going out to eat

[hoosiermark]

My wife is on board with traveling and camping in an RV. Our concern is that we like to eat out a lot and we like to wander on day trips a lot when we are home. We are concerned that we will be limited on our availability to continue to do this with an RV. We envision getting off the road at say 4 and going to the campground but are concerned that at 6 we will want to go out and eat rather then eat in RV. Or we will want to just take a simple ride in the evening. The RV seems that it will limit our freedom and we will have more freedom at a hotel. But I really like having my own bed and not packing stuff in nightly.
We have had a Class A and C before but the 3 kids were little and it was a different time for us then.
So how do folks handle the itch to see the town or country without feeling like it is a major undertaking? Is it simply daily planning which I am poor at. I feel like I have been time scheduled for decades and love the freedom of controlling my own time.

[rockhillmanor]

toedtoes wrote:
You can also adjust your meal time so it doesn't fall at the busy times. That will open up more parking options.

This is a VERY good tip.

Must admit in all my years RV'ing, when I drove the MH to go out to dinner, I didn't even think about how much easier it would be to find that proverbial 2 spot parking needed to park, if I didn't go exactly at dinner time when every one else would be there!!

Great tip. Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! :B

[valhalla360]

wa8yxm wrote:
When my wife and I were alive we bought sa 38' Class A Gasser. it can tow up to 4,000 pounds (5000 pound hitch but only 4,000 pounds difference between scaled weight of House and Max CGVW rating of 26,000 pounds)

I tow a 2,500 pound 2001 Dodge Neon behind it , added lube pump to keep tranny cool while I tow, Takes me less than 5 minutes (Way way way less) to hook up and "Drop" (2 pins, two safety cables and the 2 brake control Snap Pull Click and done) 8 MPG consist, 25 MPG running out to dinner et-al.

Modern cars do a whole lot better on the "Run around" (like 35 or more MPG)

Think about this 100 miles of Round Running, at 8 MPG is 12.5 Gallons
At 25 it's 4 a savings of 8.5 gallons or about 21 dollars.. It is 17 miles to CDhurch (34 round trip) from where I'm parked. So I drive at least 70 miles a week. The car cost me 2,000 and fitting for towing 2,000 so at 15/week it would take me 266 weeks to pay for the car.. 5 years. I've been driving It will have paid for itself later this year. (I got it summer 2013)

It does depend on specifics but I wouldn't count on a lot of fuel savings pulling a car with a MH over a truck pulling a trailer.

Let's say, you are going for a weekend 100 miles away (200miles round trip) and tour around 200miles once there. Typical MH MPG is reported usually around 6-8 (let's use 7MPG). Towing is usually reported around 8-12MPG (let's use 10MPG) and let's assume the small car would get 35MPG and the truck gets 15MPG not towing.

- MH: MH burns 28.6gal and the car burns 5.7 for a total of 34.3gal for the weekend.
- Trailer: Towing burns 20.0gal and running around burns 13.3gal for a total of 33.3gal.

The more your use tilts towards moving the RV, the better a TT/5th wheel works out for fuel savings but for most it's pretty much a wash for most normal use cases.

Setup and tear down are pretty much a wash assuming you are comparing like for like (ie: if you put self levelers on the MH, you would compare to a 5th wheel with self levelers.)

Ironically, if you don't move a lot, while the MH might work out better for fuel consumption, it's really not good to let the drivetrain sit for long periods.

[valhalla360]

We have this lever on the front of the 5th wheel...you pull it an miraculously, the truck comes free and you can drive it around without the 5th wheel...

I'm sorry but this question makes no sense.

[toedtoes]

You can also adjust your meal time so it doesn't fall at the busy times. That will open up more parking options.

[2gypsies1]

Everyone eat in restaurants at times. They're all over the country.

Towing a car or pulling a trailer with a truck is one solution. Or else get a small RV and be prepared to break camp.

If your problem is when you're traveling from A to B then plan your big meal early - while driving. Stop a restaurant before getting to your campsite and have a lite dinner later on. Truck stops have pretty good food... and lots of it!

If you don't travel the interstates all the time but instead drive the secondary roads you'll have lots more options for stopping to eat. The smaller towns have excellent mom & pop restaurants.

We've never had a problems finding a restaurant while traveling.

[Jayco-noslide]

We tow a Chevy Sonic with a 30 ft. Class C motor home.So when we set up in a campsite of course we unhook the Chevy then we can go drive where ever we want; that evening or in coming days if we stay at that site. Maybe I'm missing something. I don't see the problem.

[wa8yxm]

Just don't do what one couple did.... Flew into Las Vegas. Dealer picked 'em up and gave them the keys to their Brand New Class C.

THey parked beside me and I helped them figure out which key fit which lock on the entry door (it was that new, sticker in teh window BRAND new hours)

TRhey went to Supper at Sam's. and tried to park in the parking structure. The sign said the roof was high enough, but the bar with the height hangs lower

Slid in under the "Roadstar" Flying saucer TV antenna, ripped it off the roof, Flew up and came down on the bathroom vent cover and smashed it... And the sticker was STILL in the window.

[Joyce_in_NY]

We have a fifth wheel trailer -- we eat out a LOT! Being retired, we don't need to travel long hours, so we can easily settle in and head out to explore.

[hoosiermark]

Thanks to all the people who replied. Now my wife and I have some things to ponder. It is nice to get a different perspective on handling one of our concerns.

[Tizi]

We often go camping in cities or close to cities so we can explore including eating out. We have a truck camper and haul a utility trailer. The utility trailer carries our mopeds, bicycles, and kayaks. We have multiple options to get around when at these types of locations. Often times, we are close enough to walk most everywhere. This is our preferred mode, since we get the added benefit of exercise.

[Lwiddis]

We eat out sometimes but eating in our campsite is special for us and relaxing. And we chose a SUV and a TT to have the ability to explore after setting up the TT. This can also be done with a Class A/toad or a truck/5ver combination. Many "sights" have RV parking and we just haven't found the inability to "see" something because we are hooked up. "Major undertaking?" I enjoy setting up camp! And I don't rush.

[ksg5000]

We don't have major problem with going to restaurants in our 29' Class C. We generally scout the town to determine viability of parking B4 we setup in the campground - and have gotten used to walking a few blocks when necessary. Probably the hardest part is getting back into the campsite at night - something that may intimidate newbie. If eating out was something we had to do every night we would tow a vehicle.

[ppine]

You can bring a toad.
You can bring a small RV and drive it to town.
You can bring bicycles or small motorcycles, or electric bikes.
You can walk to town.
You can get a ride with someone else going to town.

[toedtoes]

You can also carry a couple scooters. Or bicycles.

[folivier]

Uber could be a solution but may not be available everywhere you camp.