Newbie RV'er from California

[Tunaoue]

Greetings all.
This site comes highly recommended by others that I've spoken to.
Hate to admit it, I don't know their user names.
Newly retired (I think), the Mrs and I are trying the RV life.
I'm a mechanical engineer by profession, so I'm not afraid to dive-in and get my hands dirty, but there is a ton I don't know about.

I hope we can be useful for each other.
John (aka: Tunaoue)

[Civdiv99]

Deal.

Whatcha driving/contemplating?

[Tunaoue]

Originally Posted by Civdiv99

Deal.

Whatcha driving/contemplating?

Well, as an engineer, I like to test things to reduce the uncertainty.
We bought an older class A, something that we don't mind giving away later.

This is a 1996 Fleetwood Flair, Ford 460 V8. Pretty clean, most things work (the important things anyway). I and a friend repainted the exterior and white-rubber'ed the roof, so it looks sharp. Zero roof leaks since I'm super paranoid of water damage. A few minor fixes -- like the shower tub drain was leaking, but I successfully changed the gasket, so nar' a drip any more. Installed a 27" flat screen in the bedroom -- a nice upgrade to the little tube TV on the top triangular shelf.

We are renting a spot at an RV park to get our toes wet and learning how live the life. A few trips elsewhere now and then. So now my wife and I are shopping for better. We arbitrarily set a $100K budget on a different rig. Loads of looking around -- the 2016's are arriving, so deals are out there to move the 2015's -- similar to cars.

So, my shopper's quandary is whether to go GAS or DIESEL.
I'm sure there are thousands of arguments either way.
Probably several books published on this one subject.

Gas, I can get a 2015 34'-36' new off the lot.
Diesel, I can get 2007 36'-42', gently used.
I'm looking at future reselling value as well, which I think the Diesels are better at.

I can go on and on, but will cut this short.
It will suffice as my addendum to my "Hello, All" introduction.

Any posts or advice for my personal enrichment will be truly appreciated.

Tunaoue

[ArmandV]

A fellow Californian!

[Bruce C]

[hal1phx]

[SteveLevin]

Welcome!

You didn't say where in California you are, but if you are near the Bay Area, we'd be happy to get together and share our experiences/knowledge over dinner some time (and I suspect there are others that would do the same in other parts of California).

Steve

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi John! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined us!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[denlock]

[frankdamp]

John:

Welcome from another mechanical engineer - now retired, formerly with Boeing (Commercial Airplanes). Unfortunately, we've also had to retire from the RV life due to the cost. Our final trip (though we didn't realise it at the time) was the full length of the Oregon coast from Astoria to Brookings. The was late summer 2013 and gas in the small towns was up around $4.50. The SPs were $28 a night and the one or two commercial CGs we stayed at were pushing $60.

Our rig was an '02 Georgetown 32-footer. We bought it in 2010 from the original owners, who'd had to give up the life due to medical issues. They advertised in our local paper and lived about 30 miles away. The rig had only 11,000 miles on the clock and the generator had only 48 hours.

We didn't want the hassle of a private sale at the end and consigned it locally. Not a pleasant experience, as the dealer was not very honest.

We loved the lifestyle and really miss it, but it's one of those closed chapters now.

[Tunaoue]

Originally Posted by SteveLevin

Welcome!

You didn't say where in California you are.

Steve

Formerly from San Jose, now in Palo Alto, but physically bouncing around a few RV parks; next couple weeks in NY.

[Tunaoue]

Frankdamp,
Glad you enjoyed it while you could. Let's talk off-line when you can. I want to hear about the dealer experience. It may have been your best option depending on foot traffic. I'm an avid believer in independent inspections and second quotes.