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Nice of you to live my life for me but I will be living it myself.
You're the one who wrote: "I believe, from what I've read, that most people set up their 'living room' outside. That's one of the points of a nomadic lifestyle."
and:
"I guess, for me, since a large part of my growing up years was spent in the country where we had outhouses and outdoor water pumps, it wouldn't be that difficult to live with a simpler lifestyle."
Have a nice day yourself.
You're the one who has set the stage here for a minimalist lifestyle, to the point that you've written how little you actually need in possessions and space to enjoy life.
Nomads, for thousands of years, lived quite comfortably in tents with minimal, if any, sanitary and bathing facilities. Just like you describe being an acceptable, fondly remembered lifestyle in your lifetime. You wrote: " I laugh now at how amazed I was when we moved into town and had an actual bathroom."
Between your fond memories of how wonderful life was without all the modern complications and suggestion that your budget is under extreme pressure to be able to afford your new travels …
you're the one who has argued that you don't need another vehicle to meet your requirements.
Enjoy.
PS: sorry to have tried to give you some pointers per your request as to how to go about RV's as a purchase and lifestyle. Your profound knowledge of doing so and insights surpass anything those of us with decades of RV'ing ownership and travel experience may have.
I'll bet you haven't even bothered to have looked at RV's on a dealer lot to actually know what's available and what the prices might be because you already "know" so much about them. Have you even contacted your insurance agent to find out what it will cost to insure such a vehicle, whether it's an RV or a cargo van? Oh, I understand … you're smarter than that, you already "know" what it will cost you. Just like you already "know" what it will cost in fuel expenses, license fees, operating expenses, parking fees, etc.
Carry on. It's readily apparent that you don't really want any information here, you just want affirmation of everything you already know. Good Luck with that.
You're the one who has set the stage here for a minimalist lifestyle, to the point that you've written how little you actually need in possessions and space to enjoy life.
Nomads, for thousands of years, lived quite comfortably in tents with minimal, if any, sanitary and bathing facilities. Just like you describe being an acceptable, fondly remembered lifestyle in your lifetime. You wrote: " I laugh now at how amazed I was when we moved into town and had an actual bathroom."
Between your fond memories of how wonderful life was without all the modern complications and suggestion that your budget is under extreme pressure to be able to afford your new travels …
you're the one who has argued that you don't need another vehicle to meet your requirements.
Enjoy.
PS: sorry to have tried to give you some pointers per your request as to how to go about RV's as a purchase and lifestyle. Your profound knowledge of doing so and insights surpass anything those of us with decades of RV'ing ownership and travel experience may have.
I'll bet you haven't even bothered to have looked at RV's on a dealer lot to actually know what's available and what the prices might be because you already "know" so much about them. Have you even contacted your insurance agent to find out what it will cost to insure such a vehicle, whether it's an RV or a cargo van? Oh, I understand … you're smarter than that, you already "know" what it will cost you. Just like you already "know" what it will cost in fuel expenses, license fees, operating expenses, parking fees, etc.
Carry on. It's readily apparent that you don't really want any information here, you just want affirmation of everything you already know. Good Luck with that.
Sunsprit, perhaps you should re-read the very first paragraph of the first post the op made in this thread. She said she wanted to get a van, and you promptly started pushing something she doesn’t want. I think you owe her an apology for your comments in this post. She wants information, just not the information you insist that she should take.
If you are just looking for a conversion van, then you want a Chevy Express - period.
Things to watch out for:
Catalytic plugged up and empty inside. You can bypass them but it will reduce your MPG and your Check engine light will be on forevermore.
Ignition/starting problems.
Rear AC (probably does not work).
Door hinges seized or siezing. If the doors still move, you can work some penetrating oil into them and get them movable again. You will have to do this every 3 months or so. Once they sieze up, the door is inoperable. You are not ever going to fix it, it is too expensive.
Ignition system issues (wiring from the ignition (key) switch to the starter.
You are very unlikely to get much more than 150,000 to 200,000 miles out of one. "It is all freeway miles" is BS.
If you are looking for a class C or B RV, that is a different story. Depending on how much you are investing, you may want to get it inspected and tested before buying. You will get a far better deal in a private party sale, as long as you are patient and can negotiate. private party usually means you will clean it and fix the little things like brake shoes yourself. Dealers do that for you. They also put armor all on the tires so you think they are newer than they are. Everyone lies to you. Dealer or private seller, assume anything they are saying is a lie. The biggest lie is "It probably just needs an adjustment (or tune up or cleaning). That is always false. If it was some minor cleaning or tune up issue, they would do it and sell the thing for a lot more. If there is a problem, it is a problem, it is not "probably nothing" no matter how badly you want to believe them - don't.
Sunsprit, perhaps you should re-read the very first paragraph of the first post the op made in this thread. She said she wanted to get a van, and you promptly started pushing something she doesn’t want. I think you owe her an apology for your comments in this post. She wants information, just not the information you insist that she should take.
Thanks Cruzincat. I put that person on ignore as I didn't come here to be harassed. Everyone else has been helpful and given me a lot to think about.
Coldjensens, This is why I started researching early. I do plan on having the vehicle inspected before I purchase anything. I feel it's better to spend the money to have that done rather than wonder and/or worry.
If the seller doesn't agree to that, it would be time to walk away. I feel I really lucked out when I bought the Cube but it was in the small town I lived in and they (the dealership) had a good reputation. Where I'm from, that counts for a lot. I did pay book value because it was worth it to me. That worked out well.
Coldjensens wrote: "If you are just looking for a conversion van, then you want a Chevy Express - period. "
a word to the wise might be in order: Check these out for standing headroom. Could be important for somebody living out of the rig for an extended time.
as well: "Everyone lies to you. Dealer or private seller, assume anything they are saying is a lie."
so one might ask, how does a single woman like the OP … who is unlikely to have the mechanical skills to properly evaluate and/or take it upon themselves the diagnostic and repairs needed going to do so?
From my perspective as an industry professional for over 5 decades, I have to wonder how you rate a Private Party sale as being a better buy/value than a competent dealership. I gather from your numerous posts that you project a consistent attitude that everybody in the business is a thief, professional liar, and rip-off artist greedily seeking to take maximum advantage of every customer in the door. And now you assert that everybody else who is selling a vehicle is a liar, too. Is every rig for sale a piece of junk?
My experience with private party sales … and I've done a couple hundred over the years … is that once the money changes hands, the private party has no further involvement with the product.
A competent dealership, however, has a vested interest in continuing good business reputation, referrals, and repeat sales. There presents a possibility that they can and will stand behind what they've sold, no? oh, wait a minute … you've already answered that question. They're all liars and thieves. All of them, according to you.
Perhaps some of us have had a better trusting experience with our clients and earned our good reputations. YMMV.
In a different forum I mentioned that I might go to Minnesota for September as I have found it to be the hottest month here in Cochise County and my friends would be thrilled to see me. It's also when my lease ends here.
I could have my old mechanic be on the lookout for a van and he could then go over it with a fine tooth comb. If he finds a good one sooner? Well I kept my old bank as my primary bank & it's where he banks too s it would be a simple matter of a phone call to have funds transferred.
And..an added plus is that many people liked the Cube and since she has proved her mettle, so to speak, I'm fairly certain she would sell quickly. He could help me with that also.
One of the benefits of living/ coming from a small town.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,741 posts, read 58,090,525 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meo92953
...Minnesota for September ....
Your MN friends will LOVE to have someone help rake Leaves! and put-up the harvest.
Then about 1 Nov (or anytime after the State Fair ) ... you can ease out of the state and head south.
Timing it correctly you can see Aspen Colors in Northern NM and southern CO. (first of Oct) , then follow the colors south through AZ / western NM back to Cochise County. One of my friends there has a 'bunk-house' and spare RV hook ups and about 20 acres. They get a lot of visitors in the winter. (as do we in TX home).
We keep extra RV sites for friends to drop in for a few days or months.
Keep space in the shop that they can use to do maint and repairs. And a woodshop to build projects / do RV remodel.
It is nice to have an extra hand around to help with projects.
Sounds great! I won't be coming back to Cochise County though. I like it but plan on staying at an LTVA near Quartzsite until spring. That way I will be around for the RTR, rubber tramp rondezvous in January. At $180 for 7 months, that's a third of one months rent where I am now.
I probably won't stay the whole time but New Mexico has a good deal on a yearly state pass, or, a lot of people head to Colorado, it seems. OR, that might be a good time to explore Washington state or Oregon.
Also, my family members live outside of town, in the country. They don't take leaves. Rather, they mulch them for fertilizer for the coming year. I might be in time for the annual chicken slaughter though. I may have to time it so I'll miss that fun event.
It would be nice to see family and friends again. This past week has certainly showed me I made the right decision to leave! Record scary lows.
But, spring through fall it is beautiful there. My family lives on the old family farm my grandfather bought. He was very wise and bought acreage on the lake, which is now protected. Great fishing lake. Because of the location, the property has multiplied in value. They'll never sell though, no need to. Instead it will keep on being passed down to the next generation.
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) ... you can ease out of the state and head south.
