Community Forums

Sky_Boss · 01-04-2013, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AFChap

...

I would strongly recommend that budding fulltimers get their coach/fulltiming rig at the very least a full year before hitting the road, particularly if they have little or no RV experience, equipment, etc. That prep time helps you to have pretty much everything "right" when you hit the road, taking a lot of stress out of the process.

That also goes for getting your "house" in order. Divesting out of a S&B home is a huge undertaking on several levels. Selling it is one thing. Finding ways to get rid of things inside of it is another.

Last night Sandee and I actually started sorting out stuff for this summer's garage sale. We also started tossing accumulated "stuff" (12 empty eyeglass cases as an example!) and amazed that we didn't even make a dent in it all. LOL

It can be an emotional process to reverse so many years of accumulation and stowing away of things. It takes time to unwind that watch. I'm not seriously attached to very much of what I have but Sandee...well...it is different. Still, bless her heart, she is really getting excited about going FT in about 18 months and that is motivating her.

Playtime III · 01-04-2013, 02:43 PM

Hope we bought the last one first.
Our next door neighbor had a small 5r and would bring it home to load/unload. That looked like fun for me, DW, teenage daughter and 3 sm dogs. We bought a used Jayco 26BH (no slides/26') and had fun but after a couple of rainy trips we wanted bigger. We traded for a new Rockwood 2902 (2slides/33'). Pushed the limits of the F-150 (payload issue) so we only traveled within a couple of hours of the S/B house. Teenager is now off to college so now we want to travel more. 6-mos of research and found the Scepter (4slides/43' DP w/ Tag and 1 1/2 baths). This better be the last. The first fill up was not a pleasant experience. Local Sheets had the best price for Diesel ($3.89). I did not know that the angle of the fill tube would not hold the hose by itself luckily the handle shut of before too much spilled. Two credit card swipes and $250 later (max CC use at pump) and still not filled. What's next? Can't wait to see if my 13'4" coach will fit into a 13'6" tunnel.

Traps90 · 01-04-2013, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sky_Boss

That also goes for getting your "house" in order. Divesting out of a S&B home is a huge undertaking on several levels. Selling it is one thing. Finding ways to get rid of things inside of it is another.

Last night Sandee and I actually started sorting out stuff for this summer's garage sale. We also started tossing accumulated "stuff" (12 empty eyeglass cases as an example!) and amazed that we didn't even make a dent in it all. LOL

It can be an emotional process to reverse so many years of accumulation and stowing away of things. It takes time to unwind that watch. I'm not seriously attached to very much of what I have but Sandee...well...it is different. Still, bless her heart, she is really getting excited about going FT in about 18 months and that is motivating her.

My DW and I can really relate to all of this, although we;re down to 5 months, it seems to be getting easier for her as we move along though.
But sometimes it just seems like you hitting

a brick wall

JohnT · 01-04-2013, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sky_Boss

That also goes for getting your "house" in order. Divesting out of a S&B home is a huge undertaking on several levels. Selling it is one thing. Finding ways to get rid of things inside of it is another.

We started that process too. Had one garage sale last fall and are having another one in the spring.

My goal has been to sort and throw out two garbage bags of stuff a week. I've been keeping pace. I've made two trips to the recycler and netted over $650.

I probably have two more loads of stuff out of the basement.

tamaridge · 01-04-2013, 03:41 PM

I thought I was buying my last DP first but I bought it on manufacturer reputation and interior looks. Now I am buying a bigger coach than I had originally wanted and looking at the chassis first. I had so many issues with my first coach an Allegro Bus 36 QSp that I started to ask questions about the construction and quality control. I found a bus that when I called the company answered all of my construction questions in a detailed and complete way. It means a great deal to me that there be alot of consideration about possible failure of systems and preventative measures to keep them from happening.
I have ordered an Entegra Anthem and hope that I will be happy. I spend aroud 4 months a year in my coach and don't want to spend half my time in service. Wish me luck!

RickO · 01-04-2013, 04:55 PM

Sky Boss made some great points about the need for a DP when large CCC is required.

We were one of those couples who really jumped in with two feet. Never owned an RV of any kind and went straight to a new 40DP and hit the road. Sold the stick house two years later and were then full time... although we had been living and traveling in the coach 75% of those two years.

It was a bit easier for us because we had recently retired and already knew that we wanted to "downsize". We felt no need to maintain the large house and property with all of the kids gone and we wanted to be free to travel. It worked out to be a great adventure while we decided where we wanted to "settle down"... which we did last year.

Rick

Dr4Film · 01-05-2013, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO

It worked out to be a great adventure while we decided where we wanted to "settle down"... which we did last year.

Rick

Rick,

What state and where did you finally end up landing and for what reasons?

I am still looking and have narrowed it down somewhat but I am realizing that there isn't one place in North America where it is ideal living all year long.

I am now thinking 6 months at the custom built Coach House and 6 months traveling.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

RickO · 01-05-2013, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

Rick,

What state and where did you finally end up landing and for what reasons?

I am still looking and have narrowed it down somewhat but I am realizing that there isn't one place in North America where it is ideal living all year long.

I am now thinking 6 months at the custom built Coach House and 6 months traveling.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

We ended up in Arizona... about 20 miles west of Phoenix. We bought a small place on a golf course at the Wigwam Resort. Pretty nice weather nine months per year. Last summer was our first here and he hit the road in the coach for three months.

This is actually where I met my wife when she worked at the resort and I used to come down on golf trips with the guys. Our grandbabies also live nearby which was the big factor.

Rick

Dr4Film · 01-06-2013, 07:38 AM

Thanks, Rick.

Yes those grandchildren do make a difference. My two sons and grandchildren live in Alaska. Unfortunately, the weather there only allows me to stay up to 5 months when we go with R HOME and then we are outta there.

I am now looking for a retirement tax friendly state where we could spend 5-6 months or more than travel the remaining part of the year.

No big cities, been there done that.

Still looking!

Dr4Film ----- Richard

RickO · 01-06-2013, 07:43 AM

Yeah Richard, Arizona has the weather but not really the "tax friendliness" we'd like.

Good luck.

Rick

Craig N Deb · 01-06-2013, 08:29 AM

Getting back to the original post.......
I am certainly new to this as well and we decided to buy our first coach with several factors in mind. We went with the Fleetwood Discovery 40X DP.
Here were our thoughts in going with this coach......
The interior layout is the best we had ever seen. We often take our kids with us and also o couple of our friends from time to time and the room is amazing as is our privacy in the master bedroom.
The power of the Cummins would tow anything we ever wanted (our cars,Bikes, etc.) You can set the cruise on this coach and never slow to get over the larger hills and such.
The exterior styling was very sharp looking and it had the bus styling I like!
I have been a boater for years and I didn't want to get 2 footitis after a year of ownership, when spending this kind of money you want to get the coach you feel you can see yourself in for years!!
We just went from Chicago to Florida and back and fuel economy is amazing to say the least!! I drive a Hummer H2 as a daily driver and our coach gets twice the mileage and on the highway it is almost three times better than my Hummer!! Yes, it takes better than $250 to fill it up but I can roll for better than 8 hours on one tank of fuel!
We looked at over 100 coaches before we purchased ours and I would highly suggest the DP and go big enough to eliminate the chances of wanting to upgrade too early on in your experience.
This is a great coach.....Check it out!!!

bgc44a · 01-06-2013, 11:39 AM

My wife and I started traveling back in 1976 while we were still young. First in a car, then a station wagon, then a Chevy van that I installed a bed in and a porta potty. By the time we were in our 50's we knew we wanted a motor home after seeing all the trailers etc. on the road. Our first motorhome was a very used class c that I stripped and gutted, and rebuilt with my wife's help. After driving that all over the USA with it, we test drove a used Sero Scotty Class C with a Cummins Diesel, on a Dodge Ram chassis. We fell in love with it and bought it. We kept it and loved it for 12 years, and recently sold it and bought a used 40' Class A DP. We love the quiet and smooth ride, but hate the monster length. In other words if you think you can just go out and buy your first motorhome and get it right off the bat, in my opinion, you are going to miss out. The only way to get it right is to start small and simple, and work your way up.

RickO · 01-06-2013, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgc44a

In other words if you think you can just go out and buy your first motorhome and get it right off the bat, in my opinion, you are going to miss out. The only way to get it right is to start small and simple, and work your way up.

Great plan for those who start young... but many of us got our RVing started late in life and don't have the time to work our way through generations of RV evolution.

Rick

so47 · 01-06-2013, 02:17 PM

I started out like others did, looking at dealers and lurking on every website I could find. I wanted to go west most of all and was told again and again that the Rockies et.al are best done with a DP. I also wanted to boondock as much as possible and the holding tank sizes and ccc of a DP were better for my wants/needs. I also wanted to go as short as possible, so I could fit in more places. And although I could have afforded to buy new, that would have delayed my retirement to, oh let's see, 90? And after a solid 12months of driving my gf crazy, I stumbled across what I dearly hope is my first and last rv. My sweety is a 34 Bounder DP. I was upset that it was available a year earlier than I was ready to retire because of depreciation but with all the changes and upgrades made so far and the learning curve of owning and learning to drive this beast (sorry sweety) and finding and equipping a toad, I think it's the best mistake I made to buy early. I am from the newbie ranks. This my first rv. I have only "camped" in a homemade pop up when I was a child, with some tent camping as a young adult. If clueless me can dive into the pond, anybody can. Trust and go with your gut, I say. Good luck.