cruise ship crewman buying rv and tow or towed in no.amer.

[SDcampowneroper]

Just now home from a 40 day cruise from Athens to Buenos Aires.
Several of the crew expressed interest in doing the topic, the rv land yacht concept appeals to them and as they are essentually free to travel the seas, the same appeals to the lands.
These people are talented, multilingual,world experienced -- which leads them to the concept of rving the Americas between cruise contracts.
We recommended this and some other websites to research, for purchase and planning.
We suggested to buy 3- 6 year old class C with toad,
What would you recommend? They will be reading this topic.

[valhalla360]

SDcampowneroperator wrote:

Of high interest to them was the 'boondock - drycamp stuff we know well, they do not know of because there are no open public lands in the Old World.

Nonsense. It's quite common to boondock in the old world. Many formal stopping points don't have electricity. Lots of basically parking lots on the edge of cities set aside for RVs. And away from cities, there is more of what we typically think of as boondocking.

Personally, I like the French term for it...Savage Camping.

If the plan is to do all of North and South America, a truck camper or camper van starts making more sense.

Keep in mind, you still need to ship to get between continents. The Darien Gap stops you from driving.

[SDcampowneroper]

Thanks for the responses, I did mention to them about past rental units, but knew little about them myself, so that thread link is educational to everyone.
The interested people are entertainers, couples and groups, with immaculate records, so visas are not an issue, they could possibly get permission to perform at venues in the Americas. Read that again, the Americas. They want to go tip to tip, Alaska, to Newfoundland, to Argentina & Chile. Recall, they are multilingual and international?
Of high interest to them was the 'boondock - drycamp stuff we know well, they do not know of because there are no open public lands in the Old World.
Their cruise line is exclusive in that they have no home port or itinerary, so their contract time may end in any port, start in any port. Domicile nation then becomes a choice, without many constraints.
Shore Leave time is optional to a point they can choose in their contract. Its a very fluid moving target. No pun intended,
Economic ability is not at issue.

[Dtank]

Suggest the Cruise ship crew who (may) wish to see the USA via RV,
to post their normal home port/s in the US.

How often do they return to those ports?

It will help with finding the RV they wish to use - as well as storage options.

FYI - a friend has a son (US citizen) who works on a Cruise ship.
His normal ports are New York - and Great Britain.

Off season he (sometimes) shares an apt in NYC with others.

BTW: (Gee Whiz vaue) Her other son is a Los Angeles County Firefighter.

[Lwiddis]

Check the Class C's towing max before purchase of either the C or the toad. I second the consideration of a travel trailer.

[valhalla360]

Are they US citizens and/or can they easily get long term US Visas?

What is their income level? If you are using it a lot, an RV can be an inexpensive way to live but if we are talking some of the staff from poor countries, it may be more than they can manage.

A Class C with Toad would be a reasonable option. An electric bike might be a nice addition but not a replacement for a Toad. Unless you go very small, it's a pain to pack up the MH every time you want to get groceries or do a driving loop at a national park...heck many of the great national park drives are limited to vehicles under 20ft.

If they are minimalist, a pickup camper or camper van would be a viable option. The come with their own set of trade offs (both good and bad).

I pickup with a travel trailer offers probably the best cost to space alternative. Both pickups and trailers are widely available. Keeps registration, maintenance and insurance costs down compared to two separate vehicles and even a small 20ft trailer is much more spacious than a truck camper/camper van.

A lot depends on what type of travel they wish to do.

Yes, you have to factor storage in but if you do a little research, you can usually find it for under $100/month (no you won't get that next to the airport in NYC).

[PartyOf_Five]

I wonder about storage locations vs ports of call, and how often they'd be able to use the rv.
These aren't meant to discourage, rather just think about the full range of associated factors. I applaud their inquiry and look forward to their experiences on this board in the future 🙂

[IAMICHABOD]

They could look into the RENTAL MARKET there you will find something newer and a decent budget range,well maintained and solid.

More than 140 members here have made that choice and are happy with it.

It is a long thread but very informative and if you have any other questions that wasn't covered just ask and you will get an answer.

I wish them Good Luck in their search.

[pianotuna]

SD Welcome home.

I've always thought class C was a best buy and easy to find service when needed.

If I could afford it this would be my choice: http://www.lazydaze.com/

[naturist]

Your advice is sound. 3-6 year old is good -- avoids most of the initial depreciation as well as the "needs major repairs" of an old unit. C class is also a good choice. I would add that the addition of a small car as a towed (aka "toad") might be useful, but perhaps equally useful instead might be an electric bicycle.

North America is a big, big place with a lot of unique things to see and do. May I suggest also a youtube channel called "Gone with the Wynns," by a couple who spent several years roaming North America by RV before switching to a catamaran and sailing the world. Their adventures will give you some good ideas.