How many RVs have you owned?

[k4rs]

As a kid we had all kinds of RV's, mostly travel trailers, but one van conversion and a slide in truck camper.   Once I became an adult it was only natural to continue the RV lifestyle I had known while growing up.

Our first RV was a 13 foot Scotty travel trailer.  It lacked plumbing and kitchen necessities, but provided a place for us to sleep.  Toni had never experienced RV'ing before, but enjoyed traveling around the country while on vacations.   We used it for almost 10 years.  Then, two years in a row, I was unable to get time off from work so Toni suggested we sell the trailer.  After all it was just sitting next to the house and not going anywhere.

Right after we sold it, my boss came to me and said "You have way too much leave on the books".  We ended up taking a four week cross country trip staying all but two nights in a tent.  When we completed that trip, Toni stated "If you say the word tent one more time I will slit your throat from ear to ear".  

Needless to say, we soon had another travel trailer.  It was a 15 foot Terry Resort with air conditioner, stove, refrigerator,  and plumbing.   We were fully self contained and felt like we were living in luxury!  We kept that trailer until just before we retired and pulled it from border to border, coast to coast, and all across Canada.

We knew that we would need a larger rig to full time in so we purchased a 24 foot Sunnybrook travel trailer.  We used it in vacation mode one year and full time for about 8 months.  We quickly realized that we had miscalculated and needed something larger.

After a lot of searching we found a rig that met all of our needs.   Actually, we ordered it built to our specifications and had to wait 8 weeks for it to be delivered.  We were wintering in southern Arizona and had to scramble to find places to stay while we were waiting.  On the day we took possession, I parked the Sunnybrook next to the new rig so we could transfer our stuff.  Side by side, the Sunnybrook was dwarfed.  Toni said "Oh my god.  That thing is a monster.  Are you sure we can pull that?"

The new rig was a 38 foot Nomad Rampage fifth wheel toy hauler.  We had finally found the rig we would have for the rest of our full time RV adventure.  Again, that rig went coast to coast, border to border (many times), across Canada, and one trip to Alaska before we purchased a home and transitioned to long time RV status.

Since we were no longer full timing, we downsized to a 27 foot travel trailer.  That trailer was a disaster and we only kept it for 3 years.  The first problem was that it was not a toy hauler and we had to leave the motorcycles behind while we were traveling.   That was my mistake.  The second, and largest, problem was that the dealer we purchased it from lied to us and hid the fact that the trailer had been seriously damaged in an accident.  We did not discover this until it literally started falling apart on us.  After the fourth incident we became fed up and prompted us to move on to something else.

Our current rig is a 33 foot XLR toy hauler.   The pandemic kept us home in 2020, but we were able to use it half the summer of 2019, the entire summer of 2021 and several shorter trips.  We are happy with it and hope the price of diesel will allow us to continue enjoying it for years to come.

Safe Travels...

Edited May 10, 2022 by k4rs

[hemsteadc]

2

[sandsys]

OK, camping origins. My first camping experience was an overnight at a state park with a local recreational program. It was not a wonderful experience. I might have simply been too young.

When I was 10 my parents bought an aluminum trailer with fold in aluminum ends with canvas snap-on sides and a canvas awning with hook on sides big enough to accommodate a standard picnic table if it rained. It had canvas bunks with storage under the bottom bunks and outside at the door end of the trailer. Period. We camped with other families at least once month during camping season and truly enjoyed it. We had our system down so well we could pull in, get set up including making the beds, and be sitting down to eat in 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, Dave's family was canoe camping in the Boundary Waters carrying Duluth packs on portages.

It's no wonder Dave and I went right on camping once we were married.

Linda

[kb0zke]

I've been interested in camping for 60 years or so. While in junior high I came across Wally Byam's Trailer Travel Here and Abroad andThe Ford Guide to Camping on Wheels. I read those several times, and for several years then I would annually get Airstream's new catalog in the mail.

Move ahead about 30 years and soon after Jo Ann and I got married we were supposed to go with the church youth group on a camping/canoe trip. That was my first camping experience. Loved it! We borrowed a tent for a trip from Lincoln, NE to Casper, WY when we had a crawling baby and twins on the way. The kids grew up with a series of tents, each one bigger than the last one.

Our first RV was an elderly Minnie Winnie Class C. That only lasted a couple of years, before it died. Another tent while the kids were in college, and then we started talking about retirement. Long story short, we decided to investigate full-time rv'ing. Bought a 2011 Heartland MPG travel trailer as a learner. Loved it, so got serious about the full-timing. Sold the MPG for almost what we paid for it two years earlier and bought our Foretravel.

[Rover]

I grew up camping but Mark hadn’t and his only experience was with the military. It took me quite a while after we were married and had kids to talk him into going. I told him MY CAMPING was much different from the military and of course used the guilt of denying the kids the experience. Fortunately he finally agreed.
We started out much like others tent camping with the kids and our first “RV” was a very old and well abused small 72 popup. We kept that for 3-4 years until the canvas completely rotted and it basically fell apart. We then moved up to a newer used and huge Fleetwood popup. We probably only kept it a year or so. From there we lucked into an 84 24’ TT that had belonged to an older gentleman that barely used it. It still had the protective plastic on the carpet and he had never used the restroom in it. (This was in the 90’s) I think we had the trailer for 2-3 years. We moved from the TT to an 85 Pace Arrow MH with no slides in probably 97 or 98. Made quite a few long distance trips in it even for an older MH. 

We trader it in on our first new purchase in 2004 of a Winnebago Minnie Class C 31’. We were empty nesters by now but still working so it was just weekends and vacations but we really liked it and kept it for 12 years until we were ready to retire and go fulltime. We knew it was not a suitable rig for fulltime. So we traded it in on our second new purchase of a 2015 Forest River Blue Ridge fifth wheel. We also traded in my Jeep Liberty for a 2015 Ram 3500 dually. It had everything we wanted for fulltime living (after we added some upgrades) and we kept it for six years. 

Last year we decided we were ready for a change in our camping style and wanted to switch from a fifth wheel to a MH. We knew from our research we wanted either a Newmar or a Tiffin. We found a 2016 Newmar Ventana LE that checked almost every box on our list for fulltime living.  And we are back with another Jeep as a toad, although a Cherokee Trailhawk this time.

So all total - I guess we are on RV number 7 over probably 36 years. And unless we win the Publisher’s Clearing House or (God forbid) something tragic would happen to our current coach, this is probably the last one.

Vicki

 

 

[RV_]

I started out camping with the Boy Scouts too with my troop in CT. Then became a CIT or Counselor In Training at our council Camp "Camp Toquam" in Connecticut, and we camped for prep weeks and most of the summer. I learned to sail on the lake in Bluejay class sailboats, shot my first rifles, learned to use a canoe, and we rotated through the different positions and instructor training, even KP in the kitchen. Three years later I was in USAF Basic training. What wonderful memories including night raids on the girl's camp in canoes across the lake to meet the girls we met on the lake that day. I'm outlined in this staff picture:

Edited May 11, 2022 by RV_

[bigjim]

pretty cool to have pictures like that. Its a memory test but I think my first camping experience may have been with the scouts.

As for official rv's, I have had 3 but camped out of the trunk or camper shell before that.

[bruce t]

I said in my earlier post that I had camped with the boy scouts. True. Several times. In the mid 70's we hired a small campervan for a week. That was my life's experience with camping.

In 1994 I got sick. Very sick. The doctors gave me a real wake up call. We had regularly traveled to the USA and Europe on business. During our visits to the USA we observed all these 'huge', well they were 'huge' to us A Class motorhomes. With an hour or two to spare before our flight back to Australia we visited a dealer who had several new A Class units on the lot. WOW. And the prices were a bargain. Well we thought so. The salesperson was very patient and understanding and gave me a pamphlet on a 1996 Fleetwood Southwind. Over the next 12 months I coveted that pamphlet. During bad days while confined to bed I read that pamphlet hundreds of times. It and a dream kept me going through all the bad days. Well long story short. We sold our two businesses. The house and the dog. Kids were at uni. Got in a plane and flew once more to the USA. We were buying an A Class. No experience. Zip. Zero. Nothing. We found a dealer in Atlanta with a Holiday Rambler Endeavor that seemed just dandy. We never bought then but had a deal that was good for a while. So back onto the plane back to Australia. Back home we hit the go button. Ordered the motorhome via fax. Remember faxes? Well everything was done via fax. Options, colours etc etc. 4 months later back onto the plane. Signed the paperwork and jumped behind the wheel. That was the first time in a camper since our rental unit 20+ years beforehand.

Crazy? Sure. Did we do some dumb things in the first week or two. Oh sure. Lots of dumb things. But that was the start of the RVing bug. Disease. That pamphlet and the dream it represented kept me alive. It's why I wanted to keep going.

Since then we have had 3 more motorhomes. Love the life style. Sometimes it's not a dream. Sometimes things break or go wrong. But sh#t happens at home to in the sticks and bricks.

22 years later and I got very sick while in the USA. That ended some marvelous years in the USA. Met and made some good friends. But in all those years it wasn't the number of motrhomes we had. It was the lifestyle. A way of living that changed my life and even saved it. I'm sure the number of RVs one has owned isn't what matters. It's what you do with those RVs.

PS. FWIW we purchased a DP sight unseen from Australia. It was on the internet at a dealer in Texas. Would you buy a six figured RV without seeing it? See what the RV disease does to you?

 

[Kirk W]

5 hours ago, bruce t said:

But in all those years it wasn't the number of motrhomes we had. It was the lifestyle. A way of living that changed my life and even saved it. I'm sure the number of RVs one has owned isn't what matters. It's what you do with those RVs.

That is so true. There seems to be something about traveling by RV that opens doors that would never happen to most of us in any other way. The more time you spend in the RV lifestyle the more it seems to change you. Perhaps we should be discussing how long we have spent in the RV community. There is no question that our RV experiences have changed our life and our way of thinking. 

[TXiceman]

Kirk, you are correct.  RVing has provided a new outlook on many things.  We have had the fortune to meet some really tremendous folks in the RV world through volunteering.  The folks that work in the Fish and Wildlife service are true stewards of the land and animals.  

Once we get past the medical slow down, we look forward to some more volunteer work.

Ken

[bruce t]

Another topic for another time. But I once read that travel was the best cure for ignorance.

[sandsys]

5 hours ago, bruce t said:

Another topic for another time. But I once read that travel was the best cure for ignorance.

Travel can also be a good cure for prejudice but only if you Tavel with an open mind.

Linda

[bobsallyh]

Thanks, Kirk for starting this thread. It is very interesting about folks, their RV's, and travel.

[ashton23l]

bought my first one 7 years ago it was a 2014 26' bumper pull toy hauler, had it for 5 years, sold it and bought a 1999 class A 32' only had it one season and bought my current which is a 34' class A bunkhouse. we will keep this one 10 years at a minimum unless something happens to it. 

[Chad Heiser]

On 5/8/2022 at 10:40 PM, Chad Heiser said:

I got the RV bug from my parents when I was a kid.  We just did weekend a few week long trips a year, but it was great.  The first RV I bought for myself as an adult was an Article Fox truck camper.  It was an 8’ camper, but had a slide and was actually quite roomy.  I kept that for several years, it eventually outgrew it after I got married.  I traded that camper and a ski boat in on my first 5er, a 35’ Montana Big Sky.  It was a great trailer and we had it for 7 years.  It got me hooked on 5th wheels and the comfort and homey feel they provide.  We traded that rig in unexpectedly on our way home from a cross country trip when we stopped at a Montana dealer in Reno, NV just to look.  We fell in love with another Montana Big Sky that was a couple feet longer and had the perfect floor plan and amenities for us.  We kept that rig for another seven year stint.  We sold it after I was finally able to convince my DW to factory order a 42’ DRV Mobile Suite.  We have loved that trailer for the last 5 years and made many great memories in it.

It’s not officially ours yet, but we have a deposit on a new trailer and should be picking it up in a couple of weeks.  It is another DRV, but is a toy hauler this time.  We are looking forward to making new memories in our new rig.

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, Chad Heiser said:

We are looking forward to making new memories in our new rig.

Is it safe to assume that you will move the solar system from your current RV to the new one? And to think that I no longer want to trade because of the work involved in moving to the new one!

[justRich]

Four truck campers:
1) New:  Eagle Cap 1150 - totalled/insurance cash out
2) Used:  Arctic Fox 1140 - too heavy/weird layout/traded for Lance
3) Used: Lance 1180 - Lemon/traded for a new AF
4) Arctic Fox 1150 - new 2021 and probably a keeper

 

 

[Chad Heiser]

On 5/19/2022 at 4:46 AM, Kirk W said:

Is it safe to assume that you will move the solar system from your current RV to the new one? And to think that I no longer want to trade because of the work involved in moving to the new one!

Yes, the system will get moved to the new rig.  I plan to add a little more solar since I will have a little more roof space, but otherwise it will be the same.