Thinking about an RV

[Eder]

Eder, which make and model do yo have? What do you like and dislike about it? Would you buy the same model again? We are thinking of a Winnebago, maybe a 33C class A for cross country trips and RV parks, and also a very small 17-20 ft travel trailer for local state parks where a 33-34 footer would be too big to park.

I have an Itasca 42AD with all the trimmings...like this one

http://www.rvguide.com/specs/itasca/class-a/2010/ellipse-reg/42ad/reviews.htmlhttp://www.fmcmagazine.com/back-issues/2010/august/6404-the-2010-itasca-ellipse-42ad

I bought a Winnebago product because they have not gone bankrupt and are great to honor their warrantee.

Although I have had various problems common to new motor homes I would not hesitate to buy one again. It's so nice that even though we returned to our house in Alberta after 6 months of snowbirding we both sleep in the motorhome parked in our driveway. We've been home 2 days now and are ready to head out if it ever stops snowing...


33ft Class A is a great choice for a motor home and will fit nearly any state park (we manage to squeeze into most state parks even though we're 43 ft long 12ft 4 high)
No need to get a diesel unless you intend on more than 15k miles/year I think. There are great deals on used motor homes on the market. (think Kijii or private sales....many owners are old, a spouse dies so the unit goes on the market dirt cheap)

Before you buy bounce ideas off the rv forum regulars, dealers are liars but there's a lot of priceless advice on the net.

Hope that answered you. As you can tell I think the rv life is the best, although we are thinking to add a sailboat to the mix this fall. (yikes I'll need more tools!!)

 

[Gone4Good]

Eder, which make and model do yo have? What do you like and dislike about it? Would you buy the same model again? We are thinking of a Winnebago, maybe a 33C class A for cross country trips and RV parks, and also a very small 17-20 ft travel trailer for local state parks where a 33-34 footer would be too big to park.

If you're talking about the Sightseer 33C, that is the rig we have. Not only have we owned it for a year, we've lived in it that entire time. Considering that most folks only use their RV's for 2 to 4 weeks per year, that means we have between 25 and 50 years of equivalent experience with it.

We're very pleased with it. The floor plan is practically perfect. The TV directly across from the sofa at eye level (with the dining table option) is very important for making the area feel like a living room rather than a motor home. Not that many other RV's, even much larger ones, have a similar setup.

We've had minor problems including small leaks and jacks that wouldn't retract. I think the jack problem might be a design issue, though. The rear-end of the 33C is pretty high off the ground, which means the jacks have to extend farther than normal. When they get overextended, I've had problems getting them to retract. Nothing a couple of pieces of 6 x 6 placed beneath them couldn't fixed.

Otherwise it's been exactly what we wanted.

 

[omni550]

It's so nice that even though we returned to our house in Alberta after 6 months of snowbirding we both sleep in the motorhome parked in our driveway. We've been home 2 days now and are ready to head out if it ever stops snowing...

Just curious...what is the reason you prefer to sleep in the RV rather than in your home?

omni

 

[Eder]

Just curious...what is the reason you prefer to sleep in the RV rather than in your home?

omni

We might be strange a bit but our mh has a nice king size pillow top bed...ceiling fan above...3 opening windows in bedroom...no furnace noise...5.1 surround sound stereo...32" flatscreen.

Our bedroom in the house can't compare. The neighbors are starting to avoid us I think.

 

[Gone4Good]

The neighbors are starting to avoid us I think.

Another benefit?

 

[ronlitton]

My wife and I have been full-time RVers since 2003, in 5th wheel trailers. Those who are seriously considering RVing need to join the RV Consumers Group (RVCG.org online), who do careful evaluations of the various RVs and then publish a rating guide with plusses and minuses for each one. Membership isn't cheap, but it can save you BIG bucks as vs. making a bad RV choice! We got a top-rated 5th wheel based on RVCG's recommendations, and we've never been sorry - we go through the years watching others hassle and spend money on problems with their rigs, while ours just keeps working with no problems!

We said we'd keep RVing until we didn't like it anymore, and we still like it! We don't own a house, and live in the 5th wheel 365 days/yr. We like living in RV parks, but are not thrilled about the actual "hook-up and drive" part of RVing, which always produces anxiety in both of us. One tip for the on-road part: drive 5 mph UNDER the speed limit, and let everyone pass you - it makes you MUCH safer!

Lifestyle: We are "Workcampers" - we exchange part-time service in RV parks for free accomodations. We work (on average) 20 hours a week, split between the 2 of us, and in return, we stay for free! However, that means we must be willing to stay in the same RV park for a minimum of 3-6 months - and that's fine with us. That's a major reason why we went with a 5th wheel and truck - it's not a good idea to have a vehicle just sit for months when it has an engine and transmission! I take our tow truck out for a "run" once a week to keep it lubricated and the battery charged, and we have a small car for running errands. When travelling, I drive the big truck, towing the 5th wheel, and my wife drives the car, accompanied by our RVing kitty!

 

[Gone4Good]

it's not a good idea to have a vehicle just sit for months when it has an engine and transmission!

That's why we move every three to ten days. (not really, we just want to try to see everything in the world before we die. But it's another reason to keep moving, too.)

See ya out there!
Brian

 

[rkser]

Are RV Parks safe ?

In the TV News, many of the offenders are found living in Trailer Parks. What are your experiences?

I want to try RVing with a small trailer towed by our Sienna Van & see how it goes, before I buy a bigger/expensive rig. But my wife is scared & keeps pointing to the news coming out of Trailer Parks.

Is there a way to find out which ones are safer than others ?

 

[REWahoo]

Are RV Parks safe ?

In the TV News, many of the offenders are found living in Trailer Parks. What are your experiences?

I want to try RVing with a small trailer towed by our Sienna Van & see how it goes, before I buy a bigger/expensive rig. But my wife is scared & keeps pointing to the news coming out of Trailer Parks.

Is there a way to find out which ones are safer than others ?

"RV parks" and "Trailer Parks" are two different animals. Parks that cater to true RVers are generally very safe.

You can learn a lot about individual parks from customer reviews on sites like RVparkreviews.com. If you read those reviews you will rarely hear about any sort of crime - although some folks do express concerns about some parks who appear have a lot of full-time residents. Those are easy to avoid by doing a little advanced research.

 

[rkser]

Thanks REWahoo, that was very informative. Now I know where to look.

 

[Eder]

we just want to try to see everything in the world before we die

See ya out there!
Brian

Yay!! Me too...

 

[Gone4Good]

Are RV Parks safe ?

I second REWahoo's endorsement for RVparkreviews.com. They're a very good source as long as you're conscience of the fact that people are far more likely to go on line to nitpick nonsense than they are to praise a place.

From personal experience, we've lived in campgrounds and state parks for exactly one year tomorrow, and we've never felt unsafe. Not once, ever.

My general impression is that people often have an irrational fear of the unknown. Most people I meet warn me about the next county, town, state or country. We've been warned about everything from "They don't like Yankees in the South" to "Have you seen 'Babel' where the tourist gets shot in Morocco? Maybe you shouldn't go." The other side of the hill always seems dangerous to people who've never been there. What I've found instead is that the world is full of wonderful people who intend you no harm. And the other kind of person can be found anywhere, even on your doorstep - which isn't as safe as you think.

"So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
- Mark Twain
​

In the TV News, many of the offenders are found living in Trailer Parks.

That's funny, because when I watch the news all I see are people in houses and apartments getting murdered, raped and burglarized. Those things seem like death traps.

 

[REWahoo]

I second REWahoo's endorsement for RVparkreviews.com. They're a very good source as long as your conscience of the fact that people are far more likely to go on line to nitpick nonsense than they are to praise a place.

Very true. Also I'd advise you to pay more attention to the comments than the numerical rating. Often someone will downgrade a park for reasons that may not be important to you - such as the lack of a swimming pool or not enough washers and dryers available in the laundry.

 

[braumeister]

But aren't they tornado magnets like trailer parks?

 

[brewer12345]

What do a tornado and a divorce in West Virginia have in common?

Someone is going to lose a trailer.

 

[Corporate ORphan]

Anyone ever converted a cargo trailer into a camping trailer? We were thinking it might be a cheaper way to get started. DH doesn't like having a bathroom or kitchen in it (too much to maintain, etc.). He thinks all the ones we've looked at and his parent's ones (they had 3) were filmsy, expensive and prone to things breaking in it that were expensive to fix.

We have seen some CT conversions on a couple of websites but never one in person.

 

[REWahoo]

Anyone ever converted a cargo trailer into a camping trailer? We were thinking it might be a cheaper way to get started. DH doesn't like having a bathroom or kitchen in it (too much to maintain, etc.).

What's to convert? Without a kitchen or bathroom all you need to do is throw in a couple of cots, folding chairs and a battery powered lantern - instant RV.

 

[travelover]

What's to convert? Without a kitchen or bathroom all you need to do is throw in a couple of cots, folding chairs and a battery powered lantern - instant RV.

I think you can still even rent one from U Haul.

 

[HFWR]

What do a tornado and a divorce in West Virginia have in common?

Someone is going to lose a trailer.

If you just helped your rich uncle take the wheels of his new home, you might be a redneck...

 

[In-control]

+1 on the trailer notes above. This is our first year owning a camper. Last year I purchased a used Aliner, hard sided popup, for $750. I spent the autumn making it nice and adding an enclosed toilet and updated power system. I added a hitch to my new Outback and am ready to roll with my suitcase on wheels within 15 min.

I like the fact that I am using an regular car to do this it keeps everything very flexible and simple. A friend of mine became a full timer a few years ago and he told me that if he could re-do anything he would have not spent the $ on a bus type RV but rather a fifth wheel with a new truck. This save $ as the truck would be his vehicle when the RV is parked.

Have fun!

 

[Gone4Good]

This save $ as the truck would be his vehicle when the RV is parked.

As long as you don't mind driving everywhere in a heavy duty truck. We put about 3x as many miles on our tow vehicle as we do our RV. I'm not sure how much I'd save by driving those miles in a more expensive, less fuel efficient, vehicle.

 

[Retire Soon]

One tip for the on-road part: drive 5 mph UNDER the speed limit, and let everyone pass you - it makes you MUCH safer!

This makes a lot of sense. It takes a lot longer to stop when pulling a trailer. If you're RVing, you shouldn't be in a hurry anyway.

 

[REWahoo]

One tip for the on-road part: drive 5 mph UNDER the speed limit, and let everyone pass you - it makes you MUCH safer!

This makes a lot of sense. It takes a lot longer to stop when pulling a trailer. If you're RVing, you shouldn't be in a hurry anyway.

I agree but I'd suggest you drive more than 5MPH under the speed limit in many situations. I find driving around 60-62MPH to be a comfortable speed so I rarely exceed that even when the speed limit is 70 or 80. Driving faster than 60-62 is not only a bit less safe and more stressful, fuel economy goes downhill in a hurry.

 

[REWahoo]

As long as you don't mind driving everywhere in a heavy duty truck. We put about 3x as many miles on our tow vehicle as we do our RV. I'm not sure how much I'd save by driving those miles in a more expensive, less fuel efficient, vehicle.

There are trade offs no matter which option you take - neither choice is right for everyone.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

60 mph is my motorhome's sweet spot, more or less. BTW it is also quietest in that range.

I pick it up a notch for safety in some cases (aggressive high speed traffic where my 60mph seems to invite reckless passing, etc).

We also agreed on aiming for no more othan 300-350 miles per day to avoid "get-there-itis."