We finally decided to join the RV lifestyle!

For safety watch the tail swing it is what damages most RV's gas stations are the worst places to get damage. If you plan to boon dock I would suggest you get a small generator as a back up to charge your battery to start your engine should all batteries in your coach go dead. Remember the three speeds your coach has slow. slower and stop. The stuff you need is what you like, we don't build campfires so no reason for us to have open fire equipment. We don't camp we travel and are tourists see the area and enjoy the location, fish, wife likes old homes I say seen one seen em all. But I lose that argument. If you are not on hookups water conservation is vital. Sponge bath not long showers etc. Use dish washing water to flush toilet. Rain gear boots your wife will kill you during your sleep for tracking mud in. Save grocery bags for trash. Say hello to others and make friends, most of us like people.

HAVE FUN AND SEE AMERICA, We'd love to have you visit Ohio let us know if we're in state we'll be your guides.

Mrs Rosas wrote:
Hello fellow RVers,

My husband and I are in our early 50's. I retired from the federal government early last year and he's still working. Although we are new to RVing, we are veteran tent campers with too many items that were meant to make our camping experience more fun and enjoyable. As a result, after our last, and I do mean "last", tent camping trip, we decided to make life easier for ourselves and buy an RV. This has been our dream. We had been looking around for a bit and had an idea of what we wanted. Being that this was going to be our first RV, we wanted a gently used RV that was reasonably priced. And we found her less than a month ago: a 2002 Fleetwood Tioga with a slide and less than 40,000 miles on it. We are so thrilled about our new toy and have decided start out slow by taking a couple of local trips until we get to know how everything works and how this Class C handles.

So what's my question? I have a lot and don't know where to start. I would certainly appreciate some ideas and thoughts from the veterans out there on #1) the absolutely have-to-buy-to-have-on-hand items and #2) what do we have to watch out for since this is an older model? Since we are having problems cranking up the generator without the help of the engine, we figure we'll probably have to replace the auxiliary batteries soon. That being the case, any recommendations on solar panels for when we are "dry camping" or is it called "boon docking?"

I'm sure I'll have more questions as we get to know this coach and we certainly appreciate any and all valuable info. We'd like to benefit from your experiences. Appreciate your time and words.