Question to those who use a scout vehicle - RV-Dreams Community Forum

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Question to those who use a scout vehicle

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

you could always have a transport service pick it up and move it , or there are several drive=away services also

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Any of us could have such an issue come up. Having a second vehicle is very helpful in these cases. You could extend where you are or have a service move you as Lucky Mike suggested. For some surgeries, like a hip,or knee replacement you can plan ahead as these generally are not emergencies. In an emergency, you will figure it out and most likely have help from those around you.

Sherry

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

One great thing about most RV'ers... they are very helpful.

I've seen RV'ers help others with transporting vehicles, repairs, setup and tear down of campsites...etc.

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

This is good to know. Sherry - absolutely right about the joint replacements: we would have plenty of time to prepare for that. For an emergency, we would hope the best option is to renew the site for a longer period, but if we can't or if we're boondocking, you are right... there are always people or paid services to help out in a pinch. So off the list of things to worry about this issue goes!!! Now, if I can just convince DH - he doesn't want to give up having my company while driving. I don't plan on doing more than 2 hours at a shot; I think we can live without each other for that long!!!

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Most of us with motorhomes tow the car, so only one driver is needed.

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Bill. That was also a consideration (if we go the MH route), but I'm a bit skeptical after reading threads here and elsewhere that unless we tow 4 wheels down, what a major headache it is not only to unhitch the tow, but to find a place to store it (the tow, not the toad); I'm probably not using the right terminology.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

I am not encouraging getting a motorhome, but 4 wheels down is the much preferred route for towing. It does narrow your choices for what to tow, since most quickly tire of using a tow dolly. Some do use an enclosed trailer to tow behind the motorhome, that allows more than a car to be carried. You do need a good diesel pusher motorhome with a 10,000lb or better hitch to tow an enclosed trailer.

As in anything, you have to weigh all the options. Also remember that most fulltimers with fifth wheels do not have a second vehicle and get along fine.

Workinrvers · RV-Dreams Family Member

we have a "scout" vehicle that Rudee follows me in. We tow our cargo trailer with the Harley inside behind the motor home during the summer and then we store those at my daughters during the winter and tow our "scout" vehicle.
As far as one of us not being able to drive, we figure we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
You can always store the "extra" car in a storage facility lot (or maybe even a friendly RV park) while you move the rig and then come back for it later or it can be picked up by a friend/family member.

Phil

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Cheryl, may I suggest, that before you decide you really want a scout vehicle that you try FT RV'ing for a while? Some people decide a scout vehicle works great for them, others, like us have decided against it. Here's our situation, we both work full time, my job is virtual but I spend 40-50 hours a week on the phone / computer. Dale is an artist and has a work area in the 5'ver but when we're somewhere with agreeable weather and a spot with enough space he's happy to be working outside. So, we might be in the same rig or campsite but interaction during the day can be limited at times to little more than "do you need a coffee refill"???

We thought we would trade my car in for a van, load all the "stuff" we need to set up his art booth at the art shows we do which was the motivation behind why we went full time long before retirement age for either of us. We knew this would give us way more capacity to take "stuff" and we wouldn't have to worry near as much about the weight of all the art booth items in the truck, etc. So, we thought it made sense. It only took the 2 day drive from North Idaho to Eastern Wyoming before we really decided we didn't like driving separately. We're so thankful we didn't trade the car in only to feel like we wanted to sell the new van before the ink had dried on the title. We've been full time for only 6 weeks but we are so looking forward to selling my car and riding together again. Traveling down the road together is fun for us, we have some great conversations that we don't always have time during the work week and we also have fun planning, plotting and coming up with ideas of what we want to see or do as we head into a new area to explore. He also misses having "mission control" checking for the cheapest diesel in the next town or finding a restaurant we just have to try, etc. I can't be searching Gas Buddy or Yelp on my cell phone if I'm driving separately.

For us it also works out better as I do travel 4-6 times a year for my job. I can always fly out of one airport and into another one and have him pick me up at the next destination. We've already had one situation where we were delayed a day because I couldn't get back to our location on a Friday night, had to fly Saturday which made for a really long drive on Sunday to get to the next show site.

If we're ever somewhere, like Glacier National Park, where we can't drive the DRW, we'll rent a car. In the long run that will be cheaper than maintaining a second car anyways. Of course since we're both working full time our time to explore is more limited than those who are retired and we're going to try just having the truck for now. So now we've downsized even more, my car is filled with stuff to donate and we're just waiting until we get somewhere for 2-3 weeks at one time and have the time to list it and hopefully sell it.

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks, Ruth! The hope and goal when we're ready to FT, is that I will be able to continue my job remotely as a virtual assistant. My husband is a field engineer in the computer industry and his gigs take him all over the place, so hopefully he'll be able to continue that as well. But who knows? "Man plans and God laughs!" I guess when we see exactly what our situation is when we are finally ready to hit the road, that will be the deciding factor for everything. If he still has his gigs, he will need transportation from the campground to the site, which may be in a city or shopping strip (most of the sites are banks or retail) and a large truck may not fit where he needs to go. Plus I may need a way to get around if I want to leave the campground while he's out on a job (which a bicycle or moped could also accomplish).

I think that's really the biggest fear - having a truck that prevents us from going places because it's too big to fit in a parking space (I believe that's the case with a Ford 450).

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Cheryl,

With all due respect to whomever has advised you about the F450, but I can park in a "normal" parking spot. Granted, it is wider so I do park a bit away from the store and walk a little further. If I'm forced to park closer, I do so and then as a courtesy to others, I fold in the outside rear view mirrors. That also works in the event that others park close to me and I'm trying to get back into the truck.

As for using a scout vehicle, using online fuel price websites may be fine for getting one good prices on fuel, it does nothing with regard to whether one can get into the station with an RV. Back in 2009, we took our F250 and a 26-foot fifth wheel on vacation to the Pagosa Springs area. Driving through Santa Fe, I found one convenience store/gas station that looked like we could fit in. We got in and got fueled, but when we went to leave, to allow for the turning room, I had to wait for a couple of parking spaces in front of the store to empty to allow for the swing of the truck. Sadly, I didn't think that there was another route through Santa Fe so I missed the bypass that was west of town. If we had been using a scout vehicle then, it would have been easier to check out a good place to fuel up or eat.

There have been folks that have damaged their trailers trying to get around in stations. Trying to save a few bucks on fuel prices doesn't seem to be worth the possible damage to an RV.

Terry

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry - Understand what you're saying, we try to fuel the truck up when the 5th wheel is not attached. If we have to fuel up in route we generally choose a truck stop, not a convenience store. I'll pay a few extra pennies per gallon to avoid the damage.

Cheryl - understand your situation, if hubby is having to use one vehicle to commute to a job site, a second vehicle might come in very handy so I can understand that. Since we both work from the rig (or the picnic table), one vehicle will work for us. As far as parking the F450, no problem so far. Sometimes we do have to walk a little further but we've been able to "fit it between the lines" in downtown Langley on Whidbey Island. Think, small tourist town, special events weekend and all that entails and we still found a good parking spot 4 spots down from our favorite pizza parlor on the Island. Now the cars on either side of us were small cars so that helped but by the time we finished eating we had SVUs on either side and we still didn't have any issues backing out of the spot. The only issue we've had was one small town where we needed to parallel park, truck was a little too wide due to the narrowness of the street unless we wanted to put the wheels on the curb.

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

All great advice; thanks!

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

As for fueling, why not use a truckers app on your phone to locate truck stops that are big rig friendly? If you have two tanks it makes it much easier to fill when you have a slave pump. There may be a good reason so enlighten me if I'm not seeing something.

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We found ourselves in a position like Terry was and this was with a van towing a 24 ft. trailer. The issue was that there were no other gas stations. We got in easy enough but......... Great suggestion on using truck stops. We try to use Flying J when we can since we have had good luck with them and know what to expect, more or less. When staying long term in AL, we saw a lot of scout vehicles coming into the park to check it out and find the best slot available.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm glad Ruth mentioned something because it reminded me to make note of it here. Even with our F150, I have a tendency to back into a parking spot instead of pulling forward into it. That way, I can maneuver in and be able to see the lines on at least one side to gauge by and get pretty well centered. That has two additional benefits. One, I can get out and walk to the front without having to walk around the "flared" fender over the rear wheels, and by folding in the mirrors, it is easier to walk forward. Two, when we go to leave that parking spot, it is so much easier to see traffic in the parking lot just by looking left and right and not have to be looking back all the time.

Terry

MaryBee · RV-Dreams Family Member

I am glad to see this topic!

The dh and I have been discussing this very issue except the reasoning for our "scout vehicle" is because
we are heading to Florida for the winter and typically we pull a trailer with our golf cart and kayaks behind
our 5ver.

Well, as you most know....you can not double tow in Florida and I really wanted to take my Kayaks with
us and I really like my little car that is already fit for kayaks on top...so I suggested to the DH that
I drive my car with the kayaks on it and he drive the tow and Fiver....

Well, the DH really does not like the idea of us driving separate for the fact of conversation, helping to get
him thru the busy cities (watching his back) and looking for gas stations, places to park for the night...
yadda...yadda...yadda....

But darn, I really wanted to drive my car! Oh well, what ever makes the Old Man happy I guess!

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ken and Mary,

While I can see the circumstances where the driver of the RV would like to have his helper, a scout car can be used in a way that has not been mentioned within this thread. If there are doubts about way-points or destinations, many people have parked the RV and both then go in the scout car to see the best route to a spot or into a RV park or campground, a fuel station, and is really handy to go off the highway for a meal in a place where no one would want to take an RV.

Just a thought that all that can be done and then it's a simple return to the RV to complete the trip to the destination.

Terry

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry and Jo wrote:
Ken and Mary,
While I can see the circumstances where the driver of the RV would like to have his helper, a scout car can be used in a way that has not been mentioned within this thread. If there are doubts about way-points or destinations, many people have parked the RV and both then go in the scout car to see the best route to a spot or into a RV park or campground, a fuel station, and is really handy to go off the highway for a meal in a place where no one would want to take an RV.
Just a thought that all that can be done and then it's a simple return to the RV to complete the trip to the destination.
Terry

Where would one park the RV? I imagine you can't just leave it on the side of the road.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Depends on where one is located. If out in the middle of nowhere, one would likely look for rest areas and such, but mostly it is useful in a city where one doesn't really want to be driving around so many corners and such, so finding a parking lot of a church or business would work for there. In the area of an RV park, one can leave the RV at many entrances and drive through the campground to view the best way to a site, provided that the RV park of campground doesn't have someone to lead one to the site.

It has been a long time since I've been able to keep up with Howard and Linda's journal, but they used to do that a lot at parks.

Terry