Contemplating full time RV living- need advice

If you live in Colorado, it may be impractical to full time. Yes, you can winterize your RV but you won't be able to use the water systems. If you live in an RV park you can use their facilities but it might get a little bit inconvenient.

You will not want a front diesel. Hot and noisy. My take is keep looking. I would hesitate about wintering in Colorado in an RV but am sure folks do it. That was good advice about going to the RV parks and talk to folks. THey can give you good advice about winterizing and which rvs have good insulation. And yes, folks are generally friendly.

Please SLOW DOWN!
It will take you a year of reading on here to be informed enough not to make a mistake.
Then go for it.

As far as campground users go, after many years of RV'ing I've determined that all campgrounds have a ratio of about 10 really nice people to one grump that complains about anything and everything to anyone that will listen. Just avoid the grump and you'll be fine... :B

From the outside looking in, living in a RV seems simple, fun, and cheap. The reality is it most often is none of that. RV's are often very complicated with many different systems that require a lot of knowledge to maintain. To compound this, too many RV's are manufactured poorly with cheap components thus requiring more maintenance. Also, many of the "technicians" at RV dealers are inept. Rving can be fun, but it is also work with a substantial learning curve. Attempting to live in one full time in extreme climates is fool hearty at best. To own and maintain a RV correctly, you either need to be real handy with tools and fixing things, or real handy with your check book.

I can't tell you anything about the unit you're looking at but as far as "full timing", I say go for it. If you are careful and get a good RV you can live pretty cheaply, just you and your buddy. You will be eating the same food and your cat will be also so no added expense there. There are so many forest campgrounds and places to "boondock" in your area that you don't need to spend a lot of time in private RV parks. The key will be getting the best RV and considering the weight of your "toad", etc.
Go for it! Just get on this forum and read, read, read! Ask questions. These guys and gals have a lot of knowledge.

start visiting campgrounds and talk to people. living in an rv, in a campground, can be expensive. campgrounds around Denver can run over $1000 a month. so, ask questions and then ask the rvers with questions you are not asking.

an winter in an rv would be interesting at best. good luck.

The Trek, is that the one on a 3.9L Izusu engine, with a overall width of only 90"? That Safari is about bottom of Safari line, so $15,000 might be a bit high for that RV. I am pretty sure it is a front engine diesel, so be sure you can put up with the engine noise while driving.

Do you plan on towing a car to commute back and forth to work? there are many cars that can be towed 4 wheels down.

Always remember that the RV is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. If they really wanted to get say $12,000, they will not ask - advertize it at $12,000, they will ask for $15,000 or $18,000. You can offer something like $10,000, and once you offer that much, you can not go lower amount, (unless you find a mechanical problem during a inspection.) So find out the low and high bluebook values before making a offer, and always make the offer contingent on the RV passing a mechanical inspection.

The RV inspection should include test firing the water heater, refrigerator, other things in the RV, testing all the lights, microwave, generator, and other items.

Check the motorhome performance. See if the fuel filter has any water in it. How full is the fuel tank? A tank left 1/2 full or less for more than a year can collect water vapor in it, and absorb a lot of water, contaminating the fuel.

Has the RV been stored for a long time? That can result in bad fuel, leaking seals, ect.

Trek is one of the better RV's to full time in where it can reach 10F overnight. I don't know if anyone really wants to camp in -10F weather to much.. The insulation is not so good. You might want to consider moving to New Mexico, Arizona, or some other warm location in the winter.

Also consider most Colorado campgrounds are closed before the temps stay at 30F in the daytime, and usually will not open until April or May, when it is possible to refill all the water lines without them freezing and breaking.

If you plan on saving money, then consider dry camping a lot more. With a couple large 100 - 150 watt solar panels, and a small 120 volt inverter (100 - 300 watt range for about $45) you can keep the battery full without running the generator a lot. If it runs on LP gas, it can go through a lot quickly.

Lucky you, Colorado gets great sun, especially once above 5,000' elevation, the sun is much brighter.

SunElec.com

Fred.

Rent an RV and take a 4 - 5 day trip and see if you like it at all.

WoodGlue