Mrs_Gryphon
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Re: How do I pick the right RV for my family?
You might also check out toy haulers with separate garages. They often come with a sleeping loft, as well as bed(s) in the garage area. This can give the kids more space for friends, and privacy from each other, which will be important as they get older. Some have nifty porches. The trade-off is that the kitchen/living room may not be as comfortable as in a bunkhouse floorpan.398Views0likes0CommentsRe: Time to prepare?
Initially, we planned for October of this year, but events and economics changed in our favor, we are now looking at about four months. DH is retiring in two months, I've a couple to do beyond that, but the new truck is purchased, the fiver is on order, and the house will be on the market right after Himself retires. We don't have much in the way of 'heirlooms', and the kids will be coming to collect the stuff they want soon. We are sorting and getting rid of stuff on a daily basis, and it is oddly freeing. Winnowing out my crafting and sewing supplies is a bit hard, but my crafting friends are all very happy to take the excess off my hands. Of course, we have been discussing and pre-planning for about three years, so we are able to execute in a shorter time frame without too much turmoil.401Views0likes0CommentsRe: laundry
We are soon to be full-timers, and our new fiver will have a stackable washer & dryer. I can do other things when the wash is running 'at home', instead of wasting time at the laundromat. I hate laundromats with a fiery passion, so it was a given for me. Mrs. Gryphon324Views0likes0CommentsRe: To drive or not to drive - That is the question?
Yes, I drive our coach. It's not a 50-50 split, I drive it about 1/3 of the time, mostly because the Gryphon likes to drive. Of course, as luck seems to have it, when I'm driving, we run into thick fog, or road construction (love those extra-narrow lanes :-P) Or rush hour traffic in down town Portland.:E I can set up, and take down, and have taken the coach out by myself. I'm still working on mastering hooking up the toad, though, we've only had the tow bar for a short while. One of our projects this summer is to teach our daughter to drive the coach, and set up/take down, while she is home from school. She has no problem driving the Ram 2500 towing the utility trailer, so it shouldn't be an issue. We were cruel parents, we made our children learn to drive in a manual transmission, and learn to drive *all* the family vehicles large and small. :-) No doubt I'm opening a can of worms here, but could it be a generational thing? Many RVers are of retirement age or more, but I just hit the half-century mark. In my experience, my grandmother didn't drive much, and never drove my grandfather's truck (I can understand that - I did drive it in High School, and it was a beast). My dad always drove when the family was in the car, even though my mother was a perfectly competent driver (*she* taught us all to drive). On the other hand, I drove whatever was available, truck or car, small or large. The first car I owned, my boyfriend at the time was not allowed to drive my car, period, so I drove wherever we went. ( Which was probably a warning flag for the relationship - I dumped him, and kept the car for a long time :-) ) So what do you think, do societal and cultural expectations influence whether or not women drive the RV? What is your experience? Mrs. Gryphon229Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A on Hwy 1 in No. CA
Having taken a 28 foot A over part of that route, as well as trucks pulling trailers, and the family cars, I would say it is a qualified yes. Much of the route has wonderful views, but it is narrow and twisty and doesn't have nearly enough pull outs. It is much more enjoyable it the MX-5 than the other vehicles:-) We stayed at the Caspar Beach RV park near Mendocino. It was okay. We've also stayed at Bodega Bay RV Park, which was much nicer. There are other RV parks along the coast, but to my recollection, while many state parks allow RVs, none of them have any hook-ups. I hate driving Highway 1 between Stinson Beach and Marin, in any vehicle. It has a stretch of extremely narrow road with a sheer drop off (!) and one must fend off an abundance of impatient idiot drivers. It's a white knuckler even in the MX-5. We've not driven that stretch in the RV, and if I have my way, we never will! Unfortunately, the best option for getting back to 101, Valley Ford road to 116, splits off north of Pt. Reyes and Drakes Bay. Depending on your comfort level, it may be worth back tracking to that route, because Pt. Reyes is worth a visit. Also, for reference, Caltrans has a couple of maps available that can help you plan your route. The truck map shows where trucks are limited, and what those length limits are; and an RV/Bus map that shows where RVs and buses are limited. For example, on most of Highway 1, buses and motorhomes over 40 feet are prohibited.http://www.dot.ca.gov/maps.html Have a great trip! Mrs.Gryphon418Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A under 30 ft.?
We have a 2002 Rexhall Vision 26. It's quite comfortable for the two of us, and it has a small but functional kitchen -three burners, an oven and a microwave (We like to cook, so kitchen space was important). We've taken it boondocking with no problem, but only for weekends. We replaced the old CRT with a flat screen with minimal effort. One thing your brother should keep an eye out for is the size of the bed, many of the smaller RVs have "RV Queen" beds, which are shorter than conventional Queen beds.1.6KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Needing some fast advise
We own a Rexhall Vision 26 on the F53 chassis. The specs say the hitch weight is 5000lbs. Would I actually tow that much? Not if I wanted to go faster than 40 MPH. Or had to cover any sort of upward or downward slope at all. Realistically, you want to find a smaller DP. Somebody makes a 33 footer, I can't remember who off the top of my head though. Good Luck!525Views0likes0Comments
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