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Any RV enthusiasts here?

Lovebug

Lovebug

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My favorite show to watch (Amazone prime). Check it out.

 
No one into RVing?
 
Lovebug said:
No one into RVing?
Click to expand...

Love RVing.

I've owned a couple Class A's, but they are so big they really restrict where you can go. Got over that kind of RVing, which really wasn't RVing at all.

I currently have an Earthroamer LTS. Class C. Very functional and there are few places it can't go.


Haven't had as much time to travel with it, but that's coming down the road when I fully retire.


I grew up camping with the family. Epic trips every summer.


We tent camped to the New York World's Fair in 1965 from Los Angeles.


You really do meet the nicest people when camping.
 
ocean515 said:
Love RVing.

I've owned a couple Class A's, but they are so big they really restrict where you can go. Got over that kind of RVing, which really wasn't RVing at all.

I currently have an Earthroamer LTS. Class C. Very functional and there are few places it can't go.


Haven't had as much time to travel with it, but that's coming down the road when I fully retire.


I grew up camping with the family. Epic trips every summer.


We tent camped to the New York World's Fair in 1965 from Los Angeles.


You really do meet the nicest people when camping.
Click to expand...

We are in the process of selling our house. Wish us luck, please.

Upon researching different classes of RVs, lifestyle etc, we came across Robert's videos. He travels all over the country.

We are deciding between C and toyhauler.( we have a truck) C, because they are easier to drive than the A. They are somewhat limited in their floor plan, and we yet have to find one with W/D hookup.
That is why we are also considering toyhaulers. We might get a very basic one and rebuild it ourselves. We don't care for dinettes and the useless sofas. We would take those out and replace them with recliners.
 
Lovebug said:
We are in the process of selling our house. Wish us luck, please.

Upon researching different classes of RVs, lifestyle etc, we came across Robert's videos. He travels all over the country.

We are deciding between C and toyhauler.( we have a truck) C, because they are easier to drive than the A. They are somewhat limited in their floor plan, and we yet have to find one with W/D hookup.
That is why we are also considering toyhaulers. We might get a very basic one and rebuild it ourselves. We don't care for dinettes and the useless sofas. We would take those out and replace them with recliners.
Click to expand...

Good luck on the house sale!

For what it's worth, a toy hauler has some real benefits. Being able to leave "the house" behind for day trips or just running errands, is a big plus.

You will get used to hauling the house behind you. Paying attention to ingress and egress will become second nature after a short while.

The other thing is, a toy hauler doesn't have an engine and transmission. Nothing is worse than having to live in your house while some kind of repair is required to be made before you can go anywhere.
 
ocean515 said:
Good luck on the house sale!

For what it's worth, a toy hauler has some real benefits. Being able to leave "the house" behind for day trips or just running errands, is a big plus.

You will get used to hauling the house behind you. Paying attention to ingress and egress will become second nature after a short while.

The other thing is, a toy hauler doesn't have an engine and transmission. Nothing is worse than having to live in your house while some kind of repair is required to be made before you can go anywhere.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is something that worries me.
Which is more conducive to boondocking? I would think it is the toyhauler, no?
 
Lovebug said:
Yeah, that is something that worries me.
Which is more conducive to boondocking? I would think it is the toyhauler, no?
Click to expand...

I haven't owned a 5th wheel type toyhauler, but I have friends who own them. It's my observation a decent, well equipped toyhauler is going to be just as self contained as any Class rated RV.

From what I can see, toyhaulers tend to have good ground clearance and the rear overhang is manageable. Don't overlook that. That overhang can be an issue if you're thinking of the boondocking/dry camping style. Overhang results in the rear of the unit dragging the ground if a dip is too severe.


I think boondocking is the essence of RVing. That's why I got away from the condo on wheels approach and bought the Earthroamer. It's about as off-grid but comfortable as you can get.
 
ocean515 said:
I haven't owned a 5th wheel type toyhauler, but I have friends who own them. It's my observation a decent, well equipped toyhauler is going to be just as self contained as any Class rated RV.

From what I can see, toyhaulers tend to have good ground clearance and the rear overhang is manageable. Don't overlook that. That overhang can be an issue if you're thinking of the boondocking/dry camping style. Overhang results in the rear of the unit dragging the ground if a dip is too severe.


I think boondocking is the essence of RVing. That's why I got away from the condo on wheels approach and bought the Earthroamer. It's about as off-grid but comfortable as you can get.
Click to expand...

Ok, back to camping. It is getting nasty out there.

What are your thoughts on gutting an RV? I am going back to buying an older one, replacing all the iffy parts for sure. What I am mostly interested in (husband disagrees), is taking out useless stuff.
We also have to have a decent size bunk, or elevated bed, for the "horse", which, when built into the floorplan, just makes the entire space awkward.
 
Lovebug said:
Ok, back to camping. It is getting nasty out there.

What are your thoughts on gutting an RV? I am going back to buying an older one, replacing all the iffy parts for sure. What I am mostly interested in (husband disagrees), is taking out useless stuff.
We also have to have a decent size bunk, or elevated bed, for the "horse", which, when built into the floorplan, just makes the entire space awkward.
Click to expand...

I have no experience doing such a thing. No reason you couldn't.

Just keep in mind the weight issue when trying to do it yourself. When you dig into an RV you will find that the materials are typically laminated to look good, but are quite thin.

Also, a quality brand will have had quite a bit of R&D reflected in how it is assembled. Imagine a home going through a never ending earthquake for hours on end. That R&D tends to help the manufacturer engineer things to help keep things together, or allow them to flex, without damaging the surrounding structures.
 
ocean515 said:
I have no experience doing such a thing. No reason you couldn't.

Just keep in mind the weight issue when trying to do it yourself. When you dig into an RV you will find that the materials are typically laminated to look good, but are quite thin.

Also, a quality brand will have had quite a bit of R&D reflected in how it is assembled. Imagine a home going through a never ending earthquake for hours on end. That R&D tends to help the manufacturer engineer things to help keep things together, or allow them to flex, without damaging the surrounding structures.
Click to expand...

That's a good point. Of course solar, wind, extra water capacity etc is also something we are looking into.
 
Lovebug said:
We are in the process of selling our house. Wish us luck, please.

Upon researching different classes of RVs, lifestyle etc, we came across Robert's videos. He travels all over the country.

We are deciding between C and toyhauler.( we have a truck) C, because they are easier to drive than the A. They are somewhat limited in their floor plan, and we yet have to find one with W/D hookup.
That is why we are also considering toyhaulers. We might get a very basic one and rebuild it ourselves. We don't care for dinettes and the useless sofas. We would take those out and replace them with recliners.
Click to expand...

My aunt and her husband live in a class A for about six months of the year, wintering in Florida.

My wife and I have kicked around the idea for after retirement. We currently camp whenever we can. We used to tent camp back in our younger days but fell out of that over the years. Around 7 years ago we decided to start camping again, mostly to spend some quality time with the grandkids. To that end we bought a pop-up camper, mainly to see if camping would still suit us. A couple years later we sold the pop-up and got a hybrid. I liked that rig- my wife liked it not so much. Last year we traded it in on a 32' fifth wheel. More storage, larger bathroom etc. sold me on it. It's not particularly large as fifth wheels go, but we're liking it. I even lived in it for work reasons for about three months last year.
 
Lovebug said:
No one into RVing?
Click to expand...



Love camping with my trailer

Me and my wife down sized to only a 18ft. We're becoming empty nester's.

Had a 24ft 5th wheel for a long time. Don't need a bigger trailer anymore
 
RF667799 said:
My aunt and her husband live in a class A for about six months of the year, wintering in Florida.

My wife and I have kicked around the idea for after retirement. We currently camp whenever we can. We used to tent camp back in our younger days but fell out of that over the years. Around 7 years ago we decided to start camping again, mostly to spend some quality time with the grandkids. To that end we bought a pop-up camper, mainly to see if camping would still suit us. A couple years later we sold the pop-up and got a hybrid. I liked that rig- my wife liked it not so much. Last year we traded it in on a 32' fifth wheel. More storage, larger bathroom etc. sold me on it. It's not particularly large as fifth wheels go, but we're liking it. I even lived in it for work reasons for about three months last year.
Click to expand...

We ended up buying a travel trailer. It suits us perfectly, even has washer/dryer combo. Shower/bathroom is an ok size, although it takes some getting used to. What I am not quite fine with, yet, is feeling like I am on a boat. It is stable, as far as RVs go, but you still feel the 'give'.
We are planning on staying several months at a time some places, just to get the area well enough to decide whether we want to buy our retirement home.
So far, we like it.
 
Lovebug said:
We ended up buying a travel trailer. It suits us perfectly, even has washer/dryer combo. Shower/bathroom is an ok size, although it takes some getting used to. What I am not quite fine with, yet, is feeling like I am on a boat. It is stable, as far as RVs go, but you still feel the 'give'.
We are planning on staying several months at a time some places, just to get the area well enough to decide whether we want to buy our retirement home.
So far, we like it.
Click to expand...

Make sure your wheels are well chocked. Maybe consider some of those "X-chocks". Put blocks under your stabilizers before cranking them down. They'll have less flex the less they are extended. Those things helped a great deal with the rocking of our hybrid (which is a type of travel trailer). Our fifth wheel has self-leveling which is not only convenient, it reduces instability to almost nothing.

Checking out an area in the manner you describe sounds like a great plan and an adventure to boot!:)
 
Lovebug said:
Not a clue what those are, not even after googling.
Click to expand...

Guess not(LOL)


LNF stans for Liberty news forum

There's a Lovebug on there and she's from Penn.
 
RF667799 said:
Make sure your wheels are well chocked. Maybe consider some of those "X-chocks". Put blocks under your stabilizers before cranking them down. They'll have less flex the less they are extended. Those things helped a great deal with the rocking of our hybrid (which is a type of travel trailer). Our fifth wheel has self-leveling which is not only convenient, it reduces instability to almost nothing.

Checking out an area in the manner you describe sounds like a great plan and an adventure to boot!:)
Click to expand...

Thank you, we did that. Our campground hosts are so very helpful. They were there for us setting it up, making sure we had everything we needed.
We bought some stabilizers for under the slide outs too. It helped a lot.
All advise is welcome. So much to learn.
We are checking into solar panels. It is plumbed for it. ( is that the right term).
 
Luther said:
Would you consider going into Mexico in the winter(Baja)?
Click to expand...

The end goal is buying some land in country, but yes, that sounds like fun. A friend of mine goes there (not sure about exact location) as a diving instructor. We might tag along some day.
 
Luther said:
Guess not(LOL)


LNF stans for Liberty news forum

There's a Lovebug on there and she's from Penn.
Click to expand...

The nerve. Looked. No, isn't familiar. We drove through Penn once. Does that count?
 
Lovebug said:
The end goal is buying some land in country, but yes, that sounds like fun. A friend of mine goes there (not sure about exact location) as a diving instructor. We might tag along some day.
Click to expand...

Here is a nice spot

About half way down the Peninsula


 
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Lovebug said:
Thank you, we did that. Our campground hosts are so very helpful. They were there for us setting it up, making sure we had everything we needed.
We bought some stabilizers for under the slide outs too. It helped a lot.
All advise is welcome. So much to learn.
We are checking into solar panels. It is plumbed for it. ( is that the right term).
Click to expand...

I think they would say "wired", but no matter. I knew what you meant. Solar panels might extend boondocking time by keeping your batteries charged. Our camper is wired for them as well, but we've never really considered them because we're not into boondocking. We like our air conditioners too much. ;)

Here's some good advice I learned the hard way, and a couple days later my daughter learned the hard way. Don't flush the RV toilet while the bathroom exhaust fan is running. :2sick1:
 
Luther said:
Love camping with my trailer

Me and my wife down sized to only a 18ft. We're becoming empty nester's.

Had a 24ft 5th wheel for a long time. Don't need a bigger trailer anymore
Click to expand...

We might downsize at some point. If our retirement ends up involving more traveling than we do now, it would probably make sense. Something no more than 24 ft and lower profile would be a better towing experience and less worrying about whether we will fit when we arrive at our destination. The latter more so, because I can't really complain too much about the fifth wheel's towing characteristics. Also, hitching up is easier compared to our travel trailer and its weight distribution hitch.
 
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