Community Forums

BoogieMan · 10-08-2011, 08:33 PM

I just joined the ranks of Class A owners by buying a 2012 Tiffin Allegro 38QBA to be delivered in mid december. I can imagine all the fun but I don't really KNOW what fun awaits. I imagine traveling with DW to all the cool places in the US we've always wanted to see but wanted to ask you guys ...

What got you involved in the life?

What keeps you going?

Has it been worth it over the long haul?

Do you have any stories to share that could help excite a newbie like me (although I'm pretty stoked already - I just don't know anything)?

Boogieman

dashdriver · 10-08-2011, 08:51 PM

Well, we started out tent camping. We really enjoyed exploring the great outdoors but wanted a few more of the creature comforts, like toilets and showers, especially for the longer trips. So we bought a 5th wheel. Upgraded to a motorhome a couple of years later to make longer cross country trips in comfort. Since we live in the mountains, I feel a lot safer in a motorhome vs dragging the 5er up and down the grades too.

What keeps us going is the ability to head down the road and get away for a couple of days without having to plan a major vacation. Being able to take the dog and have our own stuff in our own place is a huge plus.

Haven't been in it for the long haul, will have to let someone more experienced answer that one! It's been worth it so far!

BoogieMan · 10-08-2011, 09:01 PM

Thanks for that. Bringing the dogs along almost pays for those days' rv payment cause DW puts them in a kennel that costs $50 a day for 2 dogs otherwise.

Mr_D · 10-08-2011, 09:05 PM

Been RV'ing since 1957 with my parents, had my own trailer in 1967. Got the first MH (Type B) in 1988 and haven't looked back.

dashdriver · 10-08-2011, 09:10 PM

Congrats on your purchase by the way. I wish you many happy years of RVing.

njs42 · 10-08-2011, 09:11 PM

We never considered owning an RV, ever. When we retired we were going to take an extended trip and had our old dog to take with us. My wife surprisingly suggested renting a motor home. I say surprisingly because my wife is not a camper---not even a little.

We rented a Class C and took off in the early winter. We went down Hwy 1 in California and stopped at a real campground in Bug Sur---woodsmoke the whole deal. Much to my surprise my wife said "you know if this thing had a bigger bed I could live in it for quite a while". That did it for us.

After a lot of looking and research we decided on a Class A. We are going on ten years and the best two days of our lives is the day we get in the motor home and leave for winter and the day we return to our stick home in the spring. We get equally excited.

Two things keep us going. First we have made a great many friends from all over the country. We see most of them every year. They have added richly to our lives. Second our motor home is our second home and we can be in the mountains, the desert, the sea shore by a river---where ever.

One story: One of our friends had a dog that became very ill---we had only known these people from a year before. We did everything we could think of to help with their ailing dog, my wife cooked special meals when it would not eat, things like that. After they put the dog down we spent time with them consoling and helping as much as possible.

When we returned home my wife became seriously ill and required open heart surgery. Low and behold we get a call from the same friends. She is a retired nurse. They insisted that she fly to our home to help in my wifes recovery---which she did---she stayed six weeks. They live in a very small town in Michigan, we live in Seattle but she came all that way.

As you might imagine we have a life long bond with them. It happened because we really have one thing in common----our RV's.

450Donn · 10-08-2011, 09:11 PM

Young and stupid I guess. We bought a MH in 1977. Traveled cross country with DW,MIL and two DD's 70 hours with only stops for sleep about 5 hours a night. Call me crazy. What killed the experience for us was DD woke up one Saturday morning with ring worm. So not having a toad it was strike camp and drive everybody into town to find a pharmacy. Couple that with the cost of keeping another drive train operational was just not feasible to me. Sold it and went to a TT and never looked back or regretted it.

BoogieMan · 10-08-2011, 09:30 PM

Njs42. Wonderful story thank you. We would consider ourselves lucky to find friends like that.

mikron · 10-09-2011, 04:41 AM

Moved to Florida in 1990 from Boston. Traveled 2 to 3 times a year to Boston by car with our dog. Found traveling with a pet in the hot time of the year not fun. Motels dog only rooms were dirty and our pet got fleas more the once. Move up to a motor home. On our 4 th class A and love it. P.S. 2 nd pet and she loves camping as much or more then us.

336muffin · 10-09-2011, 04:41 AM

THAT"S what it's about! Boogieman, all I can say is join a few clubs and attend a few rally's. We bought our first camper at age 40, a DP. We camped across the country and wondered why join a club? Five years ago we attended our first rally and met so many great people it amazed us! We're 58 now and can't imagine camping any other way. The feeling of crossing the states and pulling into a rally and having 10 to 30 couples that you have already made life friends with waiting on you to arrive is incredible! Friendship that will never happen in a motel-hotel environment!
The reason we first got into the camping lifestyle was we sold our Kenworth and trailer and missed the traveling so much we bought a coach and have loved it ever since. Good luck in your new lifestyle!

Tha_Rooster · 10-09-2011, 06:06 AM

We saw MH's going down the freeway thought that it looked neat so we bought one loved it every since.

John H... · 10-09-2011, 06:08 AM

Because we wanted to take our dog with us when we traveled anywhere.

RovinOn · 10-09-2011, 06:55 AM

I camped with my parents and other family members when I was a kid. My dad got started wth a used Nimrod tent trailer and then purchased a new one.
As time went on times changed and the camping stopped.
When I met my future wife to be, her parents and family were still into tenting. My MIL worked for a local car dealership who also rented Class C motorhomes. When the dealer decided that he was going to stop that segment of the business he gave employees first dibs at a real good reduced price. My inlaws purchased one. The first major trip out was to Disney, my inlaws, future brother and sister inlaw, my wife and I made the trip. Six adults in about a 25' Class C Itasca. We did this trip twice, what a blast!
As time went on my inlaws sold the Itasca since grandchildren were coming along and they purchased a trailer at the shore in Delaware. They maintained that along with moving up to a full sized mobile home for many years until my father inlaw could no longer manage two properties. They sold the property and purchased another MH and made several cross country trips.
When I was "RETURED" from AGERE Systems I took some of my retirement package money and my wife and I purchased our first used Bounder MH, so we could join them in traveling. My brother inlaw also followed suit.
My wife and I are on our 2nd MH and the rest is history.
We've had a lot of good times over the years and my father inlaw has had to sell his because of age and other reasons.... but my wife and I along with our kids and our first grandchild will keep RovinOn...........

ga traveler · 10-09-2011, 07:08 AM

My wife and I both worked for the airlines. We liked the free flying but not the hassle of rental cars and motels. We bought a popup and fell in love with camping. Our two daughters (40 & 44) were raised up camping. Our family is very close. The girls call home 2 or 3 times a day. I believe this is because we set around a campfire and talked and bonded fifty or sixty nights a year.