Living 5 years or more in the same rig owner questions... - RV-Dreams Community Forum

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Living 5 years or more in the same rig owner questions...

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

Have had our rig for 8 years, she's still running so why look at something else. There is something to be said for not having the latest and greatest especially with all of the electronics that can go wrong. We were going to pull the stove out and replace with a cooktop and drawers. Put that off and now don't see putting the money in, but that would have made life easier for me.

Barb

-- Edited by Barbaraok on Wednesday 22nd of January 2014 05:42:07 PM

igotjam · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have fulltimed for 7 years in 2 5th wheels. Not the 5 yrs you asked about but here it is anyway. Our first rig was 4 years and our current rig 3 years. We originally wanted a 5er that you could get to the fridge and toilet without moving slides. In both of our 5ers we could also use the bed without opening the slides. Those choices were good ones. Our first 5er had slide problems which necessitated living in it with the slides not out and we have weathered tornado areas and stayed with the slides closed. We have been happy with the floor plan of both rigs and could not see changing. You get used to what you have and use it accordingly (maybe we were just lucky?). The only reason we traded our first one after 4 years was the poor build quality and constant repairs. Our second one appears to be better built and we anticipate owning it for years to come. Both were purchased new. The one thing that we might do differently is in the suspension/rolling gear. Our first 5er had Mor-ryde IS with 17.5" tires while our second has traditional springs and axles and 16" G rated tires. The Mor-ryde IS was totally trouble free (unlike the rest of the trailer) whereas our current springs/axles set up needs constant attention.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We went on the road fulltime with our part-timer RV. It worked for a while and we could have kept it for many years and been OK. We know this since some friends had almost the same RV and fulltimed in it for 8 years before trading for something else when it wore out, since it really wasn't made for fulltiming.

But, with experience we knew what we wanted and moved to the one we have now. It has been 9-1/2 years and we are still happy.

A good friend was in your shoes, having to buy something without enough real experience. So he bought the cheapest RV he could stand to have, knowing in a year or two he would trade for something else. It took him 5 years before he traded. The cheap RV was OK, and he was having too much fun to look for something else.

Some seem to find the right one first, others seem to change every few years. Which group you will fall into seems to depend on personality and how in touch you are with your true wants and feelings.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

While we've only been in our fifth wheel for 3 years, I don't quite meet your 5 year requirement. However, as an alternative thought to igotjam's comment, we have one with a side bathroom. With the slides in, we cannot reach the bedroom or bathroom. However, if any work needs to be done in the bathroom, there is lots of room to do it. I get claustrophobic just thinking of trying to work on a commode in one of those itty-bitty commode rooms.

Terry

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry:

I had given some thought to the issue of available space when the slides were in but not so much to acess to things when they were in. I haven't had the opportunity yet to see any unit with the slides in, only imagined as if they were in.

Bill:

At this time, our vision is a gently used to new rig, we were going to commit our S&B equity to it and get best we could handle. We had not considered getting the cheapest we could stand and then upgrade later, we'll have to think about that a bit. Hmmm

igotjam:

We 've already decided that the Mor/Ryde IS is the way to go(based on great advice given to us on another thread) on whatever we get if we go with a 5er. How often does lack of access to the bed(slides in) actually occur? I can imagine it ocasionally due to weather but are there other times it happens?(we have very limited experience with slides(two weeks in a 32' class C)

Barb:

Totally with you on the "if it still works why change it" thought.

-- Edited by biggaRView on Thursday 23rd of January 2014 09:08:58 AM

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Wish I could go 5 yrs.....I tend to sell it and move up or down every 2......keep in mind I buy and sell used units on the side so nothing is permanent for me at the moment!

Selah · RV-Dreams Family Member

I often see the phrase "buy you last RV first" or similar. That's more luck than planning. Most people are probably like us in that you don't know what you don't know when buying your first MH. We did lots of research on the various forums before purchasing our first MH. Still, Not knowing how much we would actually use it or how much we would enjoy it we baught a 2013 Allegro 36LA. A very nice mid level coach.
Long story short, eight months later we traded for a 2014 Phaeton 42LH and six months after that we are living in it full time. For us, it took owning a coach for awhile to figure out just exactly what we liked or didn't like about the various aspects RVing. In addition our expectations changed as well as our entire life style.
If you are one of the lucky ones that get the perfect coach the first time, God Bless you. If your like most though, do the best you can the first time but realize that what seems perfect today may not seem so perfect tomorrow.

igotjam · RV-Dreams Family Member

WRT bed access when slides are in........we have done this a few times in bad weather.....you don't have to do this. The bigger problem is "what if the slide does not function?" In our first 5ver it happened to us. With the hassle of diagnosing the problem, ordering parts, re-ordering parts etc, we spent over a month with inoperable slides. If we had been unable to access the bed, toilet etc, we would have been in a motel.

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

igotjam wrote:
... The bigger problem is "what if the slide does not function?" In our first 5ver it happened to us. With the hassle of diagnosing the problem, ordering parts, re-ordering parts etc, we spent over a month with inoperable slides. If we had been unable to access the bed, toilet etc, we would have been in a motel.

Well, duh. That is so obvious no wonder I didn't think of it. Here I am looking for external reasons and I forgot mechanical ones. Well sort of, while we are trying to pay attention to good mechanicals that one just slipped right under the radar confuse . See there is a reason I asked this question biggrin biggrin biggrin

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

The best advice I can give you is to not buy or plan for the 1% "issue". Buy or plan for the normal use. You can come up with a scenario for just about anything....and all those scenarios lead you to some decisions that cater to the 1% situation. For example, I know someone who bought a motorhome - even though they liked 5ers better - because they though that "they could just start the engine and drive away" if they felt insecure in a situation. Sure enough - they can do that , assuming the car is attached or they are willing to abandon it - but I can tell you from 14 years fulltiming that the situation they are planning around is about as likely to happen as a lightening strike.

You get the idea, I think.

With the exception of major floorplan issues you will adapt to anything. And anything you find will not meet ALL your needs down the road. We are fortunate enough to be able to rotate out of our 5er every two years - and I can tell you that we are always changing "something".

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jack Mayer wrote:
.....The best advice I can give you is to not buy or plan for the 1% "issue". Buy or plan for the normal use.....
You get the idea, I think.

Got it. That is the way we figured it.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

While I read so much here as a moderator, I tend to forget what some folks have written in the past, so I don't know your plans for "making the jump" with regards to time. Jo and I took two years of research in considering both fifth wheels and motorhomes. We had the good fortune to have already seen the DRV Suites models, so that "kind of" became a standard that we hoped to achieve. We looked at everything with the knowledge that we would sell the home and everything in it and the RV would definitely be our new home for some time to come. So, we planned on looking hard at floorplans, options and standard features, and the structural aspects of each RV we considered.

A number of folks really want a floor plan where the access to the bathroom and bedroom are capable even when being towed so that they don't have to use facilities like truck stops and roadside rest areas. Our philosophy has always been that we would spend a lot more time in the RV with the slides out than with them in. After all, our plans are to be in one place longer than what most plan on doing. When we finally get to travel, we plan on parking in a "region" and spend perhaps 1 to 6 months checking out all the attractions that we want to see before moving to another "region." With that in mind, we wouldn't be traveling like the others do.

Terry

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry and Jo wrote:
.....I don't know your plans for "making the jump" with regards to time. Jo and I took two years of research in considering both fifth wheels and motorhomes. We had the good fortune to have already seen the DRV Suites models, so that "kind of" became a standard that we hoped to achieve....

Our "jump" is really set in Jello at this point but after Cindi visited with her retired father(ex FT RVer) in Rockport, Texas this week it's firming up as late 2019 or sooner if the financial side continues to improve by then.

Like you, we saw a DRV and it set an arbitrary "standard" and would likely be the upper end of the range of what we are looking at in 5ers. We have not begun to narrow the field of MH or 5er, or what models would would fit our finances/needs/intended lifestyle(not set yet). Our first impression is a 5er but it's not set in stone. Cindi saw a Winnebago Journey 42E and an Allegro Bus(not sure of the model) this week and fell in love with them. I have to admit they're very nice(from the info I found on the net) but a bit out of our current price range although a gently used one would be a possibility. We are taking in the Chicago RV show next month where my focus will be on mechanicals while Cindi will be looking at the utility/versatility of the interiors.

Lots of time to go so we are in no rush and will be able to hopefully make an informed decision.

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

If you are not planning to go until 2019 then I certainly would not make many decisions now. Things could - and probably will - change a lot between now and then.

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

We aren't. Based on what is available today, we have a Rig Budget in "today dollars" not including outfitting expenses for which we have an estimate based on good intel from many sources including your website pages on solar among others. Nothing is hard and fast yet. The only real decision we have made to date is get more informed on what is out there now and then follow the developements in the RV industry and RV community.

Dog Folks · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have lived in and traveled in ours 7 1/2 years now. Will we keep it? Yes, we have no choice, but even if we did, we would not change.

My wife constantly looks at other rigs, but hasn't found any particular one that suits our unique needs better.

At this point we have decided to keep the unit, upgrade, refurbish and further customize.

It is paid for, and we are 95% happy with it, so it comes under: "It isn't broke. Don't fix it."

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

When we bought our first motor home we didn't intend to full time - we were just going to make a six month trip around the country in our 30 foot no slides motor home to visit friends and relatives.
After a year we decided to full time and bought a new 35 footer with two slides.
We lived in it ten years and started snow birding this year. We did a lot of upgrades like adding an extra medicine cabinet in the bathroom, MCD shades, 32 inch LCD TV, and Traveler automatic dish on the roof, but still like the floor plan.

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Joe and Clay, thanks for the feedback. Good to hear your experience.

Zeek · RV-Dreams Family Member

biggaRView wrote:
One pearl of wisdom I have come across in my research is “buy your third rig first”. When we hit the road in a few years, we see ourselves going FT for at least 10 years so our interest is in an enduring floor plan, durable and well thought out design of mechanicals. Having been in your rig for at least five years, are you still happy with it? Would you stay in it another 5 years? If not, would there be another choice (floor plan-wise or construction detail)? What issues with the floor plan, equipment choices, etc. have you encountered that you would change if you were going to get a different (new or newer than you currently have) rig? I don’t want any “this builder is better than that one” comments, I don’t want other readers to be offended by that stuff and I’m researching that separately anyway. I know tight spaces are going to be an issue regardless of what we buy but which ones give the most irritation would be interesting. Desired locations of control panels, layout of water and sewer hook-up bays, room or lack of it for system upgrades(I’m thinking solar for example), recommended options/aftermarket upgrades to include in a new(or new to us) rig purchase and so on. I know, I know, a lot to chew on here.
I realize a lot of these will be individual choices. Already, we have formed our own opinion on many things. Hearing from those who have become accustomed to their own rig for an extended time should shed a fresh perspective on things we might not have thought or thought enough about.

-- Edited by biggaRView on Wednesday 22nd of January 2014 10:18:51 AM

Excellent question . . . I contemplate the same evileye