Motorhome advice

[harley128]

Very good advice. ^^^^^^ Wife and I called Terry and his wife before buying our first to get some advice as we didn't know squat about owning/living in one. We got some good advice and logged on to some forums that deal with RV living to get more advice.
We are constantly learning after a couple years of living in ours 4-5 months out of the year.
We are so ate up with it, there is a new F-250 and a new 5th wheel RV on order as we speak. With the Covid, it will be months getting here, but they are on order.
I can say without any excuses we have had the best times in our lives while in our RV. Our first long range trip to Colorado three years ago had us meet a couple that are like social mega friends. They have been on the road for 12 years full time, 12 month of the year and a lot of their RV friends are full timers as well.
So now we have this group of about 15 couples in their RV's we camp with in different parts of the country. Some in their late 50's that made it big and retired early, some older into their 70's that are retirees.
Everyone in the group stays in Mercedes Tx at a gated RV resort with 18 hole golf course with tons of amentities in the winter, and Colorado during the heat of the summer in one campground. The rest of the time everyone goes their own way around the country to do their own thing.
Huge group email system to keep everybody in the loop and where we can meet during the times when everybody is traveling around.
5 Couples in the group met up in Eureka springs two weeks ago for a few days. We were there.
We have Construction Workers, Electricians, Ex FBI agent, Ex postal Investigator, Business executives and so on in the group. You have to drag by force their history out of them.
Everyone washes that history out of their minds after a few years out of those jobs except for those of us that are electrically inclined.
Our fellow campers keep us pretty busy only if we WANT to.
So my advice to ithrowicecubes is to learn to do away with being shy. Say hello to every person you walk by.(they will do the same to you) If someone is sitting outside of their RV, acknowledge them and complement them on their rig, and move along.
If your sitting around the campfire or it's happy hour at the RV and someone walks by, invite them in. My wife used to be the most introverted person you've ever seen with one or two friends her entire life. This experience has made her into a social butterfly and opened up her life.
RV live is amazing if you want it to be.
Some just can't adjust to living outdoors, cooking outdoors, afraid of bugs, and whatever.
Okchunter gave you a pretty good list of things you need. After your first trip you will discover more items so on and so on until finally getting stocked up.
Charcoal grills work great the closer you get to sea level. Propane works better when you get in the mountains.
As I read the OP, its a motor coach right?

So, I"m watching this thread closely also. Your situation sounds interesting. We've considered doing the same thing. I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind:

1. So, how did you decide on 5th wheel vs. motorhome ? Mobility? Able to get around once you're parked, etc ?
2. How do you get your mail, being gone an extended time? Put on vacation hold? Forward? I know most everything these days can be automatically paid monthly, etc.
3. Did you do any kind of cost/benefit analysis ? IE: RV'ing vs. staying in motels? Or, is it even applicable. ? IE: can't put a value on those social interactions that you mention . ?
4. What about medical services while being gone an extended time? Do you not have a need for those, or concern about those?
5. How do find the campgrounds that you like ? Websites?

Sorry, if this is coming off as nosey...... I'm just trying to answer some of these for my wife and I also.. Thanks much.

 

[TerryMiller]

So, I"m watching this thread closely also. Your situation sounds interesting. We've considered doing the same thing. I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind:

1. So, how did you decide on 5th wheel vs. motorhome ? Mobility? Able to get around once you're parked, etc ?
2. How do you get your mail, being gone an extended time? Put on vacation hold? Forward? I know most everything these days can be automatically paid monthly, etc.
3. Did you do any kind of cost/benefit analysis ? IE: RV'ing vs. staying in motels? Or, is it even applicable. ? IE: can't put a value on those social interactions that you mention . ?
4. What about medical services while being gone an extended time? Do you not have a need for those, or concern about those?
5. How do find the campgrounds that you like ? Websites?

Sorry, if this is coming off as nosey...... I'm just trying to answer some of these for my wife and I also.. Thanks much.

Well, I'm not Dennis, so he can provide his own answers. However, I'll try to help by writing about my wife's and my own experiences.

1. As for 5th Wheel vs motorhome, how do you plan to RV? If one does like the wife and I do, we stay in one place for extended periods of time (months and years). With that idea in mind a motorhome needs to be "exercised" to keep things lubricated. At the very least, one needs to start the engine and generator just about every month for 30 minutes to an hour. It also doesn't hurt to go drive it as well for the benefit of the transmission seals and differentials. That means one has to unhook their utilities (water, electric, cable or satellite, and sewer so they can go drive it. With a fifth wheel, one only needs to exercise the truck, so the trailer can stay sitting for an extended time. The fifth wheel does need an occasional trip to keep bearing grease moving around some. As for mobility, a lot of motorhome owners tow a vehicle behind them. Those vehicles can be towed "four-down," on a dolly, or on or in a trailer. These enterprising people had towed their Cadillac SUV in the trailer behind the bus.



2. We use a local mailbox center to get our mail. That lets us keep Oklahoma as our "place of residence" but let us travel. When we want our mail, the center can mail it to us at any address we give them while on the road. Or, in our case, our youngest son is also authorized to pick up our mail. He will then call and tell us what is there, and we will tell him to either throw it away or send it to us.

3. If one is only doing short stays in places, I'd guess that motels/cabins would be cheaper than trying to purchase an RV and tag it and insure it. If one plans to spend extended time out away, then a lot of times RV sites are much cheaper than renting lodging.

4. I won't be much help here as the wife and I are on Medicare and have supplemental insurance through USAA. We did learn though that if one is on Medicare and travels, one wants to avoid Medicare Advantage plans. I used to have one when we stayed in Colorado for 20 months, but when we went to Oregon, that plan was worthless.

5. There are websites that are beneficial for finding reviews on RV parks and campgrounds. Right at the moment, I don't remember just which ones are best, but you might could use your search engine and look for RV park and campground reviews. Most of those will be for "commercial" sites as far as RV parks go, but depending on the length of one's RV and whether they want the utilities, there are lots of forest service campgrounds, Corps of Engineer parks, and other things. If one is going where there is BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands, one can stay in the remote places (no hookups) for free, so long as they move on in 2 weeks. Moving on can simply mean moving down the road in the same area a bit.

One other thing is with regards to towables. Travel trailers (bumper pulls) can be tricky for various reasons. One needs to watch for dips in the roads/driveways and they can be "fun" to drive in high winds or when meeting semi-trucks. A lot of people prefer the fifth wheels because they are more stable for pulling, although one is limited in what they can carry in their truck's bed. The fifth wheels also tend to sit a little higher on their suspension, so dips aren't as much of a problem. (I learned the hard way with a travel trailer and a "high spot" as I was leaving one highway to go to a campground. I drug the steps for the rear door of the trailer on the pavement and bent it completely back.)

 

[harley128]

Well, I'm not Dennis, so he can provide his own answers. However, I'll try to help by writing about my wife's and my own experiences.

1. As for 5th Wheel vs motorhome, how do you plan to RV? If one does like the wife and I do, we stay in one place for extended periods of time (months and years). With that idea in mind a motorhome needs to be "exercised" to keep things lubricated. At the very least, one needs to start the engine and generator just about every month for 30 minutes to an hour. It also doesn't hurt to go drive it as well for the benefit of the transmission seals and differentials. That means one has to unhook their utilities (water, electric, cable or satellite, and sewer so they can go drive it. With a fifth wheel, one only needs to exercise the truck, so the trailer can stay sitting for an extended time. The fifth wheel does need an occasional trip to keep bearing grease moving around some. As for mobility, a lot of motorhome owners tow a vehicle behind them. Those vehicles can be towed "four-down," on a dolly, or on or in a trailer. These enterprising people had towed their Cadillac SUV in the trailer behind the bus.



2. We use a local mailbox center to get our mail. That lets us keep Oklahoma as our "place of residence" but let us travel. When we want our mail, the center can mail it to us at any address we give them while on the road. Or, in our case, our youngest son is also authorized to pick up our mail. He will then call and tell us what is there, and we will tell him to either throw it away or send it to us.

3. If one is only doing short stays in places, I'd guess that motels/cabins would be cheaper than trying to purchase an RV and tag it and insure it. If one plans to spend extended time out away, then a lot of times RV sites are much cheaper than renting lodging.

4. I won't be much help here as the wife and I are on Medicare and have supplemental insurance through USAA. We did learn though that if one is on Medicare and travels, one wants to avoid Medicare Advantage plans. I used to have one when we stayed in Colorado for 20 months, but when we went to Oregon, that plan was worthless.

5. There are websites that are beneficial for finding reviews on RV parks and campgrounds. Right at the moment, I don't remember just which ones are best, but you might could use your search engine and look for RV park and campground reviews. Most of those will be for "commercial" sites as far as RV parks go, but depending on the length of one's RV and whether they want the utilities, there are lots of forest service campgrounds, Corps of Engineer parks, and other things. If one is going where there is BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands, one can stay in the remote places (no hookups) for free, so long as they move on in 2 weeks. Moving on can simply mean moving down the road in the same area a bit.

One other thing is with regards to towables. Travel trailers (bumper pulls) can be tricky for various reasons. One needs to watch for dips in the roads/driveways and they can be "fun" to drive in high winds or when meeting semi-trucks. A lot of people prefer the fifth wheels because they are more stable for pulling, although one is limited in what they can carry in their truck's bed. The fifth wheels also tend to sit a little higher on their suspension, so dips aren't as much of a problem. (I learned the hard way with a travel trailer and a "high spot" as I was leaving one highway to go to a campground. I drug the steps for the rear door of the trailer on the pavement and bent it completely back.)

Thank you for sharing. Helps a bunch!

 

[TerryMiller]

Thank you for sharing. Helps a bunch!

Let me add a bit more for you. With a fifth wheel, one can also easily replace stock furniture that is uncomfortable. We've replace both stock recliner chairs with a La-Z-Boy "wall-away" reclining love seat, and we have also replaced the stock couch. All the stock furniture in our RV was uncomfortable. With a motorhome, the furniture has to be fastened down to the floor, so just any new furniture may not be able to be secured. Also, with a fifth wheel, one gets a sense of "different rooms," even in the downstairs area. With a motorhome, there is less of that sense. In either case, the area of the bedroom is the only one that generally has a door to give one complete privacy.

 

[cowzrul]

Thank you all for the responses. Good stuff. Should take delivery of our 2020 Tiffin Wayfarer early next week. Then the adventures begin!

You will like the new digital display. The seats don't recline back very much because of the side airbags. I had to go through and reconnect some wires and reinforce the Murphy bed frame. The truma on demand hot water and big foot auto leveling are nice as well. Our 2020 Tiffin Wayfarer drove pretty decent but I sold it after a few months because it wasn't what we thought it would be. Send me a PM if you have any questions.

 

[ithrowicecubes]

You will like the new digital display. The seats don't recline back very much because of the side airbags. I had to go through and reconnect some wires and reinforce the Murphy bed frame. The truma on demand hot water and big foot auto leveling are nice as well. Our 2020 Tiffin Wayfarer drove pretty decent but I sold it after a few months because it wasn't what we thought it would be. Send me a PM if you have any questions.

We’re killing the deal on the Wayfarer because the OCCC weight is way too low for our needs. Seems to be common with all Sprinter 3500 chassis. My daily driver is a 2019 E450 Mercedes, and I really wanted the Sprinter since the controls and screens are similar to my daily driver.

 

[Profreedomokie]

I would like to find a BMW Vixen in EC at a reasonable price. I like a small motorhome that has enough power to tow my Fiat event car would perfect for us.

 

[dennishoddy]

So, I"m watching this thread closely also. Your situation sounds interesting. We've considered doing the same thing. I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind:

1. So, how did you decide on 5th wheel vs. motorhome ? Mobility? Able to get around once you're parked, etc ?
2. How do you get your mail, being gone an extended time? Put on vacation hold? Forward? I know most everything these days can be automatically paid monthly, etc.
3. Did you do any kind of cost/benefit analysis ? IE: RV'ing vs. staying in motels? Or, is it even applicable. ? IE: can't put a value on those social interactions that you mention . ?
4. What about medical services while being gone an extended time? Do you not have a need for those, or concern about those?
5. How do find the campgrounds that you like ? Websites?

Sorry, if this is coming off as nosey...... I'm just trying to answer some of these for my wife and I also.. Thanks much.

Your not nosey at all. Those are some very important questions that need to be answered and I'll do my best to answer them. Terry will probably have additional input.
Question #1, We actually started with a bumper pull that we still have along with a 1/2 ton Tundra that we already had.
Owned the Tundra a year before deciding to look at joining the RV crowd. Went to a dealership after doing a ton of reading on RV forums, and watching YouTube video's. Wife is a facebooker and she started following several forums on that platform.
We spent almost 6 hours on the lot looking at different models and floor plans. Long story short we bought one that our pickup could handle. Most of the 5th wheel models were too heavy for our truck. Class A Motorcoaches never got a look from us, because we thought they were too expensive at the time.
With your looking to get into this advance planning is crucial. Go find the RV you want be it 5th wheel or bumper pull and then buy a truck that will handle it. Proper towing within the rating of the truck is critical. If one is ever involved in an accident with an RV that is too heavy for the towing vehicle there is a pretty good chance insurance will not pay. If you get a 5th wheel, look at getting a roll over ball in the bed of the pickup for goose neck trailers. That same ball hooks up to an Anderson 5th wheel hitch adapter, weighs 35 lbs and can be removed from the pickup bed by pulling a pin while in camp or afterward so you have full use of the bed when not towing.
Campgrounds can be anywhere from mild to wild on pricing. Location typically plays into that. We have stayed at a nice place near Pagosa Springs which is a hugely popular area that costs $1200.00 a month to stay in the park. That covers your water and electric with full hookup for draining the tanks. Some in the area are more expensive.
RV parks have daily, weekly and monthly rates so how much it costs depends on how long you stay at each place. Some folks like to move weekly, some find a spot that meets their needs and stay for a month or longer. We stay in Antonito Co during the summer. Small town of 700 nearby with a grocery and laundry. Its only $18 a night for full hookup and electric paid. Amazing area for myself and the friends we have to trout fish, visit hot springs for a soak, sit on 10,000' altitude mountain tops at night with propane heaters to watch the most beautiful sunsets you've ever see with stars so bright you can't believer there are that many in the sky. Jeep trails and roads suitable for pickups or SUV's are everywhere for day trips to sight see, hike and so on.

Question 2. We have a house sitter that stays at our place while we are gone. Any mail that we need to pay attention to, they can put in a manila envelope and send it to us. If we need to order something on Amazon for delivery, we have it shipped directly to the RV park if we are going to be there for a week or so. Some shippers use the office as a drop point and some parks allow delivery to your door.
Those fulltime RV folks have services that act as a drop box. All mail goes to the drop box and is forwarded as neccessary when they stay at an address long enough for the mail to get to them. All financial issues like banking, etc are handled online.
The park we stay at in Tx has several mail boxes around where USPS brings the mail like normal once you forward it from your home address. You get a key to check your box daily. Every park has their own way of handling mail.

Question 3. We have never done a cost comparison to a hotel vs RV. I suspect the RV would be less expensive depending on where you stay because your self contained with the ability to cook at your site, but you are making payments on an RV. Pro tip: if you sponsor happy hour at 4pm nightly, everyone brings a dish to snack on while sitting around enjoying beverages. You can snack your way through dinner and don't have to cook that night.
Socializing is much easier in the RV lifestyle vs extended hotel stays. Lots of pot luck dinners, and so on.

Question 4. As we age everyone has medical needs that have to be met so that is a prime consideration. I have to get a shot in one eye every 5 weeks, so if we are out for months, we have to find a facility that can do that. When staying in Colorado, the closest clinic is in Sante Fe New Mexico which is about 3 hours drive. We get a nice room in a hotel, call some friends that live in the area, go out and dine, etc, get up the next morning for the clinic visit, and hang out at the hotel for the afternoon while the effects of the numbing agent wears off. Go shopping and dining again, spend one more night and drive back to the park. Its a break to do something different for a few days.
If your on Medicare or tricare (retired military) a few phone calls can find out what medical care is available where your located.
I typically use VA care for 100% of my medical, but there isn't a clinic within 50 miles in Co. so we also keep a good medicare policy with supplement to cover costs in areas where there isn't VA clinics. In Tx during the winter there are VA clinics and hospitals everywhere so that is what I use there.
Wife still has to use obamacare. The folks that have been using that same campground can be a wealth of information in locating medical services. Some parks have their own market places and forums on social media for folks to ask questions or sell something.

Question 5. There are several different ways to find campgrounds on the road. Simple google searches asking for RV parks near XXXXX location will get hits with reviews. There are a half dozen apps that are for locating campgrounds across the country for a mobile device.
You can join Good Sams or KOA clubs that have campgrounds across the country that give discounts off the park rates if your a member that can sometimes pay for the membership. Good Sams also offers a lot of other services like flat repair, dead battery, towing to a repair center, etc. Your personal RV insurance may offer the same thing so read the fine print.

Long winded reply, but if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[harley128]

I appreciate all the insights guys!! Very helpful.

 

[Glocktogo]

Well, bad news. We’re killing the deal on the Tiffin Wayfarer. Turns out the OCCC weight capacity on the 25RW we wanted is only 672 lbs. Which is dangerously low. The four of us in the family weigh in at a combined 650 lbs. That doesn’t leave much for water and gear. In fact, we’re no longer considering the Sprinter chassis altogether. Looking at a Winnebago Minni Winnie on a Ford chassis now.

Well that sucks, but it's completely understandable!

Following along to learn. I will probably just rent one for a week this year though.

That's our plan too, a test run to make sure it's actually what we need and not just what we want.