Another Exciting Episode in Audrey's Great RV Adventure

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I almost hate to remind you that my avatar is not me, though...

Neither is mine (only Brat and ha ah knew). I'm not really a nuclear fascist. Only on Tuesdays.

 

[W2R]

This isn't the Route 66 of my childhood.

I don't think Route 66 went through Arkansas. I remember traveling from St. Louis to Springfield, Missouri on Route 66 in the 1950's. Past Springfield, I believe (if my memory is correct) that Route 66 continued onwards across Missouri and then into Oklahoma.

 

[W2R]

Neither is mine (only Brat and ha ah knew). I'm not really a nuclear fascist. Only on Tuesdays.

Oh, good! That is a relief to know.

 

[audreyh1]

We are at Hot Springs National Park. They upgraded most of the spots to full hookups with 50 AMPs. Very nice place with decent elbow room between sites and the fall colors are beautiful. Our Sprint cell card works great and the over-the-air antenna gets all the broadcast networks so I didn't even attempt to get a satellite signal.

Now if it would just stop raining...

In the Hot Springs area this past May, we stayed at Lake Ouachita State Park (which had awesome big rig accommodations in the A loop) and Lake Catherine State Park which was a lot harder to get into, but had nice canoeing (rentals) and hiking. We had planned to go in to Hot Springs for at least one day to visit Hot Springs National Park - but you guessed it - it wouldn't stop raining - actually 3 out of every 5 days!!! So some other time.

Petit Jean Mountain and Magazine Mountain blew away all the other parks in AR in terms of incredible beauty, scenic vistas, and wonderful hiking. Both accommodated big rigs, but had somewhat limited number of large campsites - in particular Magazine Mountain - but if you got a site, what an incredible place to stay!

Here is one of numerous small cascades along the hiking trails at Petit Jean State Park. I don't have any of the big scenic vista photos quite ready to go.

Audrey

 

[audreyh1]

But, but, but you are talking about someone with a sewer phobia here.

She can't even have a house with a septic tank.

Don't blame you! Fortunately DH kindly took on the sewer hose wrasling task from day 1.

He's so glad I drive the rig that he'll do just about anything else!

Audrey

 

[NW-Bound]

W2R will NEVER overcome her phobia!

I, on the other hand, will have to do EVERYTHING if and when we get an RV. About the only thing I think my wife will do is to give direction when I need to back up. But that's OK. I need her on the trip bad enough I will do it all.

 

[Nords]

Ah, but the homebody misses out on the freedom of the open road, ever-changing vistas, the chance for adventure, and the world's largest ball of string!

Gee W2R - you obviously have no idea how easy and comfortable our "roughing it" is.
OK - I do have to go to another building to do laundry now and then. Which is just fine with me as I can run several loads simultaneously since I can use multiple washers and dryers.

Audrey, you & W2R are going to have to compare your repair bills and property taxes...

RVs get just about zero use out here, but it's become de rigeur for movie stars filming in Hawaii locations to have their RVs shipped out here to help them feel at home while they're working.

 

[RonBoyd]

RVs get just about zero use out here, but it's become de rigeur for movie stars filming in Hawaii locations to have their RVs shipped out here to help them feel at home while they're working.

This is probably one of the most underrated aspect of traveling by RV. The older one gets, the more our comfort becomes dependent on the little things and the convenience of having them "at hand." For example, check your "medicine" cabinet in the bathroom (or Liquor Cabinet). Or something as simple as having your own pillow(s) or the sheets on your bed.

 

[RonBoyd]

To those "on the bubble" about RVing: You would be well served by visiting The Adventures of Tioga and George website.

Today's entry:

We on the TiogaRV Team like to travel without doing much research about where we are going. MsTioga likes to explore by wandering around. We have stumbled on to glorious places this way. That's how we came to find the Pueblo of Santa Rosalia in Baja California del Sur where we spent three winters. And also how we found the Pueblo of Aticama and La Playa de Matanchen.


Could we have researched these places? Or is it only possible to find them by traveling short distances, and then curiously wandering around exploring?

 

[audreyh1]

This is probably one of the most underrated aspect of traveling by RV. The older one gets, the more our comfort becomes dependent on the little things and the convenience of having them "at hand." For example, check your "medicine" cabinet in the bathroom (or Liquor Cabinet). Or something as simple as having your own pillow(s) or the sheets on your bed.

For those of us who RV, there is no question that this is one of the MOST appealing aspects - your own bed, your own kitchen/fridge, your own bathroom, plenty of your own "stuff" traveling with you. And NO PACKING AND UNPACKING, no luggage, no dealing with strange rooms, strange beds, rental cars, etc. Complete privacy - no stranger comes into your room to "housekeep".

And for traveling by road - there is no vehicle IMO that beats the smooth comfortable ride of the air suspension in a well-powered big rig. Not to mention that when you pull over at the rest area for a nice break - you have all the comforts of home!

Of course, folks who don't care to travel much have this all the time while they stay home! It's those of us who like to travel a great deal who appreciate having our own home on the road.

Audrey

 

[HFWR]

a twisting, snake-like two lane road apparently designed by drunken hillbillies

You got some'n agin drunken hillbillies?

 

[Bestwifeever]

This thread is toying with my brain. I'm sure because of REWahoo's account of his RV neighbor's tire issues, last night I had a dream that one of the new tires we just replaced on our SUV had a blowout. And in my dream I knew to speed right up to prevent losing control, just like Audrey discussed. So weird.

I love road trips and I love to drive and I'm a good driver (never had a ticket or avoidable accident), but the biggest thing I've ever driven was a cargo van, following DS in a car, and I freaked out every time I had to change lanes because of the limited visibility behind me. And I love the spontaneity that RVing seems to imply, just pick up and move whenever you want, but what I got to my dream destination and all the sites were full?

I also love traveling because when we do, we leave our regular life behind and don't think about it. If I were an RVer, I'd want nothing in the RV to remind me of the comforts of home (beside chocolate).

 

[unclemick]

Nice straight multi lane I-10, Mobile Alabama during rush hour coming back from Florida - driver's side wheel bearing went sending out a beautiful shower of sparks.

I won't describe the the hair raising drive from the center lane to Wal Mart parking lot. She roughed it watching tv on bat in the 28 foot camper while I spent 6 hrs and a lot of money getting the wheel bearing fixed on the pickup.

Been over 20 yrs and I still remember 'that little episode.'

RV'ing lasted about 2 yrs into ER.

heh heh heh -

 

[audreyh1]

And I love the spontaneity that RVing seems to imply, just pick up and move whenever you want, but what I got to my dream destination and all the sites were full?

I can tell you that in 4.5 years of mostly spontaneous RVing this almost never happens! And you can always call ahead same day (which we usually do). And if it is really your dream location you are headed to then you can always make reservations.

Audrey

 

[samclem]

I think a trailer would be a good alternative for someone not wanting to make the full "plunge" into big-rigging. All sizes seem to be considerably less expensive than a comparably sized motorhome. The parts that "wear out" (engine, tranny, suspension, etc) and which need frequent maintenance are all in the tow vehicle, so there's no reason your investment shouldn't still be serviceable for 25 years. The tow vehicle is usable every day when you are at home, so that depreciating asset isn't sitting under a tarp, undriven, 200 days out of the year. And, when you get to the campsite you've got a vehicle for short trips into town while leaving your "home" set up. I guess on the down side, you do have a little more set-up time when you get to the "camp" and the non-driver can't go back and make a sandwich or grab a cold drink from the fridge while on the road or stopped for a minute.

For full-timers the dedicated motorhome makes a lot of sense, but for the less dedicated part-timers, I'd probably go for a trailer on the bang-for-the-buck factor.

Of course, I know nothing about any of this--I'm just chiming in with an uninformed opinion.

Here's all the self-respecting LBYM RVer needs-- a home-built teardrop trailer. A place to sleep, a stove, an icebox--everything is right there!

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Thanks for posting about your experiences.

 

[dm]

I bought this old travel trailer to see if the RV life is one that we may enjoy. I am basically replacing everything over the winter. New plumbing, flooring, ect. The trailer is a 64 model so its time for a few repairs and updates. Our first trip is planed for April, so I have this winter to get it in shape. I don't think we will stay gone for more than two or three weeks at a time and this gives us a chance to see if we enjoy it or not. If we do it will give us an idea on what we want if we chose to buy something else. If not I won't have to much invested and can sell it, or park it in the backyard and use it for a garden shed or something.

 

[brewer12345]

samclem nicely outlined all the reasons we ended up with a travel trailer. But different strokes...

 

[audreyh1]

I think a trailer would be a good alternative for someone not wanting to make the full "plunge" into big-rigging.

Yep - that is definitely the way to get started. And if you have phobias about dealing with mechanical issues, the simpler the trailer the better. Also - get a low weight one so that you don't have to deal with advanced towing issues - those can get complex as well.

And with a trailer, you really do learn most of the ropes of RVing and can make informed decisions about getting fancier or maybe decide RVing is not for you and you haven't invested a whole lot.

We started out in a Casita. Even though it was a bit cramped, it was awesome! We didn't get the "big rig" until we decided full-timing made sense for us.

Audrey

 

[calmloki]

I think a trailer would be a good alternative for someone not wanting to make the full "plunge" into big-rigging. All sizes seem to be considerably less expensive than a comparably sized motorhome. The parts that "wear out" (engine, tranny, suspension, etc) and which need frequent maintenance are all in the tow vehicle, so there's no reason your investment shouldn't still be serviceable for 25 years. The tow vehicle is usable every day when you are at home, so that depreciating asset isn't sitting under a tarp, undriven, 200 days out of the year. And, when you get to the campsite you've got a vehicle for short trips into town while leaving your "home" set up. I guess on the down side, you do have a little more set-up time when you get to the "camp" and the non-driver can't go back and make a sandwich or grab a cold drink from the fridge while on the road or stopped for a minute.

For full-timers the dedicated motorhome makes a lot of sense, but for the less dedicated part-timers, I'd probably go for a trailer on the bang-for-the-buck factor.

Of course, I know nothing about any of this--I'm just chiming in with an uninformed opinion.

Here's all the self-respecting LBYM RVer needs-- a home-built teardrop trailer. A place to sleep, a stove, an icebox--everything is right there!

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Thanks for posting about your experiences.

Poooofft. go big or go home:

The Long, Long Trailer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


YouTube - Learnin' to Drive the Long Long Trailer

(me for the little guy too - who needs the stress?)

 

[MuirWannabe]

Petit Jean Mountain and Magazine Mountain blew away all the other parks in AR in terms of incredible beauty, scenic vistas, and wonderful hiking. Both accommodated big rigs, but had somewhat limited number of large campsites - in particular Magazine Mountain - but if you got a site, what an incredible place to stay!

Here is one of numerous small cascades along the hiking trails at Petit Jean State Park. I don't have any of the big scenic vista photos quite ready to go.

Audrey

Shush. Be quiet. Don't give Petit Jean away. It's too nice not to be kept a little secret.

 

[Moemg]

I am surprised that none of our Rv'ers are touring New England . It is so beautiful at this time of year .

 

[ls99]

I am surprised that none of our Rv'ers are touring New England . It is so beautiful at this time of year .

SHhhhh! yer giving away the good stuff. I spent a lot of time in New England and the Adirondacks from late September to late December. Truly spectacular, the tourists and the black flies are gone.
Shhhhhh, keep it quiet.

Though when hunting season starts, stay out of the woods for the first three or four days, by then the inebriated/incompetent hunters have shot each other.
In the Blue mountain lake, Saranac region (Adirondacks) we used to bet on how many airlifts or expired hunters would be on the first then the second and third days.

 

[simple girl]

Also - get a low weight one so that you don't have to deal with advanced towing issues - those can get complex as well.

Are there any trailers you can tow with a car? We don't own an SUV/van/truck and would rather not.

 

[NW-Bound]

I think a trailer would be a good alternative for someone not wanting to make the full "plunge" into big-rigging. All sizes seem to be considerably less expensive than a comparably sized motorhome. The parts that "wear out" (engine, tranny, suspension, etc) and which need frequent maintenance are all in the tow vehicle, so there's no reason your investment shouldn't still be serviceable for 25 years. The tow vehicle is usable every day when you are at home, so that depreciating asset isn't sitting under a tarp, undriven, 200 days out of the year. And, when you get to the campsite you've got a vehicle for short trips into town while leaving your "home" set up. I guess on the down side, you do have a little more set-up time when you get to the "camp" and the non-driver can't go back and make a sandwich or grab a cold drink from the fridge while on the road or stopped for a minute.

For full-timers the dedicated motorhome makes a lot of sense, but for the less dedicated part-timers, I'd probably go for a trailer on the bang-for-the-buck factor.

Of course, I know nothing about any of this--I'm just chiming in with an uninformed opinion.

Those were all the reasons I thought of when I started to think seriously about RVs. I did a lot of research on the Web regarding various lightweight trailers of under 3000 lbs loaded. They are usually around 18 ft long. My SUV is rated at 5000-lb tow rating, but I have read that one needs a lot of margin for safety and to not ruin the SUV transmission.

We then went out to look at a couple. I was disappointed that the new ones are expensive ($15K+) and small. Used ones would be lower of course, but it would take some time to shop. One thing that turned me off about these lightweight trailers is that many owners report gas mileage from 8-10 mpg when towing with a SUV that usually delivers 18mpg by itself.

Then, I found out that for a bit more, I can get a used class C with 50K miles or less. We saw some that had been well kept. These class Cs are better built than the small travel trailers, in my view. Towing a small car, some owners reported 8-10 mpg, which would be excellent in my view. Of course I am talking about gas models, not diesels. The latter cost quite a bit more, and I did a rough computation to convince myself that the fuel savings would not offset the higher price for many many tens of thousand of miles. Same story as hybrid vs. conventional cars.

Most class Cs are built on a commercial truck or van chassis. So, you take them to a Ford or Chevy dealer for service. The "house" portion would be serviced by common RV shops, I was told.

So, I am still leaning towards a class C pulling a car. A small used class B would work too. They are small enough that one doesn't need a dinghy (they can't pull one anyway). RonBoyd has one of those. Despite the smaller size, they aren't cheap, and tend to cost more than the class C even. I think built in to the prices is the expectation that fuel prices will rise. Dare I go against the common wisdom? The answer depends on how many miles I will drive, but I do not have a good estimate of that.

 

[audreyh1]

Are there any trailers you can tow with a car? We don't own an SUV/van/truck and would rather not.

A pop-up probably. Still, you need to make sure you have a proper hitch with the proper weight rating for whatever you pull.

Audrey