Advice on long-term plan

[RVTravel]

- I am very unfamiliar with RVs. Never spent a night in one.
- Never spent a night in a campground.
- Have done some tent camping in my youth.
- I am very active and in good shape for physical activities.
- As owner of Conversion vans, I am familiar with vans (like E-series vans for example.)
- Have driven large box trucks (moving or commercial) a few times.
- I am handy with Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronic repairs / upgrades on vehicles.
- Can do some plumbing and electrical for my home, but I do shine in demolition / wrecking things.

In a few / several years I plan to go into early-retirement, and so far think that 6-months at home, and 6-months traveling US + Canada is what I will like to do.

Regarding staying at home -- I want to either buy another home in cool / mountainous region to spend summers, and travel in the winter, or buy a home in Florida / Arizona for the winter, and travel in the summer.

As born, raised, and long-time resident in NYC, I will want to get away from traffic, congestion and people. I also dislike hot + humid.

So I am leaning stay home somewhere cool and fresh in the Summer, and travel in the winter (Nov-April) out West and South.

Currently live in Manhattan with wife and kids, and it has been excellent training how to live in a "cubicle."

50% chance wife will be with me when I travel -- she don't like RVs. Kids will be out of the house by then.

I think I will like to travel place-to-place, stay 3-4 nights in one place, and bike, hike, run, kayak in the area. So the RV will be like a base camp, and I will want a smaller vehicle to run around. Either MH + toad, or SUV + small-to-medium TT.

When I travel, I think I will stay in a combination of places -- CGs, truck rests, boondocking.

I know I have plenty of time to try out RVs in the next few years, but I would like to start planning now for my future home. Maybe buy this home in a year or two.

This is what I am thinking now, so please tell me when I am wrong, or bring something up that I didn't.

[RVTravel]

NYCgrrl wrote:
As far as rallies and RV shows......closest RV show I'm aware of will be in Herkimer or Rockland county in another month or so. A Jersey friend attends regularly so I'll ask her for the exact date and locale if you want. Closest rallies are prolly in LI. I don't currently have wheels past ZipCar so don't bother attending and do my research via the 'net.

I did some checking for rallies. The next one in the Tristate is in Atlantic City for Halloween weekend. Next one is in Allentown, PA around Jan 10/15, and Rockland SUNY for Valentine's Weekend in 2015.

Mystic CT has one in May 13-16, 2015 for A-Liner, which I would like to check out to talk to those owners.

Where do you store your TT?

[wintersun]

Based on your description I would take a look at the Class B motorhomes. They are great for a single person or even most couples. They are easy to drive and you can park them anywhere a van can park.

Some have slide-outs which makes for more living space but these increase weight and may reduce storage space. Layouts vary widely and some manufacturers will allow you to customize some aspects of the interior.

The best of the best in the non-slide out B motorhomes are the Roadtrek with the Sprinter chassis and using the 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel engine. A couple I know that have been traveling around the USA full time for the past several years have averaged over 25 MPG with theirs and they have a special rack in the rear that carries a large motorcycle. These RV's have more than 40 cubic feet of outside storage which is a lot for a single person or a couple.

Itasca Navion is a slide-out class B that uses the Mercedes van chassis and engine and would be worth taking a look at as well. With some RV's there is limited access to the fridge and or the bathroom while the slide is in and I personally would avoid one where this was the case.

These class B motorhomes sell for around $130,000 when new but I have seen used ones for sale that had very low use and miles and were 2-3 years old that were priced at $80,000. I would rather save $50,000 and use it for other purposes. One can save $15,000 buying a new 2014 model instead of the 2015 model with the Itasca's.

Check out rvtrader.com as you can select by RV type and find new ones or used ones that are for sale in your area.

Something often overlooked is that the longer the RV the less likely that you will be able to pull off the highway to check out the view or to get into a parking lot at a grocery store or even at a national park attraction, and there will be far fewer campsites into which you can fit at state and national campgrounds.

[RVTravel]

toedtoes wrote:
You can find a lot of older TTs under 20' for under $3000. Sure they're beat up, but it would be a cheap investment to try it out.

I actually did that - bought an 18ft for $1500 and put a new water heater & tank in it ($600). Kept it 3 years using it about 12-15 nights per year as I figured out my camping/RVing style. I could have rented something, but the money would have still been gone at the end of the day. All the supplies I bought where transferred straight to the clipper when I bought it. It ended up costing me about $60 per night camping over the 3 years. And I was able to fiddle around with it learning my way around RV systems without worrying that I would ruin something.

If I wasn't working full time, I would have no issues with taking on a project. It would be my pleasure. But, I would rather go RVing those few weekends I'm free nowadays.

Nevertheless, thank you for the suggestion. I will look. Maybe even get a 18-20 footer for a few grand, use it a few weekends, and check it out. Even that --- I am getting too ahead of myself. Let's do a couple of rentals first.

[RVTravel]

SkiMore wrote:
These guys were at that RV show in Suffern last week. They rent TTs and are in NJ http://www.84rv.com/rv-rental

I checked them out on the internet. Thank you. They are 1.5 hours from me. They would charge about $ 500 / year for storage. And they do rent TTs along with MHs.

[RVTravel]

mikes47 wrote:
Consider the money spent on a "test rental" an important investment. Rent the RV you think you are going to buy (or the closest thing to it) and use this as an opportunity to write down every little thing about the RV that strikes you. DW and I ended up with 3 pages of notes of positives and negatives that we wanted to explore in the MH we plan to buy. Consider everything from waste basket to road handling ... take note of what you bang your head on. That rental weekend, IMHO, was an excellent investment.

Great advice on keeping notes. Will do.

[toedtoes]

You can find a lot of older TTs under 20' for under $3000. Sure they're beat up, but it would be a cheap investment to try it out.

I actually did that - bought an 18ft for $1500 and put a new water heater & tank in it ($600). Kept it 3 years using it about 12-15 nights per year as I figured out my camping/RVing style. I could have rented something, but the money would have still been gone at the end of the day. All the supplies I bought where transferred straight to the clipper when I bought it. It ended up costing me about $60 per night camping over the 3 years. And I was able to fiddle around with it learning my way around RV systems without worrying that I would ruin something.

[SkiMore]

These guys were at that RV show in Suffern last week. They rent TTs and are in NJ http://www.84rv.com/rv-rental

[mikes47]

Consider the money spent on a "test rental" an important investment. Rent the RV you think you are going to buy (or the closest thing to it) and use this as an opportunity to write down every little thing about the RV that strikes you. DW and I ended up with 3 pages of notes of positives and negatives that we wanted to explore in the MH we plan to buy. Consider everything from waste basket to road handling ... take note of what you bang your head on. That rental weekend, IMHO, was an excellent investment.

[RVTravel]

bsinmich wrote:
There is a huge comfort difference from a luxury Class A to a small Class B but it is what I can get into alone now that DW passed away. I have taken 1 trip and another planned in 2 weeks using the little one. Any RV can be very enjoyable.

Sorry to hear about your wife's passing. I can't imagine how that would feel. I am glad that you are trying to enjoy life.

[RVTravel]

C-Bears wrote:
As NoVaRT stated, start visiting large RV shows. You can go through some big Motor Homes, Travel Trailers, and 5th Wheels to see what you think. When we started initial planning we always thought a TT was the way to go. After going to several RV shows and visiting a couple dealers we soon discovered that we would need a large 5th wheel. Much also depends on your finances. If you are looking at a new diesel MH you can spend $500,000 pretty quickly depending on how big and fancy. If you are looking at a new 1-ton diesel PU and 38'-40' new 5th wheel you can spend anywhere from $140,000 to $200,000. Obviously if you start out with used rigs you will invest half of those figures.

In terms of finances -- if I was to start now, get my feet wet, RV on weekends, etc., -- I would not even consider spending more than $ 20k now, even if I had billions. Pay a place to store it with an hour of Manhattan, so I can just go, hitch up on Friday evening and go.

If could finance at 3-4%, and not use my own money, which returns 6-8% annually, I might do it.

My conversion van is 3-4 hours away, but my City car ('14 Pathfinder 4WD) is rated for 5000 lbs tow. I picked up the towing option on it.

That would put me in a 4000 lbs TT, I guess? Which is a 20 footer or less.

I looked at CruiseAmerica for rental in a few places -- NJ, CT and NY downstate. No TT options, just small Ford MHs. No mileage, and about $ 500-600 for 3 days. Which is an expensive test-drive.

I will call a few places by phone.

[RVTravel]

toedtoes wrote:
Rather than buying a house in a location to fit your "off season", I would recommend buying a house in a location that you'd enjoy in any time of year. You never know if after a few months, something happens and you can't travel anymore - you don't want to end up miserable because you're living in an oven or freezing your a## off.

That's an excellent point. I have been thinking the same thing. I may buy small, pay cash, at least I can minimize the risk if I was to sell for whatever other reason. Which of course get tougher the older we get.

toedtoes wrote:
That way, you could vary your travel period also. Summer & Fall one year to visit much of Canada and Northern US; Winter for southern locations; Spring for west coast; etc. If you decide 6 months is longer than you want to be gone at one time, you could do 3-4 month trips with 1-2 months at home in between (might be nice if there are grandkids around, etc.).

Great advice.

[RVTravel]

NYCgrrl wrote:
Regarding your query about attendance in regional SPs? Of course school dates and weather considerations lower attendance at campsites w/i a 250 mile radius. Many close around Columbus Day but if you check out the websites of of the different states you'll find several spots for colder weather camping and RVing. Here's a private link but I already know it's not complete:

http://www.snowbirdrvtrails.com/offseason.htm

Here's a link for the Adirondack area:

http://www.adirondacks.com/fallcamping.html
A bit of goggling will take you to where you want to be.

As far as rallies and RV shows......closest RV show I'm aware of will be in Herkimer or Rockland county in another month or so. A Jersey friend attends regularly so I'll ask her for the exact date and locale if you want. Closest rallies are prolly in LI. I don't currently have wheels past ZipCar so don't bother attending and do my research via the 'net.

Thanks for the links. I searched the Rally forum here, and there is also another Rally in a couple of weeks in Lancaster, PA. If I can't go to that, I will go to the one in Rockland.

[RVTravel]

Merrykalia wrote:

RVTravel wrote:

Merrykalia wrote:
It can get pretty lonely if you are out traveling alone from place to place and changing every 3-4 days.

Can you explain this? Is it because if I didn't have help, mounting and dismounting (or whatever the term is) alone becomes too much work?

Sure. If you are gone for 6 months by yourself, and you plan to travel every 3-4 days, you will not have time to get to know anyone along the way. No friends, no family, etc.

There are some things that are easier with two people, but it's not mandatory. There are also some things that are easier with just one person!!

Yes, you may have access to your wife and family by phone, but that doesn't make up for close contact.

Maybe it's different for you, but I NEED my family and friends to interact with. I am a very social person and enjoy meeting new people, but I need the support and comfort of having my family and friends around, not constantly, but on a regular basis.

I hope that explains my statement.

Understood. I have never been alone for more than few weeks, and I have no idea how I will feel / react if I was to be alone for months. I think I will be fine.

[RVTravel]

IS there a way to multi-quote?

[bsinmich]

You mentioned not wanting 2 drive trains but the advantage is when 1 breaks down you still have mobility with the other one. DW & I started in 1969 with a 21' TT and a '69 Lincoln as the tow vehicle. Now days it takes a SUV or truck to tow a TT that weighs 4000#. We had everything but a truck camper and I am now on my 5th MH. I have a 38' Mountain Aire that is very difficult for me to get up the 6 steps and I just bought a 19' Roadtrek that goes anyplace. There is a huge comfort difference from a luxury Class A to a small Class B but it is what I can get into alone now that DW passed away. I have taken 1 trip and another planned in 2 weeks using the little one. Any RV can be very enjoyable.