Is an RV right for us ? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Rob_Fla · RV-Dreams Family Member

Is an RV right for us ?

Scottie · RV-Dreams Community Member

We recently retired and love the idea of a nice motorhome but have never owned one. Being able to freely travel and sleep in our own MH sounds great.

On the other hand we dont really enjoy camping.

We recently visited an RV park at the invitation of an RV dealer. When we got to the RV park it looked crowded, hectic and sort of well dumpy.

I hope this doesn't sound like we're anti-social, but staying in a crowded RV park with kids and dogs running all over the place does not sound like a relaxing way to spend time. Sorry but I'm just trying to be honest.

So, I wonder if the RV lifestyle is not a good choice for us.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Scottie,

Welcome to the forum. You're doing the right thing by researching this lifestyle and asking questions. It's not for everyone. Years ago I thought similarly to you and even worse but we started in a small travel trailer and the life and opportunities grew on us. Not all of us stay in RV Parks, many focus on State, Federal and Core of Engineer parks for more space and nature but those private parks do come into play on occasion for a variety of reasons. You might want to read Howard & Linda's daily journal starting from the beginning to see the research, challenges, reasons and thought process to see if some of it is similar to your preferences.

I definitely would not recommend buying any type of rig to find out if this is for you unless it's a very well priced used one. Attend a RV-Dreams Rally to really expose yourselves to the lifestyle and the wonderful people.

Keep asking questions, you'll find great people here giving their honest opinions.

Sherry

PIEERE · RV-Dreams Family Member

There are many Rv parks for the 55+ crowd that are laid back and peaceful; some for the active seniors. There are many RV Clubs; such as Escapees; Good Sam to name a couple. If you don't enjoy camping; it mat not be for you---only you can make that call. The best idea is to browse all the forum comments and do search and research. As for me; I enjoy it and it will take wild horses to drag me away!!! Best to you.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

If you read RVer blogs you will find many are happy when summer is over or/and the weekend is over and the families gone home. A good place to start on blogs is http://hitchitch.com/links.html. plus look at the signatures here and on other forums (this is the friendliest and most welcoming) for more blogs and journals. The more you read and research, the better informed you will be if the lifestyle will work for you.

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Somewhat different than others advice I think you would LOVE IT. Seriously though we hate the type of campgrounds you describe, fortunately there are enough places to stay out there that those noisy, kid filled parks can be avoided easily....after that you are left with total freedom, beautiful vistas, your own bedding every night......and the occasional water leak or malfunctioning dump valve. LOL....

blijil · RV-Dreams Family Member

I had similar concerns for years but as we neared retirement and began to feel the suitcase drag on our travels we reconcidered. We bought a trial rig knowing we were risking significant $ if we discovered it wasn't for us. The year before retirement we hated to go home after a week, a weekend, or even more than a month in the RV. Our lifestyle has been permenantly modified and we have stayed in dumps and Resorts. It seems our measure of enjoyment is the exploring, the hiking, the interesting stores, wine tasting, etc and not so much to where we are parked. Don't get me wrong some places were definite bad choices and we moved in a day or two just because of the atmosphere but we have stayed in some "less than desirable" locations and had a blast anyway.

Who would have figured our standards would be so flexible?

Larry and Jacki

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not all RV Parks and campgrounds are the same.. there is so much variety. We're currently at a lovely state park in a site that is surrounded by trees, and feels quite secluded. We can barely even see our closest neighbor. We love it here. However, for the past two months we were in a mobile home park tucked in next to single wide trailers. Yes, some are crowded - and sometimes to be nearby where you want to be (such as visiting family), that's your only choice. But the cool thing? You get to move on and mix it up! Once your learn your style, you can seek out parks that suit your needs.

Oh - and many of us would not describe our lifestyle as 'camping' - in the sense of having non-stop campfires, marshmellow and 'roughing it'. For us, we're just moving our house to new locations and enjoying new views.

We hosted a video chat a little while back in which we addressed the Realities of Full Time RVing, and the types of locations available (and costs) was a major point in the talk. You might find this video useful in your quest as to what it's like out here on the road. Here's a link: http://www.technomadia.com/2013/03/realities-of-living-traveling-in-a-rv-full-time/ (caution: it's an hour and a half long, so make sure you have the bandwidth available.)

- Cherie

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Scottie (Or is it Scotty?),

I'm confused because your avatar username says "Scottie" and your profile says "Scotty."

At any rate, welcome to the RV Dreams forums. As mentioned, there is a lot to learn on the forums as well as on different people's blogs.

As to "trying out" RV'ing, if you are hesitant to purchase a "starter" RV, with all the associated taxes and registration and insurance, you might consider renting a smaller RV like a Class C motorhome and try it out for a month with traveling and seeing all the many options that are available.

Many times, we tend to find that RV'ers have whole different attitude about things and they are helpful as well. I don't know what state you reside in, but use the search engines out there to find RV parks and campgrounds that you might like to see. Even if you aren't RV'ing in them, you can check them out.

Keep in mind that some places won't have sewer hookups at all the sites, but may instead have "dump stations" where one can drive to and dump the grey and black holding tanks. Then there are others that like their sites to be more primitive and thus sometimes more isolated.

There is also a website called RV Park Reviews where one can type check what places are available in given states and cities. That site also has reviews that are written by the folks that have stayed there. A lot of information can be gleaned from it.

Good luck with all the research and planning.

Terry

Cindy T · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with the other folks that there is such a wide range of places to camp, that you won't be staying in dumpy campgrounds every night. You don't have to stay in a campground at all. You can "boondock" if you want to. Boondocking means that you stay in your rig without being hooked up to electricity, water or sewer. Motorhomes are self-contained, so you fill up your water tank, you have a generator, batteries, etc & you can park your rig out in the peace and quiet of nature with all the comforts of home.

For many years, my husband & I boondocked almost exclusively. We are in Colorado, so we parked in the National Forests. Oftentimes, we wouldn't see another human being at all.

Maybe going completely "off the grid" isn't what you want to do all the time but it is an option. Fulltiming is a lifestyle, not a long-term camping trip. The great thing is that you can design the lifestyle any way you want to.