Ever think of doing this... (conversion, motorhome, motor, hotel) - Camping and RVing - - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Chilkoot · 06-03-2009, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by himain

Selling everything, buying an RV and traveling the country for a year?? The bf and I are considering doing it next year. Anyone done this or thinking of doing this?

We did that about 10 years ago and have no regrets. It was a fantastic time. We purchased a travel trailer in Phoenix, drove to the west coast and then up to Seattle over to New York, down to Florida and then back to Phoenix where we sold the trailer for about what we paid for it.

Magnum Mike · 06-03-2009, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by himain

Selling everything, buying an RV and traveling the country for a year?? The bf and I are considering doing it next year. Anyone done this or thinking of doing this?

A self-contained RV and traveling the country.. that doesn't sound like a bad idea.

My kind of RV... Well, I wouldn't mind having this RV.. A Boeing 777-200-ER.. - They cost between 175 to 200 million dollars.. and that doesn't include power windows and automatic transmission!! But it doesn't include power steering (the hydraulic systems) and A/C..

John Travolta has a nice RV, a Boeing 707, I believe it's the 138B variant, that was originally operated by Quantas Airlines, and Travolta bought it and refurbished it. The cabin doesn't look like that of a typical commercial aircraft, all of the seats were taken out, and it has a bedroom, a kitchen, a full-sized bathroom, unlike the ones you see on regular jetliners - It's a flying mansion.

himain · 06-04-2009, 07:15 AM

Chil-We aren't sure about the travel trailer thing. Im thinking more self contained vehicle with towing a suv and HD behind it.
Yes we would be purchasing a used one and thats the great thing about taking a year, no time deadlines. Plus if you do not like your neighbors in the RV lot, you just put your thing in drive and wave bye!!

SXMGirl · 06-04-2009, 08:02 AM

A friend owns a Class B RV that is a customized van. Has a kitchen and full bath and sleeps 5 tightly. They can park anywhere so they don't have to tow, but they take bikes. Also has an awning. They have belonged to 1000 Trails for about 20 years, but you can get memberships really inexpensively on ebay. They go everywhere and really enjoy themselves.

Guntersville Boomer · 06-04-2009, 08:28 AM

There are a lot of people who have done this, it you start querying this subject there are so many people living only in their RV, all different ages, I was amazed to find that out when my husband and bought our RV and started looking for information. And many of them have blogs and show their expenses in detail, it can be done very affordably and most do some work along the way, help in campgrounds for free site, etc.

I don't think I could give up my home and just live in an RV but those who have and write about it seem very happy....

aus10 · 06-05-2009, 10:34 PM

We full-time in our RV, having sold the home and furniture over 6 years ago. Granted, we travel with hubby's business, but the same basic principals apply.

It does have its advantages but there are many disadvantages as well...

And if I could give one first piece of advice, it would be to buy the largest RV you can afford and feel comfortable driving or pulling. Do your research when it comes to picking your rig. It will pay big dividends in the end. No RV is perfect, so finding the best quality RV for your price range is important.

You will also want to take into consideration what you are looking for in the way of travel or accommodations? Do you wish to move quite frequently (motorhome) or do you prefer to stay longer in one place (fiver)? Do you wish to visit mostly state parks (nothing larger than 40 foot max) or do you prefer high-end Rv resorts (40+ rigs are more prevalent)? Do you prefer being off the beaten path (need generator) or will you find hook-ups every night?

And if I had a second piece of advice.... Learn how to DRIVE and operate your rig before heading out on the highway. Not only for others, but for your safety as well... The stories I could tell...........

himain · 06-07-2009, 07:34 AM

Aus, thanks for the advice. We have been doing research on rvs for almost 2 years now. Plus we both will take a driving course before heading out. Its just the two of us, so we are considering a 37-39' for DP RV. We will also be towing. We are well aware to not skimp as we would be traveling the country in it. We really will be fully self contained.

Trust me, we both wouldn't do anything as crazy like this without TONS of research.

Any other suggestions/advice surely welcome

aus10 · 06-07-2009, 07:46 PM

My advice since you are looking at a Diesel Pusher is to make sure that you purchase a motorhome that isn't an orphan. So many of the manufacturers in the RV industry have gone under in the last few months. This doesn't mean that you can't go pre-owned; just make sure you purchase one who can still get you parts and service. I'd hate to be on the other side of the country and not able to get service.

Next, you'll need to think about your tow. Do you want to tow 4-down, on a dolly, or a trailer. If you decided to tow 4-down, you need to realize that some vehicles cannot be done this way. Check with your vehicles manual to see if you can. We find that towing 4-wheel down is very convenient; but we were limited with certain brands. We tow a Jeep Liberty but were told by Toyota and Nissan that none of their models were towable without modification which would void warranty. Chevy only had a couple models, as did Ford.

The third thing to consider when towing is if you need a supplemental braking system. This is a controversy with RVer's. Some say you need one, some say you don't. We have one. Certain states require them, and some insurance companies do as well. Our system ties into the air lines on our coach, so that when we push the brake's on the coach it also brakes the toad. To learn more about proportional braking system's I recommend rv.net. It is really an excellent site to learn all about RVing, but you will need to learn to read between the lines there. Some people are overly prepared, worring about weight issues, towing issues, etc.; others are on the unsafe side, so you'll need to find whats right for you.

Another good site to check out is tiffinrvnetwork.com. It is a group of Tiffin owners, such as myself which has really good information about Class A motorhomes. I learned a lot about ownership of a diesel pusher here even prior to owning one.

Any more questions... just ask... and I'll help if I can...

himain · 06-08-2009, 05:45 AM

Thanks, we are looking into Fleetwood or Winnebago. I know theyve been around for years and will still be around for years. I think we are leaning more towards Fleetwood though.

Yes, been doing research on tow vehicles and how to tow. Funny, We were also looking into a jeep liberty and am going to look at some used ones today in fact. We also thought of future use as we live in NC and coming from Miami and no snow, its always good to have for the winters

Ive also read about the braking system. Im leaning more towards this as it would satisfy driving through states and I don't think it could hurt to have.

I have been researching all the RV websites and of course have been finding tons of great info!

Thanks again for all your help!!

cat1116 · 06-08-2009, 11:23 AM

RV Newbies here. My SO and I plan to travel a little bit at a time, to check out the microbreweries. Well, that's more his idea than mine but I'm sure I'll enjoy the scenery along the way. Anyone know of an RV Workshop? We'd like to know how to fully utilize our RV and to be able to fix the small stuff, if needed. We had plans to hook up w/ family members on one side of the family for camping but there were medical issues posed by the other side so we really didn't get a chance to learn. Bought a couple dvds of the basics but when we played them on our system, it sounded like the audio was coming from a tin can.