Recommendation for trying RVing

[MBAustin]

I would like to find something used, but DH likes the idea of new, especially where the black water is concerned.

What are his concerns about the black tank? Most have a fitting that you hook a hose to that essentially pressure washes the inside. Do that, then add a good tank cleaner along with a lot of clean water (fill it at least half full), then drive it around for awhile and then repeat the pressure wash. That should take care of anything unless the tank was not properly maintained by the previous owner (and you would know that by the stench).

 

[folivier]

About hobbies while working. I was an avid fisherman and looked forward to retiring so I could fish every week, every day if I wanted to. Fast forward 11 years after retiring and I haven't been fishing once since retiring. I figured out that fishing was my stress relief from work and once retired I didn't need that anymore. So I devoted my time to other things more meaningful to me.

 

[tb001]

What are his concerns about the black tank? Most have a fitting that you hook a hose to that essentially pressure washes the inside. Do that, then add a good tank cleaner along with a lot of clean water (fill it at least half full), then drive it around for awhile and then repeat the pressure wash. That should take care of anything unless the tank was not properly maintained by the previous owner (and you would know that by the stench).

I think his desire for new is probably less specific—that’s just the one thing he mentioned. I need to point out that most of our furniture is used and it’s not very different than staying in a motel. He just seemed bothered by the concept. But after seeing the entertainment center and fireplace in the new coachmen prism, I’m not pushing as much! I’m trying not to be swayed by stupid luxuries, but it’s hard!

 

[corn18]

I think his desire for new is probably less specific—that’s just the one thing he mentioned. I need to point out that most of our furniture is used and it’s not very different than staying in a motel. He just seemed bothered by the concept. But after seeing the entertainment center and fireplace in the new coachmen prism, I’m not pushing as much! I’m trying not to be swayed by stupid luxuries, but it’s hard!

He should meet my wife. She is mortified by other people's goo. That's why we always buy new houses and she always gets a new car. I am fine with my 6 year old truck.

 

[FreeBear]

After I retired, I bought a couple of R/C helicopters and a really nice telescope because I really enjoyed them before. Nope, not anything there anymore. Really weird how that works. Once I conquer something, I never want to do it again.

So far we really enjoy the 5th wheel as a couple. We weren't sure if we would like it with just the two of us, but we have fun. We haven't gone far yet, so we'll see if a two week trip is interesting. The best fun is when our friends come along with their camper. What a blast!

Since I was young, I've always wanted a great landscape camera lens, but couldn't afford one. Now I've accumulated a bunch of of "adequate" stuff and have the skill to use the good gear, but just not the burning drive. Don't get me wrong. I still enjoy photography, but just don't live and breath it like I did for decades in school and during the long w*rk slog.

Oh, DW and I often take a close friend on our RV trips. Builds great memories and breaks things up a bit from the normal routine of just us.

Thanks for the confirmation. I thought I was one of a very few who experienced this. The solution is to get some more hobbies and interests - or simply to get out more! It's too early to cycle back to earlier interests, as I'm still a bit burned out on them. Time to explore some new areas.

Apparently, we've got company!

I now try not to sink too much money into gear for old hobbies, and try to focus instead on spending money and time on new hobbies and skills.

Have you ever tried birding and/or bird photography? It can be a real rabbit hole. Years ago, I thought people would be nuts to try it, but now I love it. Same with RV'ing. Just thought would be so boring to sit around at a campsite drinking coffee all morning. Now I resemble that comment. I'm THAT guy sitting around outside my rig drinking coffee first thing is the morning.

 

[NW-Bound]

Speaking of trying RV, I know a guy who wanted to upsize from his fairly nice 16' travel trailer, even though he took his wife and kid out camping not too far from home only a few times, and each time only a short one-nighter.

He had his heart set on a big diesel-pusher class A, and after months of looking, found a nice used one a couple of thousand miles away. He took a vacation to fly there, bought it, then drove it back.

The 2nd day after he drove it back, he sold it at a loss to get rid of it quickly. Told me that during the long drive back home, he realized the big motorhome was not for him, and that he really did not care about long trips in an RV.

The funny thing was that I had the impression that his wife did not care about RV'ing either, and I suspect that it was the reason they did not use the existing travel trailer much. He could have saved a lot of time and money if he really knew what would work or not for them.

 

[FreeBear]

Another serial hobbyist commiserating here. Thank god DH is understanding. He has zero hobbies, but appreciates that mine keep me busy!

We too are looking at RVs, and plan on renting to give it a try. It’s so expensive to rent right now that it feels like a couple of trips and you would have already hit the depreciation by buying a unit! I would like to find something used, but DH likes the idea of new, especially where the black water is concerned.

I was set on used too until I saw the new coachman prism. We need to wait until the market craziness has subsided a bit at least.

If DH has zero hobbies, assuming he's retired, what does he do all day??

Yes, RV rental is expensive, but for me it's still cheaper than owning With the RV I'm considering (new Tiffin Wayfarer), I could easily rent for 3-4 MONTHS for the cost for even average depreciation (1st year is even worse) plus opportunity cost (or loan interest cost) plus maintenance plus storage plus insurnace plus registration...

If I manage to buy it will be to "buy" into a different, more mobile, lifestyle where we can just pick up and drive cross country. Sort of a rolling "walk-about". We're only going to be health for so long, and I want to have my fun and share it with DW and friends while I still can.

I think his desire for new is probably less specific—that’s just the one thing he mentioned. I need to point out that most of our furniture is used and it’s not very different than staying in a motel. He just seemed bothered by the concept. But after seeing the entertainment center and fireplace in the new coachmen prism, I’m not pushing as much! I’m trying not to be swayed by stupid luxuries, but it’s hard!

The Coachmen Prism is a nice ride. I rented an 2018 Coachmen Prism Elite and loved how it drove. Winnebago View owners stopped by to admire it at our first campground. With our backs, we need a walk-around queen bed, so the fireplace/entertainment center version would be perfect. Have you seen one in person?? I've found that smaller Coachmen units tend to have very tight bathrooms and showers. It doesn't help that the bathroom door is angled just right to hit my knees when sitting on the throne.

 

[FreeBear]

He had his heart set on a big diesel-pusher class A, and after months of looking, found a nice used one a couple of thousand miles away. He took a vacation to fly there, bought it, then drove it back.

The 2nd day after he drove it back, he sold it at a loss to get rid of it quickly. Told me that during the long drive back home, he realized the big motorhome was not for him, and that he really did not care about long trips in an RV.

Years ago, I dreamed of buying a small cruising sailboat or motor trawler. Seemed to make sense since I loved sailing small boats in college. Just before retiring, I started reading some first-timer cruising blogs. Seemed like some folks spent much of their cruises fixing stuff that broke or was never right in the first place.

What drove the nail in the coffin was that a friend took us out on his 30 ft sailboat. I got seasick at the dock whenever I went below, yet I've never been seasick in a smaller boat of any kind! When we finally got underway, my seasickness lifted, but I was bored out of my mind, even when I took my turn at the helm. Small boats were so much more fun than a bigger cabin boat. Lesson learned.

Now, on to RV'ing. We rented little 25 Class C's and loved them, esp. the Mercedes Sprinter versions. We're renting a "small" 30 ft Class A (aka the bus) next week. I doubt we'd want to actually own something this big, but I'm renting an "experience".

Speaking of diesel pushers, a guy rents a little 35 ft one in town. I dream of taking it down the road to San Diego just to camp near the beach and listen to the waves roll in all night. Don't want to own that beast either, but just want to do it once as a bucket list item. Might have to book my oceanside campsite over a year in advance though...

 

[tb001]

If DH has zero hobbies, assuming he's retired, what does he do all day??

Yes, RV rental is expensive, but for me it's still cheaper than owning With the RV I'm considering (new Tiffin Wayfarer), I could easily rent for 3-4 MONTHS for the cost for even average depreciation (1st year is even worse) plus opportunity cost (or loan interest cost) plus maintenance plus storage plus insurnace plus registration...

If I manage to buy it will be to "buy" into a different, more mobile, lifestyle where we can just pick up and drive cross country. Sort of a rolling "walk-about". We're only going to be health for so long, and I want to have my fun and share it with DW and friends while I still can.





The Coachmen Prism is a nice ride. I rented an 2018 Coachmen Prism Elite and loved how it drove. Winnebago View owners stopped by to admire it at our first campground. With our backs, we need a walk-around queen bed, so the fireplace/entertainment center version would be perfect. Have you seen one in person?? I've found that smaller Coachmen units tend to have very tight bathrooms and showers. It doesn't help that the bathroom door is angled just right to hit my knees when sitting on the throne.

Ha! No hobbies, unless you count reading the newspaper and watching news in the background. He’s still ‘consulting’ part time, I think mainly to have something to do and avoid any of my ‘to-do’ lists. Whenever I kvetch about the laundry he tells me to hire someone

I have been looking for a year to see one in person, but so far none of the ‘on order’ RVs at the dealers near me have materialized. And now it looks like they’ve just renamed the 2021 models to 2022. I wonder how many were actually delivered in the last year. And of those, I worry about how many are of anywhere near decent build quality. Another reason to wait a bit I think!

But yes, the bathroom looks very tight. We’re small people and based on the videos I’m not sure even we could sit and shut the door. One of the reasons I want to look at them first.

The tiffins are gorgeous! We were lured in by a couple of their class As, but the thought of driving one gives me pause. Just driving a windy mountain road in our suv last week had my palms sweating!

I’m curious how the winnebagos compare. They’re significantly more expensive but the quality of the older models looks much higher than the older prisms.

 

[FreeBear]

The tiffins are gorgeous! We were lured in by a couple of their class As, but the thought of driving one gives me pause. Just driving a windy mountain road in our suv last week had my palms sweating!

I’m curious how the winnebagos compare. They’re significantly more expensive but the quality of the older models looks much higher than the older prisms.

Looks like your RV search is reasonably serious, probably more serious than ours. Feel free to PM to exchange thoughts.

Bunch of random thoughts:

Actually, you may get lucky and find a Prism rental near you more easily than finding something at a dealership. Have you camped much?

Have your heard of the RV Consumer Group? They review RV's and rank on quality, value, and highway safety. They charge to access their material but I think it's well worth it; the explanations in their intro to the model reviews is a real education. https://rv.org/

I've never set foot in a Tiffin but they are well regarded as near top tier. Keep in mind that although they mainly build big bus-like class A RV's, they also make the Tiffin Wayfarer, which is just a foot longer than the Prism you are looking at. I'm renting one for 9 days this winter

From my research on RV Consumer Group as well as on IRV2 forum, it looks like for 25 ft Sprinter RV's, the Renegade Villagio, Tiffin Wayfarer, and Winnebago View are considered near the top, both in quality and price. Below this you'll find the Coachmen Prism and Forest River Forester. Anything by Thor is not well regarded, although I like their interiors, at least in the pictures; the issue is quality/reliability. In contrast, at the very top, Leisure Travel Van, Phoenix Cruiser, maybe a few others, have high rankings and a loyal following, but I don't care for the layouts (too small, no walk-around queen beds or have dated interiors). As for price, well, if you have to ask...

So in the end, I think we'll end up with a Tiffin Wayfarer or Renegade Villagio, maybe Winnebago View if the stock market keeps going up for another year or two. Coachmen or Forest River would be a a less costly alternative, but the others seem nicer. After all, if I wanted to save money, I would just rent forever, better yet just drive to a 5 star hotel like the Four Seasons several times a year.

BTW, look up the "Tiffin Wayfarer" group on Facebook. Very active and friendly. There is a "Renegade Villagio" group too, maybe not as active. Would be worth trying Facebook for all models of interest. Much more helpful than some of the more generic RV forums.

 

[tb001]

Ah, that’s a great idea re Facebook. And I hadn’t come across the consumer group. I’ll definitely check that out.

We’re serious enough that if we had been able to find the model we wanted and there wasn’t such crazy pricing early this year, we would probably already have one.

I’ll admit, aside from build quality, both the bathroom size and the CCC/storage on the prism worry me. Quality wise, I know Thor has a horrible reputation, but I was surprised at how well some of the used models we looked at had held up vs what I read online.

I grew up spending summers camping with my grandparents, then did a fair amount of tent camping in my 20s and early 30s. DH has never camped at all, but I think would enjoy the experience if he didn’t feel cramped all the time. The slides really help with that.

We still have young kids, so the idea of taking them on longer summer trips and seeing the national parks is appealing to me. Part of the reason we’re trying to keep the length at ~24ft. My biggest hesitation is that so many of the RV sites look like big parking lots to me. And things are so crowded right now. Not at all the experience I had growing up. I’m not sure how DH will do with dry camping, so want to start things off easy!

The walk around bed is key for us too. As is the on demand hot water tank. Are you looking at a toad? I’m torn on that and it’s the one reason I have thought about a trailer instead of RV…that and safer seating for the kids and maybe less depreciation. Still, my experiences pulling and backing up trailers have had enough that I don’t want the added stress.

 

[tb001]

I’ll add that a big part of the attraction to me is that we are horrible vacation planners. We go back and forth on where to go and where to stay. Then DH wants a suite so there’s a bit of separation between us and the kids, then we realize it will be $$$ for a trip so we procrastinate until it’s too late to book and we don’t take a vacation.

We also really miss the comforts of home. Good pillows/bedding, ability to cook our own healthy meals, etc. So when we do go, we end up taking so.much.stuff. The idea of a packed RV mostly ready to roll and just head out is huge. And once we’ve invested the big $, we would push to use it.

 

[youbet]

I’ll add that a big part of the attraction to me is that we are horrible vacation planners............. The idea of a packed RV mostly ready to roll and just head out is huge.

Uh Oooooooh........

Keep in mind that public and private campgrounds have become very busy and often hard to book and it looks like the situation is only going to get worse. It's not impossible, but finding good sites at popular locations during busy seasons can be a real challenge.

 

[REWahoo]

Keep in mind that public and private campgrounds have become very busy and often hard to book and it looks like the situation is only going to get worse. It's not impossible, but finding good sites at popular locations during busy seasons can be a real challenge.

^ This.

It has grown almost impossible to find a spot on short notice, especially for some of the more desirable locations. We have a 3-week RV trip planned for late August and we made reservations five months in advance. Even then one of the parks had only three openings left for the week we wanted, and that was only because it is near the end of the season.

This, along with aging equipment , have DW and I giving some thought to hanging up our RV spurs. We agreed to wait until after our trip to make any decisions.

 

[tb001]

Uh Oooooooh........

Keep in mind that public and private campgrounds have become very busy and often hard to book and it looks like the situation is only going to get worse. It's not impossible, but finding good sites at popular locations during busy seasons can be a real challenge.

Ha! Yes, that’s a definite concern. I don’t mind booking in advance if it’s a $50 campground. It’s swallowing $500+ hotel rooms that get me! I’m hoping all of the non campers get it out of their system this year.

 

[skyking1]

I think his desire for new is probably less specific—that’s just the one thing he mentioned. I need to point out that most of our furniture is used and it’s not very different than staying in a motel. He just seemed bothered by the concept. But after seeing the entertainment center and fireplace in the new coachmen prism, I’m not pushing as much! I’m trying not to be swayed by stupid luxuries, but it’s hard!

Buying new is a bit of a trap, IMO. Everyone I know who has purchased new has been without their RV for a significant amount of time in the first year. The quality control is only so good, and they had the RV in for warranty this or that sometimes for several weeks at a time.
There is no loaner, no recompense for your troubles. It can seriously sour the RV experience right out of the gate.
When you get a late model used rig, the previous owner has been through all that "pride of ownership" and those bugs will be worked out.

 

[finnski1]

Uh Oooooooh........

Keep in mind that public and private campgrounds have become very busy and often hard to book and it looks like the situation is only going to get worse. It's not impossible, but finding good sites at popular locations during busy seasons can be a real challenge.

Completely agree. DW and I are very picky about clean well maintained and especially quiet campgrounds. They are very hard to find and getting worse. So much so that we don't usually even go unless it's before Memorial Day or after Labor day.
I made a 11 night reservation for Acadia National Park in September recently and if I didn't have my site all lined up and ready to hit the reserve button at 10:00:00 AM exactly 2 months in advance we would not have gotten in. It's small, only about 50 to 60 RV sites, beautiful and getting more popular each year. We can't see anybody else from our site, it is immaculate, quiet and has great restrooms etc.

 

[FreeBear]

I’ll admit, aside from build quality, both the bathroom size and the CCC/storage on the prism worry me. Quality wise, I know Thor has a horrible reputation, but I was surprised at how well some of the used models we looked at had held up vs what I read online.

....


We still have young kids, so the idea of taking them on longer summer trips and seeing the national parks is appealing to me. Part of the reason we’re trying to keep the length at ~24ft. My biggest hesitation is that so many of the RV sites look like big parking lots to me. And things are so crowded right now. Not at all the experience I had growing up. I’m not sure how DH will do with dry camping, so want to start things off easy!

The walk around bed is key for us too. As is the on demand hot water tank. Are you looking at a toad? I’m torn on that and it’s the one reason I have thought about a trailer instead of RV…that and safer seating for the kids and maybe less depreciation. Still, my experiences pulling and backing up trailers have had enough that I don’t want the added stress.

Since you are concerned about cargo capacity, all the Sprinter RV's, not just the Coachmen, have very limited capacity. The Sprinter chasis just can't hold the weight. The Ford F-450 chasis like a Minnie Winnie or tons of others may be a better fit and there are tons for rent and sale.

As for campgrounds, we love the state and county parks in new home state Arizona. They are half the price of commercial campgrounds, typically big sites with decent views. Utah looks good too; we'll see in person next week. As for national parks, we've pretty much given up on staying inside them. We get close in a state or commercial campground, then drive into the NP first thing in the morning, hoping to find RV parking in at least a few spots.

I've always lived in metro areas so campgrounds have been crowded for decades, even in bad weather. It helps in retirement in that we can avoid the weekend, but still they are typically booked solid, especially is you want to stay for more than a single night.

As for towing a car, we'd like our future RV to have the capacity, but I'd rather avoid it on most trips. Just want to keep it simple, which is the reason for a shorter unit.

We also really miss the comforts of home. Good pillows/bedding, ability to cook our own healthy meals, etc. So when we do go, we end up taking so.much.stuff. The idea of a packed RV mostly ready to roll and just head out is huge. And once we’ve invested the big $, we would push to use it.

This is our reasoning or justification too. It would be nice to take short trips regularly without a huge, major production to prepare. Also, month-long trips look more reasonable finacially, once you manage to forget the huge upfront capital and opportunity cost to buy the RV.

 

[iRent2u]

Rv in retirement

I would recommend you visit a large RV show. Like the one in Tampa, FL or in Hershey, PA. You can see everything and then some. Would recommend you get to know “happy” rv’ers. It’s important you enjoy being with the person you are traveling with. My wife and I have been rving since 2015. We have made some good rv friends and we have traveled over 55,000 miles since then including the trip of a lifetime to Alaska in 2015.
I highly recommend it!!

 

[meleana]

Never appealed to me but my cousin and her husband retired and bought one of those huge ones (resale) and quickly learned it was a lot of work and maintenance and hassles and problems. Not to mention trying to book sights way ahead of time. Then there's the gas.



Last time I spoke with her she and hubby were looking to sell it and maybe get a much smaller one. Not sure what she ended up doing.


My advice would be to rent one for a few years.

 

[RVingFT]

I will add to the list of suggestions here from my perspective after 20+ years of RVing, and now in my 5th rig. 1) each of you write down what and where you want to go [your bucket list]; 2- be prepared to be flexible; 3-set a budget for purchase and maintenance; 4-rent an RV first for a week-long vacation or 2, but realize it will not give you a reasonable comparison to full-timing; 5-if you want/plan to work remotely, bring your own internet.

 

[harllee]

I am going to be Debbie Downer about RVing. We have done a lot of it for many years. First a tent, then a small camper, then a Class A motorhome. We decided we were done with camping got rid of the Class A about 5 years ago. Why were we done with camping? It is a lot of work. Keeping the thing in good mechanical condition, cleaning it, hooking and unhooking, dealing with the power cord and the tanks, driving the thing. It is very hard now to find a space in a decent campground. When we started out you could leave on a spur of the moment trip and find nice campsite. Not any more, you have to reserve months in advance, no more spur of the moment trips. It seemed that in every campground we were surrounded by barking dogs, screaming kids, loud motorcycles. We discovered Airbnbs and found out we could rent a nice private small house cheaper than we could drive our RV and rent a nice campsite.

Just my 2 cents worth from someone who has been there and done that.

 

[NXR7]

Buying new is a bit of a trap, IMO. Everyone I know who has purchased new has been without their RV for a significant amount of time in the first year. The quality control is only so good, and they had the RV in for warranty this or that sometimes for several weeks at a time.

There is no loaner, no recompense for your troubles. It can seriously sour the RV experience right out of the gate.

Pleased to meet you and now you know someone who purchased new (in 2019) and was not without their rig for several weeks at a time.

It certainly was not due to the high quality workmanship. It was due to knowing what you wrote is definitely a problem. We spent three full days at the dealer going over the new 38' motorhome inch by inch and back again. And then we left it for a full month for needed repairs that the dealer's incoming inspection had missed. We did not accept the unit so the warranty did not start until the day we drove it off the lot.

Even then there were issues but none that caused us to cancel a trip or get stranded somewhere. Because the dealer did not get their money until we signed, they actually had an incentive to get things fixed in a timely manner.

One thing I don't think I read here is that you do need to be a DIY'er or you will have your rig stuck at a dealer for several weeks only to find out they did not fix everything. Or maybe anything. Or broke as much as they fixed.

If you can do normal house repairs such as minor carpentry, hopefully some minor electrical and plumbing as well plus normal DIY car maintenance you'll do fine.

But if you are someone who has to "call the guy" for everything, do not consider an RV that you will own. You will hate it. You will pay high labor rates, you will wait and wait and wait, you will miss trips, you name it.

There's also a fair amount of ongoing maintenance. Everything you have in a small house plus a large truck. That rolls down our country's lovely roads. That has walls and rooms that move (the slides).

When you get a late model used rig, the previous owner has been through all that "pride of ownership" and those bugs will be worked out.

Maybe. There's also the possibility they dumped it because of the hidden and constant problems.

As for working, yes, you can do it. You will need to pay for at least one and probably two cellular data plans to assure you have connectivity. My buddy is a sysadmin for one of the big multinational law firms and he and his wife live full time in their motorhome.

I second www.irv2.com as a great source of info. Because it's owned by the same company as this site, just use the same email address and password over there as you use here and their system will find your account here.

We're in ours almost half the year because we live in the snowy north and we get away. But yeah, you now almost always need to make reservations months in advance and sometimes a full year in advance.

This winter was kind of weird because the Canadians got locked out of the USA. There were PLENTY of spots even at the very desirable locations. But as soon as the border re-opens that will change.

One other big difference with RV's: the dealers.

Each RV dealer is an independent business, NOT a franchise like a car dealer. They do not really have to abide by the RV manufacturer's standards, they can and do take only service customers who bought from them, it is a highly variable experience.

If you're fortunate to live in a good weather climate all year, like Florida, you will have plenty of "mobile RV techs" for service. Not in Ohio, though.

Ray

 

[KenZ71]

Lots of options for just as many tastes

We bought a 2005 Tiffin Phaeton summer of 2020.

My only complaint.... it's too small. Yup, at 40 feet long I would like more room

In the year we have had it only stayed in a campground once - yuck.

Preference is Harvesthosts.com - you stay for free at a vineyard, farm, brewery, etc. We usually spend about $50 to 75 at their store buying stuff but waking up in a Vineyard after enjoying their products is beyond awesome.

As for fuel cost yeah at 7 MPG it adds up but so what, I've got ALL the comfort of home. Shower is dang hot, plenty room. Two couches, 2 TVs, a king bed and full kitchen.

Wife & I lived in it with 2 Labradors, a Pug & Corgi for 6 weeks while visiting a friends horse farm.

For fuel I always goto truck stops using https://www.tsdlogistics.com/services/fuel-program/ I usually save about 60 cents a gallon vs pump price.

 

[imnontrad]

Yes, start by renting RVs of different styles to find out what you like. Yo may want an RV (and have a "toad) or may decide to get a truck and a pull camper. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Consider joining Facebook RV related groups to "listen in" and educate yourself. Decide if you want one for just you or one with space to take kids/grandkids on the road. And determine what features are "needs" and which are "want" or "can do without".
Also look where you plan to travel. if you plan to stay in privately run campgrounds, some have a rule that the RV cannot be more than 10 years old. So buying an 8 year old RV will limit your options. Also look at the length - you may decide that you want to visit national parks (or even be a campground host) and many have size limitations.
Also, you will find many used RV dealerships near popular winter vacation spots. Many times, the husband dies and the wife never learned how to drive/maintain the RV so they are selling it.