If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that like us, you too have made the decision recently that you’d like to get into the RV lifestyle, part time or maybe even full time, and have begun your pursuit of that goal.   I imagine you’re here hoping to learn enough to keep your misteps to a minimum.    Deciding to jump into this whole RV thing can be overwhelming and downright scary.  My wife and I made our decision some months ago, (well over a year ago actually),  and I thought that by chronicling our own experience (we’re getting awfully close), it might help others in some small way, and if nothing else, it helps me mellow out my excitement a little and calm my nervous trepidations as we get closer to reaching our goal.

Now, while we definitely consider ourselves to be novices when it comes to the RV lifestyle, I should explain  that's it actually  not our first rodeo, although the “horses” we rode  back when were much smaller and tamer than they seem now.  Our first trip in an “RV” was a short vacation in a borrowed tent trailer.  My wife and I, along with the in laws (who had never camped in their lives), and three of our four “bb in a box car” kids, camped for a week in a campground on the Oregon Coast.  Enough said.  In spite of that, a short time later, this would be about ten to twelve years ago (okay maybe longer than that...twenty?), we purchased a 32 foot Airex class A gas motorhome, and for several years used it mostly for weekend camping trips, as well as getting to and from the four boys’ baseball and basketball games.  We enjoyed the dickens out of that rig, and in fact, with the youngest of our four sons,  lived “full time” in her for several months waiting on the construction of a new home.  Again...enough said.     But...over time, things changed, we found we weren’t traveling as much, and decided to sell the motorhome.  

The years past, and now thankfully,  we’re nearing retirement, in pretty good health...the boys are all grown up and out on their own, and after considering all the possible options, the wife and I agreed that we wanted to travel the country for a few years  and see the world  through the windshield of a comfortable RV.  

And so the process began....

We started by sitting down and establishing a time line.  Knowing we had sticks and bricks to sell, and all the downsizing that comes with it, it was going to take a little time.  We had to make sure we’d be prepared financially as well.    Our ideal goal was to be in our RV and on the road sometime during the fall or winter of 2016, or at the very latest in early 2017.  

Knowing we had a ton to learn, I set about my research, and before long stumbled across the RV-Dreams Forum here.  It didn’t take long to realize the huge wealth of information available on every imaginable topic, and during my research endeavored to absorb as much as  possible.  There are plenty of forums and other  resources out there on the Internet, and you’ll find them if you haven’t already, but I’d wager that the folks who make up the core of this forum are amoung the most knowledgeable, well intentioned and caring authors there are on the Internet, and before I go further, let me just say thanks to everyone whose posts I’ve read over the past months.   It goes without saying that my first suggestion... if you're just starting out, is to learn your way around the RV-Dreams forum, settled in with your favorite brew, and begin your study.  If you haven’t already registered, do so, introduce yourself to everyone, ask lots of questions  and join in the discussions.

At the same time that I began researching the various forums, I also wanted to identify as many dealer resources along with where to find private sellers that  I could...where to start shopping.  And I soon discovered  there’s plenty to be found, including such websites as RVTrader.com, RVT.com, Craiglist,  and yes ...even Ebay just to mention a few.  Nearly every commercial RV dealer in the country maintains an inventory on their own website.  You’ll find them and private owners listing RV’s on these  various sites.   Acting on the advice found here, we kept our ears open for RV shows and expos, and absolutely wore ourselves out on many an afternoon exploring acres of RV’s on display at these various exhibits.  As tiring as that was, it was the only way that we’d  able to reach a decision regarding what type of RV we thought we’d want.

It didn’t take too long for us to decide we wanted  a motorhome, (rather than a trailer or fifth wheel)...a Class A, diesel pusher, 36 to 40 feet in length, 2006 or newer, (we did not want to buy new...for several reasons.... but new vs. used... that’s a whole discussion for  a topic on its own, and you’ll several of those  throughout the forum), and we wanted something with under 50k miles.  Fiscally,  we set a budget of something under $130,000. After comparing the various manufacturers, including researching company history, consumer satisfaction, floorplans, reliability, affordability, etc, we further narrowed our preferences down to two manufactures including Newmar and Tiffin.  Given our finanical goals, we kind of figured we’d be looking at an entry level Newmar, or a Tiffin Phaeton (though I secretly held out hope for an Allegro Bus - it has options that I preferred over the Phaeton, but sadly...more expensive.)  I then registered these criteria into all the aformentioned web sites and began shopping around mostly on the Internet.  We knew that we had some months before we would start to feel “desperate” and agreed that unless a truly perfect deal on a  perfect RV presented itself, we’d be patient.   

I began nearly everyday over the past ten to twelve months,  routinely opening up the inbox, checking the alerts, and reviewing ads for units that fell within our criteria.  At the same time, we put the word out to friends and relatives (including some RV’rs) around the country, and had them  keeping an eye out for RV’s with “For Sale” signs in the window and checking the bulletin boards in their home park or places they visited.  I continued to study  the forums, paying particular attention to topics that focused on the particular models we were interested in.  I researched topics including financing, insurance, maintenance issues, RV parks and boondocking and others.  I watched every RVGeeks.com  video several times over, as well as every video and article posted by the other great bloggers  including “GonewiththeWynns.com” and “Technomadia.com” just to mention a few.    In spite of my efforts, when it comes to a knowledge base, I realize it’s a big learning curve and I’ve only scratched the surface.  

As spring of this year approached, we felt we were finally just where we needed to be financially, and started to get “serious.”  Maybe the RV gods were watching, or it was just blind luck, but it took less than a week before we learned of a rig that seems to be a perfect fit.  She’s a 2007 40' Allegro Bus, with about 40K in miles, well maintained, lots of the extras we’d hoped for,  loved by the current owners, and within our price point.  I quickly got on the phone with the owners and following several conversations, my  wife and I agreed this was  one we needed to take a stab at.   We made a conditional offer, which the current owners have accepted.  We were tickled to death!  

Whoops...hold on....the only problem is, we’re in Portland Oregon and she’s parked in San Antonio Texas, 2000 miles away!  Way too far away for a weekend jump in the car and drive  kinda trip.....Now some might consider that a possible deal breaker, but  again, learning from the advice gained here on RV-Dreams, we realized from the get go when it comes to RV’s you likely not going to  find that dream RV  in your own back yard, and you gotta be ready to travel, or you may very well end up settling for less. 

And so... here we are.  We’ll be hopping on a flight to San Antonio on Tuesday.  We’ll meet the owners, take a close, up front and personal look at the Allegro, give her a test drive, ask lots more questions, and as folks here will advise you,  we’ve arranged for a full coach  inspection by an certified  RV tech, just to make sure there’s nothing to worry about.  Assuming all goes well, we’ll be handing over a check before returning to Oregon on Friday.  The RV will stay in Texas for about three weeks until we get a few more “Oregon” ducks lined up, and then we’ll fly back down and drive her home!  Needless to say, we’re both terribly excited.  

I should add that there’s one other thing that’s convinced us that this is the right RV for us, and willing to gamble with  at a minimum a fairly spendy  plane trip to see her, and that’s the sound  impressions made upon us by the current owners.  Buying from someone you respect and trust is huge.  You might say it takes more than a few phone calls and emails to formulate an true opinion about someone, but the feel you get from your seller during those initial phone calls, emails and text messages is  something to pay attention to, and based on my interactions with our seller so far, I’ve developed a certain level of confidence and  respect for those folks on the other end of the line...  my gut tells me they’re good folks who’ve cared for and loved their  RV.  Just sayin....

I’ll post an update after or maybe during our San Antonio visit.   With any luck, before not too much longer we'll actually be "off to smell the roses."   I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our own little experience, maybe you’ve gotten a pointer or two, and if you like us, just now getting started in the wonderful and fascinating world of RV travel,  best wishes for you on you're own journey. Safe Travels!!

Jim

-- Edited by Offtosmelltheroses on Sunday 10th of April 2016 02:31:05 PM