Meet RV Wannabees Frank and Eileen

[Eileen&Frankie]

Hello from Minnesota,
Frank and I have researched, hemmed and hawed, visited many a RV show for two years now - just knowing RV traveling is what we want to do.  We can seem to clamp down and take the bit.  I want MPG and Frank wants to be able to cook.  I don't care where I sleep and he wants a queen bed.  I don't want to live for extended periods of time in an RV at a campground but love to be out on the road for a long time (many months) and stopping here and there visiting family and friends - we agree here. We travel to hockey games throughout the hockey season and we though we could save money with an RV.  Maybe we should RV Share?  I think we might be typical of the 50ish couple who has a bit of money (but not rich) and just want to travel, travel, travel.  We are both Army Veteran's and our last kid has two more years at college and is away all of the time now -- EMPTY NEST = We are ready to go!!!  We have good jobs we can keep for now but we are NOT interested in staying in them until we are older.  Life's too short!!
NOW with all that said - We cant seem to find a motorhome that fits our needs, and is jumping out at us, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  We are a couple who would pay for the extra's and the quality to a point, but would be sensible about spending too much.
Thoughts?  What has worked for a couple like us?  Can we make it in a 20-22 ft class B conversion van type RV?  Or would we be kidding ourselves with the lack of space?  How do you drive to Alaska in a roomy RV on 8 mpg and have a fun trip while spending thousands on gas?  it seems like a fortune.
Best regards, Eileen and Frank - I will be posting my thought processes as I make a chart of what is out there.

 

[Wendy]

Welcome to The RV Forum Frank and Eileen.


We're just a bit older than you (60 and 64). We travel about 8 months a year in a 28-foot Class A. We could probably do it in something smaller but wouldn't really want to. We carry mountain bikes, an inflatable tandem kayak, lots of electronic gizmos, tons of books and an 85-pound labrador retreiver. We can go "almost" anywhere in the small Class A and we tow a classic VW to take us to other places. It's a great life, enjoy.


Wendy

 

[Kim (skyking4ar2) Bertram]

Welcome to the Forum!

One of the interesting aspects of life on the road is the amount of partner compromise required to end the trip without bloodshed. Getting on the same page early is a really precious key to success and the spitballing you are doing now is a critical part of that process. You won't regret that phase.

I would also caution you to be careful of getting stuck on fuel as a criteria for how to do it. Someone said you should spend your money on memories and not things - what is your recreational adventure really worth? Especially over a long period of time? Fuel, while important, should be just one of the many factors.

We made our decision to full time on the idea that we may never be presented with such an opportunity to travel and enjoy places, friends, and family at a later stage in life - there are no guarantees. We also budgeted for $5.00 diesel at 7 mpg and got that monkey off our back early. It is a controllable expense - you don't just drive, you stop and smell the roses. Three years and seventeen states later, our ability to be flexible has made for many great adventures.

I don't know if saving money and RV'ing should be used in the same sentence, but you might reframe how you consider what you are buying. Your bed, your place, no unpacking, on your schedule. That's worth something.

The process of deciding is very personal and should be enjoyable. The more you know the better off you will be. No one of us has "your" answer, but if you separate the wheat from the chaff you can probably come up with something that will work well for you.

Best of luck and don't hesitate to post your thoughts.

Kim

 

[sanway3]

Like most RV dreamers, you want it all, which is exactly why you are unable to move forward with your plans.  When you are talking about living full time in an RV you do need to take living space into consideration.  I have seen tons of people lose fortunes and finally give up on RVing because they could not handle living in a small space together.

If you have never traveled in an RV, I strongly suggest, even though it will be costly, that you rent one and take a two week trip in it before you ever decide to buy.

Your problem is that you are trying to make a decision without information, and that is an impossibility.  Also, I think you are being unrealistic about your financial situation.  It is easy to say "who needs a job" when you have one with good income, but it is much harder later, when there is no job and money is tight as a result of dreamy decision making.  You don't know how long you will live, so you should plan as if you will live into your 90's.

There are many RVs that will take care of your needs, but first you have to decide what those needs are.

Rent the RV, take the trip in it, and then you'll start to get some idea about how to proceed.

I have written more than 50 articles on HubPages.com as Timetraveler2 about RVing and another 46 so far on my blog at rvlearningspot.com.  Some of them may prove helpful and they are free to read.

Good luck.

 

[Jeff]

You are in a good position to find what works before you cut the strings. Try a used smaller rig and you can always move up in size and years by the time you are ready to hit the road full time. As we got closer to retirement we found our standards kept going up but it was better to know that then when a couple more years of work let us live the way we wanted on the road.

 

[howellad]

Good Luck in your decision making.  We are from Colorado and have decided to make the jump to RVing after about a 4 month search for information and deciding what we wanted in an RV.  We start at the class B driven much in part by fuel cost.  When we actually got in one said their is no way we could make that limited space work and the cost of them was way to much in our minds for what we got.  Long story short we moved to the Class A diesel pusher idea and have move ahead with that.  We are heading to Oregon next week to do the test drive PDI part of the buying experience.  Space was a huge part of our decisions but we did not want to get to big.... what ever that means.  Our hopeful new coach will be 36' with 4 slides and a 2005 that we think we got for a great price.

We want to move about the US and see some country as well as family.  We feel we worked hard to get answers to questions and this site has been great in helping us gather information. We find a guy that took us under his wing to help us learn all we could.  In fact he is meeting us in Oregon to help us make sure this coach is right for us and works as it should. 

We are looking forward to the experience and really have decided if we focus on fuel costs it will spoil all we want to see.  Again good luck, your RV is out there trust me and it might find you.

Chuck and Frances

 

[Bill Weatherby]

My wife and I shopped a long time in the used market. We found a very nice, low milage Class A 27' for $10,000! It was not a wreck. The roof had no leaks, the interior was all new, the appliances worked and it was wonderful. We put $3000 more into it installing air ride and a few other nice things. We lived in it for a long time but but, when gas went way up, it became less costly to just fly, rent cars and stay in hotels.

If money is not a concern, look for a good used diesel. It may take a while but be patient something will come up. I say diesel because it will take you everywhere. Gas engines lose power at higher altitudes. If you are fond of the mountains like we are that will be a bit of a problem.

Good luck

 

[BinaryBob]

Thoughts?  What has worked for a couple like us?  Can we make it in a 20-22 ft class B conversion van type RV?  Or would we be kidding ourselves with the lack of space?  How do you drive to Alaska in a roomy RV on 8 mpg and have a fun trip while spending thousands on gas?  it seems like a fortune.

Hello from a fellow Minna sow tan....
My thoughts... Drop the MPG from the equation. It's a lifestyle, not an economy.
My search started similar to yours. Looked at class B's. Then B+. Then ultimately decided on a class A.
Thy fortune you will spend on gas is offset by the pleasure in no hotel itinerary, no reservations, no eating out all the time, no dragging luggage in and out of hotel rooms, no calling room service because they forgot to give you the little micro shampoo bottle or replace the toilet paper.... The list goes on...
If RV' ing is for you, you won't save money, but you will have a great time.

 

[Ernie n Tara]

It's all about understanding the priorities! For a $150k rv, depreciation will run about $12k per year over the first five years. Fuel for a full size class A will be $6, 000 per year assuming you drive twice the average or about 12, 000 miles (that's a lot!). A smaller class B will save you about half the fuel cost or 1/4 of the depreciation cost.  Is it really worth it to save fuel?

I'm sure there are valid reasons to prefer the small rv, but fuel costs should be well down the list.

JM2C,

Ernie

PS At $100k, the depr cost is still nearly three times the potential fuel ssvings.

 

[lisabrokenstone]

Hey Eileen and Frank!
I like Jeff's thoughts, simple to start.
I am still simple at this point. That's the route I am taking. My journey is a long one, and it's been a couple years. After being robbed of my life and starting over, I started simple. They repo'd the car, in October 2011. In June 2012, I saved enough to get a bicycle and started bike camping. I learned after a few short overnight trips what I need and started taking longer trips. In September 2012,  I saved enough for a 1984 Subaru GL-10 4wd wagon and full timed in that. In February 2013, I upgraded to my current rig in my avatar. Although you would not mistake my current rig for a class A, it does have 4wd and is ok on fuel.

I am single ( I was married once for 18 years... ) and find my rig works for me.
For my purposes, I like what I live in.
I just want to invite you to try baby steps, and learn, and think outside the box.

I think my problem is I like to spend too much time in four wheel low...

Happy Trails,
Lisa

 

[skyking1]

Jeff made a solid suggestion, IMO. Consider whatever you do first as school. Your first rig you likely won't have for very long, for a whole lot of different reasons.
Your needs and wants will change due to situations and forces you have not encountered yet.
Why plunk down the big $ when you really don't know?
Get a decent, modest, well kept used rig. There are literally tons of them around if you take the time to look. One owner rigs with huge books of receipts and obviously caring owners. You can run one of those for a few years and not take much of a hit when you change your needs and wants.

 

[cargovanconversion]

sanway3 summed it up quite well. There are as many choices as their are people.

I'm alone and chose to convert a Dodge B250. Relatively cheap and good with my gas money.

Welcome to the forum,

Van.