Things I figured out in Denver

We feel that we're finally settling in a little and finding a little time here or there, now that we're stationary for a little while. I've had a few posts in my head in a note on the bulletin board since we stopped in Denver, but hadn't really had the time to put it all down in the blog. I had a lot of long, quiet time on the trek West, these thoughts went along with that drive... I'll post bits and pieces of them over the next couple of days.

Go for a little trip before going for the big one.

While we aren't unhappy with how we took off, and as I've written before that each journey is its own, and this journey wouldn't be the same if we'd done it any differently, in hindsight I'd have to recommend that if you're planning on taking off on any long-term, full-time RV trip, it would be a good idea to take a short trip or two first. Originally, that was our plan, but for one reason or another those small trips never materialized. I think what those small trips would have helped was not having to learn everything all at once, all at the same time. There's a lot to know and a lot to adjust to living like this. Doing a small trip or two first would have given us a little less to learn right off the bat. At the very least, camp for a little while in one location that you know - and try to do everything you can and/or think you will on your trip while you are there. That way you'll have a little safety net before you set off. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we did things the way we did. It's just a hindsight recommendation for others.

Buy the right rig up front.

I'm very x10¹³⁴ happy about our purchase. What we bought seemed to be the right choice at the time, and I can only say that it was the right choice 100%. Sure, I'd love to have a class A with three bedrooms, but I don't particularly want to spend what I would have had to spend to get it. I'd rather put those resources into museum visits, fishing equipment and other niceties on our trip. By saying "buy the right rig", I'm essentially saying - don't buy expecting to trade up - you won't, and even if you do, you'll lose money on the deal. Buy a rig with a good reputation too - quality is one thing you can't fix after the fact. Full-timing is very different from vacationing, so look at a rig with the features/quality you need up front. Having the kids sleep on the couch in the kitchen might be great when you're all running around on the beach for the weekend, but doing that day-in, day-out will cut into your alone time, their sleep time, and everyone's happiness-in-general - even if it saves you $15,000 in rig-cost. We researched and bought the very best I could find, and I'm not only glad I found what I wanted, but spending what I spent (considered pretty expensive for a fiver) has been worth every penny.

Those Class A Guys

I'll admit it. I have ClassA envy. I'd love to have the kids with me when we are driving down the road. I'd love to be able to pull into a spot, press a button and have a sturdy, 100% electronically levelled RV at the push of one button. The kids would really enjoy having Satellite TV that tracks as we're driving down the road, giving them 140 different choices of what they could watch. Really, those rigs are generally built very well and would probably not need some of the fixes, upgrades and detail work that our trailer has needed. Class A people are generally better-regarded at parks, and may sometimes get a better shake about things than us trailer-folk (remember the million-dollar motor home in RI?). Besides, how slick would it be to roll into a place in the rain, never have to get out to get any part of things situated and have everything just how it should be, not to mention packing up to leave goes from 2 hours to about 8 minutes... so yeah - I have class A envy.

That being said, I'm very happy with what we've got. The rig cost about 20% of what we'd have needed to spend to get a comparable class A. There was only one made that I've found that had the kind of setup we'd need. Most of the rest would have put the bunks in the master bedroom, and that's no way to live full-time ;) (for us). It also would have been tough in Elkhart and Iowa where I had to have the rig taken away to be worked on. While we could always go get a hotel room - I just like having my own bed at night.

I guess what I'm saying is that just because someone doesn't have a class A doesn't mean they aren't serious about what they are doing. We could have bought one, and afforded doing so, but there were reasons we went the way we did - and everyone just needs to make that choice for themselves for their own reasons. Next time you see an RVer, ask them why they bought that rig specifically, if you're interested. You might be surprised how much thought was put into that particular one - maybe even more thought than most people put into their house.