Community Forums

deerhuntre · 04-08-2023, 08:14 PM

We discussed today, and he is going to book a local site in Wisconsin in May. We'll keep you guys posted. And, thank you all for the amazing, inspirational and very helpful comments.

deerhuntre · 06-07-2023, 07:05 PM

My son, his girlfriend, and I went to the farm and stayed in the camper two weeks ago. The purpose of the trip was to prepare the camper, make sure everything is ready, including sanitizing the water system. More importantly, the three of us planted 1000 trees while at the farm!! 100 white oak, 100 sugar maple, and the balance in spruce. But I digress.

Once we were done planting, it was time to take care of the camper. First, we took care of the water system, then we were going to stop by a local state park to use their dump station. My son informed me there's available sites, so the tree-planting-and-prepare-the-camper trip became an impromptu trial run trip. My son pretty much ran the show, I don't think I drove at all that week!! He buttoned up the camper, hooked to the truck, executed the walkaround....

Everything went very well, with one notable exception. After a late night enjoying the campfire, he announced he's turning in for the evening. I sat by the fire for some time longer, eventually making my way to the camper. Then I see it....where he decided to leave the truck, camper, house keys

Yeah, that's the picnic table outside in front of the camper where he left his keys overnight. (I did bring them in of course). Between curious bears, raccoons, and ne'er-do-wells, it's always best to not leave the keys sitting outside like that. So yeah, not the biggest ooops, but an oops nonetheless. And it happened TWICE!

We have key hangers inside the camper, and I have several copies of camper keys setup to wear as a necklace. After a gentle suggestion, I think he'll use the preferred approach to stow the main key ring and use the travel copies when out and about instead.

The overall conclusion: He's ready and will be just fine on trips.

So, during the tree planting portion, my son decided he wanted to camp at the farm with his friends and/or girlfriend, but later decided he wants to both camp at the farm and take a trip to a nearby state park.

So that's where we stand: He's looking at the schedule and making reservations sometime over the next few weeks, but in the meantime they will be camping at our tree farm.

So more updates to follow.

PS--He's currently on a trip to Canada with his girlfriend. They figured out the lowest cost hotel dates, plus leveraging the exchange rate, put together a very nice road trip vacation!!

twogypsies · 06-07-2023, 10:37 PM

Thanks for returning with an 'almost' 100% good report. He'll be fine.

That was a LOT of tree planting!

Crasher · 06-08-2023, 09:25 AM

I agree. He will be just fine. He will be starting a new chapter in his life that will hopefully be full of great memories that began because his father took the time to show him the way. Congrats to you.

Floridastorm · 06-14-2023, 10:10 AM

I don't let anybody, including my 40 year old son, use my motorhome. Too many problems with insurance, roadside assistance, things going wrong technically that need to be addressed immediately. It's just not a good idea to let other people use your vehicles or your home.

Tha_Rooster · 06-14-2023, 05:09 PM

I’ve had several people ask to borrow my MH and said no and laughing to myself. I have let my youngest son when he was in his 20’s take it to a drag strip for the weekend. He had driven it with me in it and knew all about it.

SpaceNorman · 06-16-2023, 05:29 PM

We've had numerous requests to "borrow" our rig. The answer is an immediate and unequivocal NO. I spent years preparing myself for coach ownership. I spent countless hours studying every videotape and written articles about how to drive and operate it. I now have nearly 70K miles of of wheel time and more than 1,500 nights of time spent living in the coach. Yet, every trip turns into a voyage of discovery - where new challenges associated with driving and manuevering it emerge; where new problems pop up that need to be figured out and decisions made.

Smart folks recognize this - and wouldn't think to ask to borrow it because they do. Those that are willing to ask - have their sights set on getting themselves a "cheap weekend away in a real nice RV" - without a clue about what a rig like ours costs, what it needs to be operated safely and what it needs in order to keep it rolling. Why would I entertain sharing MY rig with the clueless?

LAKnox · 06-16-2023, 11:22 PM

I let my brother borrow my old FW several times. He had an F350 PSD, which towed it better'n my '02 2500HD D'max, and we both grew up on a farm. I only cautioned him about being sure to make wide turns. :-) Never had an issue with him towing my trailer. HE had an issue with the 2005 POS, er PSD, while towing it when the engine crapped out. Shoulda bought a Duramax, I told him... :-)

He's got his own FW, now, one better'n mine, too. I might borrow =his= now I've got the 3500. :-)

Lyle

Floridastorm · 06-16-2023, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpaceNorman

We've had numerous requests to "borrow" our rig. The answer is an immediate and unequivocal NO. I spent years preparing myself for coach ownership. I spent countless hours studying every videotape and written articles about how to drive and operate it. I now have nearly 70K miles of of wheel time and more than 1,500 nights of time spent living in the coach. Yet, every trip turns into a voyage of discovery - where new challenges associated with driving and manuevering it emerge; where new problems pop up that need to be figured out and decisions made.

Smart folks recognize this - and wouldn't think to ask to borrow it because they do. Those that are willing to ask - have their sights set on getting themselves a "cheap weekend away in a real nice RV" - without a clue about what a rig like ours costs, what it needs to be operated safely and what it needs in order to keep it rolling. Why would I entertain sharing MY rig with the clueless?

True

People that ask to "borrow" your RV 99% of the time know nothing about an RV. As such they wouldn't be able to drive it properly and wouldn't know what to do in the case of a problem. I know that it took me some time to learn all of the systems and how to use them correctly. I'm in fact learning more every day and I've had my motorhome going on one year. I would never feel bad about saying NO. What they should feel bad about is asking to borrow.

MO Fred · 06-17-2023, 07:13 AM

I let my sister borrow my van for a couple days. She brought it back with the whole side bashed in. Can’t imagine this happening to my motor home so…. Never in a million years will I loan it out.