Motorhome!

[SarahW]

About a month ago we purchased a new Fleetwood Bounder 33C gasoline puller motorhome. It was sort of unexpected...we were "just looking" and suddenly we own a big toy. (It's sort of like a playhouse for adults.) This is our first RV and we are like kids on Christmas morning.

We've taken a one-week trip so far (hubby is still working), but I've got the travel bug and I can't wait for the holidays to be over so that we can start planning next year's vacation(s). I wanna GOOOOO someplace!!! (whine)

It will be another 3.5 years till hubby retires (at 60). I guess I'm going to be forced to learn how to drive the MH myself so I can hit the road on my own....

 

[Walt34]

I tried to talk DW into something similar several years ago. Well, not quite that nice, just a travel trailer.

Neat toy!

I'm tempted to ask if you'd like a traveling companion but spouses are generally not very understanding about such things....

 

[SarahW]

We started out looking at travel trailers, but my hubby does not like to tow. Then we looked at Class C MHs because we were trying to stay under a certain budget. Next thing we knew, we had purchased a Class A and had no place to store it. HAHA.

Walt, I'd love a traveling companion!!

 

[NW-Bound]

All Right!

This motorhome may just be the cure to your hubby's "just one more year" syndrome.

Have fun! What I did, and still do, was to surf the Web to learn about boondocking, places to camp, etc..., particularly from full-time RV'ers because they have all the time to go and stay in those places. We take long trips, so do have some flexibility.

I tried to talk DW into something similar several years ago. Well, not quite that nice, just a travel trailer.

What's wrong with a travel trailer? We could have ended with one if I already had a truck to tow it instead of my 6-cylinder SUV. So, we ended up with a second-hand class C. Then, I bought a second-hand towable used car to go with it. I suspect SarahW will also end up with a toad.

 

[SarahW]

All Right!

This motorhome may just be the cure to your hubby's "just one more year" syndrome.

Have fun! What I did, and still do, was to surf the Web to learn about boondocking, places to camp, etc..., particularly from full-time RV'ers because they have all the time to go and stay in those places. We take long trips, so do have some flexibility.


What's wrong with a travel trailer? We could have ended with one if I already had a truck to tow it instead of my 6-cylinder SUV. So, we ended up with a second-hand class C. Then, I bought a second-hand towable used car to go with it. I suspect SarahW will also end up with a toad.

Hopefully once my hubby gets really comfortable driving the MH he will decide to add a toad. Right now we are in a steep learning mode, so some things just have to wait.

I've been spending all my free time on RV forums and reading full-timers' blogs. We don't have any desire to go full time, but we have LOTS of trips in our future!

Any helpful tips from RV owners will be appreciated. I bought a 7" RVers GPS and a tire pressure monitoring system for hubby's Christmas!!

 

[SarahW]

What's wrong with a travel trailer? We could have ended with one if I already had a truck to tow it instead of my 6-cylinder SUV. .

Absolutely nothing wrong with a TT! That's what I wanted, but hubby is a wuss and didn't want to tow. He drives a Tahoe, so I thought surely we could find some lightweight TT that would work for us...but noooooooooooo.

 

[SarahW]

I shall now bore you all with a few photos.

 

[Major Tom]

Ooooh, a thread titled "Motorhome!". Of course, I just HAD to read it.

Congratulations on your purchase SarahW and I hope that you and hubby have many happy trips. One of my plans/dreams for the future is to go full-timing for a few years. I'll most likely purchase a used LazyDaze, but I think I'm a few years away from that so in the meantime I get my kicks vicariously by reading threads like this one

 

[REWahoo]

That is one nice looking rig!

Any helpful tips from RV owners will be appreciated.

Having owned a motor home, the one helpful hint I'd offer is watch out for tail swing and rear-end drag. You have a lot of overhang behind your rear wheels and it is very easy to whip that back end around and hit something in a tight turning situation - like at a gas station. Also, be cautious of big inclines - like entering a steep driveway.

 

[NW-Bound]

You have a lot of overhang behind your rear wheels and it is very easy to whip that back end around and hit something in a tight turning situation - like at a gas station.

Yes! And my class C overhang is less than that. Well, but I also have a tighter turning radius, making the rear end swinging wider.

Luckily for me, I only scraped the rear bumper (the square tube thinggy for storing the sewer hose) on a post. No damage other than scraped paint.

Another time, making a tight left turn to get away from the curb, I caused the toad to almost jump the curb. Poor toad! Against, luckily, I drove very slowly and carefully, and caught it on the rear camera before I damaged the toad steering system.

And by the way, nice motor home!

I'd still prefer it coming in a smaller package. Now that I knew a bit more about RV'ing, I would go even smaller, not bigger. Of course, people enjoy different things.

 

[SarahW]

Ooooh, a thread titled "Motorhome!". Of course, I just HAD to read it.

Congratulations on your purchase SarahW and I hope that you and hubby have many happy trips. One of my plans/dreams for the future is to go full-timing for a few years. I'll most likely purchase a used LazyDaze, but I think I'm a few years away from that so in the meantime I get my kicks vicariously by reading threads like this one

Thanks, Tom! We're still grinning! I'm not sure I'd be cut out for full-timing; a little 'togetherness' goes a long way with me...haha!! If you haven't RV'd before, I'd suggest joining a couple of the RV forums and start reading.

 

[SarahW]

That is one nice looking rig!

Having owned a motor home, the one helpful hint I'd offer is watch out for tail swing and rear-end drag. You have a lot of overhang behind your rear wheels and it is very easy to whip that back end around and hit something in a tight turning situation - like at a gas station. Also, be cautious of big inclines - like entering a steep driveway.

Thanks! I'm planning to sign up for a motorhome driver's course. My hubby is very cautious and so far, so good. We are still seeking out "pull through" campgrounds.

 

[REWahoo]

We are still seeking out "pull through" campgrounds.

So am I - and I've been RVing for many years.

 

[SarahW]

Yes! And my class C overhang is less than that. Well, but I also have a tighter turning radius, making the rear end swinging wider.

Luckily for me, I only scraped the rear bumper (the square tube thinggy for storing the sewer hose) on a post. No damage other than scraped paint.

Another time, making a tight left turn to get away from the curb, I caused the toad to almost jump the curb. Poor toad! Against, luckily, I drove very slowly and carefully, and caught it on the rear camera before I damaged the toad steering system.

And by the way, nice motor home!

I'd still prefer it coming in a smaller package. Now that I knew a bit more about RV'ing, I would go even smaller, not bigger. Of course, people enjoy different things.

Thanks! Compared to most Class A's, ours is fairly small (a little over 34'). We looked at several Class C's and it was a tough decision since there are pluses and minuses to all of 'em.

 

[SarahW]

So am I - and I've been RVing for many years.

We're excited because next time there's a hurricane evacuation, we can sit in the traffic on I-45 for 19 hours and still have a/c and a bathroom. YAY!

 

[ls99]

Crosswinds, tire pressures and the potential for black mountain in the holding tank.

Verify the gross weight, then check that the tires are rated for that weight.

 

[SarahW]

Crosswinds, tire pressures and the potential for black mountain in the holding tank.

Verify the gross weight, then check that the tires are rated for that weight.

So far we haven't experienced any high winds. I'm not looking forward to that. We have done our homework on the tire pressure ratings, which is one reason I bought the TPMS system. Thanks for the advice!

 

[NW-Bound]

About the GPS, I bought MS Streets & Trips which came with a GPS dongle to use on my laptop. Laptop screen looks gigantic compared to my portable GPS screen, which I use for hiking. Laptop sits nicely on the deep dashboard.

 

[SarahW]

About the GPS, I bought MS Streets & Trips which came with a GPS dongle to use on my laptop. Laptop screen looks gigantic compared to my portable GPS screen, which I use for hiking. Laptop sits nicely on the deep dashboard.

Hmmmmm. That sounds like a great idea. I bought the Rand-McNally 7" 7710 GPS for RVs and it has a much larger display than our Garmin, plus it's supposed to route us through RV accessible routes (low clearance warnings, etc). I guess I'll mosey on over and scope out the Streets & Trips.

 

[NW-Bound]

MS S&T is relatively cheap. There are also downloadable POI (Points of Interest) databases that you can import. I do not have the link handy, but search for "POI Mega File" and you will find one that is collaborated on by many RV'er contributors. It has many markers for points of interest to RV'ers, such as camping spots, dump stations, etc..., in addition to Walmart and Sam Club.

Hmm... Do not remember seeing anything about low clearance warnings though!

 

[SarahW]

I see that S&T is relatively cheap so I may go ahead and spring for it. I don't see any harm in having both...haha. Thanks for the info about the POI megafiles.

 

[Nemo2]

We are still seeking out "pull through" campgrounds.

"Go-Aheads" a friend, (when my late wife & I were fulltiming), used to call them.

Anecdote 1) Coming up the Natchez Trace, (we hauling a 28' 5th wheel and our friends following us in their huge Monaco motor home c/w toad), I led us off the wrong exit........no probs...swung around to head back.

Our friends disappeared for almost half an hour.......they had to go 8 miles before they could find a turnaround spot.

Anecdote 2) Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in our car we stopped at the mid-way rest area for a walk and a lookaround.....guy in a big motorhome, who'd also stopped, headed for the wrong merge point on his way out......realized his error, tried in vain to turn around, and eventually had to go right back the way he'd come......."To Infinity.....and Beyond", to quote Buzz Lightyear!

 

[SarahW]

"Go-Aheads" a friend, (when my late wife & I were fulltiming), used to call them.

Anecdote 1) Coming up the Natchez Trace, (we hauling a 28' 5th wheel and our friends following us in their huge Monaco motor home c/w toad), I led us off the wrong exit........no probs...swung around to head back.

Our friends disappeared for almost half an hour.......they had to go 8 miles before they could find a turnaround spot.

Anecdote 2) Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in our car we stopped at the mid-way rest area for a walk and a lookaround.....guy in a big motorhome, who'd also stopped, headed for the wrong merge point on his way out......realized his error, tried in vain to turn around, and eventually had to go right back the way he'd come......."To Infinity.....and Beyond", to quote Buzz Lightyear!

One of our friends has a 38' Holiday Rambler DP and pulls a trailer with her Lincoln SUV on it.

 

[meierlde]

About the GPS, I bought MS Streets & Trips which came with a GPS dongle to use on my laptop. Laptop screen looks gigantic compared to my portable GPS screen, which I use for hiking. Laptop sits nicely on the deep dashboard.

If you don't mind spending a bit more there is Delorme topo North America which can be linked to a gps and gives you topographic map coverage of the entire country, more than streets. It will also do routing if desired. Not having a gps I don't know about live turn by turn directions.

 

[NW-Bound]

I saw that Delorme Topo, but it was overkill for where I could go with my MH. If one has a 4x4 RV that can go off-road, that program would be really cool.

As it is, I was just on some small winding mountainous highways that caused me to sweat plenty with my small 25' MH towing a car. A 40' class A? You would need one that can bend in the middle, like those articulated buses.

No, I am not equipped to go off-road like some guys who have something like this: