Bill_Scott
Active member
How I Purchased The Perfect RV ? Chapter 1
I bought my first RV (a towable) in 1993. The 'why' of it makes a rather amusing story, and has proven to be a great ice-breaker at RV events that I attended through 2000.
You see, for 13 years, I had been traveling around the United States installing large, IBM computer systems that I programmed for a unique group of businesses. In the beginning, I stayed out for three-months at a time. As the business grew, I was home at the most, two-three weeks out of each year. I stayed in motels from North Carolina to California, and the traveling costs skyrocketed.
From 1981 on, I had always purchased Chevrolet, Sierra Suburbans, mainly because the computers and equipment I carried, plus all the books and manuals, wouldn?t fit into the trunk and back seat of a standard-sized automobile. Every 60,000 miles or so (roughly every 2 years), I would call my dealer, order a new one, and give my wife my old one.
In the fall of 1992, while at home, my wife and I were passing my dealer?s lot, and I noticed an attractive, dark red Suburban parked on the lot. Since it was getting close to trade-in time, my wife and I stopped to check it out. I was disappointed to find out it was a GMC 6.2 Liter, diesel vehicle, and having no use for a noisy and smelly diesel, I insisted he show me a gold, gas powered Suburban, and I decided to go ahead and trade.
As the salesman and I were going over the paper work, I noticed my wife was really interested in the gold Suburban I was buying. Realizing that my wife was tired of getting my hand-me-downs, I went outside and asked her, ?You really don?t want my old Suburban do you?? She admitted she didn?t. She wanted a new SUV of her own. To make a long story short, I ended up making the salesman?s day by buying the diesel Suburban for me, and the gold gas-powered Suburban for her. The next day, I headed out to visit a customer for a scheduled, annual upgrade to their computer system at their offices in McAllen, TX.
For several years, I had always stayed at a Holiday Inn in McAllen, TX. That year, the motel had recently changed hands. Every Saturday morning, I would take my soiled clothes to the front desk, have them cleaned and returned to me on hangers.
At the end of the second week of that stay, when I took my dirty clothes to the front desk, the clerk informed me the cleaners did not wash underclothes. I respectfully told her she was mistaken, because I had always had all of my clothes cleaned there for the past 7-8 years that I had stayed at that motel. In fact, I informed her that just the previous week, I had them cleaned through the motel, and she said, ?No, if you send in underclothes, they will just shove them in a plastic bag and hang them on the same hanger with the cleaned clothes.?
For a few seconds I was in shock. ?You mean I am wearing dirty underwear,? I screamed? Obviously, as she was unable to speak, the manager come out of her office and wanted to know what the commotion was all about. We had a heated discussion about me and my dirty underwear, and I stomped my way back to my room. I spent most of that evening fighting guest over the use of the single washer and dryer provided by the motel. I made up my mind that I had to do something about it.
As a stroke of luck, or by divine intervention, I had just acquired a diesel truck, albeit a rather small one. The idea of buying a trailer began to take root. But what kind of trailer would fit my lifestyle?
That night, I joined the RVForum on Compuserve and began doing my research. I met the most wonderful group of people I had ever had the pleasure of working with. They weren?t just there for the fun of it. In a way, they became partners with me on my journey. It was as if ?we?, not just ?I?, was buying an RV. I had acquired an interested team, determined to guide me in the process of buying a trailer.
Every night over the next week, I asked questions and learned everything I needed to know about RVs. Even then, it was amazing what I was able to learn by asking questions, and reading a plethora of conflicting information on the forum.
I became clear to me that choosing the right RV had more to do with the occupant(s) than anything else. No single person is qualified to assist you in making that decision, because they will try to sell you on their idea of what the RV lifestyle is all about, even if they have never traveled in one. Regardless, nine times out of ten, your lifestyle will be quite different. Sometimes, people will even attempt to validate their decision to buy a certain style or kind by convincing you they made the right decision in buying theirs.
The greatest danger is, ?Are you even RV compatible?? You could spend tens of thousands of dollars before you find out you absolutely hate living in a hallway for the rest of your life; or you may fall head over heels in love with the lifestyle and wished you had sold your house and moved into a $200K Class A luxury unit, instead of a cheap towable and everything in-between. Everyone has their own opinion, but in all that chatter, I was able to put together the perfect package that fit my lifestyle and my pocket book.
What was the maximum weight I could haul, what kind of hitch, what tools and supplies would I need, what type of frame, how many slides, modifications to the vehicle, how would I increase my horsepower, weight distribution, lane changing, how to find a good place to park, what if I had to stay in a park with no services? the list was at least a full page in length; but in my business planning was in my blood. Every one of my questions would need to be answered thoroughly before I actually took the plunge.
The following Saturday, armed with my list I arose early and went shopping?? (to be continued)
I bought my first RV (a towable) in 1993. The 'why' of it makes a rather amusing story, and has proven to be a great ice-breaker at RV events that I attended through 2000.
You see, for 13 years, I had been traveling around the United States installing large, IBM computer systems that I programmed for a unique group of businesses. In the beginning, I stayed out for three-months at a time. As the business grew, I was home at the most, two-three weeks out of each year. I stayed in motels from North Carolina to California, and the traveling costs skyrocketed.
From 1981 on, I had always purchased Chevrolet, Sierra Suburbans, mainly because the computers and equipment I carried, plus all the books and manuals, wouldn?t fit into the trunk and back seat of a standard-sized automobile. Every 60,000 miles or so (roughly every 2 years), I would call my dealer, order a new one, and give my wife my old one.
In the fall of 1992, while at home, my wife and I were passing my dealer?s lot, and I noticed an attractive, dark red Suburban parked on the lot. Since it was getting close to trade-in time, my wife and I stopped to check it out. I was disappointed to find out it was a GMC 6.2 Liter, diesel vehicle, and having no use for a noisy and smelly diesel, I insisted he show me a gold, gas powered Suburban, and I decided to go ahead and trade.
As the salesman and I were going over the paper work, I noticed my wife was really interested in the gold Suburban I was buying. Realizing that my wife was tired of getting my hand-me-downs, I went outside and asked her, ?You really don?t want my old Suburban do you?? She admitted she didn?t. She wanted a new SUV of her own. To make a long story short, I ended up making the salesman?s day by buying the diesel Suburban for me, and the gold gas-powered Suburban for her. The next day, I headed out to visit a customer for a scheduled, annual upgrade to their computer system at their offices in McAllen, TX.
For several years, I had always stayed at a Holiday Inn in McAllen, TX. That year, the motel had recently changed hands. Every Saturday morning, I would take my soiled clothes to the front desk, have them cleaned and returned to me on hangers.
At the end of the second week of that stay, when I took my dirty clothes to the front desk, the clerk informed me the cleaners did not wash underclothes. I respectfully told her she was mistaken, because I had always had all of my clothes cleaned there for the past 7-8 years that I had stayed at that motel. In fact, I informed her that just the previous week, I had them cleaned through the motel, and she said, ?No, if you send in underclothes, they will just shove them in a plastic bag and hang them on the same hanger with the cleaned clothes.?
For a few seconds I was in shock. ?You mean I am wearing dirty underwear,? I screamed? Obviously, as she was unable to speak, the manager come out of her office and wanted to know what the commotion was all about. We had a heated discussion about me and my dirty underwear, and I stomped my way back to my room. I spent most of that evening fighting guest over the use of the single washer and dryer provided by the motel. I made up my mind that I had to do something about it.
As a stroke of luck, or by divine intervention, I had just acquired a diesel truck, albeit a rather small one. The idea of buying a trailer began to take root. But what kind of trailer would fit my lifestyle?
That night, I joined the RVForum on Compuserve and began doing my research. I met the most wonderful group of people I had ever had the pleasure of working with. They weren?t just there for the fun of it. In a way, they became partners with me on my journey. It was as if ?we?, not just ?I?, was buying an RV. I had acquired an interested team, determined to guide me in the process of buying a trailer.
Every night over the next week, I asked questions and learned everything I needed to know about RVs. Even then, it was amazing what I was able to learn by asking questions, and reading a plethora of conflicting information on the forum.
I became clear to me that choosing the right RV had more to do with the occupant(s) than anything else. No single person is qualified to assist you in making that decision, because they will try to sell you on their idea of what the RV lifestyle is all about, even if they have never traveled in one. Regardless, nine times out of ten, your lifestyle will be quite different. Sometimes, people will even attempt to validate their decision to buy a certain style or kind by convincing you they made the right decision in buying theirs.
The greatest danger is, ?Are you even RV compatible?? You could spend tens of thousands of dollars before you find out you absolutely hate living in a hallway for the rest of your life; or you may fall head over heels in love with the lifestyle and wished you had sold your house and moved into a $200K Class A luxury unit, instead of a cheap towable and everything in-between. Everyone has their own opinion, but in all that chatter, I was able to put together the perfect package that fit my lifestyle and my pocket book.
What was the maximum weight I could haul, what kind of hitch, what tools and supplies would I need, what type of frame, how many slides, modifications to the vehicle, how would I increase my horsepower, weight distribution, lane changing, how to find a good place to park, what if I had to stay in a park with no services? the list was at least a full page in length; but in my business planning was in my blood. Every one of my questions would need to be answered thoroughly before I actually took the plunge.
The following Saturday, armed with my list I arose early and went shopping?? (to be continued)
