Motor homes

[LSUTiger]

I have been doing a little research into travel trailers, pop-ups, RVs, basically anything to do with mobile living. I would like to own a piece of property out of town I could go to as a weekend end get away, ideally for hunting, something close to a lake for fishing, to take the kids camping and enjoy nature but not be restricted to state park rules and regs. Possibly as an off grid bug out location. As such I'm interested in suitable accommodation that I can afford to own and gives me the mobility options I'm looking for.

I ran across lots of information and was surprised that their is an entire subculture of mobile dwellers. One that stuck out in my mind was the Youtube channel below because it goes into detail about the issues faced by those whose permanent home is a mobile dwelling, a very non-traditional lifestyle.

Stuff like how to get mail on the road, establish residency in a state, required taxes on your dwelling type, etc. But also lots of practical insights for the weekend warriors.


Youtube

Enigmatic Nomadics

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_W_E5 ... w=0&sort=p

[C-dub]

The cab over beds are great for kids. Especially if there is a front facing window. My parents' first motor home was a Class C with this feature and that is where my brother and sister and I always wanted to be when stopped and driving. It was more important than riding "shotgun" and getting there first was a big deal.

[RoyGBiv]

The cab over beds are great for kids. Especially if there is a front facing window. My parents' first motor home was a Class C with this feature and that is where my brother and sister and I always wanted to be when stopped and driving. It was more important than riding "shotgun" and getting there first was a big deal.

Down side is that the driver sees nothing but the road as you're driving through all those majestic places you want to see.
Stop-and-go traffic through the National Parks is more tolerable when you can at least see the vistas.

I've been kicking around the RV idea with the family for a few years...... Not a lot of support here.
Hoping to convince them that a rental RV vacation would make a good test run.... Maybe Utah or some other beautiful place in the next year or two.

[The Annoyed Man]

My two experiences with RVs and TTs is this:

(1) I owned a pop up trailer back in the early 2000's which I sold on 2006. I paid $1300 for it, in used but sericeable condition, owned it for maybe 4 years, used it at least once a year for a church camp out and a couple of other times for fishing trips. I sold it to my best friend for $600.

(2) That same best friend and I once rented a Tioga 28' motor home and took his daughter, my wife, and my son on a 10 day trip to the area around Sabrina lake up in the high sierras. Had a wonderful trip, and the rental alone was $1,500, plus the gas.

OTH, my wife and I went to California in late May/early June. We drove (I won't fly unless completely unavoidable because I'm fed up with the processes involved), and were gone from 5/23 to 6/8. We stayed in hotels. We spent $602.00 on gas, and $2100 on lodging (included pet fees). So, not counting food, the trip cost us about $2,700 in round numbers.

I don't know what hookups cost per night in Amarillo, Albuqueque, Williams, and Flagstaff (the cities we spent the night in while on the road, but a 25' travel trailer would have cost us $720/week during that trip, and we were gone for 15 nights..... So roughly $1,440 plus hookup fees.......and more gas. The only RV park near Pasadena (that isn't up in the Angeles National Forest) is a KOA at the Pomona Country Fairgrounds, with rates between $56 & $76 per day for full hookups. So, for the 10 nights we were in Pasadena, add $560 to $760 in hookup fees for lodging, plus the extra fuel burned towing a trailer, and now we are already at or above what I spent during that trip, and I still haven't figured in trailer hookups in Amarillo, Albuquerque, Williams, and Flagstaff!

Wow, this is getting expensive!

That begs the question..... Is it as hard to get a trailer/RV hookup while on the road than it is to book a hotel room? For instance, on our way home to Texas, we spent a night in Williams AZ and went to the Grand Canyon the next day. I tried to book a hotel room at the rim, but those are mostly gone well in advance (and they don't accommodate pets). So instead of spending two nights at the rim and resuming the trip on the 3rd day, we spent a night in Williams and a night in Flagstaff. It would have been nice to park a trailer or RV at the rim for a couple of days and spend the time just hiking around and relaxing.

[lildave40]

My thoughts I would rent before you buy. I wish I did.

[bayou]

My $0.02 is to rent from a national chain and not a local and to check the fuel tank capacity. Two weeks ago my family and I took a trip and the fuel tank capacity was 20 gallons of diesel. Before the RV needed to be in a shop for a week of repairs we would have to watch the fuel mileage an where the gas stations were.

[Oldgringo]

Mrs. Oldgringo, I and our two cats have spent the last five summers in our 30' TT as Camp Hosts on Flathead Lake in NW Montana and loved it. Before that we spent entire summers in Lake City, CO. Before that, after we retired, I did contract jobs aboard Camp Lejeune and at Ft. Hood. We've been to a lot of places and have seen some sights. We plan on going up to Colorado for a month or so after Labor Day, health permitting.

The above have been said, RVing ain't for everybody. The best advice in this threat is to rent a motor home and try it out. After that rent a TT and try it out. If y'all like RVing, used ones are for sale everywhere....including ours.

[treadlightly]

I'd like a motor home as an everyday vehicle. I think that would be cool.

Now, getting back to reality, what I lust after is one of those little Texas-built Casita trailers. They are tough, from what I've seen. Plain looking, but who cares.

I'd like to set one up like a little office on wheels. I'm a teleworker and the nature of my job is 99% from command line prompts. Cell data works great for me even where it's less than zippy. If my boss would sign off on the idea, I could work from the road. If nothing else, the capability to work on personal projects from campsites here and there, that would be fun.

If I get such a thing, the first thing I would do is work out a fragrance-free way to take care of issue from The Little Room. There are alternatives to the traditional stinky slinky that looked workable to me, and they make little lawn sprinkler things to mount inside your holding tank to blast it clean.

Anything to keep from having to hold my nose. I reserve that practice for the voting booth.

As far as the comfort on a long trip goes, I'm used to camp crusing on a small sailboat. The cabin on the boat I had for years was about the size of a doublewide phone booth turned on its side. It was grand.

Funny, though, now that I think about it. My wife never wanted to join me. Not sure why.

[Jusme]

TAM there are lots of options and most of them have been covered, my in-laws have a 22 ft fifth wheel trailer that they enjoy, but my FIL really didn't buy a big enough truck to pull it properly in my opinion. So TT expenses will have to include whatever you plan to pull it with, but will give you the flexibility to drop the trailer and explore more places. I have looked at the various options, and I'm still undecided about which way me and Mrs. Jusme may go, I would think that to get the best value, your travel would have to be extensive, and It is still debatable on whether it is worth the investment over just staying in hotels. The one advantage is obviously the cost reduction, in cooking your own meals as opposed to eating out every meal.

From what I have seen, there are several places that RVs are able to stay, and I don't think they are any harder to acquire than hotels, but it will depend,of course, on time of year, desirability of the location etc., but hotels are pretty much the same way.

The eternal Boy Scout in me, says all I need is a backpack with a tent, some matches, and a pot to cook in, but unfortunately Mrs Jusme was never a Boy Scout.

[WildBill]

TAM - Having zero experience with RVs I would agree with those who have advised to rent. And if you like it, rent again, until the feeling has passed.
I have another idea, which I don't know if you have considered. I think that for the price of an RV you can buy a pretty nice boat.
After you buy the boat you can invite me to go fishing anytime you want. I also volunteer to watch you clean and cook the fish that we caught.

[carlson1]

If you decide to buy, get it insured. When I had my trailer, bought new, the insurance premium was very low. However, I don't know if used RV's can be insured or what the premiums would be if they can be insured.

^^^^^^This. Used can be insured and I have found the lowest premiums at Texas Farm Bureau. All it takes is a quick wind gust and the sensors don't move the awning in fastest enough....there went $5,000.00.

[The Annoyed Man]

TAM - Having zero experience with RVs I would agree with those who have advised to rent. And if you like it, rent again, until the feeling has passed.
I have another idea, which I don't know if you have considered. I think that for the price of an RV you can buy a pretty nice boat.
After you buy the boat you can invite me to go fishing anytime you want. I also volunteer to watch you clean and cook the fish that we caught.

Well that's mighty nice of you!

Boats are a no-go. I grew up with sailboats in California. We had a little 2 person day sailer, and then a Cal 25, and finally, an Ericson 30. Sailboats are great fun when someone else is paying for the berthing, maintenance, etc.

However, if you want to show me how to clean any fish I catch, I'd accept the offer.........as I haven't caught any in a while and I might have forgotten how.......

treadlightly, that Casita trailer looks sweet! Hmmmm........

[Piney]

Rent rent rent first--
A number of friends who have large A/B class RV"s gave me that advice when I was considering one. Try a few close overnights in models/sizes similar to what you're looking at. Then, drive a few good long drives (4-5+ hours away)to see if the driving part fits.

[Take Down Sicko]

You should buy a bulldozer instead.

[E.Marquez]

They are a land version of a boat/// a hole in the water (land) you throw money at.
We had a 38ft toy hauler, at the pinnacle of my sons, my wifes and my riding/ racing years it was used weekly, and well worth the money...I dare say it paid for itself. After my youngest son left home and we were empty nesters, me deployed often, the trailer fell into disuse, and maintenance issues quickly built up.

I prefered a trailer to MH as I wanted the truck for use at camp, in town and other uses at home.
powertrain packages, I can tell as much as you want to know or as little, your call.
If you're only going to use it twice a year, get a gasser, go slower, use more fuel and realize lower operating costs over all.
If you're going to use it more, load it out to MAX GVW, want to keep up with teh flow of traffic in all conditions get a diesel rig and accept the maintenance cost is more.