Toad shopping

Willandgiselarv said:

Not to be a mean person but if you are planning on reselling the journey it may take awhile since they aren't popular on the list..a Used Grand Cherokee may be a better choice.

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As I keep saying, my plan is NOT to sell the Journey. My plan is to keep it until it's metal is worth more than the car. Drive it into the ground. Which will not be difficult to do since I'll have 4 teenage drivers.

RVMommaTo6 said:

I sooo appreciate everyone's advice, seriously, all of it. Here's the new plan; I showed 2 of the kids, they'll be 16 and 17 on the trip, a video of someone hooking up to a tow dolly and reminded them that it will sometimes be raining or cold or windy and offered them $20 a month each if they shared the job of taking care of that. I explained that this will be above and beyond their other chore (each kid has a chore for the road, the 16 year old will be hooking and unhooking sewer/ dumping, the 17 year old will be pumping gas)

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I would like to know what the chores are for the other kids.

RVMommaTo6 said:

I sooo appreciate everyone's advice, seriously, all of it. Here's the new plan; I showed 2 of the kids, they'll be 16 and 17 on the trip, a video of someone hooking up to a tow dolly and reminded them that it will sometimes be raining or cold or windy and offered them $20 a month each if they shared the job of taking care of that. I explained that this will be above and beyond their other chore (each kid has a chore for the road, the 16 year old will be hooking and unhooking sewer/ dumping, the 17 year old will be pumping gas)

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Just a thought....Nothing wrong with using the the kids to take care of the toad..I would suggest that they each take one side of the toad to make connections...When everything's done they swap sides and check the others work..2 sets of eyes are safer than 1.

And of course the driver is responsible to make sure things are done before moving the RV..We want our RVMama back in one piece

You are going down the right road!  Wise decisions for your situation!

SeilerBird said:

I would like to know what the chores are for the other kids.

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Two of the kids are sharing the chore of dishes, because it's a big job. They will also help with food prep. A third is responsible to keep the floors clean and sweep at least once daily. And the last is responsible for the cat litter, garbage and recycling. Additionally, they are each responsible for their own belongings. Everything has a place and because there are so many of us in a small space, things need to remain where they belong.

Gizmo100 said:

Just a thought....Nothing wrong with using the the kids to take care of the toad..I would suggest that they each take one side of the toad to make connections...When everything's done they swap sides and check the others work..2 sets of eyes are safer than 1.

And of course the driver is responsible to make sure things are done before moving the RV..We want our RVMama back in one piece

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Good call with the checking each other's work! I also always walk around the entire rig before taking off when we stop and then go again. I do a quick visual checking the tires, the windows (or one is open while driving, it'll fly off), the gas cap, the underneath storage, etc. So when im2towing, that will be added to my list.

grashley said:

You are going down the right road!  Wise decisions for your situation!

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Thank you, I really hope so!  I'll definitely keep you all posted when I get each new item!

RVMommaTo6 said:

Good call with the checking each other's work! I also always walk around the entire rig before taking off when we stop and then go again. I do a quick visual checking the tires, the windows (or one is open while driving, it'll fly off), the gas cap, the underneath storage, etc. So when im2towing, that will be added to my list.

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) ) )

You should call Hollywood.  You could sell tickets for the filming of this adventure  ;D ;D ;D.  I'm glad you have established a good bond with many on this website.  Given we are peppered everywhere in the country, surely any situation you get into, someone here can help or give advise how to deal with it.  Just never get in a hurry, that's always when we do the stupid stuff.

SpencerPJ said:

You should call Hollywood.  You could sell tickets for the filming of this adventure  ;D ;D ;D.  I'm glad you have established a good bond with many on this website.  Given we are peppered everywhere in the country, surely any situation you get into, someone here can help or give advise how to deal with it.  Just never get in a hurry, that's always when we do the stupid stuff.

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This site and the people on it have been a massive help to me. It has already saved me literally thousands of dollars (between Passport America, not driving with an open window, repairs that didn't need to be done because I learned how to drive properly lol etc) and has relieved tons of anxiety. There has been so much stuff that I've looked up or asked, but even more importantly, there was a TON of information I've gotten that I never knew that I didn't know. I never would have asked because I never knew it was a thing. That happens a lot here, so I'm very grateful to have found this community.
As for a movie deal, that's the story of my life! Lol, nobody would believe my biography, they would think ot was fiction, not even realistic fiction ? people would walk oit of the movie saying, that was so fake, that stuff could never really happen! Lol

SeilerBird said:

) ) )

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That was your advice back in August!

RVMommaTo6 said:

That was your advice back in August!

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I don't remember this morning's breakfast much less August.

I hope we haven't overdone the advice or scared you away from reasonable choices. There will be somebody here who is [perhaps overly] concerned about most any aspect of RVing and will react with an "OMG - NEVER do that!" to almost anything.  Sometimes because they had an unusual bad experience but often only because they heard or read somewhere how bad it may be.  I'm not referring to any particular advice or person here - just making a general observation about internet blog/forum commentary.  Often the initial responses about any subject will be the "traditional wisdom" variety that "everybody knows" but few can explain "why".  The dissenters often respond later in the discussion, so wait until multiple comments come in and try to deduce the consensus.

Makes sense, but when multiple people say the same thing, it's usually wise to consider that point of view. Especially for me because I'm going into this with so little experience. You guys really have been awesome.

Amanda, are you going to be doing all the driving on this trip, or will you share driving the motorhome with the 16 and 17 year old?

Reason I'm asking, if they aren't going to drive the RV, let them drive the car behind you on moving day. Yes, you'll buy some extra fuel but this will be offset by what you won't spend to make the car towable.  CB or FRS radios will let you stay in touch and they'll be able to listen to their own music while giving them some time away from Mom and the rest of the family.

Lou Schneider said:

Amanda, are you going to be doing all the driving on this trip, or will you share driving the motorhome with the 16 and 17 year old?

Reason I'm asking, if they aren't going to drive the RV, let them drive the car behind you on moving day. Yes, you'll buy some extra fuel but this will be offset by what you won't spend to make the car towable.  CB or FRS radios will let you stay in touch and they'll be able to listen to their own music while giving them some time away from Mom and the rest of the family.

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An interesting though.....Just one more thing Amanda has to consider ;D...But something to think about depending on the planned miles to be driven.

NOTE TO ALL READING AND LEARNING FROM AMANDA'S STORY:

She has done many things right.

* She started planning over a year in advance.
* She asked LOTS of questions about every aspect of the planning.
* She read lots of threads and learned many things she did not know she needed to know.
* She has previous camping experience
* She has developed a reasonable budget.  While it has not been shared in detail, many questions are based on its' existence.
* She has shared specific plans (like this thread) for comments to assure it was a realistic plan.
* She has started many threads on different topics, and not tried to cram 20 questions on 20 topics into just one thread.
* She has spent a huge amount of time doing her homework.
* She has set a great example of how to do it right!

With all that said, I anticipate she will still run into issues.  However, they will be new and innovative problems, not the simple stuff she has learned how to avoid.

Great Job, Amanda!

Thanks Gordon!
You mention budget so I want to add advice for others doing this. I'm over budgeting. I know I'll have extra money, but that will be put aside for emergencies, because there's bound to be something somewhere sometime lol. I'm also going to stay a month ahead financially because IF something happens and my money doesn't show up when it's supposed to, I assume it'll take longer to iron out since I won't be local. Just an idea.

Hmmmm, letting them drive. I hadn't considered that. If I remember correctly, I haven't looked at my plans in a while because I've had to put this on the back burner until February, but I think the plan is 13,000 miles on the RV. So I would prefer NOT to put those on the car as well. Also, because I homeschool, I planned on doing a lot of their "school work" type stuff on the longer drives. When we're actually in a location, we'll spend that time exploring and "vacationing" and learning through life experience, but some things, like math and reading, are perfect long drive activities for them. I appreciate the suggestion, keep 'em coming, but this one won't work for this particular situation.

RVMommaTo6 said:

I'm over budgeting. I know I'll have extra money, but that will be put aside for emergencies, because there's bound to be something somewhere sometime lol. I'm also going to stay a month ahead financially because IF something happens and my money doesn't show up when it's supposed to, I assume it'll take longer to iron out since I won't be local.

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With all due respect, there's little reason to worry about that IMO.  In today's world, your money is never far away.  We always keep funds in a Wells Fargo account that we can access with a debit card virtually anywhere in the country.  We have the daily limit on the card set so that it covers most eventualities even, as happened this summer, I had to give a few hundred dollars in cash to an itinerant mechanic on the Mountain Ute reservation near Cortez CO so he could drive ~50 miles to Farmington NM to get parts to fix our stranded DP.  Yes, that sort of stuff does happen!  Not often, but you should be prepared in case it does. In our case, the mechanic was both good and honest and we were on our way the next day!

Joel (AKA docj)