TheJuggler
Member
- Joined
- May 16, 2016
- Posts
- 20
... to even start this, but I have gotten to the point where I know I need additional information from experienced people... research just isn't enough. Even though I am capable of understanding multiple-linear regression analysis, this whole "full timing" thing is making my head want to explode.
You "old hands" tend to use initial-isms a LOT... Thank goodness for the Glossary link at the top of these pages, it has been invaluable when trying to decipher the codes here and in other forums. You would think retired/full time people would have enough time to use complete sentences and words, but apparently not (no insult intended, just an observation, so get your butt off your shoulders). If you choose to respond and help out, thank you... but I will ask you to treat me as the neophyte I am and spell things out, it will really help keep the vein in my forehead from pounding.
Thumbnail sketch: I am a 57 year old competitive juggler (http://www.thewjf.com if you're interested in the difference between that and the goofs you see on cruise ships) and intend on taking my 40 lb. non-threatening rescue dog Dixie on the road to enjoy the various competitions/festivals across the US before I get too old to do this any more. I have good people back in WV to run my companies and just attend the board meeting for a couple days a year (which I will fly to)... otherwise I talk to the CEO on the phone only occasionally about anything serious. I intend on staying inside the "reasonable belt" of weather and have absolutely no desire to cross any national border for any reason.... been there, done that in spades, checked off the list. I would like to "boondock" for a week to 10 days at a time occasionally when there are no Renaissance or juggling festivals going on. I will use everything from "resort" campgrounds to Bureau of Land Management deep woods. I could care less about being "green" but understand the need to be thrifty with electrical/water use... I am under no illusions about how my lifestyle will be changing. I have always cared about leaving no tracks wherever I've gone and pledge publicly to maintain my high level of concern about the quality of life of others and how I may effect it, so no "rich guy" snobbery here.
Ok, on to what I think I know and what I don't know and need help with....
I live in SD now and understand the issues of "domicile" vs. "residence" and I have good accountants that take care of tax issues for my companies. They know nothing about RVing in any form, however. I'm pretty sure I won't need to worry too much about licensing, taxes, mail, etc. as I've managed to read enough about all that from various forums to know what I need to do. Vehicle insurance, registration, etc. also covered. Trip planning and logistical analysis is fun for me, so no problems there either.
I've been using the internet as a data resource since before there WAS a World Wide Web and am well aware of the filtering/interpreting required to separate the wheat from the chaff but I am SO completely without a reference base on this one that it's been more difficult... It's easy to see who are the "crotchety old farts" that like to find fault in anything but their own opinions/experience or the ill-educated pontificating on what they don't really know, but the fact of the matter is, I realize just how much I don't know regardless of all the reading I've done in the last couple weeks and so here I am, begging for either directions to resources or direct help in my decision making process. Again, thank you if you wish to add to the discussion... please go away if you don't like how I talk... I don't need you to tell me I'm alienating some potential resources, thanks.
Where I get bogged down is equipment. Not just trying to find factual specifications, but deciphering the wide range of experienced "opinion" I see when others have asked for advice. Here are some statements of fact I CAN start with:
I will buy a 5th wheel of some kind.
It will have additional insulation beyond the 1 1/2" foam junk board.
I do NOT care what it looks like nor do I care about the "depreciation hit" you take buying a new unit.
I would prefer to buy a recent model used unit that fits all my requirements but then, so would everybody
I am NOT trying to get this done for this "season", but would like to at least make the base purchases before the snow flies here.
If it doesn't come already installed, it WILL have serious solar/battery capacity as I like my air conditioning but don't want to hear a generator all day every day when I'm out in the booney... hopefully that won't be an issue as I don't intend on staying around anywhere too hot unless it's somewhere I can "plug in".
I am willing to pay to have someone modify the unit to meet my requirements. I am not overly "handy" but am willing to learn once I have what I want to start with.
I am willing to drive a considerable distance to purchase/pick up the unit.
I do not need/want or care about additional sleeping capability... if the unit has "hide-a-bed"couches or additional bunks I will have them removed any way. Dixie and I just need a single king sized bed.
There are several other specific requirements I have on my list but I fear this is getting too long and most people (even those with lots of time on their hands) will skip it. I'm willing to haul water/waste with the (1 ton) truck I'll be buying to haul this behemoth. I'd like to keep it around 35' as I've seen many references to limited sizes when talking about access to many campgrounds/public lands. Money is not as much an issue as meeting my requirements. I will not consider a "motor coach" nor will I purchase based on perceived status by others around me... I mean it when I say I don't care what it looks like... I'd rather NOT spend the money on "solid wood walnut cabinetry", stainless steel appliances or custom paint jobs... I truly do not care. I also realize that manufacturers seem to think that any "coach" that would meet my baseline requirements equipment-wise would only be purchased by someone that really cares if it looks like it came straight off the front page of >insert coolest RV magazine here<.
So I'm soliciting advice on manufacturers and models. I've been looking at the Montana High Country series and the Arctic Fox group and have found a couple floor plans that would work (I will be absolute death on my requirement for the primary seating to face the television as I intend on using it for my computer). I will usually take Dixie with me when I go somewhere, but some festivals don't allow that so I'll need to be able to insure her comfort for several hours while I'm gone. It seems to me that having a well insulated unit would help compensate for the overall power/fuel limitations in many circumstances. I will be happy to respond with a more complete list of my specific requirements, but I think if I can get the right shell I should be able to have things modified to meet them post-purchase. Things like 6 point auto-leveling, larger batteries, etc. should all be doable.
Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions greatly appreciated. My apologies if I offended earlier, but at least now you know more about who you're talking to if you choose to help.
You "old hands" tend to use initial-isms a LOT... Thank goodness for the Glossary link at the top of these pages, it has been invaluable when trying to decipher the codes here and in other forums. You would think retired/full time people would have enough time to use complete sentences and words, but apparently not (no insult intended, just an observation, so get your butt off your shoulders). If you choose to respond and help out, thank you... but I will ask you to treat me as the neophyte I am and spell things out, it will really help keep the vein in my forehead from pounding.
Thumbnail sketch: I am a 57 year old competitive juggler (http://www.thewjf.com if you're interested in the difference between that and the goofs you see on cruise ships) and intend on taking my 40 lb. non-threatening rescue dog Dixie on the road to enjoy the various competitions/festivals across the US before I get too old to do this any more. I have good people back in WV to run my companies and just attend the board meeting for a couple days a year (which I will fly to)... otherwise I talk to the CEO on the phone only occasionally about anything serious. I intend on staying inside the "reasonable belt" of weather and have absolutely no desire to cross any national border for any reason.... been there, done that in spades, checked off the list. I would like to "boondock" for a week to 10 days at a time occasionally when there are no Renaissance or juggling festivals going on. I will use everything from "resort" campgrounds to Bureau of Land Management deep woods. I could care less about being "green" but understand the need to be thrifty with electrical/water use... I am under no illusions about how my lifestyle will be changing. I have always cared about leaving no tracks wherever I've gone and pledge publicly to maintain my high level of concern about the quality of life of others and how I may effect it, so no "rich guy" snobbery here.
Ok, on to what I think I know and what I don't know and need help with....
I live in SD now and understand the issues of "domicile" vs. "residence" and I have good accountants that take care of tax issues for my companies. They know nothing about RVing in any form, however. I'm pretty sure I won't need to worry too much about licensing, taxes, mail, etc. as I've managed to read enough about all that from various forums to know what I need to do. Vehicle insurance, registration, etc. also covered. Trip planning and logistical analysis is fun for me, so no problems there either.
I've been using the internet as a data resource since before there WAS a World Wide Web and am well aware of the filtering/interpreting required to separate the wheat from the chaff but I am SO completely without a reference base on this one that it's been more difficult... It's easy to see who are the "crotchety old farts" that like to find fault in anything but their own opinions/experience or the ill-educated pontificating on what they don't really know, but the fact of the matter is, I realize just how much I don't know regardless of all the reading I've done in the last couple weeks and so here I am, begging for either directions to resources or direct help in my decision making process. Again, thank you if you wish to add to the discussion... please go away if you don't like how I talk... I don't need you to tell me I'm alienating some potential resources, thanks.
Where I get bogged down is equipment. Not just trying to find factual specifications, but deciphering the wide range of experienced "opinion" I see when others have asked for advice. Here are some statements of fact I CAN start with:
I will buy a 5th wheel of some kind.
It will have additional insulation beyond the 1 1/2" foam junk board.
I do NOT care what it looks like nor do I care about the "depreciation hit" you take buying a new unit.
I would prefer to buy a recent model used unit that fits all my requirements but then, so would everybody
I am NOT trying to get this done for this "season", but would like to at least make the base purchases before the snow flies here.
If it doesn't come already installed, it WILL have serious solar/battery capacity as I like my air conditioning but don't want to hear a generator all day every day when I'm out in the booney... hopefully that won't be an issue as I don't intend on staying around anywhere too hot unless it's somewhere I can "plug in".
I am willing to pay to have someone modify the unit to meet my requirements. I am not overly "handy" but am willing to learn once I have what I want to start with.
I am willing to drive a considerable distance to purchase/pick up the unit.
I do not need/want or care about additional sleeping capability... if the unit has "hide-a-bed"couches or additional bunks I will have them removed any way. Dixie and I just need a single king sized bed.
There are several other specific requirements I have on my list but I fear this is getting too long and most people (even those with lots of time on their hands) will skip it. I'm willing to haul water/waste with the (1 ton) truck I'll be buying to haul this behemoth. I'd like to keep it around 35' as I've seen many references to limited sizes when talking about access to many campgrounds/public lands. Money is not as much an issue as meeting my requirements. I will not consider a "motor coach" nor will I purchase based on perceived status by others around me... I mean it when I say I don't care what it looks like... I'd rather NOT spend the money on "solid wood walnut cabinetry", stainless steel appliances or custom paint jobs... I truly do not care. I also realize that manufacturers seem to think that any "coach" that would meet my baseline requirements equipment-wise would only be purchased by someone that really cares if it looks like it came straight off the front page of >insert coolest RV magazine here<.
So I'm soliciting advice on manufacturers and models. I've been looking at the Montana High Country series and the Arctic Fox group and have found a couple floor plans that would work (I will be absolute death on my requirement for the primary seating to face the television as I intend on using it for my computer). I will usually take Dixie with me when I go somewhere, but some festivals don't allow that so I'll need to be able to insure her comfort for several hours while I'm gone. It seems to me that having a well insulated unit would help compensate for the overall power/fuel limitations in many circumstances. I will be happy to respond with a more complete list of my specific requirements, but I think if I can get the right shell I should be able to have things modified to meet them post-purchase. Things like 6 point auto-leveling, larger batteries, etc. should all be doable.
Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions greatly appreciated. My apologies if I offended earlier, but at least now you know more about who you're talking to if you choose to help.