Wolfeman70
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Re: Information overload
That is some excellent information for my situation rvhippo. Especially the parking space size. Over the past 6 months we have been taking meetings within a 5 hour drive of Memphis so we can get back for school on Monday mornings. A lot of the McDonald's and other small places that we stop at have only diagonal parking against a curb. A larger RV or any vehicle towing stuff has to park sideways and take up 5-10 spots. Wanting to avoid that is a small part of my desire for a smaller RV. The information you give about parking sizes seems to indicate that no matter what I do, it's going to be a problem. hmmm A Class B towing a TT would be ideal. It would give us the RV features while driving I'm looking for while giving us storage and a place to stay that would be cheaper in the long run than a hotel. But as you pointed out, Class B's are very expensive. Originally, I was looking at a Dodge Caravan with the swivel seats and table. That morphed into a small RV. Now I may have to go back and rethink my original idea. We lose the on the road bathroom ability and a few other on the road perks but gain a cheaper form of transportation at locations while still getting the nesting ability. How long/ how much work does it take to go from driving to occupying a travel trailer? Could we pull into a rest stop or truck stop (or Wal-Mart parking lot), get out of the van, walk into our TT and go to sleep?533Views0likes0CommentsRe: Information overload
As a person who loves a nice strong shower, the onboard shower is something I know is going to make me sad. I'm really hoping it's not THAT bad. I know the class C is going to be actually more crowded than a hotel room but the ability to personalize it and make it "home" helps a lot. The boat and RV show comes on a work weekend for me. I work seven 12 hour day shifts then get seven days off then turn around and work seven 12 hour night shifts followed by seven days off. It's a great job but the days I'm working don't leave much time for other stuff. I'm trying to see about taking a vacation day for one of them (especially since Valentines is my anniversary too) but that's dead in the middle of my night shift week and it's hard to get the sleep schedule adjusted. I am going to try and rent a small class C for a weekend trip to get a better feel for how things work together, road noise and vibrations as well as things like the shower but that still doesnt' help me with buying an RV several states away. As I said earlier, I'm pretty well set on a used rental class C from C.A. or El Monte. I just really am not sure what things I don't know that would effect that decision. Road noise and freezing weather have become two issues I had no idea about that might strongly effect my decision. Someone has also told me to look out for front facing windows on the cabover because of leak, noise and heat issues. When I finally get on lot to buy I know the roof is something I must examine. A side to side seam is bad as well as tape around the sides or corners. I'm just not real sure what that means.533Views0likes0CommentsRe: Information overload
I currently live just south of Memphis. The two main companies I've seen discussed for rental RV sales are Cruise America and El Monte. There is a Cruise America company just north of Memphis for rentals (not sales) and that's where I'm looking to rent from. However, I think I'd like to buy from El Monte because the conversations I've seen about rental RV sales indicate they are more forthcoming with their maintenance records and the Cruise America staff can at times be rude and inconsiderate. I should add to my previous post that I am currently debt free except for a house note and will not be going into debt for this purchase. There is a possibility that when I am done with the vehicle I will give it away. My current steady income stands at $500 per month once I quit my job so the fewer expenses I have when I hit the road full time the better.533Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
Mocoondo wrote: You get the idea. Yes sir. That's exactly part of the attraction for me. I'm fairly handy with most things and can figure stuff out pretty quickly. Idiot proof / rental means it should be fairly easy to fix/replace. Since we only plan to own the vehicle for a year or two then sell it or give it away, we aren't too worried about all the fancy stuff. We just want a reliable and sturdy vehicle that will give my wife a place to nest, my daughter a place to do her school work and get us around to our meetings while saving us on motel fees.620Views0likes0CommentsRe: Information overload
I truly appreciate everyone's input, advice and suggestions. I've discovered a few issues I would never have thought of or even encountered during a rental test run. I do plan to rent an RV for a weekend and get some actual hands on experience. However, I feel the thread keeps getting sidetracked by my insistence on a Class C. I'd like to clear up a few things. It has been suggested that I would be crazy to put myself and my family into a small class C for a year or two. The truth is, that's the sanest part of my plan. I am quitting a job making $80k a year with amazing benefits for a job making $12k to $20k a year with almost no benefits. I am taking an 11 year old daughter who has spent her entire life in the same house and school out of everything she knows and throwing her into this just as she's entering her tweens/teens. I'm taking a wife who is somewhat of a social butterfly away from all her friends and social life to live with just the 3 of us in a small box while always traveling. I'm doing this with the intention of living off the generosity of others and no real experience doing it. I have done just about everything I could to set us up for failure. We know this is going to be difficult and there are going to be problems. However, I'm 43 and my wife is 36 and we've been married for 19 years. We have experience with life upheavals and starting over after I was medically discharged from the Army after 11 years. We have a very strong family bond and our faith to get us thru most of this. We've been doing this part time now for several months in a small car and have a little bit of experience packing/unpacking and traveling lite. Most people do what we're doing with a minivan and motel rooms so a class C while small is still going to give us more personal space than that. The fact that we have an end goal in mind and not a lifestyle helps out a lot as well. Again, I want to thank everyone so far for all their input and help. You've really helped me out. Right now, I know I'm hung up on maneuverability and size. I drove our church shuttlebus for the senior route for a while and really don't want something much bigger. Even the idea of towing a trailer give me a bit of a pause. That may change as I'm planning on trying to rent an RV for a weekend trip in February but who knows. When I started this thread I had information overload and still do to a point. I"m still not sure how best to maximize the limited time I have to look over RV's or the extremely limited selection I have in this area. Especially since I"m looking to buy a used rental located several states away. But I do have a better grasp on what I'm getting into. Thank you very much.533Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
Thanks for the information KristinU. I put this here because I was assuming that rental units while built a bit more solidly overall would use cheaper material and insulation resulting in more road noise. I was looking for information from rental owners. Internal rattles and noise I can deal with and repair with suggestions like yours. However, if vehicle and external road noise and shaking make sitting at the dinette and watching a DVD school lesson or writing out her spelling words and math problems next to impossible then I lose a lot of what I was hoping for in an RV. Cost and overall simplicity (comparatively) of the used rental units (as well as maintenance records) have really pushed me towards them as what I'm looking for. I'm just not sure if what I imagine is what I will be getting. With this being a thread directed at rental owners and their experiences I thought this would be a good place to ask the rental specific questions I'm getting from my other thread.594Views0likes0CommentsRe: Information overload
Yes and no AuntSmurf. I know I want a smaller vehicle because of maneuvering and parking issues. The rental units while rental do seem to get positive reviews from people with actual experience owning them. I do know there is no way I want something large like a class A. The size and expense I just can't deal with. I really want something I can drive around like a small shuttlebus or large van. We will be cramped but it's better to be cramped in our RV than cramped in some hotel room. I am listening to a lot of the feedback and am getting some really good advice and things to think about. A small TT is an option if we end up in a van or truck but I go back to the maneuverability and parking issue. Noise and vibration issues as well as problems operating in winter temperatures seem to be crushing my current RV dreams. I really wanted to be driving while my daughter and wife school or play games and enjoy the trip thru the snow covered rolling hills of Kansas. Maybe a van with a small TT for living in/extra storage....288Views0likes0CommentsRe: Information overload
The class B was/is just a backup backup option. Finances are a large driver in this issue as well as other issues. As I said, I can get a well maintained 23 foot Class C from Cruise America for between $17k and $24k or a well maintained 24 or 26 footer from El Monte for around $25k. Our other option is a large minivan and hotels which won't allow my wife to nest and will be just as small. A larger RV would be really nice but it just doesn't work for our maneuvering/ parking profile needs. It also doesn't really fit our budget either. A Travel trailer removes all the benfits of being able to school while on the road and do other things while I drive. I'm looking at renting a small one for a weekend trip and see how that goes. It is nice that the used rental units have the space over the cab available as a sleeping area that I'd look at sectioning of in some way so I could send my daughter to her room. Just wish it was tall enough to sit up in.288Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
Thanks Mocoondo. It does help. Really wasn't expecting the freezing issue. That throws a small kink in things. Any way around this issue other than draining the tanks and system? Road noise and shaking was more my concern than rattle but you covered the rattle issue very well, thank you. In the car I have now, I can carry on a conversation with my wife but any sort of phone conversation is impossible. Not so much the car is noisey, but road noise is an issue. With us wanting to have our daughter school while riding, I'm really curious about how hard it will be to look at the screen, DVD skipping and just plain hearing.631Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
This thread has a lot of good information and something like this really should be stickied. On to my questions.... I have a general question thread where I'm suffering from information overload and trying to get some general answers but a few rental specific questions have come up that I'm trying to get answered. Any help would really be appreciated. http://www.rv.net/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27495222.cfm One of the main purposes for buying an RV for our travels over the next year or two is to make it easier for my daughter to school. Sitting at the dinette with a laptop and school books while driving with the wife helping when needed is the plan. However, it has been stated that this will be impossible in an RV because of rattle and road noise. Can anyone tell me how the Rental units they've bought do in terms of interior rattle and road noise? Can you sit down and watch tv/use a laptop at the dinette? Also it's been stated that RV's do't do well in colder climates. Living in Mississippi for the last 13 years has left my daughter with no snow experience and we were hoping to plan part of our trip to bring us into snowy regions. How well does a rental unit stand up to the cold and weather? Not sure what else I need to know or be concerned with so any help is appreciated.631Views0likes0Comments
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