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Yes, you seldom find a FT RV person who has not tried several options. The couple I met last week were on #12, and they were not yet age 65.
My mom tried them all, from vans, trailers (small and large), 5r, and a wide range of MH and toads.
She had a great time with all, but having very nice view homes also, she eventually ended up selling the MH about age 82 and used her Roadtrek (Class B), then due to double amputation of DH, transitioned to a Rialta. She kept her large MH in a nice vacation area and rented a lot along a rippling brook for weeks away during hot months at home.
Priorities and desires evolve through the seasons of retirement / RV.
I agree but my point was it sounds like the OP has not camped at all.
I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect if you show up with a nice 15 year old Prevost, the 10 year rule might be ignored.
I note that this year Pacific Shores Motorcoach Resort has changed its rules about what RVs they allow. They don't use an age rule. They require the coach to look "Like New". I'm thinking that might not be too hard with a Prevost.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heySkippy
I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect if you show up with a nice 15 year old Prevost, the 10 year rule might be ignored.
just don't count on it...
There are many OCD owners of Pristine BRAND NEW RV's and they roam the facility day and night to ENFORCE the rules that they live by, and expect others to comply as well. (not 'look-like-new' i.e. 'subjective criteria').
I find many more CG adding restrictions, rather than reducing them. There are also many many times more people boondocking, I have seen RV's waiting for weeks to get into a boondock CG. (limited # of vehicles allowed each day).
There is little else for them to do while on-site, as they certainly don't have a bunch of friends to hang out with.
Best to avoid the confrontations, just stay where you are welcome (plenty of options).
I was refused entry to a 'covered' storage lot that I had used for years because my pristine / not a scratch MH turned age 11.
Be prepared, and move on to a nicer spot.
Thus, ... I really enjoy having my own properties at various destinations that I own and can stay forever, or for a couple hours.
I agree but my point was it sounds like the OP has not camped at all.
We have camped extensively. We have not lived in an RV. That is not camping. That is mobile housing. A very different concept. We generally camp in primitive camping areas (no water, sometimes no toilets) because those are the best areas to camp. We have 'camped" in some of the standard campgrounds that are crowded with RVs and have water and showers and a swimming pool etc. That is also pleasant, but not what we are looking for when we go camping, but it depends on the situation. We also go "camping" at Pennsic from time to time where 12,000 or so people live in tents in very crowded conditions. That is fun too. The best thing about being mobile is the variety. If you tire of something, you can change it literally in a single day.
Yes we will "practice" for a few years. Our intent as mentioned (I think I mentioned this) is to buy an older cheap gas motor-home. They aare super cheap. We will use it for trips of various lengths and live in in it while some major work is being done on our house. We will sell it when we sell the house, or when we buy the Prevost. That will help us get some ideas for things we must have or do not want. However we have a pretty good idea of what we want and what we do not need.
We have three friends who have already done what we plan. They did nor have any issues. they carefully selected their RV before buying it. they have been quite happy with their lifestyle. It is not difficult to understand yourself we well enough to know whether you can live in cramped quarters permanently and without a piece of land to claim as yours. (although we will cheat and buy a small house someplace).
Anyone older do this full time? Plusses and minuses? There are thousands of full time RVers out on the road. They tend to be self assured and independent personalities.
What do you do when you get sick? You go find a Doc In a Box.
Do you often take your kids/grandkids along on trips? Ours go with us often.
What is the cost? $80K for fifth wheel of standard quality, $150 for custom rig. $65K for tow truck.
Is it more or less expensive than living in a house? Comparable--depending on how far you travel.
How do you find a good doctor, dentist, mechanic etc? Ask around campgrounds.
Do you get sick of being in such tight quarters? Modern fifth wheels are not tight with slides, etc.
Does it strain your relationship? Most relationships are stronger.
Do you miss your community? Depends on how independent you are.
Do you even return to your community? Sure you can, but probably seldom unless you have a medical reason to be there.
100 gallon water tank plus grey and black water. Pretty rare except on custom RV's.
Solar panels and a small generator and lots of batteries. Available at a cost.
Lots of storage. Doubtful storage will be "lots."
The trailer that would be perfect to you is available, but at a big cost. You really should consider buying a used trailer and truck now and start into RV'ing on a limited basis--weekends and vacations--to see if it suits your lifestyle.
Our mid size fifth wheel trailer was about $42K new, and it's got 4 slides, a bunk house and outside kitchen. We keep it in a member owned campground in the North GA mountains, and we don't even have to move it. Our campground has tow vehicles.
Many of our members go to Florida for the winter, but they come back to the mountains where they consider home. They don't travel far and wide very often.
Or you could do like my dad did, and camp for a month/year in the summer, finding new and interesting routes between Detroit (my home down, his residence for 40 years) and my home(s) in Seattle. He'd camp a few days, then check in to some fleabag to get cleaned up properly since few other than vagrants and teenagers want to live like bums for a month.
The "fanciest 5th wheel you can find" and "a truck" will run you $100K - quarter mil, pretty obviously. Those trucks are one step from worthless around town, being mostly the purview of ranchers and workers. Giant fifth wheels need to be parked at certain kinds of campgrounds, using the terms "park" and "camp" loosely.
Might want to think about a Land Cruiser, well-used, and an Airstream, ditto. One of the smaller of the latter. Maybe $50K and you can get rid of all when the idea starts to look stupid. Get used to living minimalist. My father had a 21' trailer and craptastic station wagons from the 1970s to haul it, we did fine for years of camping for three. About two weeks was the limit there, too, if you can find ways to keep the dirt down. It's difficult. About the time the books ran out, both parents were readers, my mom would get irritable and it was time to go. Different era.
Based on one of the last paragraphs above, you'd be better off with a Marathon (or similar) luxury coach. You'll be parking at race tracks, Reservation casinos, and similar vs. "camp grounds" and probably ought to tow a small car. Hey, sounds like a plan though. Best of luck with all that, over the years I've met tons of old people who do this, and in 10 years I'm joining the ranks and will puzzle out a solution like that myself. And thank God for it, so I can buy equipment at $.33 on the dollar from those who buy new.
PS: talking a woman into living like that is a matter of luck, i.e. her disposition, and my mom developed "emotional problems" stopping us from further trailer adventures after they both turned 52 or so (my current age, ironically), which always bummed me out. She passed away ten years later and my old man took it up again, see first paragraph, so it all came out the way he wanted in the end. I'm not fond of roughing it in terms of camping so I'm going to try renting, a pretty obvious safe first step vs. spending $100K or more on BS and potentially not liking it.
Let me just say there are different kinds of RV'ers.
Those that travel from place to place and don't light down in one place are better off in a diesel pusher Class A motorhome. Many tow cars or motorcycles behind them for local transportation they call a "toad."
There are many people stay in places like Central Florida for the winter--3 to 4 months in one large campground. Most of those use fifth wheel trailers and have tow vehicles for every day use. They tow much better than travel trailers.
It all depends on what manner you plan to travel. I have a fifth wheel that stays in the same mountain campground all the time. My cousin tows his horse trailer to equestrian competitions with a $385K Tiffin diesel pusher motor home.
Or you could do like my dad did, and camp for a month/year in the summer, finding new and interesting routes between Detroit (my home down, his residence for 40 years) and my home(s) in Seattle. He'd camp a few days, then check in to some fleabag to get cleaned up properly since few other than vagrants and teenagers want to live like bums for a month.
The "fanciest 5th wheel you can find" and "a truck" will run you $100K - quarter mil, pretty obviously. Those trucks are one step from worthless around town, being mostly the purview of ranchers and workers. Giant fifth wheels need to be parked at certain kinds of campgrounds, using the terms "park" and "camp" loosely.
Might want to think about a Land Cruiser, well-used, and an Airstream, ditto. One of the smaller of the latter. Maybe $50K and you can get rid of all when the idea starts to look stupid. Get used to living minimalist. My father had a 21' trailer and craptastic station wagons from the 1970s to haul it, we did fine for years of camping for three. About two weeks was the limit there, too, if you can find ways to keep the dirt down. It's difficult. About the time the books ran out, both parents were readers, my mom would get irritable and it was time to go. Different era.
Based on one of the last paragraphs above, you'd be better off with a Marathon (or similar) luxury coach. You'll be parking at race tracks, Reservation casinos, and similar vs. "camp grounds" and probably ought to tow a small car. Hey, sounds like a plan though. Best of luck with all that, over the years I've met tons of old people who do this, and in 10 years I'm joining the ranks and will puzzle out a solution like that myself. And thank God for it, so I can buy equipment at $.33 on the dollar from those who buy new.
PS: talking a woman into living like that is a matter of luck, i.e. her disposition, and my mom developed "emotional problems" stopping us from further trailer adventures after they both turned 52 or so (my current age, ironically), which always bummed me out. She passed away ten years later and my old man took it up again, see first paragraph, so it all came out the way he wanted in the end. I'm not fond of roughing it in terms of camping so I'm going to try renting, a pretty obvious safe first step vs. spending $100K or more on BS and potentially not liking it.
We have five kids. The live in four different states. One who is still here in Michigan will probably move after college.
After a lot of research, voting shows and dealer, etc. we plan on getting a 2004-2006 Prevost Royale and tow a Jeep Gladiator. We will not stay at race tracks. Race tracks may not be around that much longer. I would not mind staying for a race once or twice. My wife never would. I used to go to the tack in Fonatana California (one of my client's built it and kept a box there). It was kind of fun, but loud and limiting on options if you get bored. A friend of mine and I met Jimmy Johnson in the bathroom after a race (his first big win I think) and went back to his suite and had a drink with him. He was pretty cool.
Getting my wife on board took a while. At first she did not like the idea. Once I got her to go look at some of the nicer/bigger RVs she started liking it more, especially when we went a year at times without seeing some of our kids. She had some friends who went this way, and talked with them about the lifestyle. When we go to shows dealers or campgrounds, we talk to a lot of people about RV living. All of these things helped convince her this is a good idea. She if fully on board now. Sheltering at home also showed us we can happily live in a small confined space together. The weather is horrible too so we are literally stuck inside the house. It is a big house, but we do not use that much of it anymore.
My wife is an avid reader. She never runs out of books (she is a librarian, plus you can check out books and load them into a netbook or kindle - which she does a lot). She is easy to live with - never nags. Her biggest woe will be giving up her chickens. I am easy to live with as long as I can stay busy. We will bring a pair of kayaks and a pair of bicycles to help stay busy. I will bring my throwing axes knives, atlatl and Targets. They do not take up much space. I like to write. I also might start a storytelling group at various campgrounds. Our church does this at bars and it is really fun.
Their are plenty of campgrounds available for large RVs. We have been checking every place we can think of we might want to go. The only problems seem to be on the East Coast. There are still some, but they are fewer and more remote. Austin Texas where my soon lives does not have any that are close to the City, but there is a network of people who have space at their homes all over the country and will let RVers stay for free, for a while. A month might be pushing it.
Renting an RV is too expensive. Used gas RVs are super cheap. Within ten to fifteen years they are a tiny fraction of the purchase price and they usually do not have many miles on them. Before we buy the Prevost, we will buy one for $6-10K use it a few years and sell it, or scrap it.
Buying a used Motorhome or 5th wheel is clearly the way to go. They drop in value super quickly and most people spend the first year or two parked at the shop waiting to get repairs done. It takes a while to work out all the bugs and fix or replace the things that do not work. I would rather let someone else do that.
We spent a lot of time on the 5th wheel vs motorhome analysis. We made lists of advantages of each over the others. We both settled on Morohome but for different reasons. We were thinking a Monaco or Beaver until we discovered the Prevost Royale. Prevost as so much more sturdy/solid better riding and longer lasting than anything out there. They are insanely expensive, but at fifteen or more years old - no terribly so. They last forever so we are not worried about age. we will need to update a few things although there are some around that have been updated with most of the things we would want to change. The basics, walls windows, floors, cabinets, never really change. The engines transmissions, generator etc last several peoples lifetimes. Especially since they have what is apparently the best engine ever put into a motor-home (Detroit Diesel Series 60).
Last edited by Coldjensens; 04-16-2020 at 06:52 AM..
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