Year long family US history tour

We are full time and the more we travel the less we need.
Food you will save a pile and eat better cooking for yourself. That can be a drag in an rv kitchen. Look for cookbooks with minimal ingredients. Not sure if you have an inverter but any day we travel, we start a crockpot when we leave and dinners is ready without a Hassel. Lots of things you can bbq outside. Use paper plates and cups (costco or sams) to ease dish duties.
Need something? Check goodwill or pawnshops tools, clothing, kitchen stuff, movies, books, toys.
Laundromat for sure, 6 loads 2 hours, good time to catch up on rv.net or your reading
Good luck and safe travels

Please don't count on the dinette to be a sleeping option for anyone over age 5 or so. In my MH, I made the dinette up for my 9-year-old grandson of average height and found that he was too tall to fit He slept with his legs hanging out the side! Check before you buy AND consider the daily hassle of making the bed and then making the dinette.

So..a year ago you stated you had a 5th wheel. Now you're looking for another RV. What happened to the 5th wheel. You also had a truck at the time. But then you want to get a Class A? Now it's back to towable so you'll need a truck again.

Also, what price are you looking for? You stated your budget was $400/m for payments but what total price are you looking at?

You also stated a while back that you were considering putting a skirt around it to keep out the cold. Are you now going to spend time in the winter months? If so, your propane bill will be very high.

If this is going to be an educational trip to see the country then winter in warmer areas. You'll be saving some heat money.

I guess I'm not following what you're trying to accomplish. Is this still going to be a year long family U.S. history tour?

Gas chassis As are out. Took an ACE 30.2 on a test drive today:

- that older Ford chassis, along with really squirrely steering, gave me motion sickness; sitting up at that height made it worse
- knowing going in that it was at the bottom of the A food chain, and with a gas motor, it was going to be noisy and creaky. Too noisy and too many fit and finish issues to name. Couldn't get above 50 without fighting the wheel
- sliding drivers side window has a screen which is dead in my line of site; already feeling queasy from the ride looking through that mesh didn't help
- the cost is still an issue

Really sucks, since that would have fit all of our needs. A pusher would be loads better, but also loads more expensive. Now looking into towables.

Our car weighs less than 4,000, which every A should be able to handle.

Ideally, we would like to have bunks, but there are no affordable As out there with them. My youngest will be no taller than her mother, who is 5'6, and she'll fit the dinette fine. As for privacy concerns, hey, we'll be living in less than 400sqft; I spent 20 years sleeping in, essentially, the same cubic footage as a coffin with over 100 others and would have killed to have the room even a couch gives.

The perfect rig would have bunks and a half bath, but we can't swing a mortgage payment higher than what we're currently paying for a real house and stay on the road. I've talked with families who have done this and have all said the sleeping arrangements were actually a non-issue, even with teens. Were doing this to give our kids a hands-on education, not a luxury tour. They're excited by just the thought of going on this trip; like cats, kids seem like they can sleep anywhere.

You state that your children will be teens when you take this trip. Having them sleep on a dinette would be very confining. They're meant for small children. Also keep in mind privacy issues. Both of them sleeping in the main room could be very inconvenient in the mornings and bedtime. You'll also have to consider storing all the bedding each day. A bunk would be much more enjoyable for all. They could have their own permanent space. Some travel trailer designs are terrific for families with bedrooms at each end. Good luck!

Hi, just a quick point. You may know this and if you do, I apologize in advance. Please don't assume that a Class A can carry more weight than a C. I have been to RV shows and looked at some Class A rigs that would have been overloaded with just our 4 adult family members on board, without water, food, and stuff. Likewise, there was nothing left in towing capacity. So, look carefully at all of the weight ratings before you buy and modify. Since you are planning to full time, you will be significantly dependent on this unit. Best wishes for success.

Long time between posts.

We're still planning on the trip, but now cost is coming into play; we need to decide which type of rig to get, and we have to afford it on a limited budget of about $400/month total. We also don't want to be stuck with a 15 year mortgage on a rapidly depreciating asset.

Our plan is to sell the house and all excess garbage, and store the rest until we decide where to live next; this means we will have to live in it FT until that happens. So far we've seen some decent As, but there is no perfect solution in our budget.

Essentially, we need extra sleeping space for 2 kids, which can be a couch and dinette, and don't necessarily require bunks; we also like the above cab bed, but those are harder to find in an A, and would also like to be no more than 30'. An example of a unit I like is the ACE 30.2. Just over 31', and has bunks that can be converted to closet space. Not saying that's what we're buying, just an idea of what we're looking for.

Every C we've seen we don't like, either due to lack of space or storage, and can cost as much as a decent A.

A bunk TT would also be a good choice, but we also need a TV, and that can raise the total cost over a decent used A. Being careful with our purchases may allow it; however, I'm not sure what condition the TV or TT will be for the kind of money we need to spend.

We have an older car that can be dollied, so another point to the A.

An issue is which brand. Some are just garbage, and are too expensive. Others are older, and we need to save cash for purchase, but look well cared for. We're not against an older unit, and saving some cash is not an issue, but enough to outright buy is.

Based on these criteria, can anyone give us a starting direction? We're looking at possibly next year as I just started my new job. I keep bringing my wife back to reality, as she just wants the cheapest thing within our criteria, and that could be a 27' $14k Thor with no slides or storage; we have a budget, but need to be more conscience of long term usability and comfort. I really don't think we can make this large of a purchase again.

Someone gave me some good advice years ago I forgot about; before plunking down good money for a fancy RV, live with what you have for several years first, and that means actually living in it for a good stretch. We did that in a 27FB Starcraft while waiting for more permanent housing (not much fun with 2 toddlers). You learn a lot about each other, and what you can truely be comfortable with or without. As I've stated, the fiver we currently have is nearly perfect for a small family to live out of; however, not so much for the wife and I after retirement (looking for more comfort and fewer compromises). This trip will also give us more insight into what we really want.

The local CW is going to check the unit over sometime before Christmas; they will also estimate for putting in the washer/dryer connections and plumbing. We need to get the 110 fixed and, possibly, upgraded. Didn't know RV W/D were 110.

If you have Good Sam, have you used the "Trip Planner" on the Web site? Despite its 25-stop limit per trip, I have found it very useful to plan trips or segments of trips. It has built-in databases for historical sites, campgrounds, Camping World stores, etc., within 1 to 60 miles (you choose the distance) of your selected route. This may help your find some less well-known historical sites and less expensive campgrounds than you might find just doing searches by town, region, or even state. And you can constantly update it or replace it anywhere you have WiFi.

We learned one solution to washing clothes from a couple of "winter Texans" we met several years ago. The camping limit for the Padre Island National Seashore campground was 14 days, so the couple carried 15 days worth of clothes. When their 14-day limit expired, they packed up the trailer and went to a private RV park with a laundry in Port Aransas. They did laundry, shopped for 2 weeks worth of groceries, got haircuts or did other personal shopping, maybe went to a movie, ate a nice restaurant meal, then headed back to the inexpensive NP campground for another 14 days.

The same thing could be done even if you are not going back to the same Federal or state campground each time. After all, teenagers will likely need to have a "town break" at least every couple of weeks (at a minimum). And it's good for mom to get away from cooking a meal for 4 once in while too, even if it is just at McDonald's!

Having a separate bedroom for the teens in the garage is a very good idea, but will they ever need a break from each other? If they have separate bedrooms at home, you might want to consider keeping that loft for "sleeping quarters" for one of them. Not disparaging your teens, but people in tight places do tend to get on each other's nerves after a long time together. I remember how much "space" my wife and I began wishing for by the end of our 3-month, 24/7 Alaska-western Canada trip in our 21-foot travel trailer. I also remember that telling our 3 boys "to go to your room" ended a lot of potential arguments. But that was a long time ago--pre- cellphone, WiFi, Tivo, XBox--so maybe things have changed.

I installed an extra CO detector near our bed because the factory one was at the other end of the trailer. I also do my own trailer maintenance. You likely already have a list of essential tools for doing your own maintenance on the trailer. But, on the Alaska trip, I took (and used) a full set of mechanics tools--ratchet, sockets, open and box-end wrenches, etc., a small hammer, all kinds of tape (duct, Teflon, electrical, scotch, etc.) and Gorilla glue, 12v tire inflator/compressor, tire plug kit, grease gun and extra tube of lithium axle grease.

Of course, you may not be in as many remote areas as we were, so may always be able to get to a Walmart or Home Depot to pick up anything you need. But, if your trip takes you to places like the national parks and monuments in northwestern New Mexico, southern Utah, or northern Montana, you probably should assume that it will be "Alaska-like" as far as convenient distances to a store and pack accordingly.

And, just FYI on historical sites, there is arguably no place in the U.S. that would give a teen a better sense of ancient American "pre-history" than Chaco Culture National Historical Park/World Heritage Site. It is one of the least visited Anasazi sites in the West and one of the very best. If you decide to go, plan on at least 3 days in the campground there to take advantage of multiple ranger-led tours, hikes to some of the outlying ruins, and a night sky program. You won't be disappointed!