Rv trips
 

My DH and I are seriously thinking of buying an RV and I would like any input, stories, or advice you may have. We went on one trip in a rented RV and enjoyed ourselves but did have some mechanical problems. My DH is very handy- thank goodness so he was able to manage them and says this wont happen if we buy one as he will keep it maintained. So, I would appreciate any thoughts you have on this.

RVs are a great way to travel and see the 'backroads' sections of the country. The drawback is that most are so small... but you already know that from renting one :)

Don't drive until 10 p.m. and then try to find a place to stop for the night. pulling a car behind makes other drivers hate to give you way to change lanes. and not staying in your lane drives other drivers insane. Can you tell we don't have our RV anymore? oh, driving to Northern States can be tricky. Parking isn't easy. They have places but not enough room for large RV's. trees in the way, etc. But have great fun!!!

I am currently on an RV trip.( have been for a month). We pull a 30 foot Wind river trailer. I love it. We have a walk around queen bed,table with chairs( we left 2 home so I have room for my box of sewing stuff), a little couch,2 recliners, and a nice kitchen. I have my FW,an ironing pad I put over the stove cover..I'm set. Any fabric I get,I mail home to a friend. We get up and leave early am,and try to get settled again by mid pm. The other drivers have treated us well. We use a navigator,so get to places easily. DH gets on the Internet and plans where we go,calls up an reserves a spot. I check out the quilt shops! We looks at RV Resort reviews and have been in lovely spots.
Any thing bigger than 30 feet won't fit in some of the forest service spots,you do have to watch the trees. We don't have a motor home,because we don't want to tow a car. It has been great...I can clean this place in 20 minutes,no yard work,have my own bed and bath. There are more pluses than negatives for us.

We came within seconds of purchasing a 30' trailer last weekend and at the last minute decided it wasn't for us. DH is not mechanically inclined and I would worry about pulling a trailer in heavy traffic. We decided that for the amount of times we would really use it, the cost of additional gas and using our truck vs car and motels wasn't worth it. We could pay for a lot of motels for the cost of the trailer. That being said, I love to camp. Maybe when I retire next summer and we don't have so many other commitments, we will change our minds.

I live in a small town east of Little Rock, and Walmart parking lot has lots of rvs and semi trucks parked overnight. My DS says it is because there are security cameras present. Wal Mart welcomes them as they spend dollars inside. DH and I traveled in a small rv up the west coast and loved it. Saw so many beautiful sights. It was, of course, not our primary residence. He wanted to go w an RV full time and I said no. I need a home base. He is gone now and am glad I have a home. A friend tells how her husband had a heart attack and she had to drive their RV down a mountain road. She had not driven it until then. The Rv we had gave us many rewarding opportunities. My advice is weigh your doubts and fears against the benefits. It is nice not to tote luggage into motels every night and know who has slept in the bed the night before.

Good luck with your decision. We don't RV but I know some have issues trying to find a campground that has the room for a large RV. I've also known some who buy in a retirement park (like in Arizona) and love that life. Guess it depends if you want to travel. We rode motorcycles for years and traveled the country - now we are content to stay in our little piece of heaven. No neighbors, surrounded by forest service, lots of wildlife and close to family.

My dream has always been to retire and buy a small used Airstream and travel out west. Unfortunately, our finances can't afford it and I honestly am deathly afraid of my husband's driving. He takes chances in traffic that I would never think of. I think he's the kind of driver that I'm always calling an "idiot", waiting until the last minute to change lanes, going through yellow lights, speeding past semi-tractor trailers and generally, just living in his own lane with no global awareness until just before it's almost too late to change lanes. AARRRGGGHHHH! Yes, I do drive everywhere when we are together and I don't think I could handle driving an RV for 100 of miles at a time.

So, my dream will continue to be a dream................

I have no desire at all to travel. We did some of that when we were younger. I enjoy being at home, We still work at least 40 hours.

We are on our 4th RV and we both dread the day when we feel uncomfortable driving with one. We have had 2 travel trailers, and now are on our 2nd fifth wheel. We used to go on weekend trips all the time when we were working, along with several long weekend trips a year and one or two week long (or longer) trips a year. Now that we are both retired, we go camping from Sunday or Monday through Wednesday or Thursday. The Ohio State Park camping fee is half price for senior citizens on Sunday - Thursday nights. We are planning an extended trip to the southwest sometime this year. We just love being in our RV and have been out camping during every month except January.

Advice? Here are a few things to consider

RV mattresses are usually very uncomfortable. Plan on probably having to buy a good mattress for your RV.

Most RVs now come with slideouts that the RVs much more spacious and comfortable. One thing we watched for when we were looking for our newest one was that you still had access to the bathroom and the refrigerator when the slideouts were in. That way on the quick road stop, you can still use the bathroom and have access to the frig for a quick lunch or a drink without having to open the slideouts out.

Someone here mentioned that the max length for many state and national parks is around 30 feet. Good thing to remember, depending on what kind of campgrounds you will like to stay at. There are many different styles of campgrounds, from extremely fancy, expensive, snooty places that have everything you could imagine and that will even park your RV for you, to primitive places where you will have to bring your own water in and you will not have any electricity. (There are always generators, but they are noisy and expensive and restricted in many places.) You can pay anywhere from over $100 /night to less than $10/night. We average about $25 - $30 / night.

A motor home is nice because you have only one vehicle and you do not have to tow anything behind you. It is generally easier to drive. However, if you have a fifth wheel or a travel trailer, and you find you need a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk, you do not have to pack up everything, unhook from the water and electric to drive into town to go to the grocery store or to go out to eat or do your sightseeing. You will have your tow vehicle (usually a pickup truck) to drive around in without packing up a motor home. Another alternative which many do is to tow a small car behind a motor home so you have a vehicle to drive around with.

And yes, I always have a sewing machine, fabric and all sewing and quilting supplies in our camper!

These are some main considerations, but I am sure there are many more! If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask! Have fun!

We have a 30ft Winnebago Lite Five, it's a fifth wheel, we already had the truck to pull it. We did not want a Class A (the bus type) and have to tow a car. We have 3 slides and that really opens the place up, one of the slides is in the bedroom. We have a dining room table with a leaf and 4 chairs. We leave 2 chairs at home and I sew on the table. We are both retired, no one goes with us except our cat. I try to have my project cut out ahead of time and labeled and put in ziplock bags. There have been times when I've used the picnic table to cut fabric and most RV parks have a community room with tables that anyone can use. We have never had any problem getting into a spot in an RV park, many have pull through spots if you're not good at backing up. Plan your trip, do the homework and call the RV parks and ask them how long the sites are. I like the RV lifestyle, no bed bugs and you can still cook your own food or go out. We have met many wonderful people on the road. Everyone always seems so helpful. We've made many friends, learned new things, seen a lot of places we wouldn't have seen. We have met several people from Canada who have come to Calif. for the warmer winters. We like the ocean and when we are there I sew outside, doesn't get any better than that. My husband likes to read and he watches TV, we have a satellite dish on the RV. We usually only drive 200 miles a day, by the time we get up, pack up and check out of the RV park and drive 200 miles, set up in the RV park, it's a full day. We do have a home, and we are home two weeks out of every month and gone the rest of the month. I leave the RV packed, clothes, linens, dishes etc., I have a second set of everything for the RV. As far as backing up into a spot in the dark, no problem, we always use walkie talkies and in the dark I use flashlights to see and I lay those glow sticks that kids use on the ground where I want my husband to air for and then I just keep talking to him and give directs while he backs up. I'd say go for it, life is too short, have fun and enjoy yourself.

When we retired two years ago we bought a 20 year old 20' RV. There were lots of mechanical problems. We upgraded to one that was only 6 years old and now have very few problems. So far DH has been able to fix most things. I take my small sewing machine and enough supplies and fabric to do what I want. DH has a bicycle he rides. Its personal preference, but nothing is nicer to us than the chance to pack up the dog and "the rig" and head to the beach or the forest any time we want. We are planning a long trip North this summer to visit relatives and to get out of the 105 degree heat.

I grew up going on week long trips in the summer with my family. Camping is one of my fondest memories as a child. We also went to Bear Lake Idaho for two weeks. I love camping.

I finally talked my DH into purchasing a Travel Trailer. We live in an area in Oregon where there is a lot of places to go that is close to home so he can work. LOL

I've dreamed of doing this but my finances make it almost impossible ... unless there's a lottery out there with my name. I envy those who are enjoying their RV, seeing lots of the country and meeting lots of people. Many of you share your exploits on You-Tube for the rest of us to live vicariously. Thank you!
Lots of good advice here. Do your homework and Go For It!

rv.net forums are a great place to learn more about rving. We have a 1989 27 foot class c and love it. We do not tow, we both drive it, I have driven it more than dh. We can both set up and take down. We keep it stocked from March through October with linens, clothes, and nonperishable food. We just have to stop at Safeway for the rest of the groceries. We also have a dedicated RV plug on the side of our house, so we can run the fridge and keep condiments in it. Most our camping is done in BC Provincial Parks, where there are no hook-ups. Because of this we travel with a full water tank.

sounds great!! DH and I are looking at a fifth wheel- 30 foot. Thanks for the tips!

Thank you everyone for the great tips and stories, I will share them with my DH. We are heading out this coming weekend to check out two that he has some interest in, so will let you know what happens.

Best advice I got was if you. Purchase a fifth wheel make sure you can make a sandwich (get to the fridge, plates etc) without having to extend the sides. I also found getting to the potty was good. Also with your sweetheart handy with repairs, check out www.crankyape.com. We have bought 2 from them at got good deals. We had to put some money in but ot a lt. Good luck and have fun!

We are retired & purchased a new 32ft MH with one slide in 2007. We love it and would love to go more often, but I am a LA quilter and am usually very busy quilting for others. Since our MH was new and we've kept it well maintained we have not had any issues. We take our 3 kitties with us which is one reason we bought our MH. We try to take several trips a yr & usually one big one. Last yr we were gone for 6 weeks traveling from south TN to Seattle and back, taking different routes to see more areas of the country. I alway plan the cities and stops looking for great campgrounds, places to visit and of course quilt shops. We do not tow, but rent a car if we are going to be in an area for 2 days or want to see some sights. We found it was much cheaper to rent than buy a towable car, maintain it with insurance, etc. I like to stay in CG with full hookups, cable, internet although we now have a hotspot and satelitte dish, so we can do without that. We did stay in Yosemite last year without hookups and it was fantastic. Regarding the mattress a previous post is so right. We recently purchased a 4" memory foam mattress pad from Wal-mart that is wonderful and even put one on our bed at home. We love Rving and wish we coud go more often. We have good friends that bought a new one and have decided it just isn't for them and are selling. They just don't have the time to use it due to her FT job. I take my feather weight and sew in the kitchen, or if nice outside will sew there. Good luck in making your decision. Hope to see you on the road sometime.

The cost of purchase of the rv, gas to go, maintenance,repair, insurance, planning where to " hookup" nightly, shopping for food having to cook, clean, yuck.....not for me.... Just pick a place drive or fly there, motel, restaurant, rental car if necessary.....now that is my idea of fun!!!!! But viva la difference!,,,

Renting is always better in my opinion. You don't have to maintain insurance, deal with depreciation, or storage fees. How often would you actually use the RV. If only for a few weekends a year, it's not cost effective to buy one. Plus, when you're renting and the motor blows, you just turn it in and get a new one. Unless you plan to live in the RV at least three to four months a year (a few days or a week or two at a time), it's cheaper to rent. We had an RV, paid $1200 a year or more in insurance, $200 a month in principal and interest, $60 a month storage, and had to factor in replacing tires and maintenance. That amounted to about $5 to $6K a year whether we used it or not.

The best "thing" my husband ever gave me was my rv. He picked it out all by himself, bought it, and took me out to see it that afternoon. It was a huge surprise! And it is perfect. HE WAS LISTENING ALL THOSE YEARS!!!!! We absolutely love it and use it every way we can think of: long trips, short trips, weekends at the beach, a place to dream about future trips, a place to join our friends for a weekend, guy fishing trips with me along as cook (I like to cook and our rv has a nice kitchen and lots of storage.) We were in Front Royal VA when my appendix ruptured. After I got out of the hospital and before I could travel, (wonderful care!!!!), the rv was a rehab unit.

The appendix experience emphasized both of us being able to drive and otherwise handle all facets of the rv. I can drive it - pulling a car!

We have a 30 foot Class C with a king sized bed over the cab, a queen sized bed in the bedroom, a child sized bed (folding sofa)' and the dinette makes into another bed. And a for-real bathroom. Oh, and a no-kidding hall in which the cat litter pan fits quite nicely. (2 cats who like the rv as well as we do.)

Our daughter is looking for land for a small farm and assures us that when we get beyond wanting to have a brick and sticks house she will have electricity, water and a septic tank for our rv and us.

This sort of present and future just may turn out exceedingly well! Consider if you might really like it too.

P

My husband and I have been Rving since 2006. We love it. Have seen many beautiful places and each area of the US and Canada are beautiful in their own ways. You sleep in your own bed each night and don't have to worry about bed bugs. We have a 39 ft. motorhome and tow our car. Had a tow dolly at first and that was a nightmare. Tow a car on all fours. It is easier. Don't drive into a campground at night. You can't see well and it can be a nightmare. Most campgrounds can accomodate large rvs. Join Good Sam's or Passport America and they send out books that list campgrounds and describe each and what they accommodate. My motorhome has 4 slides and is very roomy. I also carry my sewing machine and projects to work on at night or when we are not sight seeing. It's not for everyone so weigh your options before you buy.

We have a 32 foot travel trailer and love it. We no longer have to worry about the bed actually being completely clean in a hotel anymore..... or did the house keeper take short cuts cleaning. We can cook our own food if we want, stock beverages etc... never have to worry about finding a potty for a break... lol

You haven't really lived until you get out into the great outdoors, sat under a tall pine tree drinking whatever beverage you choose, looking at the stars at night without the city noise and best of all, you can be by yourself if so choose or in a crowded campground is that is your choice. We have owned many types of travel trailers and motorhomes and prefe the motorhome with a small tow vehicle. We go all the time, and spend our winters in AZ where the weather is also warm. Mostly we camp out in the desert with no hookups, but go into town a couple weeks and get fresh water and dump the tanks. We love this kind of lifestyle and have been doing it for a number of years now. I guess we are just outdoor people and we love it. If it not your type of traveling, that is your choice but I prefer the great outdoors and seeing our wonderful country and beautiful places on our own timeline. Just my opinion - :)

OK, I am an expert on RV's, Fifth Wheels, Trailers, etc. Have bought so many I have the knowledge to sell them ! We just bought a Fifth Wheel last Saturday and will be selling our trailer this next week. I will tell you right now that the most important thing is having a slide in the living room. It adds so much space and you really do need it. The second thing is if you are going to pull a car behind you: that makes it extra longer and that might be a problem. I have so much information, maybe you might want me to email it to you ? We have camped in Canada, 49 of the states many times, usually camp for 4-5 months a year. We have relatives in Toronto who come down to Florida each year in their camper. I love having my own bed/sheets, cooking my food, seeing the countryside.

If he's mechanically inclined and maintains his vehicles like my DH does, go for it. I would love if we could do that. Don't miss this time with him. This is an opportunity knocking at your door. Lock the house up and go. Have fun!

My finances are the same as yours I've been widowed x3. so I stay home n dream.

We have a 32 ft. 5th wheel......I pull it and set it up and tear it down as needed. I host in a state park and I have my quilting and other crafts I'm working on (Christmas stockings and sashay scarves) as well as 2 sewing machines, cutting mats, etc. I can find lots of room to "tuck" my stuff away. We don't travel all over the country.......just fairly close to our home - as in 2-5 hours. If you aren't totally sure, maybe you should rent again. AND if you do decide to buy.......be sure to walk thru with an idea in mind of where you will put what. RV's are SO different in the amount of storage they have. Good Luck.

some good advice here, mattress. Good Sam. 17 years and had to give it up because of DH's health. Had 2 flat tires on last 5th wheel and Good Sam was there, no trouble. DH would spend the winter planning our next trip. miss it

I just deleted a very long list of why not to own an RV. I guess it is better to try than to always regret not trying. It is costly and resale is slow. Wish we had rented and taken it on a cross country trip prior to buying one. If we had rented then I would not have agreed to the purchase. Be prepared to always be buying something for the initial start up especially if you tow a small car. DH quickly traded in his truck for a HHR (?), then had to buy whatever it is to attach to the car so it could be attached to the RV, then wind breakers to attach to the awning (which can't be used if it is windy ). So much to learn about that lifestyle. Good luck.

We love it. Had a 24ft trailer very nice but bed was a short queen! Didn't like the wind in Texas! It was a struggle. Loved having our own "stuff" just pull into a rest area unlock the door and have lunch - sick of restaurant food. Upgraded to a class "A" diesel love it more! Have a basement - we can take anything we want. Have not had any problem with where to camp. We are totally self contained - the generator takes care of any need we might have. No problem with the car following behind, you see the motor home has 3 outside cameras and we can see everything anywhere around us so changing lanes is no concern. If I can do it ---- Full size fridge - king bed - closets storage galore. We both drive - no problem - drove around Miami FL just fine - turning radius is amazing. Now Texas is a breeze we love the "hill country" just beautiful. You know the very best is meeting other RVers along the way, sharing a meal or a cup of coffee, trading Email addys. We take the 3 pets. When we visit relatives we have our own place as none have the space for guests w/pets (LO). Thinking about selling our 4bd 3bath 3 stall and downsize to 2bdrm as the home port. Talk to lots of people and get on some RV sites. Enjoy our country and the people in it.

We would love to have a pop up, but our issue is having a vehicle to tow it with--we really don't want to have to buy a truck and the rv as well and, for the amount of time we'd use it, it is not worth it. Both of our vehicles--a Honda Element and a Honda CRV are great for us, but their tow capacity is limited to 1.5k lbs and there do not seem to be decent pop ups to get for that amount...so I have joined those who are dreaming :)

We bought a 32' Keystone Cougar Xlite. We (by we, I mean DH) tow it with a Ram 2500 which has more than enough power. It has one slide, a bedroom with a door for DH and me, queen size bunks for the two boys (11 and 13), a fold out couch and a dining table that makes into a bed for anyone we decide to take with us. We took a 38 day road trip this past summer and loved it. I wouldn't buy longer than 32' because as has been mentioned, it can be hard to find a spot to park them, even in an RV Park.

For several years, dh and I travelled in a vintage 1967 Scotty Serro - those were some of our most memorable times together!! It wasn't small, it was 'cozy' ! Wish I still had it today!

My husband and I and our sons RVed for over 42 years. We loved it and so many places that many travelers will never see as there are not nearby hotel facilities. Our dog enjoyed it as well. We had a Golden Age passport from the government so we could enter many National Parks free and paid half price for camping. We would still be doing it to this day, but unfortunately our home, its contents and our RV were burned to the ground in the Pacific Gas and Electric explosion of 2010. We are in the process of rebuilding a home which has taken all of our retirement leisure time. But, we loved RVing for many years and hope to return to it.

Just an update- DH and I are going on Saturday to see two RV 's that we really like the looks of. He is over the moon, so I guess we have decided, lol! I sat down last night and read him all of your posts and there were some really good points made. Thanks so much for all the info and advice, soooo appreciated! What did I do before I met you wonderful ladies???

Lots of good information on these posts. We have gone through 3 fold-out campers as our two kids were growing up then went for about 15 yrs not camping and missed it. We are on our 3rd travel trailer-24 ft Aerolite by Dutchmen. If you do shop for an RV sit on the toilet to see how much room you have, get into the shower/tub as some are downright treacherous to get out of esp. the older we get. The walk-around bed is a plus. My husband and I would never get a 5th wheel since they are not made for the older adult--to many steep steps for us. I back my trailer down our long driveway to store it, do most of the driving and can set it up and take it down by myself. My husband has health issues and I said I needed to learn this if ever I get stuck alone somewhere. Make sure the vehicle you have can tow the RV you are looking for, do not rely on the RV salesman since they will tell you a certain vehicle can tow the RV but they are going on the premise you won't be fully loaded. I argue with the sales people all the time and they don't like it, for instance they will have flyers attached to the RV showing a picture of a certain vehicle stating "I can tow this" when in reality it can't. Go by your vehicle's specs. I know my GMC Envoy can tow up to 5900 lbs. Go by the GVWR or the combined weight of the trailer and load capacity weight. We never fill our water tanks as it affects towing and its a lot of excess weight! We went through 3 trailers in four years trying to get the right one! Good Luck!

We had a "Leisure Van" which was an oversized van that was self-contained (sofa folds to bed, stove, micro, sink, fridge, toilet and makeshift shower) The downside was once we were parked we were there unless we wanted to unhook and drive. We sold it and bought a SCAMP 16' trailer to pull. It has everything the other had. Shower is nicer. A little less storage. (but we have the truck for that). Black and Grey water storage not as large. Now we can hook up to electric sewer and water ... take the truck and explore. We have never wanted one of the BIG RV's that you tow the vehicle behind.

When married, we camped in a ten (NEVER AGAIN).

Later have a 23 ft. travel trailer (liked it - but I could not back it into a space).

I (if I could affored it) have considered living in a Motor Home
(but am afraid something (heat, A/C, refrigerator, water heater, etc.)
would give out on me and I would be stuck
(as replacement items for camper are very expensive.).