Hello!! Where are you in Michigan?? We're in the Upper Peninsula and are currently living in our RV fulltime in our driveway. Our house is on the market and we thought we had it sold, so we cleaned it out! Sale fell through, so here we are, waiting. Hopefully it sells before winter sets in!!

Buzz and Debbie,

Please allow me to welcome you to the forums as well.  Even as a lurker, one can learn a lot, but it is so much better to be an active participant and be able to ask one's own questions.  The folks here welcome questions since we tend to learn from each other, so feel free to ask away and also make comments.

When you look for your fifth wheel, remember that your 3/4 ton truck will limit you some on the size of an RV that can be safely handled by that size of truck.

Good luck, and we hope to hear more from you.

Terry

No longer JerMar, just Marnow.... nuf said... I started lurching a couple years ago and decided a while back that when I retire from the Postal Service (24 years) I want to leave Oklahoma summers and winters. I will probably never go full time because I have grandkids that I adore. I just returned from a trip to Santa Fe and then up to Colorado for 19 days. It was my maiden voyage. I purchased a "practice motorhome" 1994 Ford fourwinds a couple months ago, and towed my Acura MDX.

This is my story as told on facebook:

Bottom Line...I'm o.k. But, what a last 36 hours. As many of you know I left Tulsa yesterday in my motorhome heading to Santa Fe all on my on. I left about 8:00 and just as I was approaching OKC, a truck pulled along side me and honked. It was my son-in-law. He had business in okc. That was the best experience I've had while in my motorhome. First stop was in Elk City to refuel. After refueling I got back in the motorhome to start it and.......nothing. I thought I must have something draining the battery. Oh No!! Called AAA and they said they would have somoeone out within 45 minutes. I located a rv repair place in Elk City, but they did not work on motorhomes. AAA pulled in and jumped me. The guy that jumped said that the cable was loose and that was the problem. Just to be sure, he directed me to O'riellys to have them check the battery. It was fine. Back on the road. Made it to Tucumcari and was going to refuel and head on to Santa Fe. After refueling in a dust storm (really strang) I noticed a squeaking noise. I wasn't sure what to do so I checked out a couple of the campgrounds I saw on the internet. No way!!! A storm was coming in so I got back on I-40 and went 2 miles. The squeaking got worse. What do I do now? I got back off he interstate and just drove around Tucumcari. (Not impressed at all) little scarry. I was just getting ready to get back on the interstate when I saw a KOA campground that looked safe. This will work. I checked in and told the host my situation. He gave me the name of a repair shop and said the owner was really good. I contacted him and he told me to bring it in a 9 the next day, or if it was too bad he would send someone to the koa campground. This morning I contacted my mechanic back in coweta and he told me to call him when I got to the repair shop. I pulled up to the repair place and Ray (owner) came out and popped the hood. He put in some power steering fluid and no more squeaks. Great and when I asked "how much", he said "no charge". Very nice!! Back on the road again with about 3 more hours to Santa Fe. I got in Santa Fe about 11:45. Pulled in a store and got on the internet to look for campgrounds. Black Canyon sounded really nice so I set my gps for it. Wild goose chase through downtown's narrow streets and no where to pull in to turn the rig around. I'm in the motorhome, pulling my car and I'm lost in downtown Santa Fe. No Quik-Trips to be found. I end up on a four-lane highway and take the first exit I see which says Santa Fe relief route. I figure there has to be a Quik Trip or something on this road. Nope. So I end up on Ridge Top Road with a speed limit of 25 (curvy and hilly) and my brakes go out. When I apply them the pedal goes all the way to the floor. If I pump them I have a little stopping power. I come around a corner and I see a pull off to the left and a hill in front of me. I decide to take the pull off. Unfortuneatly my rig didn't have enough room to turn around there. So, I end up in sage against a hill with my towed vehichle sitting sideways half way across the road. Only one lane is passable and I'm on a hill with curves from both ways. I grab my phone and call 911. I was afraid that cars coming around the curve would not have enough time to maneuver around mine without having a head-on. A very nice lady pulls up as I'm telling 911 that my car is sitting halfway across a road sideways, but I don't know where I am. She asked if I was o.k and I said "yes" and handed her my phone and said "please tell them where I am". In the meantime a couple really nice men pulled in to see if they could help. They unhitched my car so I could get it out of the road. Anyway AAA came and picked up the motorhome and delivered it to a repair shop 1.3 miles from a campground in Santa Fe. I followed him in my car, and talked to the repair shop. I am to take it in at 8 in the morning. I drove it to the campground, checked in, and walked back to get my car. Whew.

So, this has been an adventure. But, I'm safe and thrilled to be here