Choosing among the many fulltime options
OK--I am in an unusual situation. I am 58 and have an excellent job that I do exclusively online. Thus, I have the freedom to indulge my propensity to travel, well, everywhere. I live and travel alone (though I may wish to install a cat), and my evaluation is that I don't like any place all the time but there are times of the year when I really want to be in certain areas:
1. Late fall through winter: southern CA coast if financially feasible; otherwise, AZ
2. Early spring: Utah/AZ desert parks, weather permitting
3. Late spring: Yosemite, northern CA coast, Lake Tahoe
4. Summer: the Rockies and/or the Cascades
5. Late summer/early fall: Oregon coast
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Until I croak.
Now, I currently have a Mazda with 408,000 miles that I call "Uncle Pete." I've been driving him all around, camping when feasible, staying in hotels otherwise, staying connected to my work with a Verizon hotspot. I actually love doing this. But Uncle Pete is going to die soon (I assume!), and I'd like to transition to a full-time RV lifestyle. I really don't need much room, and would prefer a smaller, more maneuverable RV to a Bloat Coach Industries Behemoth powered by a repurposed aircraft carrier power plant. My choices, as I see them, are:
1. A 21-23 foot Class C or Class A. No towed vehicle (I think the smaller RVs would be total slugs and get about 0.7 mpg when towing anything heavier than a helium balloon).
2. A larger C or A, possibly with a towed vehicle. Not ridiculous combined length, hopefully.
3. A really small Class C, like a Toyota (cheap), or a Class B (expensive, to me, ridiculously so for what you get)
4. A pickup truck like a Ford Mastodon or a Chevy Manhood, happily towing a fifth wheel until the day when a 60 mph crosswind hits and I die in a tangle of wreckage by the side of the interstate.
5. Smaller towing vehicle, like a RAV4, and a teardrop-style minimalist trailer (not nearly as cheap as I think they ought to be).
My budget is about 30K to spend, and I make about 4K a month. My existence tax (medical and other insurance, baksheesh to the gummint) is about 1K a month, so I could afford some version of all of the above options. I just can't decide on which is best.
Since I'm going to be spending a lot of time in national parks, and since I'll be moving often, small seems better. A major issue is mobility after I do park somewhere. There, my objectives seem to conflict. Even the lightest, smallest towed vehicle, together with an RV big enough to tow it, would make my combined length 35+ feet, and prohibit backing up--at all. If the rig is standalone and small enough, I can just drive it around, But I think that would get old fast.
I am happy boondocking/dry camping/WalMarting for extended periods of time, know how to take Navy showers, and am happy living on apples and beef jerky for days at a time. Frankly, ANY RV setup seems like a step up from setting up a tent in the rain or sleeping in Uncle Pete.
I would appreciate any and all insights, suggestions, snarky comments from irascible old farts, etc. It seems to me that there is not one single clear choice here. Thanks all!
1. Late fall through winter: southern CA coast if financially feasible; otherwise, AZ
2. Early spring: Utah/AZ desert parks, weather permitting
3. Late spring: Yosemite, northern CA coast, Lake Tahoe
4. Summer: the Rockies and/or the Cascades
5. Late summer/early fall: Oregon coast
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Until I croak.
Now, I currently have a Mazda with 408,000 miles that I call "Uncle Pete." I've been driving him all around, camping when feasible, staying in hotels otherwise, staying connected to my work with a Verizon hotspot. I actually love doing this. But Uncle Pete is going to die soon (I assume!), and I'd like to transition to a full-time RV lifestyle. I really don't need much room, and would prefer a smaller, more maneuverable RV to a Bloat Coach Industries Behemoth powered by a repurposed aircraft carrier power plant. My choices, as I see them, are:
1. A 21-23 foot Class C or Class A. No towed vehicle (I think the smaller RVs would be total slugs and get about 0.7 mpg when towing anything heavier than a helium balloon).
2. A larger C or A, possibly with a towed vehicle. Not ridiculous combined length, hopefully.
3. A really small Class C, like a Toyota (cheap), or a Class B (expensive, to me, ridiculously so for what you get)
4. A pickup truck like a Ford Mastodon or a Chevy Manhood, happily towing a fifth wheel until the day when a 60 mph crosswind hits and I die in a tangle of wreckage by the side of the interstate.
5. Smaller towing vehicle, like a RAV4, and a teardrop-style minimalist trailer (not nearly as cheap as I think they ought to be).
My budget is about 30K to spend, and I make about 4K a month. My existence tax (medical and other insurance, baksheesh to the gummint) is about 1K a month, so I could afford some version of all of the above options. I just can't decide on which is best.
Since I'm going to be spending a lot of time in national parks, and since I'll be moving often, small seems better. A major issue is mobility after I do park somewhere. There, my objectives seem to conflict. Even the lightest, smallest towed vehicle, together with an RV big enough to tow it, would make my combined length 35+ feet, and prohibit backing up--at all. If the rig is standalone and small enough, I can just drive it around, But I think that would get old fast.
I am happy boondocking/dry camping/WalMarting for extended periods of time, know how to take Navy showers, and am happy living on apples and beef jerky for days at a time. Frankly, ANY RV setup seems like a step up from setting up a tent in the rain or sleeping in Uncle Pete.
I would appreciate any and all insights, suggestions, snarky comments from irascible old farts, etc. It seems to me that there is not one single clear choice here. Thanks all!
