Community Forums

Mekanic · 10-09-2011, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoogieMan

.......

What got you involved in the life?

What keeps you going?

Has it been worth it over the long haul?

Boogieman

I wanted a place to stay that wasen't $100+ tax per night.

Motel prices now at $110+ tax per night

Yes I still really like MY Truck conversion RV. Its cheap like me.
And it take me to places that I have not seen before.
My Jeep does that too.

bsirby · 10-09-2011, 08:00 AM

Congratulations on the new rig! I hope you will enjoy it as much as we enjoy ours.
We tent camped when the kids were young and just loved it. Fishing, hiking, cooking over a wood fire etc. We could never afford a MH, so for years DH and I talked about it, went looking a few times. Then a customer at the bank where I worked came in one day and was telling us about the big retirement trip he and his wife had planned for several years when they retired at 65. Unfortunately, his wife died 2 months before she was 65.

I went home that night and told my DH. Lets sell some stocks that we had for retirement and buy a used MH. We ended up with a really good deal on our new Class C.

We worked a couple more years and then sold most of our belongings, stored stuff with the kids and rented the house out, and took off for California to see family and friends along the way. It was hard meeting people at first, but we went to the National IRV2 Rally in Va this past month and have met some really good people.

We are camping this month with one of the couples we met and 2 other couples we have't met.
I quit before retirement age, so money is a little tight, but I have absolutely no regrets. We are enjoying time with our grandkids and seeing the country. In the summer when it is unbearably hot in NC, we can go to the mountains. In the winter we can go to the south and stay warm. And of course a big plus is we travel with our dog and cat. I could go on and on but I better let someone else put their .02 cents in. Hope to meet you down the road.

distaff · 10-09-2011, 08:22 AM

Seemed a good idea at the time, that we continue doing it is the triumph of hope over experience.

IMPULSE DRIVEN · 10-09-2011, 09:00 AM

We were tired of the cost and hassle factor with airline travel and the Hotel hassle. If you would have told us 10 years ago we were going to buy an RV, I would have thought you were crazy, well now we are those crazy people with the RV that can take off on a whim, I love it!

Cougarkid · 10-09-2011, 09:21 AM

Wife and I had a back road trip, in a car, a few years back. Got caught between Salt Lake City, UT and Reno, NV in the middle of the night, too tired to drive. Well, there was a Jehovah's Witness convention going on and EVERY hotel room for 150 miles was booked.

We slept in the back end of the rental car at a rest area. Put our bags in the front seat, folded the rear seat down and used the trunk/seat to sleep, kind-of. Wife swore she would never get caught that way again. We are getting an RV.

A month later we bought a 1989 Georgie Boy Cruise Master 32' Class A off of Ebay. Drove it home, did some work on it and took a 2-week trip with 2 of our teen-aged sons to New York. Had the time of our lives! Stayed in rest areas, truck stops, shopping center parking lots. Could never find a campground where we were at.

Needless to say, we were hooked. Kids are all grown and we downsized into the RV for full time living. Part of our short term goal to semi-retire in 3 to 5 years. Love the flexibility of relocation and being able to unhooked and drive our "home" to where ever and vacation or visit.

Just bought a 42' diesel pusher with a slide. It's like going from a studio apartment to a 1-bedroom condo. Great upgrade.

3 years to go................

Luckiest Dreamer · 10-09-2011, 09:22 AM

I had a big boat that we were tiring of. Had trouble getting it sold. Some guy with a craigs list ad had a Motor Home ad trying to sell one. He was having trouble selling the thing. I also had a F450 and a 5r. He took them all in as part trade and discounted the MH. Seemed like a good deal at the time! Now I feel this great need to use the thing because of the amount of money I have invested leaving it sit unattended seems wasteful!
I'm still not sure but he may have taken advantage of me! So, now instead of booking that trip to Europe, or a cruise to the islands, We spend the night at Wal Mart!

Gadget Man · 10-09-2011, 09:48 AM

In 1983 the wife & I went on a church camp-out at a Thousand Trails campground. We bought a membership without even owning an RV! We immediately fell in love with the whole camping idea. It was a great way to enjoy family times together. Our kids all grew up knowing about camping and RV's. We started off tenting but that was hard on the back. I bought a used cab-over camper for my Toyota truck, which constituted our first RV. We went from that little camper to a travel trailer several years later. We bought a new class A Winnebago in 1998, and finally our current diesel pusher in 2006. Our current coach will most likely be our last coach for a while, as it will be taking us into retirement, which I am happy to say begins next spring. The wife & I have had such demanding careers that we have never been able to travel very far. We can't wait to see other parts of this beautiful country of our's! Best of wishes with your new RV!

sgtjoe · 10-09-2011, 10:13 AM

Because the Boss said so. After we bought our last 5th wheel when I retired in 2000 the wife was really wanting a MH so 9 months later much to my dismay we traded in our 36' triple slide Montana on our first MH. Our first trip was from SLC, UT to San Antonio TX. On the way back is when I finally realized that MHing was the way to go. We pulled in to Mesquite NV to spend the night, but the rv parks were full, so we stayed in the big parking lot with a lot of other rv'ers. It was raining pretty good that night. I parked her, hit the buttons to level it, reached up and hit the slide out button, fired up the generator, turned on the tv and then asked the wife for a beer. All this from the drivers seat while watching folks with trailers and 5th wheels leveling their units and running in the rain to get inside their rv's.

It was then that I turned to My Smarter Then Me Wife and said, sure glad I listened to you. Today we have a DP and although it costs more overall to own and maintain then a trailer, I ain't going back. Now if I could just figure out how I could take a potty break without stopping it would be even better. OH, another big plus, my neighbors don't get their lawn chairs out when we come home and I park the MH beside the house anymore.

koda59 · 10-09-2011, 07:53 PM

When I was small we always rented a Scotty tt for a week to go fishing at a lake. Afdter retiring I looked for 2 years and finally found one that my DD and I liked. DW wasn't to keen on having one but said I deserved a toy, especailly after 30 plus years in the military. The only regret I have is not getting one when our 3 kids were growing up.
The second reason is the price of hotels charge for us and our 2 fur babies. The cost for food in the resteraunts is rediculous. When the fur babies see me pull the motorhome into the drive way they start getting excided. They like to go as much as I do. DW is coming around and starting to enjoy it more. She is not the type that just wants to go camping. She wants to go where she can do and see things.

Bremer Speck · 10-09-2011, 09:36 PM

If you google my poster name, you will eventually come to a web site which will tell you that I really am a sailor at heart. I never imagined myself as an RV owner. My brother in law owns an RV and kept pestering me. Then my wife and I went to the Tampa RV Super show this past January. One week later, we purchased a DP on.... eBay. Drove it across country and did our first camping trip in Maine. Love it. Now, we will divide our retirement time between sailing and rving.

BoogieMan · 10-09-2011, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgtjoe

Because the Boss said so. After we bought our last 5th wheel when I retired in 2000 the wife was really wanting a MH so 9 months later much to my dismay we traded in our 36' triple slide Montana on our first MH. Our first trip was from SLC, UT to San Antonio TX. On the way back is when I finally realized that MHing was the way to go. We pulled in to Mesquite NV to spend the night, but the rv parks were full, so we stayed in the big parking lot with a lot of other rv'ers. It was raining pretty good that night. I parked her, hit the buttons to level it, reached up and hit the slide out button, fired up the generator, turned on the tv and then asked the wife for a beer. All this from the drivers seat while watching folks with trailers and 5th wheels leveling their units and running in the rain to get inside their rv's.

It was then that I turned to My Smarter Then Me Wife and said, sure glad I listened to you. Today we have a DP and although it costs more overall to own and maintain then a trailer, I ain't going back. Now if I could just figure out how I could take a potty break without stopping it would be even better. OH, another big plus, my neighbors don't get their lawn chairs out when we come home and I park the MH beside the house anymore.

LOVED the neighbors getting the lawn chairs out bit !! ROTFLMAO

sdennislee · 10-09-2011, 11:35 PM

Tent camped in Alaska wanted more comfort.

Friends visited and everything they wanted to see was 6 hrs apart. Too much for day trips.

Bought a 31' Class C and loved it.

Decided we needed something a bit bigger and bought a 40' Class DP.

Best part is the DW loves having the pets with us as we travel.

I like having my own bed every night and all my stuff with me without having to unpack at every motel stop.

We stop where we want and when we want along our route. Stay an extra day if the mood strikes.

All about taking home home with us and the freedom to follow our own schedule.

VSPA · 10-10-2011, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoogieMan

What got you involved in the life?
What keeps you going?
Has it been worth it over the long haul? Boogieman

I enjoyed camping as a kid, Boy Scouts, and started up again in my thirtys when I became a single parent as it was reasonably inexpensive entertainment and a get away from the house and phones using a foam pad in the back of a PU truck, a cot for the kid and a few pieces of gear. Met DW through a singles square dance club that went on camping weekends and since she enjoyed camping so we eventually drifter toward something that would double as a daily driver. We tried a custom van, which just did not work that great for camping, so we got a Toyato Dolphin. Haven't been withour a camper/RV since as it still represents a way to get away from the house and not havint to sleep in someone elses bed and to have to pack and un pack every day.

CoastieSCPO · 10-10-2011, 12:41 PM

Everyone has wonderful stories and experiences regarding their RV lifestyle. We bought a 16 1'2 foot Jayco TT at a show in 1986, took it, the two kids and dog (a dobbie) on a monthlong trip from Homestead, Florida to South Dakota, Utah and all the sights and places in between that a 4 week vacation could cram into. We were hooked! We purchased a couple of larger TT's over the years then bought our first class C MH in 1993. Traveled all over the country with it and our present rig and are going to be RVers until health or finances causes us to stop.

Every once in a while we have to take a road trip using the family car and stay in hotels. Yuck! We can't stand sleeping in hotel beds, looking around for an acceptable place to spend the night and putting up with all the noise that some hotel have. Give me my home on wheels with our own bed without bed bugs and our own bath facilities over hotels any day.

But, hotels not withstanding, it is being able to see all the beautiful things in our country from the comfort of our RV that keeps us going.