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higgy72 · 03-30-2015, 04:42 PM

My wife and I bought a travel trailer and fixed the water damage in it and redid the upholstery and interior last summer it was a fun project and not one that I care to do again any time soon. This is a 20 foot holiday rambler travel trailer and is great for camping and desert trips but not full timing in with a kid and 2 dogs and 2 cats. The job I just got will be sending me back to school for 6 months in Virginia after 3 months in Idaho. I can not take my pets with me to Virginia, and I don't want to have my wife and kid in a long stay hotel/apartment in Norfolk. One of my dogs is a rottweiler and makes renting next to impossible. I do not want to buy a house yet as this is a new job and will be traveling a lot the first year. One of my more logical ideas if I'm unable to find a place to rent is to sell my travel trailer put my stuff in storage and either
A: Buy a new or newer 28ft+ travel trailer stay in it until I go to Virginia then put the trailer on my parents property in CA and bring it back to Idaho and stay in it until I buy or build a house.
B: do the same as option A but sell my truck as well and buy a mid to late 90s diesel pusher and tow my wife's tahoe behind it.
C: Buy a 5th wheel toy hauler then same as A

Some things to consider
Storing my wife's tahoe is not an option, already storing 2 cars, neither is selling it.
After buying a house I plan to use what ever I get to go out atv riding and camping like I do with my current travel trailer.
My wife can hook up pull and level a trailer just fine. I will show her how to dump the tanks before I leave.
My truck is a 89 gmc crew cab dually with a built 454 and a goose neck it pulls 12k over 7% grades at 50 55 fine.
Total full timing will be about a year.

I'm looking for advice from people who have full timed in a class a and a travel trailer which do you prefer.
Also any one who has full timed in a toy hauler I would like to know how it is, is the furniture comfortable enough to live in?

Todd157k · 03-31-2015, 10:26 AM

ok, I've never done any of the above options however, what I have done is buy something to "suit my needs at the moment" and find that it quickly becomes another ball 'n chain. Here's what I see wrong with your plans.
Plan A: Where are you going to put your new 'live in' trailer? A trailer park? really? with a child.. of what age? Not really convenient or a good choice. Specially with 2/2 on the pets. Did you ever SEE The Shining? hahaha
Plan B: Same but now you have an older "new to you" rig that you have to rely on to house your family. Also, what happens if wifey has to drive it? and back it up with the toad? ah, no.
Plan C: Might work.. if you want to keep the 5th wheel. But once again.. trailer park? many trailer parks won't let you live in a 'wheeled' trailer.
Is it possible to have your parents watch your pets for a year? Sounds like that is the only issue from just renting a place.

Barbaraok · 03-31-2015, 10:35 AM

For just a year - don't bother unless you like RVing, in which case get as big of a trailer as you can pull. Lots of RV Parks have kids catching the school bus at the park entrance all over the country. You're biggest problem isn't the kids, it is the dogs. Most parks have a 2 pet limit (though they usually don't count cats) but Rottweillers are often on the aggressive breed list that insurance companies won't cover, so the park will say no. Toy Hauler makes sense if you want to set the kid (and pets) up with the 'garage' area turned into a bedroom/play area (bed rising to the ceiling during the day) . It will mean you both have to drive the two vehicles when towing, but that is doable. BTW - why are you storing cars you aren't using? If you aren't using them, sell them unless you think you are going to make a lot of money on a classic car years & years from now?

Barb

higgy72 · 03-31-2015, 11:53 PM

My parents taking my dogs won't work one, of there dogs is aggressive to both of mine, and my parents travel in there travel trailer a few times a month all summer. I would not stay in a trailer park there are some rv parks in the area and I plan on traveling the area as much as possible on my days off. Once I get out of the camper I still plan to use it about once a month, weather permitting, with a couple extended trips a year in it. My daughter will be 3 by then so by the time she starts pre k she will be back in a normal routine. Also once she is in school I plan on taking her to historical us sights that she will be learning about. I use my camper enough now that I can justify buying a nicer one regardless of living situation, however should I live in it I'll be willing to spend substantially more on it. The two cars that I have in storage are my first truck and the second is a nova I have a lot of time and money into, so selling them is not an option either. My cats are unfortunately special needs and not outside. I have not found my rottweiler to be a problem in the past but I normally don't camp in rv parks just national and state parks. I will keep this in mind when looking at rv parks though and be sure to read there pet policy. I am still looking for a house but if I go the rv route I'm looking more towards a nice toy hauler with a seperated garage. Thanks again for your advice keep it coming there is a lot I haven't thought of and I want to make an informed decision that way if I make the wrong choice at least it's not an ignorant one.