Year long home school trip

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ccc1971

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2014
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My family is about 5 years out from full timing for about a year across the US. Our current rig is an 08 Ram 3500 S/W quad pulling a 2006 Salem LE Sport 32SRV TH.  The issue is both of these are not really suited for long term living or long distance travel. We can live with one, but not the other, and this is my quandry; which one should I change? A used truck is about the same as the trailer ($50k max budget), and both have their disadvantages; truck will be paid off in about half the time, but for double what the rv would cost. The issue with the different rv is we need room for the kids, which will be a bunkhouse, but don't really want that floorplan for retirement (I don't like paying good money for something just to replace it later). 

The Salem is a lower end unit, and is already falling apart (mostly interior); however, being a TH, there is room to make the garage into a bedroom. This unit also has tons of storage throughout. Plan is to add a residential fridge to the garage and turn the current location into more storage, add a W/D to the garage (plumbing and wiring are very easy to access there, as rig is open underneath), bunk beds and a large wardrobe. The entire trailer needs a professional inspection, as there are electrial issues (110 not working in garage), generator issues (not starting), wear and tear issues (cabinets are crumbling, carpet is disgusting, and all fabrics are faded/torn), AC not blowing cold/freezing and a nasty looking roof (most likely needs a pro cleaning and reseal; I've cleaned twice this past year alone and it does no good. Rood is almost 10 years old now).

Considering we're probably not going to be keeping what we buy longer than 5 years, we're looking at not quite FT rigs (Columbus, Sandpiper, Eagle Premier, etc.) This trip will show us if we can live on the road, or if it's even something we want to do in retirement. Class A coaches are not off the table, either, as we've seen several nice floorplans well withing our budget (bunkhouse models included).

The truck cab is just too small/uncomfortable; my kids are growing and the back seat is terrible. Wife and I suffer back issues, and the stock seats suck, frankly. It also needs some mechanical items upgraded, but don't know if I feel like dropping more cash into it, or using that money to fund another truck (dually; most likely a Mega). On the plus side, the truck will be long paid for, and is otherwise clean and solid.

To point this to a point, which would be the lesser of two evils here?
 
For clarification, we are either getting a new truck or trailer; we would like to have both, but budget only allows for one.
 
Get the trailer.  The distances you will move on any given day is probably less than 300 miles.  Besides new or rebuilt seats are a cost effective alternative.
 
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