Choosing An RV Type And Class - RV Type Comparison Pros and Cons List - What We Considered When Choosing The Type OF RV We Want - Will Your Requirements Be Similar?

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The things that should be considered when deciding which type of RV would fit you

Class B RV's

At this point we knew we wanted an RV but we had some conflicts about what Class RV we should be looking at. To compound the decision we knew we had to decide whether we wanted to continue overseas travel or not and do we want to enhance our travel within the United States by virtue of staying longer in one place than we have in the past and do this in our own RV?  

We decided that a combination of the two was required and set off looking for a Class B van.  

We traveled to Springfield, Missouri (Reliable RV), Covington, Louisiana (Berryland RV) and to Ramsey, Minnesota (Lake Region RVs) to specifically see the best in Class B's and hopefully find a used one we could afford.  

As we looked we became convinced us that the van wouldn't provide enough space for each of us to have some private space and that the Class B's in general were enormously expensive per square foot.  As we mulled our possibilities and our budget we came to the conclusion that if we were going to consider $125,000 for a Class B Van then we should consider an older RV of some type and gain some space and amenities while saving some money.

Now that we eliminated the Class B's entirely, what RV will fit the bill?

Going from knowing exactly what we wanted to what the hell do we want (again) set us back in the uncomfortable but necessary position of comparing the advantages and disadvantages of towing or driving our next home. We are methodical people so we decided to compare the advantages and disadvantages of each type of RV that we would consider. Below you will see our Pros and Con's list.

In order to figure out which trailer, fifth wheel or motor home we should consider we had to look hard at our budget and ultimately settled on a not to exceed $40,000 target. This took into consideration our budget at that time. It presupposed that with our payments at the time that we would be able to purchased the RV and still pay all of our bills. 

As you read this you will see that some of these considerations are purely personal due to our finances.

Our comparison list

Fifth Wheel Trailers

Pros

Better and more choices on interior layout

Good weight distribution

Slide outs

Trailer brakes

King Beds

Better separation of living and bedroom space

Larger Baths

No toad necessary (towed vehicle)

Leave the rig parked when you leave

Basement storage is large

Con's

Have to purchase an expensive tow vehicle

We have to trade both vehicles in to afford the tow vehicle

The entire rig length and weight would dictate a diesel vehicle

Specialized hitch required

We have to trade both vehicles in to afford the tow vehicle

3 season rigs, meaning winter use at below freezing would be iffy

Most do not have generators

Two loans - trailer and truck

Selling or trading Chucks care (upside down) will require a small personal loan

Total costs will likely exceed $95-$100K

Pull Behind Trailer

Pros

Better and more choices on interior layout

Good weight distribution

Slide outs

Trailer brakes

King Beds

Better separation of living and bedroom space

Larger Baths

No toad necessary (towed vehicle)

Leave the rig parked when you leave

Basement storage is adequate

Con's

Have to purchase an expensive tow vehicle

We have to trade both vehicles in to afford the tow vehicle

The entire rig length and weight would dictate a diesel vehicle

Specialized hitch required

3 season rigs, meaning winter use at below freezing would be iffy

Most do not have generators

Water, black water and grey water tanks are smaller

Two loans - Trailer and truck

Selling or trading Chucks care (upside down) will require a small personal loan

Total costs will likely exceed $75-$85K

Class A Diesel Motorhome

Pros 

Leave the rig parked when you leave (with toad)

Good interior floor plan layouts

Bus chassis often with air ride

Large basement storage

Often only queen beds are available

Good separation between living and bedroom 

Medium to large baths, often split baths

Keep our Kia Rio (paid for)

Large diesel engines with more torque for mountains and towing.

Most have heated basements allowing for four season use

Generators

Water, black water and grey water tanks are larger

Con's 

Large diesel engines suck more fuel (8-10mpg)

To afford one we have to be in the 2003-2005 range with 150K+ miles and $35K-$40K price range

Because tanks are larger you are hauling more weight.

Two Loans - RV and Car Hauler

Selling or trading Chucks care (upside down) will require a small personal loan

Total costs will likely exceed $55-65K

As you may be able to see, the Class A wins for a full time endeavor. Especially given our finances and that we ultimately need the space and amenities that Class A provides for personal comfort. After all, this will be home.

The "Process" - How We Arrived At Our Decision - Where We Are In The Process - Are Your Circumstances Like Ours?

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Owning and living in an RV - Are you ready?

So, if you are like us (new to the full timing world but not RVing) or, if you preceded us in the process of getting out of home ownership and going on the road full time, some of what you will read will be new or redundant depending on your personal situation.

We don't expect everyone to understand our need to let go of a physical address but we hope to at least make sense of it for you if you need roots.

How did we come to the decision of transitioning to full time travel without the need of a full time address?

For us it was the process of never having enough time to spend in any one place. We have had many great vacations over the years. but we are migrants by heart and tended to move every 5 years or so through out our marriage.

As time went on we began wanting to move on to other places. We wanted to learn their very unique local cultures. The problem for us was and is, we don't get to stay in on place long enough to really get to know it. We had to go back to work. Being realists we also knew that after a month in one place we would quickly become bored and want to move on.

So, a plan was hatched to someday go on the road permanently so we could keep those experiences coming and to appreciate the very act of traveling, scenery and people.

What factors did we consider to make this idea into reality?

First it makes it easier for us to do this because I am on a fairly comfortable fixed income. This makes it easy to manage our monthly expenses.  Additionally, our youngest son just graduated from college and has essentially flown from the coup and our expendable income has risen as a result.

Other deciding factors were my other adult children and grandchildren. They all live in a large city and are working their way through the corporate and business ownership maze. We don't see any of them often so going on the road is feasible. In fact, we may actually get to visit them more often.

Home ownership is something we bailed out on about five years ago. We owned a lovely home in Holiday Island, Arkansas. I am getting older and there was a three and a half story rear facade on our house that I would periodically have to maintain. Older + thirty five feet in the air + plus old legs = a recipe for a bad accident. So, mutually we decided that we would sell and lease a home instead.

Leasing a home lends it self very well to being nomadic. But since our youngest son was still in college we decided to stay put to provide support (read: $$$) for him while he was still in school and also to give the peace of mind that we would be available for council and support. Now that he is done we intend to not to renew our lease next June 2017.

This also will be the month we are aiming at to start our full time experience.  By then we hope to have purchased a used Class A Motorhome, sold the things we aren't storing and packing up and getting the heck out of town.

Now you know the "who, what, why, when" (we are still working on "where.")  What's next?  Stay tuned to our next blog entry.

Why An RV? - Do You Have a" Family Tradition" Of Family Camping? - Will Your Obsession Take You In The Direction Ours Did?

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 The Family Obsession

"How can we know who we are and where we are going if we don't know anything about where we have come from and what we've been through, the courage shown, the costs paid, to be where we are?" (Davide McCullough)

To answer this question I have to go back a long way to my childhood.  As a child I grew up with camping. My parents, brother and I camped nearly every weekend.

We started in a canvas wall tent that didn't have a floor. It was Army Surplus purchased by my Dad at an Army/Navy surplus store. I was very little maybe five but I do have one vivid recollection camping in that tent in very bad thunderstorm. My Dad put the tent bad location (in a gully). Late at night the storm raged and the rain was relentless.  I woke up to my mother screaming and silhouetted by a lighting flash just just in time to see her floating floating away under the walls of the tent on an air mattress. My Dad was laughing uncontrollably. It's a memory I will never forget. My Mom, well she didn't share the humor of the situation

I don't remember the whole story but I do remember that the next time we camped it was in an Umbrella Tent with a floor. 

Around 1962 my parents gave up on tents and bought a Forest River Shasta 16' pull behind trailer. It was plush compared to the tents.

But as a family we quickly outgrew it and Dad purchased a Forest River Comanche which they kept until the early 70's.

The Obsession Continues

After I left home for and returned from the Army I married my first wife. As is the case with young families I wanted everything. I specifically wanted a camping trailer and couldn't afford one on an apprentice carpenters wages until I found the Appleby Trailer company and bought my first trailer a Pop up.

As the saying goes I was "Shi__ing in tall cotton." However like all cheap trailers this one quickly degraded and was sent to the junk heap.

The Family Obsession endures

After meeting Martha in the 90's we bought a really large tent which was used for one or two outings until we recognized the "hard work" that was tent camping. 

From there we went without a tent until the nineties when we bought our first RV. It was a 1979 Class C Honey Princess.  All systems worked but the engine was a problem from the day we bought it. 

I can say without doubt or hesitation that this was the ultimate in beach RV's. We visited Bay St. Louis, The Florida Keys and all points in between with this rig. We loved the old coach because it was rough around the edges, we didn't have to worry about sand getting inside and it provided tons of fun. 

But it too died a slow methodical death hastened by engine problems.  Ultimately, it sent to a hunting camp in Louisiana to retire. 

At the time we lived in Louisiana and deemed it necessary to have a Hurricane escape vehicle and purchased a Forest River 32 foot pull behind about a year before Hurricane Katrina. 

We kept this RV until we arrived in Arkansas and sold it shortly after and have been trailer-less since.

As you can see we are not strangers to the RV and camping experience. Some of our most meaningful and deep conversations have come sitting around the campfire. We are anxious to continue the tradition.

"Wandering Toes" Join Us For Hints And Tips About How To Transition From A Physical AddressTo Life In An RV !

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This is an invitation to follow us as we transition to no permanent address and take to life on the road in an RV.  Our intention for this blog is to share our process and hopefully provide some information that will help people like us making this transition and we hope to make you laugh at our mistakes and entertain you at our expense with our future experiences.

I suppose a short introduction is in order. I am Charlie and I've been retired for quite some time now. I am 66 years old soon to be 67 (Sept 17th).  My beautiful and talented wife Martha is my soul mate and life partner. Martha (for lack of better terminology) is a "career academic." She has two PhD's and so many extensions behind her name they won't fit onto a business card.

   

We have dreamed for the last 25 years about seeing the United State and being able to stay for more than a couple of weeks at a time. We've always felt cheated out of getting to truly know a location and what's available to do in the areas we've vacationed in.  We believe there is no real way to get to know these things without an extended stay.

So, it finally seems the right time for us to get serious and purchase our Class A RV and hit the road, follow us as we prepare to get ready for the great adventure ahead of us. There will be helpful hints, comparisons and other helpful information to help you get underway.