LimaVictor
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Re: Where do get your destination information?
This is a big reason why I joined the forum...I've never been a heavy discussion board user, but since we decided to try this RV thing, I figured this had to be a good resource for the information I was struggling to find elsewhere. Thanks for the reply, -Ryan Thom02099 wrote: Right here is also a good resource. Further in this forum are sub-forums. "RV Parks, Campgrounds, and Attractions" is a good place to ask questions or, if you know an answer to a question, to post it. Lots of folks do this. As one of the "locals", if someone has a question about my neck of the woods, or further afield for that matter, I try to offer whatever answers I can provide. There's also "Roads and Routes" here as well. Same thing as above. Detailed information on the best way(s) to get from point A to point B and maybe some deviations as well. In addition to exchanges of information and insider details, I've received PMs from folks asking even more details questions, and again, as a "local" I try to give the query as much detailed response as I can. I'm not alone in this. There's lots of really good folks here with a lot of really good information. I have yet to see any location in these United States that someone on here has NOT been to, or knows something about. So...go there. Ask questions! I assure you, you'll get informed responses from "locals".363Views0likes0CommentsRe: Where do get your destination information?
Thanks for your input. I have the same issues with the standard review sites...just because there's 10,000 reviews for a place doesn't mean a whole lot to me, there's no way to tell who's reviewing and what their motivation might have been. And when it comes to anything besides just food or shopping, there's often little to no info and/or what info is there may or may not be accurate and up to date. GordonThree wrote: I use books and the Great and Powerful Google! Check out various publications from the Church's. Google has a local guide program where folks from the area are encouraged to describe and document local attractions and restaurants. Problem I've found it's still in it's infancy. High traffic areas have an overwhelming amount of reviews making it hard to separate wheat from chaff. While less popular areas have very little information.365Views0likes0CommentsRe: Where do get your destination information?
Thanks for your reply, you've said exactly what I was thinking, and that's often what I prefer to do. Being of the generation that is never without my phone, though, I of course started to look for an app that could emulate this experience and help find the locals that were best suited to give the advice we were looking for...what if the best tip just walked out the bar 5 minutes before you got there? I missed my chance to be literate enough with computers to build something like this myself, but I've been thinking a lot about whether or not something like this would be a feasible project, and wanted to get some feedback first. I appreciate you taking the time to reply, -Ryan Old-Biscuit wrote: We our very low tech folks.....didn't even have a computer or cell phones until we went FT Destinations....."That a way" Stay a week and then move on After setting up we would go find a local 'watering hole' and strike up a conversation with the locals. They would give us tips/info on where to go, what to see, where to eat and MORE importantly what was a big waste of time/monies For 7 yrs it worked GREAT for us....... Plain ole face to face conversations!365Views0likes0CommentsWhere do get your destination information?
After our first two trips, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the resources available for information while traveling and am curious to hear from those of you who have been doing this for a while. On our trips, we tended to default to Yelp for some things like places to eat and shop, but I realized that I ended up going off recommendations from the locals we talked to more often than by what I read on reviews. For other things, like activities, I found the resources pretty limited, or difficult to find unless you already knew where to look... So this brings me to my question: What resources do you use to find information about a place you are visiting, and if there was a service (or app) that allowed you to connect to locals and ask questions based on food interests or activities (hiking, biking, fishing, photography, for example), would you be inclined to use it over the more traditional resources (review sites, forums/discussion boards), or is there a similar service already out there that I just haven't come across? Thanks for your input, I'm interested for future trip planning, as well as gauging interest level in something like this within the traveling community.4.6KViews0likes25CommentsNew to RV'ing
Greetings, Have been lurking on the site for a while, and now that my wife and I have done two trips in a rented Winnebago Via, decided it was time to officially join the conversation. Nothing really beyond that for now, just wanted to say hello and will post questions as they come up. -Ryan5.2KViews0likes16CommentsRe: Am I completely crazy?
Oh...and yes, being a father has been the best thing ever. I get it now. Everything everyone said leading up to it is 100% true. I don't consider a minute of it as "baby sitting"...I don't want to be anywhere else doing anything else. Just as cool has been watching my wife become such an amazing mother. Selfishly trying to spend as much time as a family like this as I can. I'm just still learning the lingo :))478Views0likes0CommentsRe: Am I completely crazy?
By "drive" for a living, I'm just referring to the fact that, as a pilot, I consider myself as a glorified ambulance driver (I try not to take myself too seriously) :) Unrelated, but I did think of a few more things: We're not above dry camping at our destinations, as much as possible. Our time on boats over the past 10 years has all been at anchor as opposed to docked at marinas...as close a comparison to rv park vs dry camping as I know. Would also, ideally, allow some more freedom and roaming room for the dogs. Also, just want to throw out a list of destinations we're thinking about. Austin Big bend Palo duro Ruidoso Angel Fire Santa Fe Taos Trinidad Breckinridge Possum kingdom Broken bow Crested butte Ozarks Not exhaustive, just a few to paint a picture479Views0likes0CommentsRe: Am I completely crazy?
Lots of (more) good points being brought up...thank you!!! At the risk of sounding like I'm defending a decision or already made up my mind, let me counter with a few points... -We really liked the Forester that we sat in at the show, but would realistically be looking at a 35-40 ft MH *IF* this ever follows through. We're still early in the research, but so far, we like the Minnie Winnie, the Vista LX, and the Jayco Seneca. -My wife works at a hospital, and has already decided that she will be going from full time to PRN so that one of us can be home with the baby every day and avoid child care. She could, and I suspect, would, still work part time during the weeks that I'm on night shift. -For the week that I'm working the day shift, we still have family and friends (including the 4 other new mothers just in our neighborhood alone) that my wife would be able to spend time with. -Yes, there are nights that I am up all night, but the majority of nights I still sleep 6+ hours and could watch the baby during the day. Those other days, we have friends, family, church, and drop in day care here in Dallas that I can utilize. -Admittedly, the time we are back in Dallas has been the sticking point...that's just going to take some research, but I have seen at least a couple of the options locally (my parents have spent the last 3 years travelling in a 45ft class A, so we've visited some of the local parks when they've come to town. -The EARLIEST we would consider setting off wouldn't be until the baby is at least a year old -The MAXIMUM amount of time we would commit to is a year -Our neighborhood is a small community of 30 new homes, 3 of which are currently being rented. And I don't know how else to say it, but the price point at which we would rent would negate MOST of the concerns about bad renters, although I know there's always some risk that is unavoidable. -My wife is on board with this (admittedly, she is more cautious and much more of a planner than I am) but this isn't just me dragging her along with my dream -We would plan our destinations around the fact that we have the dogs and the baby...by that I mean, we like to chase fair weather that favors spending the day outside. She is from Colorado and we spend a lot of our vacation time in mountain towns where we can reasonably expect to have the dogs accompany us around town or at least find lots of dog friendly, outdoor activities. -I constantly have to evaluate, watch, and generally stay on top of the weather at work, and I know you can't plan for everything (every pilot has been caught unaware at some point, or something unforecast pops up)...but given the nature of what we're proposing, we would certainly avoid certain destinations when inclement weather is expected. -Travelling the entire United States sounds great, but yes, 7 days at a stretch does not allow for extended trips. Most of the places we are looking at going during the weeks off are 2-8 hours away. I enjoy the driving (it's what I do for a living) and 5 days is still a really good amount of time to get away. -Yes, a 70 ft boat is apples to oranges against even a 35-40 ft MH, but at least we've experienced cabin fever, tight living spaces, and the day in day out maintenance of generators, water makers, holding tanks, and the adjusted lifestyle. If you've made it this far, I apologize for the wordiness...I have a tendency to ramble stream of consciousness. I keep coming back to this: When maternity leave is up, we'll go back to the day to day life we've known and are comfortable in. We'll take a couple of week long vacations during the year, and I'll still get to be home 3 out of every 4 days with my son. But we have this amazing opportunity before he's ready to start school and we'll really want to settle down where we are. I'd hate to wake up in 10 or 20 years, when I may have given up this schedule to work 9-5 in middle management, and have wasted the chance to spend more time like we've had these past 2 months together just the 3 of us (and the dogs) doing the things we enjoy in the places we love. We've had a taste of life on the road, and it's whet our appetite for more. Even better, my wife has expressed an interest as well, but ultimately, we're both a little scared of the unknown. That's all (for now) Thanks again y'all, this thread has really forced me to think about a lot of these issues, and brought up new ones for me to consider, and I really enjoy reading your posts478Views0likes0CommentsRe: Am I completely crazy?
Thank you to everyone who has already replied...I'm hearing a lot of what I suspected (and some of what my wife has already told me), and I appreciate all the input. I did want to clarify a couple of things based on the responses: -I'm a medical helicopter pilot, so when I'm working, it's 12 hour shifts (much like a fireman) and it's all local, so I'd still be close by and home every day (or night) during the work week, and we could even park the MH close by to work. -Renting the house would be the preferred option over selling. We would really only be looking at a year and would like to come back to the same area when we're done. -As much as I'd like to have something that we could use for weekend/holiday trips, the reality is that if we stay in the house, then my wife will continue to work, and my weeks off are spent piddling around the house, and now, taking care of the baby. If we chose to rent the house and live on the road, we would be single income and that would allow us to make use of the week off every other week. -As far as renting something to see how we like spending extended time in a MH, we have lived together on a 70ft motorboat with 2-4 other people (and a dog) for at least a week, sometimes 2, every year since we've met, so the idea of being confined to small living quarters and maintaining a fully self sufficient home is not completely foreign to us. -Admittedly, 30k+ miles a year is a bit of an overestimate. I got that total by picking the "dream" destinations, when in reality, we'd most likely choose more realistic destinations that don't require such a long travel time and subsequent high fuel costs, regardless of the MH's MPG. -I realize as I'm typing out this response that I'm answering a lot of my own questions...but the input has been very much appreciated. I guess a lot of this comes down to the fact that we've really enjoyed the past couple of months that my wife has been on maternity leave, but realistically she will have to go back to work in order for us to stay where we are, so the thought of packing it up for a year and spending more time together, doing more of the things we enjoy (hiking, mostly), in places we'd like to spend more time in (not Dallas in July, August, and September) just sounds nice. I'm going to keep crunching numbers and window shopping, and I'm still open to advice from those of you who have some more experience in these matters, Thanks again, -Crazy236Views0likes0CommentsAm I completely crazy?
Looking for some advice... But first, a little background information. My wife and I have been married 10 years, are in our early 30's, and just had our first baby in August. We have 3 medium sized dogs, are all relatively active, and we have SOME experience living on boats/MH's/small spaces for short periods of time (usually two weeks or less) at a time. We currently live in Texas, where I work a 7 day on/7 day off schedule as a pilot. My wife has always worked full time as well, but has taken her full maternity leave with the baby, and it's got us thinking... We have some equity in our house, or could reasonably expect to rent it at or above our current cost (mortgage/insurance) and have started bouncing around the idea of living on the road for a while until our boy is old enough for school. We're thinking, with my income, and maybe some supplemental income if she works part time during the days I'm on shift, we could utilize the week on/week off schedule to travel during my off weeks and live in a MH full time (maybe for a year at first, then see how things are going after that). We fell in love with the Forest River Forester (25 ft on the Mercedes Sprinter chasis) at a recent show, but have been looking at other class C MH's (and a few sub 35 ft class A's) due to the fact that we have 3 dogs and a baby. The real question, I guess, is are we completely crazy for considering living full time in a sub 35ft MH with 3 dogs and a baby (assuming we didn't actually set off until he's closer to a year old). I estimate we'd be looking at covering 30,000 miles or so in a year, given that we'd have to start and end each week long trip in Texas for my work schedule, and working with a budget around $3,500 a month. I figure we could finance (or pay cash if we sell the house rather than rent) a reasonable MH for $500 - $600 a month, and our living expenses are relatively minimal (food, personal, etc). But to get anywhere we'd want to go (Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas) without blowing our budget on fuel alone, we'd need something with decent fuel efficiency, and while we'd like to stay self sufficient a large part of the time, I realize we'd probably want the amenities of some nicer parks along the way as well. Long question, I know, and I'm sorry, but I want to know if the reality of our dreaming is unrealistic, or if we could reasonably expect to afford, and more importantly enjoy, a year of life in a 35ft (or less) MH (minnie winnie/via) with 3 dogs and a baby on a $3500 a month budget? Remember, we'd be in Texas every other week for my work, which would mean we'd basically be going on week long outings every other week, usually to places 300-800 miles away. There is potential for more income beyond $3500, but I'm using that budget to allow for some extra $ left over for unexpected expenses, etc. Appreciate any advice or input you can throw our way, and don't hold back from the hard truths and realities. Thanks in advance, Crazy(?)7.8KViews0likes40Comments
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