Hey folks! Like most on here I have been lurking for a little while and decided it was time to introduce myself. My name is Nate, I'm in my mid forties and married with two young boys, ages 6 and 7. I am no stranger to RVs, having been properly indoctrinated at a young age first with a large popup in the late 70's and then moving up to a 27' Prowler TT in the early 80's. We took several family trips in the campers with the most memorable being our family of seven taking a 3 week sojourn across the southwest in the ole popup towed by a '77 Suburban. Even 30 plus years later I still vividly remember that wind/sandstorm at Arches NP in Moab. As I got older my Dad entrusted me to take the Suburban and the Prowler by myself or with my brothers. I even lived in it for a summer while in undergrad.
Fast forward a couple decades, and after one bad marriage, graduate school, getting my feet wet in my profession, and starting my own practice, it was time to enjoy life again. I have always enjoyed the outdoors, and off-roading has been my vehicle (pun intended) for that passion. It started with old IH Scouts (still is sort of), progressed to ATVs, then came the Rhinos, and now I have a built Polaris RZR. And as of this weekend the boys now each have their own ATV.
Now, my wife has always been a "take a flight to a tropical place and stay in a four star hotel" type of lady. But she tolerates my hobby and because she loves me so much she actively participates.
We started out together with a slide-in Coachmen truck camper. After it rotted apart I built my own toyhauler from it's innards. Think homemade Work-n-Play. It's actually pretty nice inside, it has a full-size shower, full bath, gray, black, and fresh tanks, A/C, heat, windows, RV door, fully insulated, galley, dinette, sofa, and two full size beds. All in a 24' box with room for a 12' buggy.
Like I said, my wife enjoys a little luxury, and while the cargo trailer conversion was adequate for our needs, it wasn't very roomy, nor was she very comfortable. Soooooo......a couple months ago I found this Tiffin for sale. It's a 2005 Allegro 32BA on the 8.1l Workhorse. It only has a hair over 9k miles on the ticker, so it has sat for most of it's life. The PO was not a RV guy as you might have guessed, but at least he did some things to take care of it like new tires, belts, hoses, fluids, etc. However he did screw up and left the bathroom vent open for a period of time which led to some water damage to the ceiling. It has a few other minor issues, like faded, cracked, and peeling graphics, some fiberglass damage to the front cap (that one was on me, I got served venison at 70 mph), and a communication issue to the Allison. But overall I am very pleased, and I stole it for $18k. Now my wife is conjuring up trips to take in this thing and has even suggested we take it to FL for her spring break! I'm just looking forward to taking my kids back to Moab (with the buggy of course) and seeing if we can ride out another windstorm.