Motor homes

[RJGold]

Wow...

Sorry I missed out on this 12 page topic of discussion.

We live full time in travel trailers at the moment. We have a 40' fifth wheel in Houston for staying in during the week. We have a 35' bumper pull toy hauler on our land in La Grange where we stay during the weekend. We are building our weekend home so that situation is not permanent.

We've discovered that after the weekend in our smaller toy hauler (meant for weekend trips only), our fifth wheel seems like a palatial estate (king bed and all).

We sold our home about 7 months ago and have no regrets (we didn't have any of the drivers TAM mentioned for keeping theirs).

Our time in the RV's has been quite a learning experience from figuring out where to stay while we get warranty or service work done (owning two really came in handy), to dealing with mostly stationary rigs (black tanks, hydraulic levelers, etc), to dealing with AC's not designed to keep the rigs cool during summer, etc. We wouldn't change it. We're happy we "traded" our suburban home and high taxes for 60 acres in the country.

TAM - one comment on fuel mileage. I bought an F350 with a 440HP diesel to pull our 5th wheel and Toy Hauler (16,000 lbs and 10,000 lbs respectively). I normally get 16 to 18 mpg when not towing but get about 10 to 12 when towing (doesn't seem to matter what it's towing). Sounds like you and others have similar experience.

Lots of interesting reading in this thread.

[RJGold]

Are any of you full time RVers? What do you do for a government approved address? It seems strange that somebody who lives in a motor vehicle, and therefore needs a driving license, can't use a PO Box as their address.

We full time but own property as well. We established an address there and use that as a physical address (but also have a PO Box we use for a mailing address). Some bank accounts and investment accounts need a physical address too due to the Patriot Act.

If you can't use a family address, I've heard some private post office type businesses (Mailboxes Etc or something like them) will establish a physical address for you (i.e. You rent a mailbox but they make it look like a street address with a suite number). I'm not sure if this passes muster for things like the Patriot Act.

You may want to check on some RV owners forums to see if you can get opinions from those who full time but don't own a physical piece of property any more. Grand Design Owners Forum is one I've looked on occasionally.

My two cents...

[anygunanywhere]

Wow...

We live full time in travel trailers at the moment. We have a 40' fifth wheel in Houston for staying in during the week. We have a 35' bumper pull toy hauler on our land in La Grange where we stay during the weekend. We are building our weekend home so that situation is not permanent.

Where is your property in La Grange? We live off Hwy 159 a few miles out of town.

[RJGold]

Wow...

We live full time in travel trailers at the moment. We have a 40' fifth wheel in Houston for staying in during the week. We have a 35' bumper pull toy hauler on our land in La Grange where we stay during the weekend. We are building our weekend home so that situation is not permanent.

Where is your property in La Grange? We live off Hwy 159 a few miles out of town.

Off of FM 155 south of La Grange. Sounds like the opposite side of town . You are up north of La Grange, right?

[anygunanywhere]

Wow...

We live full time in travel trailers at the moment. We have a 40' fifth wheel in Houston for staying in during the week. We have a 35' bumper pull toy hauler on our land in La Grange where we stay during the weekend. We are building our weekend home so that situation is not permanent.

Where is your property in La Grange? We live off Hwy 159 a few miles out of town.

Off of FM 155 south of La Grange. Sounds like the opposite side of town . You are up north of La Grange, right?

Yep.

One of these days we need to get together.

[RJGold]

Wow...

We live full time in travel trailers at the moment. We have a 40' fifth wheel in Houston for staying in during the week. We have a 35' bumper pull toy hauler on our land in La Grange where we stay during the weekend. We are building our weekend home so that situation is not permanent.

Where is your property in La Grange? We live off Hwy 159 a few miles out of town.

Off of FM 155 south of La Grange. Sounds like the opposite side of town . You are up north of La Grange, right?

Yep.

One of these days we need to get together.

Yes sir. Not sure a La Grange get together would be as well attended as some others but it would dang sure be in better country...

I'll PM you my contact details. We're out there most weekends now...

[Davey G]

If it hasn't been mentioned, run a couple bowls of water into your holding tank once you get set up before the toilet is used. The solids will need the water to break them up so that they'll flow out at dump time.

Ask me why I mentiond this...

Before we leave a park, after we've dumped both black and gray tanks, we add 2 gallons of water to the black tank along with 1/2 cup of Dawn dishwashing liquid and 1/2 cup Calgon water softener. This aggitates in the tank for the entire drive back home or to the next park, and remains in the tank until your next time you hook up or dump. Keeps smells down and tank more conditioned for use next time.

[clarionite]

Edit: I should have finished reading the 12 pages before commenting on one from the first page.

TAM,

Three years ago when I started my divorce I borrowed a 5th wheel trailer and F250 from a friend who had three trailers. He was considering selling this one. I lived in it for 6 months and ended up buying both the truck and trailer from my friend at a great "Brother In Law" price. I've also traveled with friends in Motor Coaches. I've seen the benefits of both. But there are some major draw backs to the Motor Coaches that I think having the truck separate overcomes.

The biggest issue is that the motor and drive train are built into the thing. If you ever wanted to upgrade, or if you have issues then the entire thing is in the shop or replaced. Also, you'll end up spending more for the MC for comparable comfort of a trailer.

I love my Alpenlite 29RK. There's more than enough room for me as a single guy. Even if I had a companion, I'd be comfortable in it. My only issue, and why I don't live in it still is I hate going to the laundromat, and I despise grocery shopping. My fridge in the RV will hold a couple of days worth of groceries. I have a deep freeze at my house that allows me to go once or twice a month.

I take my RV to the coast to fish, and I take it with me to the ranch when I hunt. I've debated about taking it to Florida this summer or to see HW1 in Cali. But I need to get a Motor Cycle rack that I can park a bike on the back of the trailer first.

I'm also planning on buying land in the next year or so and building a shop on it right away, with an RV pad/carport attached to it. I can put a Washer and Dryer in it, and a Deep freeze and stay in the RV as long as it takes to build the house.

I know this is rambling, but buying an RV is a hefty investment and it's something you want to hear lots of opinions about before you ignore them all and go with what fits your needs. <G>

[PUCKER]

Wife and I returned a month ago from a 22 day Racing/working trip at Indy and Milwaukee. We were in our Tiffin Phaeton the whole time, dragging the 33’ Race trailer along the way. That’s the longest RV trip we’ve done. I love our coach but I was REALLY glad to get back home, even if only for a few days before I took off again (I’ve done 150k ++ air miles this year with a few more to go). That said we are debating on upgrading (for two reasons) to a Toter/Motorhome setup (30-40k tow rating, stacker trailer, etc). I will say that the kitchen space in our coach is HUGE, the pullout extended counter is awesome! The fridge is bigger/better than our home fridge, 1.5 bathrooms as well. Crazy! We could use less coach, for sure.

[chasfm11]

I'm not sure how I missed commenting on this thread last year. We've had an entry level diesel pusher 36' MH since 2004. It had 26K miles on it when we got it and now has 89K. We've had it over much of the country. We are not full-timers nor do we ever intend to be but we spent all of last July in Chama, NM and would have done the same this year but for my wife's cancer diagnosis. We go 3-4 weeks at a time or as little as two nights like we did this week.

I didn't read all 12 pages so I don't want to re-cross ground that has already been discussed. We like the availability of most of the functions of the RV while enroute and have had some "interesting" trips like the one with 5 adults, 2 dogs and a baby doing 3,000 miles and a birthday celebration in the middle in 8 days. Now, we try to schedule travel with less "windshield"time. We tow a cross-over car so we have a fairly high MPG vehicle to tour with when we get to our destinations. I"m hoping that the Cummin diesel and the Allison transmission will last according to their reputations. I would say that the coach body will be ready for replacement before the drive-train if that is true.

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm not sure how I missed commenting on this thread last year. We've had an entry level diesel pusher 36' MH since 2004. It had 26K miles on it when we got it and now has 89K. We've had it over much of the country. We are not full-timers nor do we ever intend to be but we spent all of last July in Chama, NM and would have done the same this year but for my wife's cancer diagnosis. We go 3-4 weeks at a time or as little as two nights like we did this week.

I didn't read all 12 pages so I don't want to re-cross ground that has already been discussed. We like the availability of most of the functions of the RV while enroute and have had some "interesting" trips like the one with 5 adults, 2 dogs and a baby doing 3,000 miles and a birthday celebration in the middle in 8 days. Now, we try to schedule travel with less "windshield"time. We tow a cross-over car so we have a fairly high MPG vehicle to tour with when we get to our destinations. I"m hoping that the Cummin diesel and the Allison transmission will last according to their reputations. I would say that the coach body will be ready for replacement before the drive-train if that is true.

Well, somewhere back in the first pages, I bought a small Jayco Hummingbird 17RK travel trailer, and we’ve used it a couple of times and loaned it out to friends. The longest time I’ve spent in it was two weeks, and that was as much as I could stand. It’s really just too small for two people for two weeks. The mattress badly needs to be replaced less like a torture rack. And the little “wet head” marine-style toilet/shower isn’t really usable for more than a middle of the night #1. I can’t say that I regret buying it, but it needs some improvements to make it friendlier to older people such as myself. So two weeks ago, as I was dropping it off at the dealer for its annual warranty inspection, I started looking at B and C class motorhomes. I wish I could afford a class A, but the reality is that’s just not going to happen. It’ll never be in my price range. I don’t want to be a full timer. But I do want to be able to spend more than two weeks in it, in relative comfort, with some breathing room. We do have a towable car. TAW’s Jeep Cherokee actually has a “tow” setting on its transmission selector knob so that it can be towed, and it is a fairly economical car to drive. I wouldn’t call it a “crossover”, as it is a “Trailhawk Edition”, and actually quite capable off road, but it is a fair amount smaller and sportier than my 4Runner. But that said, we also own a couple of fat-tire e-bikes, plus a special bike rack to haul them both. They have a 750 watt electric motor in the rear hub, and can be used either in pedal-assist mode, or with a regular twist throttle on the right grip, just like a motorcycle. They’re capable of 20mph, and have a range of between 20-40 miles on a charge, depending on how hard you use the motor. You can throw those on the back of a motor home. The combined weight, including the rack, is about 160 lbs, which “tows” a lot more economically than a Jeep. They’ll go anywhere a Jeep can go, and some places a Jeep can’t. And if all you need to do is get around a campground, or ride into town for dinner or a few groceries, they’ll do just fine.

Although I have the room for another vehicle in the driveway of my new house (room for storing the trailer too), I’m not sure I want to buy a dedicated tow vehicle for something that i won’t be using all the time. Plus, while my grandbabies are still real little, a motorhome is better if we want to take them along, because someone can entertain them and keep an eye on them while we’re on the road, which is doable, but not nearly as comfortably in a tow vehicle.

So I’m thinking pretty hard about a motorhome instead of a trailer. I haven’t made up my mind yet, but there are some good deals out there on used but not to old and good condition RVs. So it looks attractive. To me. We’ll see.

[PUCKER]

TAM: check the Jeep’s owner manual regarding flat towing, it will have very specific info for being flat-towed. Usually the “Tow” button is for that vehicle towing a trailer.

[Take Down Sicko]

Every time i thought about buying a motor home, i layed down till it passes.

[chasfm11]

TAM,
We bought ours on a January "fire sale". The dealer wasn't able to sell it because it only has one slide in a time where everyone wanted two or more slides. There are bargains to be had out there if you don't mind used and are willing to put a little sweat equity into the machine. While there can be problems with a diesel drive train, they are generally more bullet proof than the gas versions. Water leaks are your enemy but most other problems can be solved reasonably. I had the dome on my shower rot out because of a manufacturing defect and completely replaced if for a small investment. Our speedometer was intermittently failing and, while it took me a year, I fixed it myself after the dealer paid chassis maker shop did not.

There are many people who buy MHs and then don't use them. I think it is pretty easy to drive after you get used to it but some others are terrified at doing so, especially down steep hills. There are lots of "estate" type situations where the surviving spouse just wants to get rid of the RV.

How about an information exchange? I would like to short-cut my learning in some areas of rifles and I know that you know the specific answers to my questions. I'd be happy to show you similar things about motor homes including some demonstrations on mine. I believe I can talk about 5th wheels, etc. in a way to help you.

And the point about grandkids is an important one. We've had ours to PA to meet relatives, to Mount Rushmore, to Houston/Galveston and many other places. We could talk about how that works, too.

[The Annoyed Man]

Chasfm11, that would be fine with me, although I don’t know how much I can teach you about rifles. It might not be a fair exchange.