Corrie473

5 hours ago, MidMOTraveler said:

Just keep in mind several campgrounds have closed all bathrooms and showers during this virus. 
Many are requiring “self contained only” 

Oh... interesting point. I was wondering about RVing during this craziness. I was thinking I had dodged that bullet and assuming that by the time I get on the road it'll be mostly back to normal... can't count on it though and you're right that is a big consideration.

20 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

think you're making a mistake in thinking that you plan to use the campground toilet & shower continuously - especially with a small child.  That can be more unsanitary than having to dump the tanks.  You'd have the inconvenience of 'during the night' trips to the toilet and getting to them in inclimate weather. 

I know you're probably right from a rational perspective... even on our trip last summer/fall (we were in Arizona and southern Utah during the fall so not so cold) it got old making middle-of-the-night trips... I usually had to pee some time in the middle of the night, usually when my daughter was sound asleep, but I could not chance leaving her in the tent and walking to the bath house alone... so I would either try to wait until she woke up or have to wake her up to bring her with me which I'm sure she didn't appreciate.

I know in terms of bacteria per square inch you're probably right, the bath house is worse. It's an out of sight out of mind issue - I just walk in there, it looks clean, I flush when I'm done and the waste 'goes away'... Maybe it's not so bad once you get used to it but it just turned my stomach to watch that process...

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

I think that before you make any expenditures for an RV, you need to spend some time looking at RVing videos. A good place to start would be YouTube hooking up an RV videos but there are videos available about pretty much any RV subject. 

I see what you're saying and I did watch a very informative video about the pros and cons of RPods but then there is so much junk to wade through on YouTube to find one good video. I've found this with every topic, not just RV life. The one you linked was very good, I don't know how many videos you sifted through to find that but thank you. I will check out this one too.

On 5/6/2020 at 8:25 AM, Kirk W said:

If you do not realize what is involved, check out this video to see what it takes. 

Whoa. Just watched the video. It is a very good video, very thorough and informative... and my reaction was NO, I can't do this. 

I'm sure I sound lily-livered. I actually don't have a problem digging the cathole when camping and I have cleaned toilets in hostels while traveling overseas, so it's not as if I've never been around poop... not sure why this turned my stomach SO badly but ulgh... the black garbage bag she keeps it in... you know that just rinsing the hose off doesn't really clean it, you'd need bleach or possibly leaving it out in high-altitude sunlight... and then you could see that some of it was leaking the entire time she was flushing it... just gross.

I'm going back to my original thought that we will just use the showers and toilets at the campground!

Thank you for the reality check. BTW why does she say that some people don't want a Class C for this reason? A Class A works exactly the same way in terms of grey and black water tanks, right? What is she contrasting it to?

On 5/5/2020 at 8:35 PM, fpmtngal said:

The ALiner should be OK.  One thing it has going for it is that it's a hard-sided pop-up so you don't have the frontal area that you would with a regular travel trailer.  The disadvantage is that they are a pop up and take some effort to put up.  I once considered getting one but am very glad I waited and got a regular trailer - having a proper bathroom instead of a cassette toilet (i.e., portapotty) is huge for me.

Yeah the cassette toilet sounded a little,uh, icky... salesguy claimed it would be no big deal and can just throw it in a dumpster when you're done with it "but I didn't say that."

I did really like the layout of the ALiner... it was one of the larger models. I do a lot of creative writing so I would like a nice seating area with a large stable table surface, not a flimsy swiveling tray that you can just rest your plate on (like I saw in one of the T@B trailer). The ALiner had that. It also felt surprisingly roomy, probably because the A-shape gives you a high ceiling in the center. 

But... in addition to the cassette toilet issue, yes the set-up was another thing I was worried about. My friend in New Mexico said this: Imagine you just want to pull off the road and take a nap (which I like to do, but it didn't happen much with Lena because we need to sync our sleepy times, but anyway...) You have to set up the ALiner, which takes 20 minutes. By that time you're not sleepy anymore. What a hassle! I couldn't really argue with that... on the other hand, they are very appealing in their layout...

1 hour ago, chirakawa said:

Also understand that those specs which Kirk posted are for a brand new truck as it rolled off the assembly line........like yours did 24 years ago.  That's before the suspension wore and the chassis and frame twisted a million times, when the brake system was completely new, etc.  Rebuilding the engine and transmission is a step forward, but far from the whole picture.

There's no way I'd tow anything bigger than a Casita or Scamp with your truck.  Sure, you can find a 20' to 25' trailer with a dry bath which will fall into those listed specs, but it'll most likely tax that 24 year old truck of yours to the limit and push that little short wheel base truck all over the road.

 

Okay, yes, that's true also... I remember when the engine crapped out in 2017 on a long extended trip, I was in a small town in the UP and had to make a quick decision about whether to put in a new engine or junk the truck and shop for something else. A friend advised me to put the new engine in saying something to the effect that 'it'll be like a brand new truck, and you can't get a brand new truck for $3500'... yeah... except that it didn't really turn out that way. All the other components are still those of a 24 year old truck. I do love the truck, it's a stick shift so it's fun to drive, it handles great, it looks great, it's solid, it's comfortable... but I hear you, it has its limitations.

When you say a Casita or a Scamp I assume you would also consider a 15' A-Liner or R-Pod? 

Hi guys,

Yeah, I'm in New England, which I feel (but have no evidence) is a really bad place to be looking for an RV, reasons being

(a) lack of public land in this area means people don't really understand the RV lifestyle, most people are doing the 'take it to the lake for the weekend' routine that someone else mentioned, so they can't really conceptualize what you'll be needing. I think that's why I got the suggestions of a pop-up, and

(b) I just think prices are high here... rent is high, food is high (wages not so much, never really figured that one out).

I'm not totally opposed to traveling to purchase an RV so I am looking at PPL motor homes... the other thing is that once we go full time we will have to establish our domicile in one of the "appropriate" states and it may well be Texas (I lived in Houston for 6 months at one point and it's a bad memory for personal reasons - a time in my life when I let a good opportunity pass me because of various personal weaknesses - I have not been able to even drive through Houston since then, but I have told myself I will have to get over that...) so it may be more practical to buy down there. Of course I'd have to be relatively certain that it was the right travel trailer before embarking...

But in any case thanks for the tip, I am on their website now.

Corrie

17 hours ago, Hill_Country said:

As an alternative to shopping at a new RV dealer, may I suggest looking for a consignment lot.  We used one to sell our prior RV and I was quite impressed.  They told us what "book" was (I was shocked), suggested pricing, and took care of all the marketing and sales work.  They sent all offers to us and we could accept or reject.  Someone got a heck of a good deal and we were happy to not have to deal with selling it.  

Most consignment lots have extensive web pages if you do a little googling.  At the least you'll get an idea how much RV your money will buy.  Also, look at RVtrader.com.

Good luck.

Ok see I was wondering about that... i admit I had a bad experience with a consignment lot and buying a car...a few years back I had decided to get rid of the truck and located a vehicle on a consignment lot through Autotrader. I paid cash $4750, took it for a prepurchase inspection was told it was good, and the vehicle didn't make it 24 hours before it threw a rod. The consignment lot owner returned his commission of $475 but otherwise threw his hands up... the previous owner said the car was running perfectly when she dropped it off and I must have done something to it... I called a lawyer and was told "you signed the 'as is' paper, you're done"... sold it to a junkyard for $700, net loss around 3.5K. I went back to driving the truck. have not wanted anything to do with consignment lots since then. But. I don't know if that guy was a typical consignment lot owner. Maybe just a really bad apple. I have been looking on RVtrader a little trepidatiously...

20 hours ago, TXiceman said:

Corrie, you have to come to the realization of just what your truck can tow may not give you the size trailer you want and have to either down size or up size the truck.  I would not want to try full timing in a $10000 trailer and smaller tow vehicle.  However, we have found people full timing in a class B and also an A-frame trailer.  

Have yo looked for a used Avion from the 1980's?  These are affordable, but will require some TLC to get then up to travel and full time.  We sold our restored 1989 35' Avion 7 years ago fro $16500.  Last time we saw it, 2 years ago, they had paid the same for it and it was not nearly as good of shape as when we sold it.

Good luck,

Ken

Yes I'm starting to agree that 10K won't buy a lot of trailer especially if you add the condition that it must be lightweight. I could move the budget up to 12K without too much angst, but 15K starts to make me uncomfortable...

But as far as I've seen the Class B and A are starting at a higher price point. 

A fixer upper is not really an option for me, I'm not handy and I have absolutely no one that I can enlist to help me on this project- and I mean NO ONE. 

18 hours ago, Kirk W said:

The axles are designed to carry more than half of the weight allowed because it would be very unusual for the load to be evenly distributed. The rear axle of a truck will always have a higher limit than the front because the truck bed is designed to carry extra weight. The same axles may be used in more than one model of truck and so they often have design limits that exceed those of the total truck. The GVWR is based not only on the axles, but also the brakes, suspension, engine, transmission, and a several other factors that do not impact axle ratings. You can safely put 3686# on the rear axle of you truck, so long as the total weight of the loaded truck with everyone in it and a full tank of fuel does not exceed 6100#, meaning no more than 2400# on the front axle.

Yes I realized after I posted that that it's not a contradiction to set a weight limit for each axle independently and then a different limit for the two as a system.... there are all multiple constraints on the system in other words. 

Also I'm glad you mentioned that you don't want to regularly stress it to the max because I am probably that guy that would have said "oh I'm at one pound under? I'm good"...

True they seemed realistic about what the truck could tow. They did both mention a pop-up to which I said I just don't think so... how much climate control can you really have in a pop up? The sales guy at the first dealership said, "well it's a lot better than a tent"... uh, yeah, but that's not saying much. Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't see a pop-up being suitable for full timing?

And as far as the kitchen/ stove, what I was thinking was that in general it seems if you want a full bath instead of a wet bath you have to upgrade to a more "luxurious" unit in all aspects. I didn't see any units that had a sparse/ rudimentary kitchen and a full bath, while I saw several that had a pretty nice kitchen and a rudimentary bathroom. For someone like me that's unfortunate because if in order to get a full bath I have to take a nice kitchen as part of the package its really a waste, I will not use it! It's just adding to the footprint and the weight.

21 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Keep in mind that with a wet bath be prepared to always take your shower at the same time as your daughter because you will both get wet.  To me, if you can avoid getting a wet bath it will be so much nicer for you.  Look for a small RV with a tub/shower.... much more convenient and your daughter can have some tub time playing with the rubber duckie!  

Yeah I don't want to sound squeamish but the wet baths I saw kind of gave me the willies. She is used now used to a bath, though on our trip we only took showers, so I guessed she would get used to that again, but I didn't really like the look of the wet baths. I would gladly trade a kitchen for a tub/shower because I don't cook very much (that doesn't mean I don't try to eat healthy, don't worry I'm not feeding my daughter a steady diet of cheerios or canned pasta... but I would have no complaints about just continuing to use my single burner campstove)... but I don't think that's an option.

20 hours ago, sandsys said:

And they are open to the public. You drive onto the scale making sure each axle is on a different plate. You push the buzzer to call into the office; you might have to stand in your open door to reach the buzzer. They will ask for your ID number. Tell them "private". They will print a weight document. You move off the scale, park your vehicle, then go into the office to pay and pick up your weight document. It's not nearly as complicated as that sounds.

Linda

Okay I always assumed that was 'truckers only' and that a private vehicle went there. Now that I think about it I was visualizing the ones on the highway, where the trucks are instructed to stop. As someone else pointed out, general public is not welcome there. Yes a truck stop will work.

4 minutes ago, mptjelgin said:

The GVWR is the total amount of weight that can be on the axles of the truck.  So it includes the weight of the truck, passengers, fuel, things in the cab and bed, and the weight of the trailer hitch pressing down on the truck.  But it does not include the full weight of the trailer. That is considered in a different number, which is the gross combined weight rating, the GCWR. 

Oh... okay! Yes and I forgot to include the passengers (150 lbs) and the camper shell itself (no idea but didn't seem to change the way the truck handled so I was guessing relatively negligible) and yes I can believe 1500 is not very realistic, I just threw it out.

But... if GVWR is the total weight that can be on the axles, then why is the sum of the GAWR front and GAWR rear not equal to the GVWR? I guess now that I think about it they don't have to be... there can be a limit on each individual axle and a different limit for the total and all three have to be respected. Ok that makes sense. Thank you!

Hi all 

Just wanted to update about my visits to 2 local dealerships. The first one I went to was the one with the A-LIner for 8.5 K. It was sort of what I expected: very small reception area, a 'can I help you' immediately, shepherded out to see the A-Liner which was parked in the back. It was VERY small, I think the smallest of all the A-Liner models. The salesman said 'it's not the type of thing we usually take in'. He also had another travel trailer they had just taken in that was still being cleaned. It had ample space but I just didn't like the layout, the bunk beds seemed really claustraphobic, and I couldn't imagine us in it. The salesman said 'that's all I got that your truck could tow for under 10K.' I said what if I upped the budget to 15K his response was 'yeah that would open up some options, here's my card, go on the website, call me if you see something you like' - seemed eager to get rid of me.

So we went over to a second dealership. They didn't have anything (the only thing below 20K that they had they said was too heavy for my truck to tow) but they apparently leave all their units unlocked during business hours and let people walk through them. So we were able to walk through some T@B travel trailers, a 'Camp Rover', a Forest River can't remember the model, and some brands I haven't heard of. There was also another A-Liner, a larger one with a 'cassette toilet' which sounds like a chemical toilet to me and a pretty generous space and I liked the layout but no shower. The salesman said it will be a waiting game when it comes to finding something the truck can tow that's in my price range.

Anyway it was an interesting experience, feel like I learned a lot... this is more like renting an apartment than buying a vehicle. Somehow I thought that if the specs were right (price, weight, etc) it would be 'the right' TT for me. Now I realize it's a lot more subjective... it has to 'feel right' when you walk in.

I sort of set a goal of being ready to go in 2 months, figured that will give the Coronavirus stuff time to die down and more states to reopen, also I have a personal commitment in June in the state where I'm living though it could be weaseled out of I'd rather not, so I figured we would not depart until after that... so I guess I have time to wait for the right trailer to cross my path...

Thanks again to everyone for their encouragement

18 hours ago, Kirk W said:

GVWR is gross vehicle weight rating and that is the maximum amount of weight that should ever be carried by your truck. The 6100 is pounds and the second figure is kilograms. 

GAWR is gross axle weight rating and that is the maximum weight that should ever be on the front and rear axles. These are also the reason that truck scales weigh the axles separately as all vehicle have such ratings and commercial trucks also deal with weight limits set by law and enforced on them. I have never heard of any RV being stopped and weighed on the highways and we are not required (or welcome) to pass through the truck scales on the highways. There are two more weights that you need to take a look at and they are GCWR (gross combined weight rating) and the maximum towing weight. Those should be in the owner's manual for the truck. 

So I assume the 6100 lbs includes the weight of the truck itself? I know an object can't exert a force on itself and that weight is a force so if the rating refers to the max force that should be exerted on the truck, that would be the stuff in the truck and whatever the truck is towing, so that would mean I add up everything I'm putting in the truck and the trailer plus the weight of the trailer and that must be less than 6100. Or is weight interpreted more like mass, and we have to consider the mass of the truck? 

For example let's say that in the trailer I have 1000 lbs of stuff, the trailer itself weighs 4000,  I have 200 lbs worth of stuff under the camper shell, and my truck weighs 1500. Am I over (1000+4000+200+1500=6700>6100) or safe (1000+4000+200=5200<6100)? (I know I still need to consider how it is distributed over the axles but just to get the idea of how to interpret GVWR.)

Thanks again!

I had my owner's manual for a long time but it's gone now so I guess I will have to find one online...

Hi guys,

Trying to do this from my phone so I hope it works I am extremely technologically challenged...

OK so that's what a wet bath is! Thank you for the pictures. I could not figure out what NON wet bath would be... I kept thinking as long as you have a water source in the RV it is going to be wet! Now I get it: with a wet bath, everything else in the bathroom gets wet too. That's something I think you'd have to get used to because at least initially it seems a little off putting to be that close to toilet while you're showering. I guess it keeps the toilet clean? On the plus side, sitting down on the toilet while bathing a toddler is convenient. 

My truck is a GMC Sierra SL, full size (not an S10 though for all I know there are S10s with this engine) but about as pared down of full size truck as you will find. I took a picture of the sticker inside the door and have been trying to attach it but am having difficulty... it says GVWR 6100/2767.

We are going to a local dealership today because something popped up (no pun intended) on their website, an A-Liner for 8.5K. I think that will be too bare bones (I don't think it has any bathroom) but I thought it was a good excuse to get my butt in the showroom door. I appreciate all of the assurances that it's okay to go just to look... this is a relatively small area geographically (pop 30,000) and I feel like they are not used to that as they would be in a larger city... though that could be in my head. Yes some people really do just like to educate you, I felt like I should be ready to write a check for 50K or I'm wasting their time, probably a little ridiculous on my part. I don't think I realized quite how much the layouts can differ or how much it'll impact the enjoyment level.

I'm glad to hear an inspector will come to the seller's location... my friend in New Mexico had told me just take pictures and email them to him, he will advise me, I did not think that was going to work, don't even trust myself to know what to take pictures of...

I continue to be amazed at how many helpful suggestions you guys have and how much time you're willing to invest in helping a stranger make a decision. When I posted originally I expected 1 or 2 replies(!)

More soon,

Corrie

Hi guys,

Sorry for not replying sooner. I am reading your replies and I guess I was thinking I needed to do more research on some of the suggestions before I had an informed/ meaningful response. Sorry if it seemed rude to all those who posted helpful suggestion. I was also trying to figure out how to insert a reply to an individual post in the middle of the thread; maybe the only way to do that is to post as soon as that response shows up.

So here are my thoughts in general.

Budget: yes I think those who mentioned that 10K might be lowballing it a little are absolutely correct. I have a friend (not local, he's in New Mexico) who insisted 6K should be enough and showed me some Craigslist items he thought would work, but often when you get down to brass tacks it's just not realistic. I think at least raising it to 12K would be reasonable.

Carseat: The carseat my daughter has now, you can use it without the base and put the seatbelt through it, so I was thinking any seat that has a seatbelt can accomodate her carseat. Now, this carseat is good till she's 30 lbs and she's 21 lbs now. I will have to look at the carseats that are the next step up. But my truck right now doesn't have the anchors for the base and you can either run the seatbelt through slots in the base or through slots in the carseat itself.

Bathing: This is one of the things I'm embarrassed to say: I don't actually know what a 'wet bath' is or as opposed to what? Yes, my daughter and I do shower/ bath together, she is not old enough to bathe alone and this was one thing I was thinking about during our trip last summer/ fall. During the first part of the trip I was thinking we would just use facilities at the campground. Then after we stayed at a few campgrounds that had timed showers and required tokens, etc, it can be really hard to be efficient in a shower with a toddler, six minutes or whatever the time is may not be enough, plus weird showers sometimes freaked her out... sometimes this is just not what you want to deal with at the end of the day. So, I don't know where that leaves us except that yes we need to be able to shower inside the trailer/ RV and yes the shower needs to be big enough for both of us to squeeze into.

The truck: Yes, I am in a situation where I have so much money tied up in the truck I really can't trade it... except for possibly a very old compact car? It's hard to imagine towing that truck with a 20-something foot RV. THe truck is a standard cab and a short bed, but still... Now, how much my truck can tow? I don't want to sound dumb but I didn't quite understand the instruction for how to calculate this. When you say weigh the axles are you talking about driving it onto a scale? I am not familiar with any public access scales?

I was attracted to the Scamp, Casita and RPod models I saw - at least from the outside. I have not done a walkthrough on any of them, though I did go to RPod website and look at their layouts. And I did wonder about how much space we really need long term.

RV dealership: So I called the 3 RV dealerships in my area and they had nothing in my price range (I gave the 10K figure, maybe worth calling again if I up it to 12K or even 15K). I think it is a good suggestion to walk through just to get a feel of the floor plan, but I feel dishonest going to the dealerships when I know I will not buy? Maybe I need to get over that...  

Storage space: oh, yeah, I would like to say "I don't have a lot of stuff, so that's not an issue' ha ha ha. I'd like to THINK I don't have a lot of stuff, but I have enough so that yeah with a 15' trailer I would end up storing things in the truck, rifling through the entire back of the truck when you need to find something... I'm not the most organized person and that might just be a nightmare for me. I think I've been minimizing this, needed that reality check.

As for leveling, I'm not necessarily that strong. I am 5' tall, average weight, not particularly rugged build. Does that change anything?

Inspection: Second Chance mentioned an inspection by an RV mechanic. Suppose the seller is not comfortable with me driving the RV somewhere to get it inspected? Will the person come to the seller's premises for a fee?

I will add more thoughts to this, I just wanted to post something when I saw that my silence was rubbing some people the wrong way.

Thanks so much for all your help!

Hello All,

My question is divided into two parts

(1) travel trailer vs motorhome and (2) where to buy used.

Quick demographics: it will be me (42 year old female) and a young child. I have done a lot of extended traveling/ camping as a single person with tent+ GMC Sierra; then my daughter and I went on a 4 month trip last summer/fall with tent+GMC Sierra +camper shell. It was kind of a trial run for full time RV-ing without the RV. It was a success but continual tent camping got very old. So now the RV.

As to (1) I am inclined towards a travel trailer but I have heard from many people, 'You'll regret it.' Their arguments boil down to walk-through and hassle. Now, I've traveled extensively and lived in my tent for up to six months at a time and NEVER had a situation where I needed walk-through for safety reasons. I do understand it for convenience and privacy -- sometimes you just want to pull over, go lay down, and not have to interact with anyone going in and out of the vehicle/ trailer. Once in a while there's inclement weather, too, but how often is it SO inclement that it makes going from the truck to the trailer prohibitive? I have a hard time envisioning how much that's going to be an issue long term and that's why I'd like input from people who've lived it. As for hassle, yes, I know it's harder to get in and out of parking lots, when you're towing a vehicle, I know you have to learn how to back up when you have an axle, but my gut reaction is, hey, all those people out there towing a travel trailer put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else... I'll figure it out. Others have implied I don't know what I'm in for. One guy also mentioned the hassle of leveling the trailer every time you park it. He said it will be especially hard with a small child who needs supervision. I must admit I don't know how much skill is required for this. Thoughts?

On the plus side, I would think, is the fact that you can drop the trailer and go exploring with just your vehicle. Also, I don't have to worry about a motor. My truck is old (97) but it has a new engine with about 40K on it and a rebuilt transmission... and last summer I sunk about 2K into getting the A/C working. It seems to me I should capitalize on that and put the truck to use towing something. Unfortunately, the truck is V-6 (4.3L Vortec) and I know that somewhat limits my options, but I think there should be quite a few 12'-15' trailers it can tow.

As for (2) it will be used and I will pay cash and I would like to keep it around 10K. So, where should I be searching? I have looked on craigslist in my area (Maine). My concern is, I will be making the decision alone; I am somewhat of a loner and this is one of those times I pay the price for that because I do not have any knowledgable person who can go with me and make sure that I'm buying something sound. I have also searched on RVTrader. I am not on any social media and am not thrilled about the idea of creating such an account just for the purpose of RV shopping, but I seem to be getting the 'Facebook' suggestion repeatedly. Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Corrie