Community Forums

-Gramps- · 02-07-2012, 12:24 PM

Great stories everyone....keep it up. When my wife reads about you full timers out there the wheels start spinning the direction I want them to go.

greezykid · 02-07-2012, 12:55 PM

We originally started with a tent,then one day I went to work and was suprised when I got home that my wife had bought a converted bread van from some hippies,that was in 1967 and we have had 10 different motorhomes since then.

PyrateSilly · 02-07-2012, 01:02 PM

Not fulltimg yet but planning on it very shortly.

I am not allowed to work anymore, doc says not worth her license to allow even a part time desk job. Thom's job has him traveling all over. This particular job had us temp moving from MI to CA. Took both vehicles, the bike, most of stuff that we wanted and the cat cross country. While in CA I seen some MH's and started doing some research on them. Thom's job is very technical but he actually enjoy's performing either on stage, movies or festivals (pirate, medieval or renn). I proposed why not get a MH, sell the house when we get back to MI and just take off. Money wise it would be ok and time wise he would not have to put up with 12 to 18 hr days and he would be able to make money doing something else that he actually enjoyed. He makes people happy when he's doinng that kind of job besides himself so it's a good decision all around.

Money is nice to make and have, a house is nice to buy and have, other "toys" are fun to have and play with BUT if you are not there to enjoy them then what's the use of having it?

Darrel · 02-07-2012, 03:39 PM

In my case it was a Father In Laws fault. He was older and REALLY wanted to see his grandchildren once again. He couldn't sit in one seat long enough to fly and in a car the rest stops were too far apart. I bought a used class C MH and we traveled the 2000 miles with him. Funny - every day we traveled he got a little more agile. At the end he was fairly hopping in and out of the MH.
My plan was to sell the MH when the trip was over but my wife found she enjoyed seeing the country through the big windshield. Now we are on our sixth motor home and enjoying every mile.

Have a nice day - Darrel

-Gramps- · 02-08-2012, 12:28 PM

How Did it Start? Part Two - FMCA Motorhome Forums

barbaram · 02-08-2012, 01:16 PM

My husband and I started talking "some sort of camper" three years ago when the grands started coming. We looked at several 5th wheels and thought that is what we wanted. It seemed the expense of a nice 5th wheel and the pickup to pull it with was a little overwhelming. Then looked at a motor home and knew that was our dream. After three years of pondering and discussing, we ended up with our "new to us" Newmar Kountry Star and loooove it. Have never had a moments regret. We both can't wait to retire and enjoy it even more. We are just weekending and vacationing now but in a couple of years will be able to go much more. Love the life style and the people you meet. Wish we had done it years ago.

SarahW · 02-08-2012, 01:58 PM

Hmmmm. Well, we aren't full timers and don't plan to be. Our moho is vacations/weekends only. Like lots of other folks, we have a little dog who is part of our family and we don't like to leave him behind. Also, I used to love to go on "hotel vacations," but the bed-bug phenomena, airport procedures, etc. have ruined that...ugh.

Anyhow, one weekend last fall we were bored and decided to go "have a look" at a few RV dealerships. We started out looking at smallish travel trailers, then decided to check out the Class C's. A few weeks later we ended up with our Class A Bounder. We were still wondering how it happened when we brought the new coach home and had no place to put it.

We are still grinning, 3 months later.

-Gramps- · 02-08-2012, 02:38 PM

A Bounder with no place to put it.....I know exactly what you mean! I think the name Bounder is still one of the best names for a motorhome.

wildtoad · 02-08-2012, 02:50 PM

When I was a small boy (late 50's) my family moved to Panama and my dad bought a VW Kombi and we traveled around Central America with a VW club. When we moved back to the USA he bought a VW camper and we used it for several years. In the 70's my dad bought a Superior MH and began a life of motorhoming buying/selling numerous mh's along the way.

When I quit/retired in 2000 (the same year my dad passed) I bought a Winnebago Eurovan Camper and have sold/bought various units over the years.

We use the mh once a month for long weekends at the close by state park, and will take a week long trip one a year. When the wife quits/retires we may do more, but can not see us fulltiming.

daveshan · 02-08-2012, 03:11 PM

I started out with a truck camper which I bought because one year at the Jeep Safari in Moab I couldn't get a hotel room that would take my dog so I had to leave him home. I spent the next 3 years dragging my Jeep around enjoying camping in comfort while my wife and I discussed getting a motor home "someday".

A couple of years ago a routine physical turned into surgery for stage 3 cancer and "someday" became "get one now" and we finally got one late last season. So far so good on the cancer front but we are going to enjoy life now while we're both healthy.

Mr_D · 02-08-2012, 03:32 PM

Started RV'ing with my parents in a rented TT in 1957, got my own TT when I was 21, Kept TT's (through three wives) up until 1988 when we went to the local fair and found a nice 17' Type B MH and bought it. Used it as my daily driver for some years too. Parents in the meantime had moved to a Foretravel MH. Then to a Type C in 1997, a 35' Typs A in 1998, then a DSDP in 2000, and then our present DSDP. Only my first TT was used, everything else has been bought new.

Mr_D · 02-08-2012, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Gramps-

A Bounder with no place to put it.....I know exactly what you mean! I think the name Bounder is still one of the best names for a motorhome.

We always call them "Bouncers"

George Schweikle · 02-09-2012, 10:11 AM

Back in 1975, we were saving for a 10th anniversary trip to Europe. Meanwhile, we were avid sports car autocrossers, and wanted to attend the SCCA national championship in Salina Kansas. We rented a friends small class C, and a car trailer, for the trip from Kentucky to Kansas and back - mostly on Interstate 70. Hardly a romantic trip but, about halfway back, we began thinking that maybe we could get one of these.

1977: bought a new GMC Mini Motorhome (Midas with different stripes). Drove it for 97,000 miles.

1984: found a '83 Winnebago Chieftain with 3000 miles on consignment at a local RV dealer. My wife attended high school with the guy, and the price was right. Drove it for 115,000 miles.

1994: attended the RVIA show in Louisville and saw a Safari Trek. Wife: "Gotta have it". Me: "The Izusu engine won't haul our car trailer". Me "It also costs too much". Wife "Get your sharp pencil out"

Late 1994: Trek changes to GM chassis. Ordered a 1995 Safari Trek 6.5 diesel. Drove it for 137,000 miles.

2009: The friend who bought a '99 Trek after viewing ours comes by to sell it to us. The price was too good to pass up. Current mileage by us: 20,000 miles and counting...

Many adventures, bought lots of fuel, a few breakdowns, and we wouldn't trade the experiences for anything.

TheArnolds · 02-09-2012, 10:48 AM

I am working on my 3rd and hopefully my final retirement currently scheduled to happen mid year. My co-pilot retired a year ago so she could accompany me to Japan for work, scheduled for 4 months. We love to travel but we never, as a couple, did any camping but I did own a truck camper years ago and camped a lot. During our stay in Japan we decided to consider purchasing an RV so we started to investigate on line. Our stay got interrupted by the earthquake/tsunami and we returned home. Shortly after we returned we visited a dealership that we located on line and purchased a lightly used class A (1800 mi). Before we had an opportunity to use it more than locally we had to go back to Japan to finish what I had started (another 2 months). We returned to the US the end of July and I attempted to retire but was talked into another year. The co-pilot is waiting for me to fully retire (4-5 more months) and then we will hit the road and see what there is to see and to confirm that the RV lifestyle is for us. If half of the stories I read are true we will have a wonderful time seeing what the country has to offer and meeting some super people along the way.