Google has "lost" my last long post; I reconstructed it twice. They lost if both times. Perhaps it is time to move to a new platform.
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| Winter Lily Pad |
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| Inside the Winter Lily Pad |
This post is part one of a series on journey, literally and figuratively into the world of RVing. It is written as we prepare for a 1,800 mile trek in our 210P to our winter location. In this series I'll look into the finances.
We have traveled 40,000+ miles in our Roadtrek 210P. We have lived in it for short treks and long ones. The longest was for nearly 110 continuous days. We use it to hop from lily-pad to lily-pad. Using our treks and explorations we have established two "bases", one in the southwest and another in the Midwest. We live in RVs about 11 months of the year. This is a story about that. We will be full timers,
We began RVing in October 2013. We rented a class B from Campervan North America out of Las Vegas. We used a 19 ft. Sprinter based camper to visit National Parks in Utah. We camped with nighttime lows of about 25F to 40F. It was an all-electric experience, complete with solar panels and 30A maximum shore power. We wanted that experience to determine the comfort limits in a small RV.
That was a very positive experience. After that first trek we made a specific list of what we wanted in a Class B. That is to say, what worked, what didn't, what we would change and what we would really require in a RV if we purchased. This blog has an extensive post about that.
We began by discussing our future and decided that we would not live for the remainder of our lives in a condominium. We would become full timers for a few years, health permitting. We also decided that the State of Illinois was so poorly managed that we could not live here "forever". So we began to plan our gradual escape to better locations. Let me be clear about this. Like many we can live just about anywhere we choose as long as we are willing to pay the taxes, deal with the weather, stomach the politics and so on. However, this is a big country. There are lots of fine communities. We decided to visit a few. We also knew that we preferred moderate temperatures, but a true Spring and Fall season is quite enjoyable. Neither of us enjoy 90% humidity and we prefer to keep away from pesky mosquitoes. etc. I don't like the density of the East Coast, nor the issues of the West Coast. However, an occasional, short visit to these places is acceptable. That is, it was prior to covid-19.
By the time 2013 came around I'd been doing a lot of research for several years and G and I had many many discussions. We had also taken short duration driving trips all over the U.S. It wasn't too difficult to prepare a list of possible RVs. We had visited a number of dealers and shows. We had looked at a variety of Class B and C RVs. We had considered the pros and cons of a truck-camper. We were pretty clear about what we wanted if we were to purchase. I've posted about that earlier, but here were the primary goals and "wants":
- Something well made and that would retain value, have reasonable operating costs, be reasonable to maintain and could provide good service for at least 10 years. (15 MPG gasoline, domestic engine & transmission; serviceable at 1,000s of locations and non-proprietary coach technology).
- Something that met our budget (about $90k new, lower if used).
- Something we could enjoy living in during 3-season trekking (short periods down to 5F).
- Something comfortable we could take just about anywhere the roads are paved.
- Something we could use to find our retirement lily-pads and travel in National Parks, etc. (About 21 ft length).
- Something we could live in for weeks if we desired, or if necessary. (A wider coach, but not as wide as a Class C and slightly longer than 20 ft. It should have complete accessories including a gasoline generator, dual propane-electric coach, etc.).
Next: Part two: Purchasing the Roadtrek and setting up the lily pads.
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