Convince the wife? How?

My best argument for getting a motorhome is that we need to go to doctor's appointments in Tucson, about 100 miles away.  Our motorhome has a bed and a bathroom, and those features will make the trip a lot less stressful for me.  If my wife, Linda, needs rest or to use the facilities, all we have to do is pull over someplace for a awhile.  Unfortunately, we haven't had a chance to use the motorhome, because she can't get up the steps to get inside.  I think I solved that problem by getting a CoachLift, but Linda's had some new, major health problems and can't get out of bed at this time.  With the CoachLift, I think it will be easier to go to appointments here in Safford in the RV than it will be to go in the car.

We live just a few miles from some great boondocking, so that's just an added benefit for us.

On the subject of cost, if you have the time and patience, you can probably find something as new as you want that costs what you feel makes sense.  I bought our motorhome for under $10,000.  It's over 25 years old, but I think it's in good shape, and we can make a lot of changes to it for the price we paid.  So far, I've had to fix a small leak in the roof, and it looks like I broke the plumbing, which I could have done just as easily on a new RV.  I don't expect it to be perfect and I like to fix things, so I think it will be a good motorhome for us.  Note that we haven't really driven it anywhere yet--I might change my mind in a few weeks, when Linda can get inside and we can try it out. 

As far as the price of the rig, if your good with mechanical things, you have a much larger market to choose from.  I bought a 1992 (25 year old) 31 foot motorhome for $6500. I've removed and repaired the generator set that I broke (starter), replaced the freshwater tank fill hose (free at homedepot because the cashier didn't know the price),  fixed the bathroom fan, and replaced all the coax for our 35" flatscreen that I installed.  Enjoy working on it almost as much as driving and sleeping in it!!!

new2rving2 said:

Posted this on other forums as well, just seeking help/advice/ways to twist her arm

......on top of 10-14 hour days on travel days,

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My wife and I had our first motorhome experience during the first week of October when we rented a 25' Thor Citation.  We did not know what to expect and had an absolute blast.  (Only a couple of Robin Williams (RV movie) experiences,  one of which left me and our 15 year old dog 6 inches from the edge of a cliff.  But, that's another story!)  I think that best part was not having to do 10-14 hour driving stints because we never had to "make it" to a hotel or destination.  We sort of had an itinerary but were able to just meander and stop when we wanted.  Spent only two nights in an official RV camp during a snow storm but other than that, we boondocked on public land.  We found the RV adventure more liberating than any other travel experience we have had.  We are anxiously awaiting the big RV show in Denver in January to start some serious shopping.

My girl also has serious back issues, and is in pain quite often. We love to travel, and do for several months every year. We also are gone in the coach almost every weekend in the summer. The advantage of travelling in a class A is she can stretch out on the couch, or go take a rest in the full size bed if she desires. Cant imagine she would want to be travelling for long periods of time in a car or truck. The appeal to rving to me is there is no better way to travel than a class A. I love the huge windshield and panoramic view. I also love the fact that I dont have to make reservations. I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants. Worst case scenario is the Walmart or Cabelas is always available if needed. This frees up your schedule to get side tracked, or stay longer if you find a spot you really like. If her condition is getting progressively worse, you might want to do it now while you can. Life is short.

new2rving2 said:

She used to be really adventurous.  Now she is stuck in her little box and scared to move out. 

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Well there is the problem.

Fear of the Unknown?  You need to find out what she is scared of so you can address that.

When she was first diagnosed with this auto immune disease about 15 yrs ago, we both agreed that when we were able, we'd travel and see things.

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Is she truly not able to travel?  Can she get into a RV without a problem?  Would it make her car sick to ride in a RV?

OR is she really not wanting the two of you to spend that much money on something and would rather save it or give it to the kids?

IMO you really need to sit down with her and REALLY find out what the problem is and why she is scared to travel which she agreed to
a longtime ago.  Hard to fix a problem if you don't know what the problem is.

Good luck and please report back if you find out her problem and also find a way to "fix" it.

I think you are fighting a losing battle. Clearly she doesn't not want to go RVing and you are trying to cram it down her throat. Maybe you should listen to her and give up the idea. Maybe buy a small class B and go camping by yourself for a few weekends. Go some really cool places, take lots of photos and show her what a great time you had.

Thanks everyone again, lots of things to think about and talk to her about.
SeilerBird, not trying to cram it down her throat, she doesn't take kindly to that kind of persuasion!!!!  I do try to gently bring it up when she mentions something that would be conducive to rving.  Lately she wants to visit one of the state parks and take the dog.  So, I mention having an rv.  Her response this time is "What would she do?"  I still work, can work remotely so she has to have something to do while I work.
I have considered getting a small one and going alone, maybe I'll look into that more.
Twisting her arm was just a joke, if I did that it wouldn't go over well!!!!

Yup, RedandSilver, she's scared of the unknown anymore.  She used to jump in with both feet on most adventures.  She traveled the world teaching before she got sick.
She can still travel, at the moment with her walker she can walk about a mile.  Has to rest for a couple of hours for sure after that!!!  But she can still do that.  Has been times in the past when we didn't even know if she'd be out of a wheelchair!!!  I want to go do some things before she's back in the wheelchair or worse!!!

We haven't rented a RV, as of yet, may still get her convinced to do that, although renting seems to be expensive.  alanbl, stopping and not having to lug things in the hotel sounds really nice.  So does not having to drive 10-14 hr days.  Where in CO are you?  We just moved to TN last year from Colorado Springs.  We went to a couple of Denver RV shows 3 or 4 yrs ago.


muskoka_guy, my wife having mobility issues and pain seems to be a strong point for getting a RV.  She could lie down and rest while traveling.  She can't do that now.  She can do the steps now, just can't run in and out all the time.  Yeah, I know life is too short!!!

richard, we've never needed it for doctor/hospital visits.  Although there have been a couple of times it would have been handy.  Mechanically, I'm fairly handy, just don't really have the place to do much work on one, unless we take it to her brother in laws place, he has a nice big shop.  Actually she mentioned getting an older one and fixing it up once.  Not sure she was serious.  Guess I should find an old one in decent condition and if she says that again, run out and buy it!!!

We need a rv now, shes mentioned 5 or 6 TN state parks she wants to visit lately, along with Helen, GA, Biltmore in NC and Jekyll Island GA.  I'm sure they are all good places for rving.