Thinking about an RV

[xyz]

The Born Free looks like a good choice for someone new to RV's. One thing to think about...Are you planning on towing a car behind it? A 24' RV is pretty hard to park in a city so many people pull a car behind them. That makes the whole rig pretty big. Alternatively as others have said if you have a travel trailer you just unhook your pickup / van / SUV and you can use that. I have had 2 travel trailers, a fifth wheel and now a 43' Class A pulling a double cab pickup. I love the convenience of the motorhome (lots of electronic gadgets) but I sometimes miss the simplicity of the travel trailers (and they are a lot less expensive to own and maintain!!)

[Brat]

Son & DIL would like to tow a ski boat to central Oregon lakes.

[powerplay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Here's a good video on RV crash integrity: YouTube - Extreme motorhome racing - Top Gear - BBC

This video looks like a RV destruction derby. I'm still laughing.

[Eder]

I'm still going one year after buying my class A . I feel very safe in it...its about 40,000 lbs with steel frame and huge generator in the front that any head on pesky car would have to get thru before my sneakers get touched by the car's roof.

Winnebago has a pretty cool video on its site that shows one of its rv's picked up by a crane and dropped on its roof. looks more safe than the same result using my dodge diesel pick up.

I think anyone without a rv is missing out....buy buy buy!!

[Rambler]

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.

[Eder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambler 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.fmcmagazine.com/back-issu...a-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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambler 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eder 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omni550 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eder 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronlitton 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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 ?

"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 campgroundreviews.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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gone4Good we just want to try to see everything in the world before we die See ya out there! Brian

Yay!! Me too...

[Gone4Good]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkser Are RV Parks safe ?

I second REWahoo's endorsement for campgroundreviews.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

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkser 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gone4Good I second REWahoo's endorsement for campgroundreviews.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.