issues with remembering to get things sorted before we take off. Maybe it is a sign of impending fogeyhood for you guys?