Best Motorhome for a Single Retired Lady

Hi, everyone, Sandy here, and thrilled to find your forum!

I am a total newbie, who loves travel. I have decided to downsize and try living full time in an RV. I have three dogs (one is 110 lbs), the other two are huskies. I want to buy a used motorhome that is reliable and pretty easy to drive (I'm a very good driver) that won't take rocket science to figure out or maintain. After all, I'll be alone with the pooches.

Heard I should consider diesel ... and I'm thinking 30' + ?

Thoughts anyone? Should I join a club ... or what should I consider as a traveling single lady?

Thanks!!

Welcome to the forum Sandy, 

There are several other single ladies on here that may be able to answer some of your questions.

But... it may be a good idea if you Rented a motorhome and tried it out for a week or so.

you will learn a whole bunch in that week.

Good luck, Tony

With three large dogs, you definitely need space, so yes, 30+ ft.

A rear engine diesel is nice to have, but by no means necessary. It will be quieter and the air suspension is cushier, but it is also more costly to buy and maintain.

A Class A RV is easy enough to drive but takes some getting used to. The driver sits higher and more forward than in a van based RV (Class C or B), thus altering your perspective of the road.  Your many years of "muscle memory" associated with your driving skills will needs to get re-trained. Probably take 1000 miles of driving. Until you get accustomed to it, you will worry excessively about lane position and likely will over-correct with your steering.

An RV can be very expensive to maintain if you have to take it to a shop for every little thing. And RV shops are super-high-priced on everything.  If you can learn to do some basic chores on your own, it helps a lot. Imagine if you called a plumber, electrician or handyman frequently for home repairs and you get the idea. Rvs bounce and vibrate down the highway, so get more wear & tear than a fixed home, and they have multiple systems for everything electrical and some of the plumbing as well.  I'm not trying to scare you off - just giving a reality check.

I suggest taking a look at the "Loner On Wheels" website to see if they would be a good fit for you. The Escapees RV Club also has a sub-group called "SOLOS" that serves a similar purpose. Note that neither group has "matchmaking" as a goal or purpose if that's a concern, these are groups that exchange information and guidance for solo RV'ers, as well as providing communal camaraderie.

Another group is the Wandering Individuals Network, or WIN.  They organize circuits that tour various parts of the country staying in mostly free or inexpensive campsites.  You're free to join a circuit at any point and leave when you wish.

Their website is rvsingles.org

There is NO such thing,,, too many wants,, desires,, and needs to answer that question.>>>Dan

Sandy22 said:

I am a total newbie, who loves travel. I have decided to downsize and try living full time in an RV. I have three dogs (one is 110 lbs), the other two are huskies.

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Hi Sandy and welcome to the forum. You need to understand first thing is that all RV parks and campgrounds have rules about pets. Many limit it to three pets per site, some two. Some limit the size of the pets such as not allowing one pet to be over twenty pounds. Before you make any reservations at a destination you will need to find out for definite what their pet policy is. They all require any pet that is outside of the RV to be on a six foot leash at all times and they need to be quiet and not bark when you are away. Most parks will kick you out if you get noise complaints.

I want to buy a used motorhome that is reliable and pretty easy to drive (I'm a very good driver) that won't take rocket science to figure out or maintain.

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If you manage to find an RV that is reliable please let us in on the secret. Just about all RVs need a lot of maintenance and repairs. Fortunately the motorized RVs are all easy to drive. Rocket scientists come to this forum to get their questions answered about RVing. It is not a simple subject. It takes a lot of education to get up to speed on all the different systems.

Heard I should consider diesel ... and I'm thinking 30' + ?

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A diesel is useful if you are going to be towing a car in the mountains otherwise it would be overkill for you. The advantage to diesels is they have more low end torque for going up mountains. If you are mainly on flat land then the diesel has no advantage other than being quieter while driving it.

Thoughts anyone? Should I join a club ... or what should I consider as a traveling single lady?

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You have joined a club. The RV Forum. You will find us very helpful. We have a library here full of articles you might want to read. I traveled full time as a single male with three cats for ten years before settling down in Florida. Ten of the best years of my life.

Well Sandy, I have only 4 points

1: I am taking applications for travel partner (My wife died a few years back)  BUT...
2: I'm not a fan of big dogs in RV's and where I'm parked right now if you have a husky they want like a million dollar liability policy (Please do not ask my opinion of that policy, Siberian Huskies I've petted were lovely animals..  In fact ISIS (An AKC Grand Champion Bitch) is very well named. Goddess of beauty that she is. But she belongs to a different JOHN (Bates).

Now the good stuff.

A gasoline fueled (Gasser) RV is less expensive to buy and maintain, HOWEVER YOu have very little cargo carrying capacity and limited tow rating...

A Diesel is more expensive up front, and maintenance tends to be more costly as well (I just change oil for half what the same place charges to change oil on a Big D)  But you get several times the cargo capacity and twice the tow rating .. Or more.

I went with Gas because I'm a fairly decent gasoline engine technician.. Don't know so much about Diesels.  But that is me.    I'm sitting in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377W

Since GM stopped making the 8.1.. in NEWER motor homes your engine if gas is most likely to be FORD.. I"m not a ford fan either. .. though the big Fords tend to be decent.

Find a friend(s) that have RVs or have had them for a while, I'm sure you know a few. Take them with you while/when you're shopping. Most of them will have a little experience about them. Take different people with you, they'll all have different opinions on everything. Some you'll agree with, some you'll be like......huh?

Anyway, it'll be fun, enjoy it.

With 3 large dogs you will need all the room you can get. They will take up much more room than another human, and eat more too. I would guesstimate that you would need 30ft + with a slide or two. If you're going full time you will need the storage and the size of the tanks. Learning to drive a larger coach isn't a problem, but realize some states require a different drivers license when you get over a certain weight. I have a 34ft coach and 3 small dogs, about 20 lbs each, and can't imagine sharing my space with 3 large dogs.

Good luck on you dreams. 

Welcome to the forum.

I'm a fan of Diesels.  If your really going to go full time in a RV with 3 large dogs I would be looking at a 40 ft + Coach.
If your going full time most people will tow a car or truck behind their MH.  With a diesel you usually fuel with the trucks which
almost always have pull through fuel lanes, which are a big benefit because you can't backup with a car attached. 

The larger the MH the more storage space, tank sizes and comfort you will enjoy.

There is no one best MH that anyone can recommend to you.
Floor plan is very subjective and unique to everyone.  In your case you will want room for your dogs and space for all your stuff
as downsizing from a house is a big task and there are probably some things you will want to keep - so you'll need room for those.

RVtrader.com is a good place to start as you can narrow down the fields to match what your looking for. 
As you learn more and more you may refine your searches.

I'm not sure how you came up with a 30ft unit - but one thing I see here a lot is people buying too small and then upgrading
over and over.  So don't be afraid to buy something larger then you think you need as most people upgrade instead of downgrading.

Ask lot of questions before you buy anything.  When your ready to buy hire an inspector/mechanic to check the unit out.
That would be money well spent in your case.  IF you buy from a dealer (that WILL cost you more) spend a night or 3 in their parking
lot and make them fix anything that's not right before you drive it away as once they have your money it can take a long long time to get
anything fixed.

You might want to state the city and state you live in and if someone on this forum is close they might be a wealth of info/help to you.

State and national parks, as well as regional (county) campgrounds are much more likely than private campgrounds NOT to have pet limitations. 

Another forum you can join is womenrv.com.  It is not a club, but you do have to register and post an introduction.  It is not a big group of women, but we are very friendly and try to meet up together in large or small groups whenever we are in the same area.  You would find it helpful to post there and ask about other women who travel with large dogs. 

JudyJB said:

State and national parks, as well as regional (county) campgrounds are much more likely than private campgrounds NOT to have pet limitations.

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YMMV. Some states have very restrictive policies on pets.

Wanderer...      'States'  or 'State Parks'    Just curious??  : :

maddog348 said:

Wanderer...      'States'  or 'State Parks'    Just curious??  : :

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State park campgrounds, to be specific. The rules vary from "there are no rules" all the way to "no pets allowed".

Sandy,
Howdy I'm a Single female too (unfortunately don't see retirement in the cards for me) ...  jumped in both feet to RV living by purchasing my 2016 Jayco Eagle 323 LKTS  5th wheel this past Thursday and my 2011 Dodge Ram 2500 ST Diesel truck on Friday.    I am very new to RV's so technical questions I'd not be able to answer, a female newbie comrade in arms I can be.  Good luck to you with your research.  Jenny