New, inexperienced RV owner....here I go!!!

[thecityman]

Hi folks! My name is Kevin and I just became a new RV owner under unusual circumstances. I recently lost all my possessions and about 85% of my home in fire. No one was hurt and I'm insured so its going to be ok. Anyway, after a few days in a hotel I approached my insurance company and asked them if, instead of paying a big rent payment to a hotel, would they let me purchase an RV, put it on my property, and they could pay me the rent while my house is rebuilt. Eventually we worked out the terms of that arrangement, and depending on how long reconstruction takes I might even end up with a Free RV. I'd always wanted one anyway, so I'm very excited. However, I typically spend MONTHS researching big purchases (like a car, for example) so it is highly unusual for me to just rush out and buy a new $18k pull camper without knowing anything about RV's. As a result, I am almost certainly the least knowledgeable person on this website when it comes to campers. But I couldn't be more excited to get started. I should also say that whether I'd had the fire or not, I have along thought about getting an RV and I look forward to doing to some traveling with it once the house is done.

I should tell you that I am a divorced guy with no kids (1 awesome dog) in I'm in my late 40's. I have always been a city boy but I moved to the country 5 years ago and that's where my RV will be- near my house out in the country in TN. I work as a City Manager and while I'm knowledgeable in my field, I'm ashamed of how little I know about things men should know- construction, auto repair, fixing things, building things, tools, water and electric, and so on. So try not to laugh at me too hard going forward!

I have a very steep learning curve ahead, so I hope everyone will forgive my dumb questions and help me figure all this out. One of my biggest problems is that I'm not allowed to live in an RV in the City Limits, so I have to park it in the back of my property which happens to be outside city limits. (City/County line runs through my property) This means I have to run an extremely long water line and a long electric line. I'm using massive 6 gauge electric line and- I think- I'm using 3/4 inch Pex to run a buried water line. I've already posted some questions about my water line in the pull camper forum and electric questions may follow.

Well, there you go...way way more than you ever cared to know about a stranger here onirv2! I just wanted to sort of introduce myself and provide you with some background so you can understand my situation and why I'd buy a camper with so little knowledge and information. With all your help along with a lot of reading on my own, I hope to learn a lot and gain experience over the coming months. Thank-you in advance for your patience and understanding, as well as any information to may provide in response to my future questions! Thanks.

[winniman]

Welcome. You have joined a very knowledgeable group here. Sit down and read all the manuals that came with your trailer. Many of the questions you might have, can be answered there. Otherwise, the forum is a great resource, and you can bet most any situation that will arise has been encountered by many of the members. You don't mention what you have done for septic at your property. You could have a porta toilet company come by occasionally. It probably isn't worth putting in a septic field or connecting to city services for a temporary situation.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi Kevin! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Sorry about the loss of your house but glad that you have the insurance to cover it. Sounds like a great idea on the RV!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[450Donn]

Do t buy new. Instead look for a used trailer at least 25 feet long. Yes, you said your single, but given that even a 25 footer can get cramped in a hurry with your stuff after a few nasty days. If you dont havr a tow vehicle you can usually arrange for the sellers to deliver it for you. The big issues I see are how are you going to dump the holding tanks? Can you park close enough to the sewer cleanout yet far enough away from the construction? Last is actually pretty easy, have a local propane distributor drop a 25 gallon tank and arrange for automatic fill up.
Actually last, do you have a solid flat place to park it?

[momdoc]

Welcome to the forum.

Wow that is quite the story but glad it is working out. The learning curve is long but thankfully only steep in the beginning.

You are joining a good group of folks here with good info to share. Read the various threads here and ask questions as they come up.

Good luck and enjoy the adventure!

[van-gogh]

Welcome to the IRV2.COM

Hello, I am a member myself and wanted to take some time to welcome you and your family to this IRV2 Forum. As you may feel somewhat overwhelmed by all there is to see, read and learn here from others.

So, if you will let’s sit and have a cup <[_]””[_]>’’’’’’ Here is the place to share what’s on your mind as it relates to RV’ing. Everything is here, just for folks and Families. I have some TIPS which I hope will make your visits here more enjoyable. Kind of your FORUM Driving Instructor lol.

Some TIPS:

On top are two menus and the one on top is the forum and the one below that is more helpful and personal for you to tell your story by clicking on USER CP.

So now I would like to show you your SIGN IN Screen. On top RIGHT, is where you click to login and you will find your name, but also are the messages sent to you by the IRV2 Administrators who keep everything running like a well-made Grandfather’s Clock. Now move your eyes to the TOP LEFT and you will see the HOME key, click and you will find a very easy forum menu for your review. But going all the way down to the bottom at the STATS MENU for the over-all Forum DATA. Now panning over from HOME to FORUMS, click and a small MENU will open showing you Community, RV Lifestyle, Reginal and RV Camping Forums. But there is more. The next two are RV FORUMS, OWNER FORUMS, PHOTOS, CLASSIFIEDS, CAMPGROUNDS, and MORE. One last point if I may, when you POST a NEW THREAD go down under the TEXT INPUT and add some TABS, anywhere between 1 or 5-TABS, EXAMPLE: dog, dogs, pets, Campfiredogs, and make sure to add a comma between each TAB. TABS act as FORUM addresses to get your post to others who are interested in reading about? “your dog stories” lol

But before you explore each of them something you should know about is THE MEMBERS MENU. Under the MENU I just told you about is your menu and lots to see and do here as well.

First, click on USER CP and once this opens a menu on the left from top to bottom will appear. Just take them one at a time adding your information as to what you would like the IRV2 forum folks to know about you? Next is about your REGISTER, FILES over to writing your own BLOG moreover to LOGGING OUT.

There is a lot to a Motorhome we call our Recreational Vehicle, RV. One last point as from time to time at the end of a word you will see down arrow ^, yes, I know it’s up, sorry did not have a down arrow on my keyboard. Clicking on them you will find sub-menus and more information to guide you on each of your IRV2 Travels.

Make sure to read and review the rules.

Any questions just post and ask the group as a whole or having IRV2 Forum Friends in your Personal File can also be helpful in asking bouncing questions off. Now we're coming to the end of this very quick intro

So, explore and when ready SHARE your knowledge skills and abilities with IRV2 forum.

Looks like my CUP is almost empty…[_]>’’ “”” ‘’

Safe Travels and Happy Trails, as you explore by RV the Freedom that is the American Road Trip.

Welcome.
DogMan