"I'll never own a motor home" and other words I've eaten this year

After 15 years of being outspoken advocates of 5^th wheel ownership over all other types of RV, we started to recognize the benefits of owning a motor home for the full-time lifestyle. I have always hated the floor plans. They all remind me of sitting in a hallway or doctors waiting room. This was no easy sale for Champ to convince me of the benefits. Before we set out on this great adventure our former neighbor, George, predicted we would own a motor home sooner rather than later.  I said, ‘fat chance’ and chuckled.  The truth is, he should know. We spent many hours chatting in our adjoining back yards about his previous years as a full time RV person and our experiences up to then camping and traveling. He always said a motor home was the way to go if you were full timing it.

[caption id="attachment_360" align="alignright" width="300"] 2006 Itasca[/caption]

Six months into full time lifestyle, we quietly began actively looking at different units in. May After visiting 7 dealerships and scrutinizing over 30 units we settled on a 10-year-old unit with very few miles. It was obviously a unit used exclusively to snowbird. After some hard-nosed negotiating with the dealer over who was going to pay to fix the things that needed repaired, we picked it up 6 weeks after we first looked at it. By the way I got everything I asked from them. After bringing it home, cleaning it within an inch of its life and making some of our own changes to it, our 38’ Itasca is now home.

Many who know us were surprised by our decision, given the fact that we had a beautiful 2-year-old 5^th wheel that we acquired as a result of 5 trades and many years of making double payments. It was a hard mental bridge to cross trading something new for something old but several things played to the motor home hand. The decision to change boiled down to three basic things.

• When you pull a 40’ 5^th wheel you need a 1-ton truck, preferably a dually and most decidedly a diesel. These trucks are not only outrageously expensive to replace but can also be quite expensive to maintain. When the power house that pulls your home down the road is also your primary vehicle the miles add up quickly. Not only is it a beast to parallel park downtown when we want to go to a nice restaurant or the Des Moines Farmers Market, but the gas mileage for everyday driving leaves something to be desired. The powerhouse that moves a motor home down the road gets very little use except the 2 or 3 times a year we move from points north to points south, dodging extreme weather.


• The chassis under a motor home is a lot beefier than a 5th wheel. Cargo weight is still limited but it is more generous. It twists and binds less going down the road than a 5^th wheel or travel trailer. In theory, the years of travel will be kinder to it.


• The on-board generator makes it more comfortable to boondock at the truck stop or rest area overnight if we are on a mission to make time and miles, which we do frequently. The 300 miles or 3:00 rule observed by many travelers is still lost on us.


• We travel with 2 cats as you know if you have read previous posts. The idea of being in the unit with them while moving down the road lends to peace of mind for us and hopefully Annie and Buster. They aren’t alone in a bouncing house wondering what’s going on and when it may stop. We will be there with them and know how they are throughout the trip. The temperature will always be comfortable for them as the entire coach will cool or heat as we travel.

August was a busy month of trading. This trade made our sixth, and the first time we have purchased a used unit.  The logistical difference this time was that we didn’t unload everything into the garage and leisurely load it back in over the course of several days. We talked to several who had traded while living full time and listened to the stories of how long it took to move everything in the parking lot of the dealership. We decided to approach it much like a house move. We boxed up a good deal of stuff in the days before we traded. The stuff from the compartments went under the picnic table and was covered by a tarp. The fact that we are in Volunteer Village rather than out in the public campground gave us some flexibility in terms of how our site looked and the security of leaving our stuff out.

[caption id="attachment_361" align="alignleft" width="300"] Moving mess[/caption]

I must admit it looked like Jed Clampet’s homestead for a couple of days.  Lucky for us the weather was dry that week. On moving day at the dealership, we simply moved boxes from one unit to the other, except for the hanging clothes that we carried from one closet to the other. That proved to be a good plan. Our transfer time was about 2 hours. We spent the next several days unpacking and taking our time deciding how to use our new space. Our salesman was surprised when we came inside and said our goodbyes. He said some even spend the night it takes them so long.

[caption id="attachment_362" align="alignright" width="300"] Grandma's hotrod[/caption]

The next task was to sell the truck and find a car to drive and tow. Champ has always driven a truck and I have always driven something practical. This was our chance to do something fun!  We started shopping for something cooler than my Dodge Journey or any of the other mom cars I have driven over the years.  We sold the truck for a good price and stumbled onto a 1998 Mustang with very low miles, one owner, cream puff of a car. It’s fast, pretty, fun to drive and very impractical. We love it!

As we prepare to depart on our trip south we are excited to be doing it in our newly acquired motor home with a sexy black Mustang in tow.  The last year has been eventful to say the least.  I am trying to sum it up for my next post as we near the 1st anniversary of being gypsies.

Until next time…