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<blockquote data-quote="dennishoddy" data-source="post: 3375409" data-attributes="member: 5412"><p>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. </p><p>Question #1, We actually started with a bumper pull that we still have along with a 1/2 ton Tundra that we already had. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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.</p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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. </p><p>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.</p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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.</p><p>Socializing is much easier in the RV lifestyle vs extended hotel stays. Lots of pot luck dinners, and so on. </p><p></p><p>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. </p><p>If your on Medicare or tricare (retired military) a few phone calls can find out what medical care is available where your located. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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. </p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>Long winded reply, but if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="dennishoddy, post: 3375409, member: 5412"] 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. [/QUOTE]
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