RV or not?

[texdav]

i have a friend who wnhen he retired actaully bought a fith wheeler and a dually diesel truck and toured the country for 18 months. He pretty much saw the country is that time. he said he enjoyed it but by the time he got thru was ready to return from the roaming life on the roadways.He siad he had thouhgt at the time he might want to do it premanently but that changed his mind and made him realise it wasn't the life for he and his wife.

[flyonpa]

I have two friend both retired teachers, who retired 10 yrs ago, They sold the house they shared and bought a Class A RV. They 'base' them selfs at one there dauthers houses near pitsburg. They spening about 9 months of the year traveling the US & Canada. They join packs of RV for few weeks, spent a bout a week at each place, the move on. Every few months they drop out of that group, and join up with a different group, or pass thru pitsburg (area) and visit with family for a month or so. They set up all the plugs/water/pad in her back yard, stay for a while then head back out. They are 'intoch' as anyone else. Cell phone, Wireless Internet, Sat TV. They get there Mail scanned and it arrives via there email. And since they been doing it for 10+ years now, they say they would not change anything...

[WyoNewk]

Staying in hotels/motels with a dog can be tough. Our last dog was a small (5 lb.) Yorkie, very lovable, well manicured and well trained, but most hotels don't allow pets in the rooms. Those that do often charge an extra $10.

I often carried our Yorkie to the check-in counter so the desk clerks could see her. Sometimes they'd tell me to "sneak" her in to the room. "Just don't make it obvious, and she'll be fine." And sometimes I'd sneak her right past the check-in counter, tucked away in my pocket, a luggage bag, or hidden in rolled up jacket. But no matter how we did it, traveling with the little pooch was a chore. A bigger dog would only be harder.

Compare that to a dog in your RV. No problem. I'd guess that half the campers I see have a dog. We've stayed at a few RV parks that charged an extra $5 per pet, but they're in the minority, and even with the extra charge, the campsite price is still pretty reasonable.

If your dog had a vote, (s)he'd vote to go by RV.

As for traveling, if you're in no particular hurry an RV can be a wonderful way to go. And it can be inexpensive. If you or your spouse is at least 62 you can get a Senior Pass for free admittance to all the national parks and monuments. It also gets you a 50% discount at national forest campgrounds and, I think, at COE campgrounds. Where we live that amounts to $6/night camping. We don't get hookups for that price, but we prefer the woods to concrete and manicured grass -- that's why we have a self-contained camper.

If RVing is new to you, I'd join the others in suggesting that you rent before you buy, even if it's for a few days at a time. A class B would be ideal for traveling in, but if you want your camper to be your home for weeks or months on end, it could get cramped in a hurry. I'd suggest that you rent a class B, a class C and a class A. Visit a few dealers and do a lot of looking. Talk to fellow campers about their rigs. You'll eventually decide what's best for you.

Good luck, and have fun!

[texdav]

I never found having a dog when traveling was a problem as long as you paln ahead and knew which allowed them. We have actaully done it for years. But if you have a difficult doog that is well trained that could be very different.But remember as my freind said you alos need to do alot of planning when RVing to assured a good place to stop with reservations. Don;t leave it to luck he said. Some areas that are popular will be booked up for quite awhile.National forest and state parks can be the hardest to get really anytime the weather is good. Palan well as he said when I talked to him including mainteance .

[avalen]

I'm all for the rv thing, but I'm biased cause I live fulltime in
my fifthwheel.
Keep in mind if you go the motel route, you can't go off and
sight see and leave the dog in the motel, most motels do not
allow that.