New to Glamping and New to "Blogging" - The Saga Begins
Posted 11-27-2014 at 08:52 AM by Indy Glenn
My name is Glenn, I live with my wife Angie and Airdale pup (7 months), Haddie, in Brownsburg, Indiana.
Life is good!
Angie and I both retired from active duty Army National Guard service - we have 47 active duty years under our belts and a few more as part-time weekend warriors.
We both went into Federal Civil service after military life and retired "for good" a couple years ago.
When I was a recruiter, I needed to get away from people, phones, agrivation! LOL So we started ocean cruising, when cruising was cruising on a ship! Now it is nothing more than a floating building. It was perfect back then - like walking into another world, no worries, no problems, no thinking! That was 1991!!!
We have been cruising ever since. We sat on a ship last year for 23 days, it was a Trans-Atlantic voyage, continuing around the United Kingdom. It was a wonderful boat ride but I was tired of the ships - we both like to travel and - "Ding" a bell went off and a light came on!!!! I said to Angie, let's do what we talked about when we were in the Army - buy a motor home!! What a novel idea - and I can practice what I preach to all the "regular-cruisers" I meet aboard the ships - "Go see America!"
So we started looking - having zero knowledge of RVing we started researching , looking, asking, looking, visiting RV dealers, asking, speaking with friends that own or have owned an RV, looking, asking.........you get the picture.
Our target date is set for Spring 2015. Get through the winter - keep shopping around.
But..............................if one came along that was "the deal" of the century - we might - just might consider it.
Next - what to get. We considered for a half second getting a 5th Wheel. Angie and I have new cars presently, a 2013 and a 2014. Neither would pull a 5th Wheel and I wasn't about to get a new truck. So that left a motor home. Ok - what kind? I dunno? We looked at Class Bs, nah, Class B+, hmmmm - maybe. Class C, I really liked them Coachmans. Class A - awfully large.
An RV friend of mine, (that means he owns one) called and said he was going to his dealer to look at a motor home they just got in, would we like to come along? "Ok"!(?)!
As we looked at the motor home he wanted to see - I am looking across the road at a motor home that caught my eye. We were in the market for a gently used motor home and I learned quickly my budget would go a lot further if I bought a gasser over a diesel. With more research and questions, I learnd perhaps a DP would be in order - but that meant a Class A!! Yikes!!!!! Now I must tell you, I did have a bus drivers license (I forget the class) back in New York State. I learnd to drive a bus and tooled it around Brooklyn, NY. A 54 pax I believe, the Army taught us. We recruiters would take turns picking up applicants and take them to the processing station (AFEES - back then) at "oh-dark-thirty" in the morning! That was a long time ago - would I remember what I was taught about driving a bus???? Time will tell.
Back to my blog - so there is this motor home. Looking good, a 2002 Newmar Duth Star, model 3852, with 11,600 on the odemeter. It was pristine. I started asking questions about the motor home and was quickly correctedl "It is called a coach!" Well - Exxxxxcuuusssse meeeee!
Hmmmm - was this one of these coaches not to be passed up?
Home we go - lots of research to do. Who, what, and where is Newmar? Dutch Star?? The stars all started lining up..(pun)................after our due diligence - we made an offer, with conditions . The offer was excepted and before you know it, we are proud owners of a motor-ho.........er......"Coach"!
Next up - first Glamping trip.............thanks for reading.
Read ya,
g
Life is good!
Angie and I both retired from active duty Army National Guard service - we have 47 active duty years under our belts and a few more as part-time weekend warriors.
We both went into Federal Civil service after military life and retired "for good" a couple years ago.
When I was a recruiter, I needed to get away from people, phones, agrivation! LOL So we started ocean cruising, when cruising was cruising on a ship! Now it is nothing more than a floating building. It was perfect back then - like walking into another world, no worries, no problems, no thinking! That was 1991!!!
We have been cruising ever since. We sat on a ship last year for 23 days, it was a Trans-Atlantic voyage, continuing around the United Kingdom. It was a wonderful boat ride but I was tired of the ships - we both like to travel and - "Ding" a bell went off and a light came on!!!! I said to Angie, let's do what we talked about when we were in the Army - buy a motor home!! What a novel idea - and I can practice what I preach to all the "regular-cruisers" I meet aboard the ships - "Go see America!"
So we started looking - having zero knowledge of RVing we started researching , looking, asking, looking, visiting RV dealers, asking, speaking with friends that own or have owned an RV, looking, asking.........you get the picture.
Our target date is set for Spring 2015. Get through the winter - keep shopping around.
But..............................if one came along that was "the deal" of the century - we might - just might consider it.
Next - what to get. We considered for a half second getting a 5th Wheel. Angie and I have new cars presently, a 2013 and a 2014. Neither would pull a 5th Wheel and I wasn't about to get a new truck. So that left a motor home. Ok - what kind? I dunno? We looked at Class Bs, nah, Class B+, hmmmm - maybe. Class C, I really liked them Coachmans. Class A - awfully large.
An RV friend of mine, (that means he owns one) called and said he was going to his dealer to look at a motor home they just got in, would we like to come along? "Ok"!(?)!
As we looked at the motor home he wanted to see - I am looking across the road at a motor home that caught my eye. We were in the market for a gently used motor home and I learned quickly my budget would go a lot further if I bought a gasser over a diesel. With more research and questions, I learnd perhaps a DP would be in order - but that meant a Class A!! Yikes!!!!! Now I must tell you, I did have a bus drivers license (I forget the class) back in New York State. I learnd to drive a bus and tooled it around Brooklyn, NY. A 54 pax I believe, the Army taught us. We recruiters would take turns picking up applicants and take them to the processing station (AFEES - back then) at "oh-dark-thirty" in the morning! That was a long time ago - would I remember what I was taught about driving a bus???? Time will tell.
Back to my blog - so there is this motor home. Looking good, a 2002 Newmar Duth Star, model 3852, with 11,600 on the odemeter. It was pristine. I started asking questions about the motor home and was quickly correctedl "It is called a coach!" Well - Exxxxxcuuusssse meeeee!
Hmmmm - was this one of these coaches not to be passed up?
Home we go - lots of research to do. Who, what, and where is Newmar? Dutch Star?? The stars all started lining up..(pun)................after our due diligence - we made an offer, with conditions . The offer was excepted and before you know it, we are proud owners of a motor-ho.........er......"Coach"!
Next up - first Glamping trip.............thanks for reading.
Read ya,
g
Total Comments 4
Comments
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Found your blog on iRV2. We live close to Westfield In. We live with our son his wife and 2 grandkids. We will be leaving for Florida and warmer weather in 2 weeks.This will be our third trip south as the first trip we were still working and just took a long vacation of 6 weeks. Last year we stayed down south from Dec 20 till April 10 and then we left for 2 weeks in Mich and in early August we drove to Oregon and traveled about 6000 miles coming home in late Oct.
ve said all that just to say you are embarking on a great adventure. My wife and I were very fortunate to be able to "cruise" often and even travel in Europe but we are sure enjoying the USin our "coach". We bought a 2003 Tiffin Phaeton and traded it for a 2009 Beaver Contessa last December in Fl.
If you ever want to get together or have questions or want to talk give me a PM.So far the biggest drawback I have found to owning an RV around here is finding a good service provider that knows how to fix things!! Safe travels
Dan MurphyPosted 12-08-2014 at 12:18 PM by Dakrism 
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Hi Dan - Happy New Year.Quote:Originally Posted by Dakrism
Found your blog on iRV2. We live close to Westfield In. We live with our son his wife and 2 grandkids. We will be leaving for Florida and warmer weather in 2 weeks.This will be our third trip south as the first trip we were still working and just took a long vacation of 6 weeks. Last year we stayed down south from Dec 20 till April 10 and then we left for 2 weeks in Mich and in early August we drove to Oregon and traveled about 6000 miles coming home in late Oct.
ve said all that just to say you are embarking on a great adventure. My wife and I were very fortunate to be able to "cruise" often and even travel in Europe but we are sure enjoying the USin our "coach". We bought a 2003 Tiffin Phaeton and traded it for a 2009 Beaver Contessa last December in Fl.
If you ever want to get together or have questions or want to talk give me a PM.So far the biggest drawback I have found to owning an RV around here is finding a good service provider that knows how to fix things!! Safe travels
Dan Murphy
I just read your note - thank you and sorry to have taken so long to get back to you.
You are probably still in FLA as I write this ! Good for you as we here in the Heartland are about to get our first "deep-freeze" this week.
No traveling for us this winter - well - I have a trip scheduled to Napannee in Mid-March to Newmar to have our coach serviced. I am looking forward to that as I want to have all the "stuff" I can't see but rely on for the safety of my family inspected and serviced!
Yes - finding a good RV dealer for repairs here in the Indy area is not easy. I thought I had it knocked with Freightliner in Indy - NOT!!!! What a disaster.
Now - we have a roof leak in the bedroom. We have been in the rain many times with no problem - no sure where it's coming from?? Puzzling. The only place I can think of is the rear roof AC unit. I have been running the heat-pumps but that would not make it leak!!?? Perhaps it's the seal where the unit meets the roof? In any event - as far as where to go and get it fixed - Newmar is a little far, I am going to try a Mom & Pop operation. DD RV Repair, just north of Moorseville. Found them online. I will take a trip there tomorrow for a visit before I take the coach.
So much for my problems - this is the "un-fun" part of the Glamping experience - but buying an old coach - I knew there would be times like this and the reason I bought an extended warranty!
I would enjoy hooking up for a cup of coffee when you get home and settled. Send a PM.
I'll be interested to listen about your travels around FLA in the winter. I am a planner, how much planning do you do? We plan on heading down next year but can only go for about a months time as I have obligations here in Brownsburg.
Safe travels - thanks for writing. Take care.
GlennPosted 01-04-2015 at 06:22 AM by Indy Glenn
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Hi Glenn,
Obviously, I don't log into irv2 often as I just read your story about making the plunge into RVing. Sally and I made the plunge just a year ago. We have two small dogs, Michael & Dolly and live in Plainfield.
We had both just retired and planned to sell our home and become full timers. As it turns out, we have another home in Plainfield and are just part timers but we did spend the winter in Port Aransas Tx.
We had been looking at RV's for a couple of years. Initially, I was looking at 5th wheels -because I love my truck - but at 6'4" and 310 lb (that's me, not Sally) I couldn't find a 5th wheel with a bedroom that didn't feel like a coffin to me. Eventually, my wife convinced me that we needed a class A.
I had not planned on making the purchase until spring of 2015 when I planned to retire but since we down sized earlier than expected, I kept researching and searching online. In April 2014, I found what I felt was a good deal on a 2014 Thor Tuscany at a dealership in Perry Iowa. I pretty much made the deal over the phone and by email and on May 1st, we took a cashier's check and drove to Iowa.
Our first stop was at a hitch company where the dealer has arranged for us to have the base plate installed on our Chev Equinox - we had purposely purchased this car a few months before as it was flat towable. We then got a ride to the dealer where we made the deal, spent the day learning about the coach and spent the night in it on the dealers lot. The next day, we picked up the car, hooked it on the back and drove back home to Plainfield.
Our only previous experience with an RV was when we would borrow my parents 5th wheel back in the 80's. So this is really all new to us. Since I grew up on the farm and drove a lot of large equipment, I had no problem jumping into a 45' coach with a car behind and driving 500 miles. My concern is the learning curve in trying to maintain all of the systems of a rolling house.
Last September, we took our Tuscany to the Thor Service center in Elkhart for a few warranty items and to check it out before taking off to Texas. Other than being much colder than anticipated, we had a good trip. The only issue was that I had to find an Aqua Hot dealer to replace the two circulating pumps on the unit. That was still under warranty however.
Driving to Elkhart every time I need work done is not a viable option so, like you and Dan, I need a reliable local service center. I would like to know about your experience with DD RV Repair. That is close by.
All in all, our first year has provided some adventure and I am wrapping up plans for our trip to Florida this year. Like you, I do better if I make some plans and know where I'm going. It starts in late October and I will be attending a two day class at Freightliner in Gaffney SC.
I like coffee myself so maybe we could get together and share stories between a couple of rookies.
JimPosted 06-16-2015 at 08:34 AM by Salim
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P.S.
I forgot to mention that I find the AllStays Camp & RV app invaluable in making plans from home or on the road.
JimPosted 06-16-2015 at 08:40 AM by Salim
