Traveling Back to Kansas - First Big Trip

[Vegas Teacher]

Howdy All!!!

20 (School Days) left in the school year!

So my first big trip with the wife back to Kansas. We have done a number of 100 to 150 mile trips or 200 to 300 round trip.

Pam has a few hours behind the wheel now and feels a lot more comfortable driving.

So we are going to leave the May 31st, it is the Tuesday after Memorial Weekend. I will be dropping my 780 off in Dennis Kansas with Jack Mayer at RVH Lifestyles to get a bed done on it.

Pam, my wife does not want to do the normal marathon days. When we drive it, in our car, we drive from Las Vegas to Shamrock Texas. We leave at 11:59 p.m. and travel through the night, we eat breakfast in Albuquerque NM at the Deny's on the Flying J / Pilot on the West side of town just off of I - 40 then travel on in to Shamrock where we stay at a really nice Best Western, right across from a gas station. That drive is 952 miles and driving is just shy of 14 hours without stops or traffic issues. The next day is a short drive in from Shamrock to Pittsburg Kansas. Shamrock is in the panhandle of Texas 15 miles west of the Oklahoma state line. So our travel from Shamrock to Pittsburg Kansas is 6 hours and 5 minutes without stops at a distance of 408 miles and a couple more to my house I grew up in. That is the normal trip however Pam ( the D.W. ) does not want to do that and said she would take a 1 hour stint behind the wheel.

New travel schedule adjusted to wife's requests:

Tuesday May 31, 2022 (later than normal departure around 5:00 a.m. I wanted to be the traffic out of Vegas. If you have ever driven 95 south at rush hour you know how bad the traffic is near fremont street, in Vegas.)

Vegas to Winslow Az 

Wednesday June 1, 2022

Winslow to Albuquerque NM

Thursday June 2, 2022

Albuquerque NM to Shamrock Texas

Friday June 3, 2022

Shamrock Texas to Pittsburg Kansas

These are pretty short days, once again wife's request. I am going to be "Bobtailing" all the way from Vegas to Kansas and I see me driving the majority of the time anyway. I am looking to keep her happy so we can ride along with out fighting. Since it is our first big trip I just want her to be happy and excited to do it again. We will be staying at truck stops most of the time. I like the motel we stay at in Shamrock so the last night of the trip will be spent at a real motel, in a real bed with the free breakfast. They have waffles in the shape of Texas LOL!!! I am looking forward to the truck stops. The year I bought the Semi we did truck stops all over the south across I - 10, I loved it. 

I don't have the dream trailer yet. Over spring break we went trailer shopping at Camping World. I really like the Montana High Country trailers with the front living quarters and bedroom in the back, they were just shy of 40 feet with a pin weight of about 2100 lbs if I remember correctly.

Anyway any advice you could give me on route, or places you have stayed and liked is greatly appreciated.

Later,

Cory O

[jkoenig24]

You're wise to make keeping your wife as happy as possible a priority.

 

RE: buying at Camping World; be VERY careful. MANY Camping World locations are NOT known for customer service, particularly AFTER the sale. I expect you're familiar with (or at least heard of) www.rvtrader.com ? 

 

www.racingjunk.com occasionally has suitable trailers listed. 

[Vegas Teacher]

33 minutes ago, jkoenig24 said:

You're wise to make keeping your wife as happy as possible a priority.

 

RE: buying at Camping World; be VERY careful. MANY Camping World locations are NOT known for customer service, particularly AFTER the sale. I expect you're familiar with (or at least heard of) www.rvtrader.com ? 

 

www.racingjunk.com occasionally has suitable trailers listed. 

Not heard of www.rvtrader.com . I have heard of the reputation with Camping World. Who is good at servicing 5'ers? Also looking for a front living space. Are there any 5'ers out there that have them that you like?

Later,

Cory O

[rickeieio]

Our daughter and son-in-law bought a new Montana 3 years ago.  So far, it's spent more time at the dealer than they've had it to use.  Lots of big issues. like furnace circuit boards, slides, and leveling system, plus replacing the residential fridge, ceiling fan being broken by the slide EVERY time the slide was brought in.  They've recently remodeled an Arctic Fox and are selling the Montana.

Our first and last attempt to deal with Camping World was once too many.

Edited April 28, 2022 by rickeieio

[rpsinc]

Camping World is popular only because they advertise like crazy but I have yet to hear positives about their RV sales and service departments and work.  I stay away from any ad that is from CW.  No thank you.

When I have looked for 5ers, I have spent ALOT of time looking for quality brands with good reputations and most of those havent made 5ers for 10+ years, so that means considering something a bit older but needing some TLC.  It also means that with a better built rig, you can customize it your way.  Colors, furniture, flooring, etc. without worrying about losing out on the design choices that were included in what ever rig you buy.  Those design choices are somebody elses choices not mine, but with the cost of those rigs, who would want to remove what was so expensive to buy in the first place.

FB has some RV remodeling pages and it amazes me to see how creative people can be and how their rigs turn out.

[Larry Burkett]

My last experience with Camping World was to diagnose a brake actuator problem, went into the shop 1 1/2 hour after my appointment, and had to argue with them about the bill that they tried to charge me from the appointment time till it  was done. 

RvTrader.com is a good place to find most anything in an RV you could want.

[TXiceman]

One experience with Camping World in Katy, TX to replace an awning canopy.  They screwed this up every way to Sunday.  I had the manager in volved and after getting out of there, Camping World/Gander will never touch an RV I own.

Ken

Edited April 29, 2022 by TXiceman

[rickeieio]

4 hours ago, rpsinc said:

When I have looked for 5ers, I have spent ALOT of time looking for quality brands with good reputations and most of those havent made 5ers for 10+ years, so that means considering something a bit older but needing some TLC.  It also means that with a better built rig, you can customize it your way.

There's a 2000 Newmar Mountain Aire here at the ECR that is stunning.  Pulled by an older KW painted to match.

[Jaydrvr]

8 hours ago, rickeieio said:

There's a 2000 Newmar Mountain Aire here at the ECR that is stunning.  Pulled by an older KW painted to match.

Do you know if there are any pix of that rig? We have a 2011 Mountain Aire with a matching 1999 Volvo.. Jay

[rickeieio]

Not sure about pics, but there's a couple here doing youtube videos, and they toured it.  They're called "Soaring Together".

 

[Brad & Jacolyn]

Buy used. Consignments lots are good. Found out 2008 HitchHiker 12 years ago at PPL motors in Houston. Still going strong.

[Jaydrvr]

1 hour ago, rickeieio said:

Not sure about pics, but there's a couple here doing youtube videos, and they toured it.  They're called "Soaring Together".

 

They have a really nice video of the Rally, with a nice segment of the Newmar at the end. Jay

[chief916]

19 hours ago, jkoenig24 said:

You're wise to make keeping your wife as happy as possible a priority.

 

RE: buying at Camping World; be VERY careful. MANY Camping World locations are NOT known for customer service, particularly AFTER the sale. I expect you're familiar with (or at least heard of) www.rvtrader.com ? 

 

www.racingjunk.com occasionally has suitable trailers listed. 

Stay away from Camping World. In our experience we found the sales people were just as deceiving as car salesman. To much to go into here but to say the least our experience turned into a nightmare. So we haven't darkened their doorway since.

[rpsinc]

13 hours ago, rickeieio said:

There's a 2000 Newmar Mountain Aire here at the ECR that is stunning.  Pulled by an older KW painted to match.

We have a 2004 Kountry Aire that we bought from SKPs but it has sat for a few years.  I am considering selling for cheap but because of comments like yours, I see the opportunity to have a special coach.  It does have the dually axle setup, 38', but needs updating and a paint job.

[jenandjon]

As said above I would stay away from camping world. Hope you enjoy the trip.

[DJohns]

How does camping world stay in business with so many bad reviews?

[Jaydrvr]

37 minutes ago, DJohns said:

How does camping world stay in business with so many bad reviews?

By selling mostly to gullible first time buyers. They're not interested in seasoned or  knowledgeable buyers. Jay

[Danfreda1]

On 4/29/2022 at 6:49 AM, Jaydrvr said:

Do you know if there are any pix of that rig? We have a 2011 Mountain Aire with a matching 1999 Volvo.. Jay

 

[DJohns]

Go to soaring together youtube channel. Nice interview two days ago.

[Jaydrvr]

6 minutes ago, DJohns said:

Go to soaring together youtube channel. Nice interview two days ago.

Yes, it's a very nice video. Jay

[Vegas Teacher]

Thanks for all of the information on Camping World. Seems to me, from what I have read, is that Camping world likes to sell a product but does not like to back up the product when it comes to the most important thing, SERVICE.

 

My grandpa owned his own Texaco gas / service station in Pittsburg Kansas in the late 50's & 60's. He did very well and his whole business platform was based on customer service. He not only sold gas, this was when they had an attendant come out to the car and do a 20 point inspection. (Side note, no, not like Oregon where they come up and pump your gas then leave.) It was the old school pump gas, wash windows check oil, tire pressure etc... He also had two bays and was a full service shop. My grandpa could rebuild an engine. If some of you have followed my threads you are probably scratching your heads right now because you know that I did not get any of his mechanical ability, and that is why I am shadowing my semi mechanic and his employees this summer. Anyway he and my father did both teach me about customer service and I don't see it many places anymore.

If anybody out there has extra time, go on Amazon and order the book Raving Fans, it is all about customer service. It has maybe two paragraphs on a page and is under 60 pages. You can start and finish it in one afternoon. I love this book.

Later,

Vegas Teacher - Cory Ossana

P.S. 18 more school days left!!!!!

[Ray,IN]

On 4/29/2022 at 9:14 AM, Brad & Jacolyn said:

Buy used. Consignments lots are good. Found out 2008 HitchHiker 12 years ago at PPL motors in Houston. Still going strong.

i agree; we bought our MH on consignment at Camping World of Indianapolis (legally still Stouts RV). We were lucky and dealt with a very good salesman who was also a MH owner. Without question every issue we spotted was rectified, even down to installing a new house battery bank when I pointed out the existing one was dead, and repairing a faulty step cover that IMO was a safety hazard (the service manager agreed).  Our MH is still in great shape for its age, and I do my best to keep it maintained properly.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Ray,IN

[sandsys]

A friend once said Camping World is a good place to get work done because there's always another one down the road to fix what the first one broke.

Linda

[Pat & Pete]

4 hours ago, sandsys said:

A friend once said Camping World is a good place to get work done because there's always another one down the road to fix what the first one broke.

Linda

LOL ... And , then the second and the third . 

Edited May 3, 2022 by Pat & Pete