Buying a camper in retirement ... dumb idea?

[old medic]

The slide needed to be extended in order for the Murphy bed to go down but for short naps the jack knife sofa was great.

That is one thing I recommend to anyone looking at campers is to see it closed up. Dealers always have them opened up. We have looked at hundreds of campers over the years, both of ours with slides we asked to see them closed and got that "WHAT" look. We have seen ones that seemed massive, but you had to put out one slide to use the bathroom, another you had to put out both slides to get to the fridge. Another thing to have is a u-shaped dinette, makes a double bed instead of sleeping curled up in a ball.

 

[pb4uski]

+1 It is important to me to see if when it is closed up for traveling can one get to the bathroom and the refrigerator and t least some food storage. We would often stop for a break or lunch at a rest area and wanted access to these things without having to extend the slideouts. Our camper design was very good that way... we had good access to all of the above and the dinette and jack knife sofa, as well as the outdoor kitchen.

 

[Rocky mtn high]

For years been considering buying, dd and sil have trailers, So rented one and pulled it 900 miles one weekend, It went well but for $200 per night, no storage, no maintenance, no insurance, no taxes. I think I will keep renting unless we would use a lot which I don’t think we will. Highly recommend renting first!

 

[AudiDudi]

WoW - 900 miles in one weekend, how did you find time to enjoy the rental?

 

[Rocky mtn high]

Well I guess I should say left on a Thursday and came back on Monday soo two full days at a lake with kids and grandkids, It was fun but I will say pulling 450 miles in one day was a lot.

 

[AudiDudi]

Well I guess I should say left on a Thursday and came back on Monday soo two full days at a lake with kids and grandkids, It was fun but I will say pulling 450 miles in one day was a lot.

I've done it in the past, but try to avoid it now. Glad you had a good time!

 

[erkevin]

My wife and I have discussed a 5th wheel or Class C for years; always a big fantasy! Our current belief is "no" however. The reason why is that there are multiple homes in our subdivision with trailers or 5th wheels; several on our block. We NEVER see them gone. They have sat there for years. Would be be different? Unlikely.

 

[Teacher Terry]

An RV is the most expensive dog hauler you can get.

I wouldn't have it any other way, and my dogs love going camping. No hassles or extra fees to get a hotel that accepts dogs.

That’s how we ended up with our motorhome. We had three little dogs and then ended up with my son‘s 84 pound dog. It was the only way we could travel with all of them and we wanted to be gone for a month at a time. They also loved traveling in the motorhome.

 

[skyking1]

That is one thing I recommend to anyone looking at campers is to see it closed up. Dealers always have them opened up. We have looked at hundreds of campers over the years, both of ours with slides we asked to see them closed and got that "WHAT" look. We have seen ones that seemed massive, but you had to put out one slide to use the bathroom, another you had to put out both slides to get to the fridge. Another thing to have is a u-shaped dinette, makes a double bed instead of sleeping curled up in a ball.

Exactly that. Our criteria was simple:
1) stop for groceries and put them away.
2) stop and make a quick lunch.
3) use your personal restroom. That was one of the great features of taking the trailer.

If a rig could not do that without messing with slides, it was out, done, Kaput. We can sleep in our 5th wheel and have done so with the slide in when it was really nasty outside.
I personally don't like dinettes at all. Our current rig I purchased with the intent to remodel. I took a sledge to the dinette first.
Then I gutted out the bathroom walls, took out the silly 48" tub/shower, and put in a proper shower.

I had already changed the bed platform to make it a true king bed.

When the walls come tumbling down when the walls come tumblin tumblin.........Down!
It was old enough that it had an entertainment center with a cathode ray tube TV, about 14" deep of wasted space.
That made for a toilet space there so narrow I defy anyone to take care of business. It was very reminiscent of an old 737 lav LOL!
That was 9 years ago and we have kept it to the 4 western states so far. It was a good run for a trailer I spent 10K on.
I put up a new wall of 3/4" oak veneer to match all the oak inside. There is an automotive DVD receiver in that space now.

I had envisioned an arm mounted LCD TV there, but it never happened. We really did not want a TV in there.
This custom box encloses the wires where they came out of the roof into the original wall. it has cubbies for towels low, and a pair of shelves you can reach from inside the shower for shampoo, body wash, and wash cloths.

By next fall I hope to start the replacement RV build. It is a ground-up custom thing unlike anything you could buy.

 

[folivier]

We're selling our CO cabin and our plans are to continue spending the summers up here by renting a lot and staying in our 30' motorhome. We'll also start driving the motorhome back and forth rather than the car and staying in hotels and having to eat out. The costs are comparable since the motorhome is paid for.
One thing I hate about driving the car is either we make a too long day of driving and get to the hotel tired and go straight to bed or we are bored with little to do. Our route is set and we stay in small towns with only fast food places. In our motorhome we are much more comfortable with downtime. And can either cook our meals or prepare them before we leave and just heat them up. And our bed is comfortable and bathroom is clean.

 

[skyking1]

We're selling our CO cabin and our plans are to continue spending the summers up here by renting a lot and staying in our 30' motorhome. We'll also start driving the motorhome back and forth rather than the car and staying in hotels and having to eat out. The costs are comparable since the motorhome is paid for.
One thing I hate about driving the car is either we make a too long day of driving and get to the hotel tired and go straight to bed or we are bored with little to do. Our route is set and we stay in small towns with only fast food places. In our motorhome we are much more comfortable with downtime. And can either cook our meals or prepare them before we leave and just heat them up. And our bed is comfortable and bathroom is clean.

when I am pushing through, I still limit my day to ~400 miles or less. When we are camping along the goal is to find a new place to stay that is interesting <300 miles away.

 

[Trailwalker]

400 miles/day is my limit, and I try to keep it to 200 miles/day. We're nearing our Wisconsin summer destination, and have just a couple of hours to tow today.

When we went searching for a trailer to replace our Scamp, my wife had three requirements: dry bath, queen-sized, walk-around bed, and no slides. The Lance 2075 model fit perfectly. We found one that was six years old that was in good shape,although there are always going to be maintenance/repairs. We also found one of the older and smaller models of Arctic Fox that we liked, but it was fifteen years old, and the exterior was suffering in desert sun.

 

[AudiDudi]

400 miles/day is my limit, and I try to keep it to 200 miles/day.

<snip>

I try to keep it 300 miles or less. But yestersay, did 463 miles. I just didn't want to stop 2 1/2 hours from home at 1:30 in the afternoon. Very light traffic and great weather - home by 4:30 after we stopped at some friends.

 

[Mark1]

I have toyed with the idea of getting a Class B (and even put in a 10' 4"door when I built my shop), however, I doubt I would use it that much so I never pulled the trigger on a purchase. I did recent outfit my Outback with a Luno car camping system (>$1,000 by the time I was done). I have no desire to camp if I can spend the night in a hotel, but some places just don't offer this option. Once the smoke clears and it cools down a little, we're going to take an overnight trip to either Muddy Creek or Sid's Wilderness in the Swells to test it out.

 

[old medic]

I try to keep it 300 miles or less. But yestersay, did 463 miles.

UGH.... due to our DD change for her C-section, We needed to get home ...... 850 Miles in 15 1/2 hours.

 

[AudiDudi]

UGH.... due to our DD change for her C-section, We needed to get home ...... 850 Miles in 15 1/2 hours.

Ouch!! most we've done in the motor home was 632 in about 13 hours. That was heading home from AZ in April 2020. It was tough trying to find a campground that was open. Ended up in a truck stop (between 2 refer trucks )

 

[finnski1]

Ouch!! most we've done in the motor home was 632 in about 13 hours. That was heading home from AZ in April 2020. It was tough trying to find a campground that was open. Ended up in a truck stop (between 2 refer trucks )

That's funny we did the exact same thing between 2 reefer trucks that ran all night long. DW wasn't too thrilled.

 

[AudiDudi]

That's funny we did the exact same thing between 2 reefer trucks that ran all night long. DW wasn't too thrilled.

LOL - I parked around 8pm. They pulled in around 10 and took the last spots.

 

[Janet H]

Reformed tent camper here... I had to be talked into purchasing an RV. I hated everything I thought I knew about RVing AND RVers. Plaid upholstry, empty beer cans and twinkie wrappers on the ground, diapers drying on the propane tanks... (The word snob ominously rolls around in my head upon reflection).

I was wrong.

Many years ago we purchased a very used RV after finding bedbugs at a hotel. I used to stay at a lot of 2 star places, provided by the music venues my band was booked into. No more! I take my own sheets with me when ever possible and I've discovered some cool things about RVing:

• There is an awesome community of adventurers out there. They like to wander and visit cool places on their own schedules. Many have become close friends over the years and we occassionally travel together.
• There are RVs and camping locations to meet virtually any style and taste. I dislike full service, busy RV resorts (think KOA) and prefer quiet beautiful locations but others WANT resort style ammenities. Both options exist.
• RVing isn't cheap - this is not a financial decision, but instead - a lifestyle choice.
• New skills are still aquireable. I've learned to tow and maintain (fix) all manner of busted stuff on my rig. There are tools and I enjoy learning to use them.
• RVers are surprisingly friendly and helpful.
• Many Rvers find that after some time passes, their interest moves on to some other pastime, and another way to spend $$. I probably will too but for now, I enjoy the process or planning, packing and executing my adventure and I like the freedom and flexibility the RV gives me.

 

[finnski1]

Reformed tent camper here... I had to be talked into purchasing an RV. I hated everything I thought I knew about RVing AND RVers. Plaid upholstry, empty beer cans and twinkie wrappers on the ground, diapers drying on the propane tanks... (The word snob ominously rolls around in my head upon reflection).

I was wrong.

Many years ago we purchased a very used RV after finding bedbugs at a hotel. I used to stay at a lot of 2 star places, provided by the music venues my band was booked into. No more! I take my own sheets with me when ever possible and I've discovered some cool things about RVing:

• There is an awesome community of adventurers out there. They like to wander and visit cool places on their own schedules. Many have become close friends over the years and we occassionally travel together.
• There are RVs and camping locations to meet virtually any style and taste. I dislike full service, busy RV resorts (think KOA) and prefer quiet beautiful locations but others WANT resort style ammenities. Both options exist.
• RVing isn't cheap - this is not a financial decision, but instead - a lifestyle choice.
• New skills are still aquireable. I've learned to tow and maintain (fix) all manner of busted stuff on my rig. There are tools and I enjoy learning to use them.
• RVers are surprisingly friendly and helpful.
• Many Rvers find that after some time passes, their interest moves on to some other pastime, and another way to spend $$. I probably will too but for now, I enjoy the process or planning, packing and executing my adventure and I like the freedom and flexibility the RV gives me.

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very nice vintage airstream.

 

[Janet H]

very nice vintage airstream.

It was once a heap. Tools and tenacity....

 

[finnski1]

It was once a heap. Tools and tenacity....

Well, it looks very nice now. What model?

 

[Janet H]

Well, it looks very nice now. What model?

That's a 1964 Globetrotter, 19 feet long and very lightweight but it has all the essentials: comfy bug-free bed, bathroom, heat and a fridge

 

[finnski1]

That's a 1964 Globetrotter, 19 feet long and very lightweight but it has all the essentials: comfy bug-free bed, bathroom, heat and a fridge

Bug free bed is one of the reasons we like pulling a camper. Plus we know the cleanliness and condition of everything. 

 

[ransil]

That's funny we did the exact same thing between 2 reefer trucks that ran all night long. DW wasn't too thrilled.

The reefer and cattle trucks always find me.