LazyDays

[audreyh1]

Re: LazyDays

WATCHIT! LazyDays is well known for high prices (not the best bargains), very smooth selling techniques, and lousy service.

Try renting a class A or class C RV for a week here and there to get a feel for the lifestyle and whether it's a fit. Rentals, although expensive, are far, far cheaper than buying one.

Then if it still seems like a great thing to do - start researching product, maybe visit a few shows to get a look at a few models that (based on research) seemed like they might be OK . By then if you've done the rental thing a few times you'll have a little hands experience to help guide you, as well as the research. The LAST thing you want is to visit a dealer - only when you've narrowed down to a few models and know who are the reputable dealers for those models, plus what you should expect to pay.

Many people get fleeced by walking into a dealer and getting dazzled by whatever happens to be on the dealers lot. It takes a lot of research to both find a good match of an RV plus get a decent deal.

By far the best deals are buying an RV that is about 2 years old and not too abused. It's harder for a newbie to buy used - but perhaps you can find an experienced RVer to help you out.

RVs are money pits.

Realize (perhaps you do) that I actually live in a motorhome (class A).

Audrey

P.S. Forums to read: www.trailerlife.com http://www.escapees.com/

 

[Martha]

Re: LazyDays

Just so there is no confusion, LazyDays the dealer is not at all related to the manufacturer LazyDaze.

Someone should have thought about trademark infringement.

 

[haha]

Re: LazyDays

I often fantasize about an RV of some sort. I likely would never buy anything bigger than a PU with a tent and a bunch of crap in the back, but they always look so inviting!

I bought a used Silver Streak Trailer in the early 80s, and a Ford F 250 crew cab to pull it. I thought we'd go down to the Oregon dunes. Ha! I am no truck driver is what I learned! I brought that thing back, stuck it in my yard, and used it as a really neat piece of sixties kitsch. I could go out there in the morning and have coffee, watch the deer or eagles or herons on my pond, and enjoy the turquoise countertops and "blond" cabinets.

A few months ago I was fantasizing again while I was driving through the Stillaguamish Valley on the way to my drum lesson. I approached an old stone bridge. Another car got there about the same time. We were both going about 50. There were two lanes, but it was tight. Damn, I didn't like it in my car! If I had been driving a motorhome I likely would have headed for the river.

Another difficulty I have is that I am maintenance challenged. When I had little money, I buckled down and did lots of stuff, switched engines in my car and pickup, replaced main bearings that I had ruined by not noticing an abrupt oil leak, etc. But I hate it! I hate the scuffed knuckles, the grease under my fingernails, the smell of oil and solvent. I even wore vinyl gloves to try to keep clean, but it was a losing battle. The only part I liked was the Jack Daniels afterward and the camaraderie with my kids while we worked.

I have talked with a few RVers, often at the park down from my house. All the men seem to me just like the guys I used to meet taking my kids to ham radio events. Do these guys ever love to tinker! I would go to sleep listening to their conversations, but that much I learned.

So unless I could travel with a woman wrencher, I think my maintenance phobia likely disqualifies me too.

"Hey Sweetie, I’ll pass you the shiftin' spanner if you’ll give your Daddy a little kiss."

Ha, the RV Wannabee Who Never Will Be

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Re: LazyDays

By far the best deals are buying an RV that is about 2 years old and not too abused. It's harder for a newbie to buy used - but perhaps you can find an experienced RVer to help you out.
Realize (perhaps you do) that I actually live in a motorhome (class A).

Thanks for the great advice, Audrey. Will follow!

Yes, LazyDays (the dealer) is very slick and impressive, but like most here if we go this route, there will be obsessive due diligence.

The Winnebago View or Gulf Stream Cruiser Mini (both based on the Dodge/Mercedes diesel) both look good for us on paper, given it's just two of us and the occasional little grandkid, 18 mpg; a bit weak on towing but the most we'll have there is a 300 lb scooter or such.

We may hold off until I semi-FIRE and thus have more time to ramble, but it is tempting for those long weekends even before then. If you have any opinions on whether the above seem like good newbie choices I'd love to hear them.

 

[Brat]

Re: LazyDays

We have a travel trailer that we use as a 'mother-in-law' when visiting family in our former home town. We found a convenient place to park it that tolerates our occassional occupancy.

In my corner of the world there are several RV rental places. At both Portland and Anchorage airports I notice arriving passengers climbing into RVs obviously planning to camp the easy way. Given the investment (and likely limited use) I would rent not buy.

Do the math before buying.

 

[Martha]

Re: LazyDays

I haven't seen Tozz around the site lately. He is traveling in the Winnebago View or Itasca Navion (same thing). He reported that he really liked it.

I think the issue to look at is whether it or the Gulfstream have enough carrying capacity.

CCC is Cargo Carrying Capacity, or the amount of "stuff" you can load in it.

For a motorhome, CCC is calculated as the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) minus the base weight of the motorhome plus full fluids (fuel, oil, propane, fresh water), and the number of sleeping positions times about 150 pounds.

The CCC posted inside the rig may or may not be accurate because RV manufacturers are not required to weigh each individual motorhome...they can use an average. Plus, if the dealer has added after-market options, the weight of those options will not be reflected in the weight sticker.

 

[brewer12345]

Re: LazyDays

Yup, CCC is what has me no longer looking at a VW Rialta. The "sleeps 4" version has CCC of like 400 pounds, which is way too low. The Mercedes-based RVs are not quite as bad, but they appear to be kind of skinny on CCC. The Chevy-based Roadtreks seem to have a lot more CCC, as does pretty much anything Lazy Daze makes.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Re: LazyDays

Here's a disgusting question: how often do you have to dump the black (or gray) water tanks assuming you haven't filled them? Is there some time limit where you need to tend to them even though you still have capacity?

I figure this isn't a problem when you are camping for a week or more at a time, and dumping them regularly. But with sporadic use, I imagine that time would necessitate tending to them faster than filling them?

I really should be thinking higher thoughts here, but, heck --  I'm on vacation.

 

[Andre1969]

Re: LazyDays

About 6 years ago, I came really close to buying a rig like this...

http://www.jaycronen.com/vehicles/images/travco/220-starboard-full.jpg

It was a 1974 Travco 220 motorhome. Believe it or not, as tiny as the thing is, it actually has a private bedroom in back! I've always been fascinated with vintage motorhomes, but I guess rolling all of the potential problems of an old car together with an old house and trying to go dancing across the USA with it isn't the most sane thing in the world to do!

FWIW, the last time I saw a Travco actually on the road was about 5 years ago, on my way to Texas. Needless to say, it was broken down along the highway.

 

[greg]

Re: LazyDays

Here's a disgusting question: how often do you have to dump the black (or gray) water tanks assuming you haven't filled them? Is there some time limit where you need to tend to them even though you still have capacity?

I figure this isn't a problem when you are camping for a week or more at a time, and dumping them regularly. But with sporadic use, I imagine that time would necessitate tending to them faster than filling them?

I really should be thinking higher thoughts here, but, heck -- I'm on vacation.

Oh, boy. Sewage and elimination of elimination--how derivative! One of my favorite topics. As a practical matter, we dump after each camping trip if we can find a free dump site. Sometimes we can't and our partially full black tank sits for a week or sometimes two. The chemicals DW adds after a dump have always kept oders to a minimum. The specially built toilets for MHs prevent the back-up oders from entering the cabin. Sometimes the seal on the toilet leaks and there's some unexpected blow-back. We try to fix such problems immediately. The seals can be treated with Vasaline (Sorry to stray slightly off-topic)

Our black water holding tank holds about 20 gallons. You could probably figure out how long that tank size would last given your personal circumstances (expected personal daily volume times the number of active participants). I won't give you any details about the two of us. Suffice to say, that two adults on the road makes a 20 gal. tank last a week easy, especially if one uses public rest areas as intended. Unless a bad eating event or two occurs. Most canpgrounds have dump stations as do many road side reststops, except in Texas. Municipal sites are easy to find. I think Texas wants you to take it all back home for the most part. If you are on an extended stay in the woods, you can buy a large portable tank to dump into and then roll it to an outhouse. More details? I've got plenty. Please don't tell Martha I posted our personal elimination habits on a public forum.

 

[KB]

Re: LazyDays

I've been following all the RV posts thinking I might like to rent an RV and tour parts of the US someday soon.

Can someone please explain what the diference is between the different classes...and more importantly which one is the smallest and closest to a pickup or van size? TIA

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Re: LazyDays

Oh, boy. Sewage and elimination of elimination--how derivative!

Thanks for the uplifting thoughts, Greg. Actually quite useful and let's face it, dealing with that er... aspect of RVing is mighty important to a newbie. I've been doing a little homework and have to smile at the number of messages on black water, what to add, what not to add, odors, etc. It's the industry's dark, mysterious side .

In perspective, sounds like it's an unpleasant but relatively minor part of the lifestyle, at least when everything is working as it should.

 

[Andre1969]

Re: LazyDays

Motorhome classes...

I think it goes something like this...

Class A: motorhome based on a medium-duty truck chassis. Could be anywhere from 22-40 feet long, single or tandem rear axle, but the whole thing is "enclosed", as in there is no separate cab

Class B: van-based. Usually has a customized body that's taller than a regular van, and might flare out a bit wider aft of the cab. Usually these things are very expensive for their size, because all of the components inside, like the plumbing, appliances, etc, have been miniaturized in a major way. These things kind of like a conversion van on steroids.

Class C: minimotorhome. These are the ones where they mate the camper body to a van or pickup truck front-end. I think they're usually based on the 1-ton van/pickup chassis, so they're not a medium duty platform like a Class-A motorhome. These are the ones where you have a sleeping area over the cab. Since vans are taller inside than pickups, they usually have a van front-end, but I have seen some with pickup truck cabs. They were common in the 60's and early 70's, but as vans evolved, they pretty much took over.

Class D: I don't think they really make these things anymore, but they're basically like Class C's, except that they're built off of compact 1-ton truck platforms. There used to be a company called Dolphin that built them on Toyota platforms, but I dunno if anybody still makes them or not. Toyota does make a 1-ton compact truck platform for use as Ryder/U-haul type trucks, so it's possible that someone still uses the platform for motorhomes.

Bus conversions: I don't know if these are considered Class A or have their own separate category, but these are usually expensive, heavy-duty Diesel buses that are converted for motorhome use. They're expensive, but are essentially private versions of Greyhound-type buses, so they're designed to go the distance. They're bigger and heavier than your typical medium-duty truck-based Class-A, but also tend to be much more substantial and less flimsy.

 

[HFWR]

Re: LazyDays

http://www.rv-coach.com/rv/types/classes/rv_types.html

 

[greg]

Re: LazyDays

Thanks for the uplifting thoughts, Greg. Actually quite useful and let's face it, dealing with that er... aspect of RVing is mighty important to a newbie. I've been doing a little homework and have to smile at the number of messages on black water, what to add, what not to add, odors, etc. It's the industry's dark, mysterious side .

In perspective, sounds like it's an unpleasant but relatively minor part of the lifestyle, at least when everything is working as it should.

No, the scary part is the ease of talking about it. When I was about 20-21 years old my brother and I drove down to Florida to see my parents--30 some hours straight. We arrived late at nite. I woke up early in the morning, about 9AMm and my mother and girlfriends were all sitting around the kitchen table talking about constipation. My eyes rolled and I had to 'leave the building.' For years afterward, the standing joke with my brother was that the first one to start talking about that stuff in public should be shot by the other. Oh, my, gawd!

 

[cube_rat]

Re: LazyDays

Okay, you guys are really freaking me out with the Cute and FUzzy name change

 

[astromeria]

Re: LazyDays

I appreciate the descriptions. We're planning to take a tour of Florida over DH's CHristmas break. I've only been to FL once, 20 years ago, and only went to Sanibel Island and DisneyWorld. I'm looking forward to visiting friends, a variety of Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches, state parks, manatees... I'm thinking about renting a trailer that we can pull with our 4Runner, which has the towing package--better shocks, a hitch, bigger engine, 4WD. Since we love camping, I'm certain we'll enjoy it--unless we have to deal with a lot of mechanical problems. Maybe we'll buy one when DH fully retires and we have a better idea what we'd like (trailer, class C, fifth wheel...) and can afford. Reliability is a big issue for me. That's why I currently lean toward a Lazy Daze--I drool over this year's anniversary edition (30 footer). sigh--that material-girl streak pops through my frugal shell occasionally!

And I'm not the least bit offended by talk of human waste in this context. Maybe it's all the pit toilets I've used over the years--I'm so grateful for any kind of plumbing.

PS--If you have to have an apocalypse, best to have a cute & fuzzy one

 

[JWV]

Re: LazyDays

Part-timing has been a dream for me for quite a while. Here's a link to a couple who just finished their first year of full-timing.  When they started out I believe he had never really towed a trailer before.  He's an accountant/attorney and gives a detailed accounting of expenses, etc. Quite Type A but very interesting and enlightening.
http://rv-dreams.typepad.com/rvdreams_journal/2006/08/recap_one_year_.html

Reading that site and The Adventures of Tioga and George http://vagabonders-supreme.net/get me through the week!

Judy

 

[Andre1969]

Re: LazyDays

I was just wondering...if you wanted to take a camping trip nowadays, say, just with your car and a tent, are there still places where you can pitch a tent for free? Aren't campgrounds kinda expensive these days?

Back in 1992, I had fantasized about spending the summer in California. My plan was to land a summer job at a May company out there (I worked for a May store called Hecht's in Maryland) for a few months, and rent a room somewhere. I was going to just take about 2 weeks to drive out, at my own pace, and sleep in the car. And then, take about 2 weeks to drive back in August.

I never got the chance to do that, and it was probably a silly fantasy. But I think it woulda been fun.

 

[haha]

Re: LazyDays

I woke up early in the morning, about 9AMm and my mother and girlfriends were all sitting around the kitchen table talking about constipation. 

So how may constipated girlfriends did you have? Were you a vector?

Ha

 

[KB]

Re: LazyDays

Thanks for the descriptions...it really helped.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Re: LazyDays

It's context-sensitive. Here at work (I work in a hospital) we talk about body secretions, functions, and hiding places all the time without so much as blinking an eye. But out with friends I sometimes have to restrain myself from recoiling at the slightest hint of someone reporting on their peristaltic status.

Similarly, I have had my share of contact with every possible human byproduct, not to mention evil microbes. No problem. But ask me to change someone else's kid's full diaper, and I'm out of there (my own kids' diapers were no problem but that was 30 years ago).

Not sure where black water will fit into this quandry .

.

 

[cube_rat]

Re: LazyDays

It's context-sensitive. Here at work (I work in a hospital) we talk about body secretions, functions, and hiding places all the time without so much as blinking an eye. But out with friends I sometimes have to restrain myself from recoiling at the slightest hint of someone reporting on their peristaltic status.


.

  Ugh.

 

[greg]

Re: LazyDays

So how may constipated girlfriends did you have? Were you a vector?

Yes, now that I think about it for a while. I can't remember the number of times while out on dates where I thought "Man-oh-man, this young lady is loose and it's gonna be an easy time tonite." But then, later in the evening, I find out she was just a tight a**. I think this is primarily a male disease where one's symptoms show up in the female counterpart. A truely unique and distressing disease. I suspect you've had similar experiences?

Dang! I try to be good and then everybody starts baiting me. Bad, Ha, bad!

 

[eridanus]

Re: LazyDays

I was just wondering...if you wanted to take a camping trip nowadays, say, just with your car and a tent, are there still places where you can pitch a tent for free? Aren't campgrounds kinda expensive these days?

BLM land and most national forests allow free camping. Some states allow sleeping in the car at rest stops.

State parks are fairly cheap. A few national parks don't charge entrance fees and charge only minimal camp site fees.