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Needing advice!!
Within the year we will begin our life long dream of traveling cross country in a RV, but which type??? With gas prices so high and driveable RVs' getting 8-10 miles to the gallon we are undecided what to do, We looked at a beautiful 34' Winnebago in excellent condition with 45,000 original miles and fell in love with it..but we would need to tow a car thus the gas mileage would be less. If we bought a towable trailer we have a vehicle to pull it (Jeep Larado) and would get 15-18 miles to the gallon. The fifth wheels are nice but we would then need to buy a truck. We will be on a fixed income and do not want payments so I guess that takes the fith wheel out of the mix. Any advice would be appreciated.
Also anyone that has gone cross country and would like to share their experiences I would love to hear from you.
thank you Mary Jane
Also anyone that has gone cross country and would like to share their experiences I would love to hear from you.
thank you Mary Jane
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Marilyn and Tim on -
It is still cheaper to travel in the motorhome than to stay in hotels. I get 7.5 mpg with a towed vehicle. We have camped for years and enjoy it much more than any hotel
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Permalink Reply by Nbar on -
I am also retired fixed income, I have a smaller class c RV. An Itasca Navion, just made a trip to yellowstone and around Wyoming (5100 miles). I towed a Toyota Yaris and got 13.5 - 14.5 mpg @ 60-63 mph. This RV is smaller but is great for 2 people and it's a Diesel. I could be more pleased with the way it handle through the mtns, great power and steering. The 2006/2007 models get 2-3 mpg better than my 08. I went through a lot of options ( large/small, gas/diesel, etc before I bought the Navion in 2007. Now with the fuel prices like they are, I am glad I made the decision to go with smaller more efficient unit. Good luck and happy motorhoming
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Permalink Reply by Ed & Sandy Sixt on -
We have an Itasca 36' on a Workhorse chassis. We are right around 7. Prior to this we had a 34' Coachman and we pulled a Mini Cooper with it. The Mini only dropped our mileage about .5 MPG from 8.5 to 8.
If you have major concerns about the gas prices, you may want to look at the new small C's on the Sprinter chassis. This small diesels seem to be getting around 20MPG and are capable of pulling a vehicle. They are pricey, but with current conditions, the price might be right.
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Permalink Reply by Ron Buckner on -
MJ,
First, have you ever RV'd before? If you've spent time back packing and tenting then you're comfort zones are substantially more adaptable then most, conversely if your used to Hiltons, then you need to be ready for the significant change RVing is. What kind of RV'ing do you see yourselves doing? There is a BIG difference in what each type of copach can do for you. If your going to be travelling extensively and flitting all over the local areas your visiting then a 34 ft MH is probably no where nears as good a choice as a converted van or Class C. If you plan on "destiny camping" where you'll travel to one specific area and spend longer periods of time there, then the needs change, and the rationale for comforts of home become more viable. If you haven't thought these thoughts PLEASE rent a coach, and go out and see what kind of lifestyle you want to have. I can tell you that once the rugs are full of mud and the glamour of the hoed for lifestyle has had a chance to become the day to day you live with, the thrill departs quickly. Another thing, Price is compartive. We bought our 33ft AIrstream MH from a retireing preacher, He loved his MH and wanted nothing more than to make sure it continued to serve God in the way it had for him. Once he discovered who and what we were all about, he offered us the coach for what we could afford. I would tell you there are deals like that out there for any vehicle or combination of vehicles, You have to look, but far more impoortantly you have no why you want what you want.
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Permalink Reply by Mary Jane Hodge on -
Ron, thank you for responding, We plan to fulfill a dream of going cross country and seeing the US, each and every state. Many years ago we did alot of camping with our children in a tent trailer and while we have great memories we are looking for doing this in a RV. Due to a serious accident my husband had we will need a RV that needs minimal setup, we have looked at a 1999 winnebago, 34 feet in excellant condition at a reasonable price. It is just hard to make a decision with the price of gas, is it more reasonable to drive or pull. We are on a fixed income, I am working now but would like to retire in June, 09. I am a nurse so I could feasibly work along the way if I needed to. More than likely we will wait until spring to do anything after we see if the economy improves. Thank you again for your response. Mary Jane
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Permalink Reply by Ron Buckner on
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MJ,
Sounds like a fun trip! Given your history, the comfort zone thing shouldn't be an issue for you and a 34 ft Winny should be more then big enough to keep you two from killing each other on a trip like this. Having owned a 5 the wheel before this and a 33' Land Yacht now, I can tell you I definitely prefer to drive. But i would counter that my usage for an RV has changed, making mobility a higher priority, and from my perspective the price of gas is irrelevent. It simply is what it is. If your monthly income is settled, then you simply travel at the rate it will allow you to.You set up a budget for travel, and then go as far as the budget will let you. If it's not far enough then wait out another pay day. It sounds simple, but what's the hurry? In some cases a limited monthly income can actually be a blessing because it makes you slow down, and it gives you a real chance to know the area your going to. Its simply a question of perspective.
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Permalink Reply by Jack & Nancy Van Dorn on -
Hi Guys, We are doing pretty much the same thing and went through the same set of questions. We considered a number of different options as you are doing. We didn't feel comfortable getting 8 to 10 miles per gallon to say nothing of having to tow a car or something behind the RV. I used to pull trailers coast to coast so I know some of the problems associated with a towable RV. The only one of these I would consider would be a "fifth wheel". But we finally decided on a unit that we can park in any parking lot and go out on any road paved or not as long as it is passable for trucks etc. like logging roads and the like. It's also great on the open road. We are averaging 23.6 mpg on diesel. We chose an airstream 22' on a Sprinter chasis. It's easy to drive, economical to operate and has everything we need being fully self contained. There are several manufacturers that build on this chasis and I'm sure you will find something that you will like. Think about it.
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Permalink Reply by Ron Buckner on
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OK I'd be lying if I didn't say you've tweaked my curiosity. Can you send me some links?
Ron
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Permalink Reply by Jack & Nancy Van Dorn on
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Ron Buckner said:
There are a great number of builders. Almost any larger RV dealer will have information about the brands they handle. You could also try some of the on line classified sites looking for the class B Sprinters. These can be Dodge (generally) or Frieghtliner or Mercedes. They are all essentially the same.OK I'd be lying if I didn't say you've tweaked my curiosity. Can you send me some links?
Ron
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Permalink Reply by Ron Buckner on
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Yes I think I'm going to have do that. We're just beginning to run family marathons between Texas and Washington (grandchildren), and I have to admit the need for our 33 foot Class A Airstream maybe slightly diminishing, I figure these runs are going to cost us just under $2k per trip, and while the amenities are perfect, the need for all of them may not justify the cost (but then that's a logistical decision my wife must negotiate). The point is, at 23 mpg I should be able to pretty much cut that $ cost in 1/2.
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Permalink Reply by Jack & Nancy Van Dorn on
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You, of course, will loose some of the "living room" comforts, because that is the first thing you loose when going to a class B. We chose the Airstream for many of the same reasons you undoubtedly had when you chose yours. We did make one major change that was easy and simple. We changed the convertable bench seats in the rear. They originally converted into a Queen sized bed. Because it was then required that you enter and leave the bed at the center of the foot (or head depending on how you chose to make it up) and my wife being slightly infirmed, we found this to be too inconvenient. So we removed the seats, keeping the framework mounted to the coach, and replaced them with twin beds attached to that same framework. We now have ample room in the beds and am able to enter ad leave the bed as you would at home, more or less from mid side. Being able to make up the beds and leave them made creates a much more pleasant circumstance at bed time and they can still be used for extra seating, through the use of pillows, because we left the seat belts in place too. Different makes have different floor plans but we chose to avoid the electricly operated furniture and use the KISS system. Another thing about the Airstream is the tankage is inside except the black water and even it has a heater that reduces the threat of freezing. Perhaps some of the other makes also have this feature too. Enough said, pardon me for getting carried away with this type of RV but it has far more conveniences than those you have to give up. The ability to stop at any restaurant or store and park in the same area as allowed for an auto or pikup, the "get up and go" at the drop of a hat and the ease of handling far out weigh the reduced storage and the availability of Chairs.
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Permalink Reply by Ron Buckner on
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The conveniance/inconveniance issue is no where near as important to us as resourse management. This last Summer we took the MH with our daughter and two granddaughter's on a little jaunt of about 6000 miles from Texas, through California, up through Washington state, and back. Now we have two new grandchildren in Washington and the question is going to come down to what kind of useage for our MH she wants to do, and what we can continue to afford. At this point, I'm almost positive nothing is going to change. We thouroughly love the Land Yacht (regardles of the mileage) and it's perfect for the local outings we do in the south. And, we don't neccessarily need to take the MH up there every year, one of our sons has a room up there for us. I just want to. Who wants to fishing without a fishing pole?
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