Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Now The Pressure's On

Wow! I'm amazed at how quickly our list of followers is growing. Welcome to you all- Pidge, The Freely Living Life gang, John Souva Jr, Karen, John and Judy, Laurie and Odel, Rick and Paulette, Kenny and Angela, the Bayfield Bunch, and Bill. You do realize that this is really putting the pressure on us to keep this going :). That's a good thing, because I've been known to procrastinate on occasion (pretty much any occasion, like Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday...)

Thanks for the suggestion to list our house here in the blog. We're not quite ready for prime time yet, it's that procrastination thing again, but we will get the info here as soon as we get the garage cleaned out. We hadn't thought about full-timers wanting to settle down again and give up the life on the road. That's some kind of sacrilege, isn't it? Don't they have to go into the Witness Protection Program?
We've been doing all kinds of research on trucks and fifth wheels- on the web, reading blogs, visiting dealers, and asking experienced RV'ers. Here's where we are at this point. We're looking at a Ford Lariat 350 Crew Cab Diesel pulling a Carriage Cameo 37 RESLS. This package is expensive, but we think that getting this setup, rather than something smaller with plans to upgrade in the future, is better for us. We won't have any more money coming in than we do right now, unless we win the lottery (rumor has it that this prospect is unlikely), so we figure we better get a system  that will suit us for the long haul (pun intended).

We've gone back and forth between a coach and toad  and the 5th wheel option. Our decision goes this way: only one engine to worry about, service for that engine is easier to find, service on the truck should be less expensive than service on coach engine, and more storage space available. I'm pretty handy, both mechanically and electrically, so I'm confident that I can handle most maintenance on the rig.

We also plan to boondock when we can, so we will outfit the rig with solar panels, robust batteries, and a small generator.

So that's the story so far. Your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated.

4 comments:

  1. Welcome friends... I am also a newbie to this blogspot site, but they are a friendly lot, so hang in there. We had the same thoughts as you about the fifth wheel and truck. We have not been disappointed.

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  2. Unfortunately, fulltimers age like everyone else - eventually we'll have to come off the road, unless we decide to pull a Thelma and Louise and go out with our rig in a blaze of glory. :)

    Fiver/truck vs. MH: you can open up a Bayfield Bunch style can of worms with that decision. I'm a confirmed MH'er myself, but understand that newbies can make mistakes. :) Just kidding - everyone has different needs; mine are for ease of parking/setup and the great big picture window (and small around-town vehicle). You'll enjoy the life in whichever style you travel. Thanks for sharing that newbie excitement with us.

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  3. We started out with a truck & 5th wheel but before we were even half way through our first trip we knew we had made a mistake. Different for us though because we travel with 3 dogs. There are pros & cons on both sides & it just boils down to what suits each person the best. One thing though, a Motor Home has waaaaaaaaaay more storage space than a 5th wheel & waaaaaay better accessibility.

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  4. One more follower to add some pressure :) I am not a good one to advise you on the right choice of a rig since I like our Class B so much. They are perfect for us, but not for everyone, thats for sure! You learn some great tricks in such a small home though! I agree with the above comments from The Bayfield Bunch that having a Motor Home is a better option. For the same reasons too.

    -Mike
    97 Roadtrek 170P "Taj Ma Trek"
    HTTP://WWW.VanTramps.Com

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