I didn't buy an RV

[ghostrider421]

Years ago I did the second home bit and it was great while the kids were growing up. But now we're kind of lonely and the rv crowd is more aloof. I've owned a half dozen class c, vans, class a and a dozen or more tt's.

The thing that bothers me the most is lack of training. I know from experience living in the USA for a while that anyone with a reg Florida drivers license can drive off with a 55000lb class a and have no training. That scares me more than the drunk drivers out there.

So why should I buy another rv?


https://blog.cheapism.com/rv-for-sale/#slide=2


So I opted for a boat - maybe a slightly better choice given that it's steel. And solid - it doesn't roll when you walk the decks at night. The maintenance was high because it had been in saltwater. But now it's in fresh (Amazon Riv) so the bottom jobs won't be needed every three years. And the corrosion is minimal now.

https://www.smartliving365.com/smart...-home-rv-boat/

Since moving to the marina - the people are more accepting of quirky people and help out far more. If you haven't tried it I highly recommend a week long rental cruiser and see what you're missing. That is before you decide on an rv.

[Grit_dog]

ghostrider421 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

Solid, rigid construction was proven years ago to offer inferior protection in accidents, hence why modern automobiles are engineered to dissapate energy thru crumple zones and the like. Your basic RV full of plastic, luan panels, aluminum and other lightweight materials is much safer in a collision than your grandfather's solid steel Cadillac Coupe DeVille.

Believe me when I say you're just full of yourself in that statement. Kevin Hart just was in an accident in a 70s Plymouth 'Cuda and walked away from it. Had he been in a new vehicle they'd be picking him up with a stick and a spoon. That old Plymouth had steel in it - it wouldn't crumble like todays vehicle with airbags. He wouldn't have had the engine sitting in his lap either!

I'll take an old CDV or a schoolie any day of the week. You never see schoolies completely wrecked because they are still building them the same way as 50 yrs ago - with steel.

wprvo, you are correct that modern passenger vehicles are generally safer than even grandmas old Coupe Deville in a crash, but it's a real stretch to use this same logic for a large rolling wood and cardboard box just becasue it "crumples" when you crash it. The wrong part crumples dude. Chassis is a rigid med duty truck frame with mostly no frontal crumple zone or driver/passenger protection (talking class a here) and the rollover protection is about zilch for an 8" tall box that wouldn't pass the Tuff Shed test.

[yr2017]

He managed to extricate himself from the wreckage which is probably when he twisted his back. And walk back UP Mulholland to his house. It was only then that his wife called for help.

[westernrvparkow]

ghostrider421 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

Solid, rigid construction was proven years ago to offer inferior protection in accidents, hence why modern automobiles are engineered to dissapate energy thru crumple zones and the like. Your basic RV full of plastic, luan panels, aluminum and other lightweight materials is much safer in a collision than your grandfather's solid steel Cadillac Coupe DeVille.

Believe me when I say you're just full of yourself in that statement. Kevin Hart just was in an accident in a 70s Plymouth 'Cuda and walked away from it. Had he been in a new vehicle they'd be picking him up with a stick and a spoon. That old Plymouth had steel in it - it wouldn't crumble like todays vehicle with airbags. He wouldn't have had the engine sitting in his lap either!

I'll take an old CDV or a schoolie any day of the week. You never see schoolies completely wrecked because they are still building them the same way as 50 yrs ago - with steel.

Hart suffered multiple back fractures and just had surgery. The driver of the car is hospitalized with what is called "serious injuries". Not a great testament to the safety of a 1970 Barracuda. It is an undeniable FACT that today's automobiles are safer in accidents. In 1970 there were 4.71 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled. In 2017 (last year of data) that figure was down to 1.16 fatalities per 100 million miles driven making it 4 times safer to drive today than it was 47 years ago. Those numbers are FACTS, not baseless opinions.

[ghostrider421]

westernrvparkowner wrote:

Solid, rigid construction was proven years ago to offer inferior protection in accidents, hence why modern automobiles are engineered to dissapate energy thru crumple zones and the like. Your basic RV full of plastic, luan panels, aluminum and other lightweight materials is much safer in a collision than your grandfather's solid steel Cadillac Coupe DeVille.

Believe me when I say you're just full of yourself in that statement. Kevin Hart just was in an accident in a 70s Plymouth 'Cuda and walked away from it. Had he been in a new vehicle they'd be picking him up with a stick and a spoon. That old Plymouth had steel in it - it wouldn't crumble like todays vehicle with airbags. He wouldn't have had the engine sitting in his lap either!

I'll take an old CDV or a schoolie any day of the week. You never see schoolies completely wrecked because they are still building them the same way as 50 yrs ago - with steel.

[ghostrider421]

Grit dog wrote:
Sounds awesome ghost rider!
There's a solid chance a liveaboard boat could enter our future if time and finances allow it down the road, after retirement.
18+ RVs in your past? No wonder you tired of them. Either you spent ALOT of time in them or spent a lot trading up every other year.
Either way, sounds like you're doing what you love. However I don't understand your subliminal dig on RVers...

We were rv'ers decades ago - about the time Airstream was bigger then than now. We bought and sold lots of them - moving from cramped to luxurious models to class A's and 5ers to schoolies. We converted several old schoolies.

Today an rv is a luxury item we can't afford to operate anymore. The last one in Mexico was worth $300k - it was broken into twice, finally stolen and burned by the cartel.

Where we lived last (Guyana) the price of fuel was USD$4.00/gal. Not many roads there so you couldn't get into the back country without lowering the tire pressure and crawling thru the swampy jungle for hours to reach a river site. The same site I might add that boaters could reach in less than an hour without traversing downed trees and jungle. In my mind that was just stupid.

We decided to sell the unit and get a boat. The offers came in from all over the area - we got for the first time in our history a cash deal $2k over asking. We settled and bought an old workboat. Fuel is less - around USD$3.19/gal and pure alcohol is about a dollar/gallon if we wanted to convert to it.

So we have given up the expense of the rv and a 100 gals/day use for an old work boat that will soon have a mast and sail and use 100 gals/week instead of per day. There's so much to see here it blows the mind.

I'm fielding questions now about the Amazon forest fires. They happen every year around this time and are no more than normal. Not as bad as the fires in Montana and along the Rockies. Whatever oxygen is produced there, is used there according to the locals.

[yr2017]

mike brez wrote:
Been there done that with the boat thing.
Got tired of burning 25 gal a hour of fuel.

Well, that happens in speedboats. My Skookum burns 1 gal/hr at 6.5kts

[Crowe]

Not sure the forum needs members who post that RVing is stupid and dangerous, therefore you should buy a boat and move to the Amazon instead. Sometimes culling the herd is a good move.

Nope. NO excuse to be rude. Just ignore the post. This forum "self-culls" and will be gone shortly unless people mind their manners.

[westernrvparkow]

Crowe wrote:
What a dufus and worthless post.

And we wonder why people are leaving the forum. SHAMEFUL.

Not sure the forum needs members who post that RVing is stupid and dangerous, therefore you should buy a boat and move to the Amazon instead. Sometimes culling the herd is a good move.

[Boon_Docker]

What a dufus and worthless post :R

Why don't you tell us all how you really feel.

[Crowe]

What a dufus and worthless post.

And we wonder why people are leaving the forum. SHAMEFUL.

[mike_brez]

Been there done that with the boat thing.
Got tired of burning 25 gal a hour of fuel.

[JimK-NY]

What a dufus and worthless post.

This would be like going to a golf or any other hobby forum and stating that you had no interest. Why? Just sail away instead.

[Grit_dog]

Sounds awesome ghost rider!
There's a solid chance a liveaboard boat could enter our future if time and finances allow it down the road, after retirement.
18+ RVs in your past? No wonder you tired of them. Either you spent ALOT of time in them or spent a lot trading up every other year.
Either way, sounds like you're doing what you love. However I don't understand your subliminal dig on RVers...

[Horsedoc]

Your pride noted.
Tried the boating thing and it was fun, but hard to get that boat over the Big Horns when the streams all flow over rocks and are only a couple feet deep at most.
I am sure you are very happy with your master's certificate and the length of your boat. Most of us who are RVing feel the same way about our chosen hobby. We have a hurricane moving up the coast right now - think I'll head west for a few days or weeks until this thing passes. Friends on the coast with boats are just stuck there, hoping their insurance covers their losses.