I am getting a new roof today.
I’m headed to my training for Meals on Wheels this afternoon!
I’m on Day 10 of my giving.
I’m still going to AA meetings.
I found this great new debt management video:
***
Countup: 16 days of no drinking!
(I don’t feel sane enough to call it sobriety yet.)
Countdown: 141 days until I move into my RV!
30 Comments
Kudos! Keep up the excellent work. Let us know how the Meals on Wheels program is!
Hope you get some rest.
P.S. Hilarious video (I just now was able to sit down and watch it)!! And SO TRUE! We have never been ones to spend money foolishly but I know MANY who do. Honestly, “STUFF” gives me major anxiety!
1. I’m excited to see pictures and hear about your roofing project. Really. We need a new roof also.
2. I am also thinking volunteering for Meals on Wheels. Hope you blog about that, too
3. Day 10 of giving. No wonder you are exhausted.
4. AA Meetings! Keep up the good work!
5. Funny video!
6. Thanks for commenting on my blog. It makes me happy when you do!
7. Hope you get some rest.
An acquaintance of mine once told me that the reason he got married was because monogamy was the only vice he hadn’t tried.
Virtue is its own reward, they say. It better be.
Don’t get me wrong. Even I once yearned for a life of virtue. Then I got into Calvin and Hobbes:
http://progressiveboink.com/jon/images/calvinhobbes/jon1.GIF
Sigh. People are complicated.
Bob
Hi Jennifer,
Just checkin in on you. Where is the RV discussion today? Or yesterday for that matter?
During the years I yearned for a “bus” (same goal, different vehicle), when I became stressed about my business or life in general, my wife (Jennifer BTW) would say “lets get on the internet and you can show me some buses.” That was my therapy and she was my therapist I suppose.
So, show me some RV’s Jennifer!
Jennifer –
Awesome about your new adventure! Kudos to you for still going to AA. How’s the roof coming along? By the way – the last post was hilarious. I think it’s great that you have the guts to type about your experience so openly like you do.
Bob – you have given me a Calvin & Hobbes fix that I’ve missed!!! I cried when we were no longer have them in the sunday funnies. Thank you for that.
Kari
Dear Angie, Glad you liked the video! It makes me laugh so hard. The Meals on Wheels orientation was great. I’ll probably write about it after my first run next week.
Dear Barb, My roof should be done tomorrow, so I will know how it turns out by then. I went with the cheaper three-tab option, which was on this originally, but went with a darker color. I think I am going to LOVE the meals on wheels program. Once I know more, I will tell you all about it!
Dear Bob, The link didn’t work for me! I keep getting a “Forbidden” error. Ironic, huh?
Dear Gordon, Nice to hear from you again! Well, except for when Bob is spinning me in circles with ideas I’ve not considered, I’ve pretty much settled on the 2001-ish 36 foot diesel pusher Winnebago Journey. Maybe my next therapy step is to get out and drive some around! That Journey is my computer background right now, so I look at her everyday.
Dear Kari, I’m glad you liked the previous post. I was fearful I’d freaked people out. Tone can really be lost in writing sometimes…. Thanks for saying hello!
Jennifer
Me, too, now.
weird.
Try this, and click one down:
http://progressiveboink.com/archive/calvinhobbes.htm
“Virtue needs some cheaper thrills.”
Bob
Ha ha! I got it now. Great cartoon. Perfect for this post!
Jennifer
“Well, except for when Bob is spinning me in circles with ideas I’ve not considered, I’ve pretty much settled on the 2001-ish 36 foot diesel pusher Winnebago Journey. Maybe my next therapy step is to get out and drive some around!”
Indeed. By all means, drive it around. Extensively. And if you survive unfrazzled, consider something smaller.
Think about where you are going, and the size of parking spots available in most park and forest campgrounds. Consider where you camped in Utah. Consider going around switchbacks in the mountains, taking up both lanes around blind corners, and maybe just a bit of that thin shoulder above the thousand foot drop. Think about having to pass by interesting sites, because you can’t get into the parking lot. Think about maneuvering through a grove of trees, or just parking at a cafe in town. Think about lining everything up just right, every time, and mouthing prayers to Jehovah and Geometry every time you try to get into that gas station you can’t afford to pass by.
Think.
Bob
PS: I’ve nothing against motorhomes, per se. Not any more. Here’s the one I bought last spring. It is 22 feet long. It’ll park just about any place a pickup can.
http://i47.tinypic.com/sngk8p.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/ohis6w.jpg
I think he same way as Bob G……Last spring (2007)I traded a 40ft American Eagle for a 25 ft Winnebago Navion…..best thing I’ve done in years…after my wife learned to get by travelling with three lipsticks she started to tak to me again….
To Bob Gidding’s comment–we also have a Lazy Daze class C motorhome, for the exact reasons that you describe. The ability to park in State and National Parks, where there may not be large enough spaces for larger vehicles, and the flexibility to stop anywhere, not just where a bus can stop. Plus Lazy Daze are one of the most well-made coaches around. Bob, do you ever visit the Yahoo group LifewithaLazy
DazeRV?
Dear Bob, Fraser, and Cindy,
You guys are too kind to help me sort this stuff out. I sincerely appreciate it. (Can I pose a few other major life questions for you to work on? Ha ha. Just kidding. Well, maybe not really.)
A few questions/comments:
I am *really* drawn to the driving flexibility of the class C, and always thought I was going to get one. (I even looked closely at those really well made Lazy Daze) My concern is that it will not work as a full time living space for me. Do you guys full time in these RVs?
I am pretty introverted, so interior physical space where I can live and move comfortably for days at a time is critical. (I am not going to just hang out outdoors for extended periods. I just don’t do that when I am in that mode.)
I also rented a 25 foot class C and got bad cabin fever in it; but it didn’t have an open enough floorplan (big bed in back, no slide outs).
My current decision (with no perfect one available), is to think of my RV as my moveable house. I will have to park farther from things, but will get my home set up and use my tow vehicle to get me there.
Anyway, I sincerely appreciate you guys taking the time to help me figure out the issues. At least I don’t have to make the decision yet.
Another reason I am buying used is so I won’t take too big of a hit if I realized I want to get something different.
Thanks!
Jennifer
“(Can I pose a few other major life questions for you to work on? Ha ha. Just kidding. Well, maybe not really.)”
I can only “help” on the things I know something about. Traveling in an RV is on that short list.
Really, you may not be giving yourself enough time. It took me a year to be sure of my first purchase. After five years I got tired of it, and it took me two more years to find the Lazy Daze. The problems I mention are common, every-day ones that it is easy to forget when looking over earth-crushing land yachts that are all set up and not moving.
Not moving is what they do well.
Everyone wants an RV that is 20 feet long on the outside, and 40 feet long on the inside. The right design can give you something of that illusion, but you have to be patient looking for it.
I can ‘t help you with the claustrophobia. But really, you slept in a tent, right? Just think of your RV as a tent you don’t have to set up, and that comes with a complete kitchen and bath and a comfy place to sit and stand and sleep.
You are not coming down from a house. Your house didn’t travel. You are coming up from a tent. That’s the right attitude. You are not going to get out of this without compromise. You can spend a lot of money – money you don’t actually have – learning this racket. Or you can listen to those who already spent the money, and have the scars to show for it.
There is still the option of driving your car to the Arctic and staying in motels. That might be cheaper than buying the wrong RV.
The best advice I can give you is to spend a good deal of time alone in everything you look at. Listening to nobody, completely alone, just sitting. Imagine doing ordinary things in it, like reading or getting dressed or cooking. In time you will get good at this, and it will only take a minute or two. When you can imagine being comfortable doing all those things, breathe deeply and buy it. But not until you have actually sat in something like a hundred different units.
Sitting is free. So is frustration. It’s an acquired taste, like licorice. Take your time.
With a motor home, you also have to imagine it as your car, going the ordinary places you go. With a class C small enough, you won’t need to drag a towed car behind you. You do know that with a toad, you won’t ever be able to back up? Not even a foot. Don’t you?
Now, about that blind curve in the mountains, above the precipice, where you have to take both lanes to make it around? I know many such places. On regular paved US highways.
Did I mention the young couple you can’t see yet in the other lane, blissfully ignorant of the oncoming Blunder-Bus of Doom? They are so in love.
Did I mention the cute little girl in the back? With the pigtails? Did I mention the kitten?
Don’t make me get out the big guns, lady.
Bob
Although I agree with Bob, mostly, I too would say the same thing to my kids, but, I have re-evaluated my position (on your choice) and suggest that you use your heart and go for it….then, after a year or so, re-evaluate your decision…..I know that you have made your decision and that nothing will change your mind anyways….if after time you need something smaller, do it then…..now there is another thing that I shud bring up…..I think your MoHome maintenance budget is a way too low….what about two new tires at $300 each, oil & filter changes at $300 ea…etc etc…maybe you can change these youself but its a messy job….by the way AAA is good on the west coast all the way up (OR,WA,BC,YK,NWT,AK)….u need the RV Plus at the least…
Oh, no, I have not made up my mind. That would be a miracle! I like to feign certainty, just to get the illusion of stability from time to time.
I am on the Internet looking at used class Cs right now. I just called my husband and asked him what he thought.
He agreed that I need to sit in and drive a lot more motorhomes.
We both realized that the only class Cs I’ve driven were complete pieces of crap, so I need to test drive a nicer one for a real comparison.
We’re driving to Santa Fe in January, so we were just discussing how we would not drive a class A (we’re staying in a hotel), but would take a diesel class C.
There’s a whole new “class” of RV’s out in the last four years….the Sprinter chasis by Mercedes Benz, diesel, 18 MPG, slide, they keep changing the manuf name from MB to Freightliner to Dodge and now back to MB….Current issue of FMCA mag is featuring one….Winnebago was first (Navion and View) then Fleetwood, then Coachman and now a few others but they are all basically the same…..no or low maintenance….with slide quite roomy…..downside is that their price new is too high (especially for Canadians) so finding a used one is mandantory…good luck….
I started my search with the one you said you got, the Navion. (I like the Lazy Daze, but I need the slide out.)
I have found some 2006s online.
Do you live in it fulltime?
With the slideout (and rear bath floorplan), it really might be enough space for me.
If I stayed in the same price point, I could get something like this:
http://www.hrvc.com/rv/gulfstream/classc/69.htm
I’d probably still get a scooter, though.
Hey I know that RV…pretty good for the price….the engine size was changed in 2007 (2008 model year) sprinters with a lot more HP…..i got the new one and am impressed (3.0l,6 cyl,154 HP)…..no, we dont fulltime, just many short and a few long trips (to the Peace River district last sprong) and we tend to buck the norm (early spring and late fall) we live in Vancouver and its now parked on the street in front of the house…..used to feel guilty with bigger RVs there…In our big machine we had one of our most enjoyable trips…across Canada to PEI, south to NYC (to visit daughter at Juilliard)and back across northern USA…..thats a great trip for a larger RV….but, with all this s…t aside, you can (and I think have)make up your own mind….all these comments will just add un necessary frustration…..you’ve done your homwork well…can you tell where a poster (city) lives on your blog site??
Your daughter is at Juilliard? Wow.
I was stuck on a class C for a long time, then went to class A because I was comparing that diesel to a big class C gasser. (As well as some poor quality rentals and family motorhomes that I’ve driven and camped in.) Those smaller ones do have a lot of real appeal to me….
The frustration is good for me, I think! It will make me more confident in my decision when I finally make one. I’ve already realized that there is no perfect decision, just different good ones…
With regard to your last question, if I wanted to look it up, I could see the city where a poster is getting their Internet service. I am not sure how accurate that is, though. Why do you ask?
daughter finished 4 years ago….bfa dance….just started to dance for Hofesh ???(google them) in UK lives out of her suitcase….there is a blog on hitchitch Phaeton by a retired RCMP officer and his blog shows whos on line (city) without any registration…i found that facinating…..i was in Palm Desert last three weeks and it showed so on his blog page…..must register thru IP address as I am on Time Warner Roardrunner there
go to http://phaetonplace.blogspot.com/ if interested
Wow. Amazing about your daughter. I’ve never actually met someone who attended Juilliard. (Just many who dreamed of it.) I googled Hofesh. She must be *unbelievably* talented.
Regarding IPs, I think that is how it works. It freaks me out when I see, “Austin, Texas just arrived” on other people’s blogs!
That totally freaks me out:
Live Traffic Feed:
Austin, Texas arrived from livinginmycar.com on “Mark & Chris’s Phaeton Place”
“If I stayed in the same price point, I could get something like this:
http://www.hrvc.com/rv/gulfstream/classc/69.htm”
I lived full time for 4 years in a 27 foot fifth wheel. I considered it just right, so much so that when I came home for brief periods, I still mostly camped out in the driveway.
I think that is a good length for two people, also, if they get along well. There is room enough to get away from each other a bit.
That same length, 24- 27 feet, is a pretty sweet spot for a motorhome. I bought the 22 foot because it’s just me traveling, and it’s a particularly good plan, with two couches at the airy back that make easily into a king bed, plus a queen bed over the driving area. If you have claustrophobia, the area above the driver may be too close for you. It is certainly too close, IMO, for two people, one of which has to climb over the other and then deal with a ladder. Good way to break a leg in the dark. But it’s plenty good up there for me alone.
There’s a lot to be said for tucking the bed up out of the way over the tow vehicle, too, as in a fifth wheel.
Sleeping on couches can be very easy and comfortable, especially if you use a travasak, or some such sort of double sleeping bag that is easily rolled up and stored in the day time. But it can be miserable on the wrong couch, or if you are oversized like me. This is one of those things you just have to try out for yourself. At 6′ 4″, I found there were very few couches long enough.
But then I found the Lazy Daze. It was cheap, but it’s a little old (1992). Whatever brand you get, I would recommend something newer than 1999. Not only will everything probably still work, but that will let you get the Ford V10, which is just about bulletproof. I’ve got 130K miles on mine in the 2000 F250, and I’ve had no trouble at all other than wear items like brakes and shocks. Runs like new, and it will pull the world at speed. Mileage while towing around 10 mpg. Not bad, considering the weight it is pulling. But in any case, mileage is the least expensive thing about motorhomes. You can always control that expense by pulling over somewhere idyllic and contemplating paradise for a while.
Diesels are much more expensive to work on, and tend to wreck transmissions, at least in the Fords. I can’t comment on the Mercedes models. I’m too damn cheap to buy one of those.
Bob
Thanks for the feedback, Bob. You started all of this!
I am reading Crusin Susan’s blog right now: http://crusinsusan.blogspot.com
She full times in a class C, but she has the floorplan that suffocated me.
I need FLOORSPACE when I am awake. If I am running into corners, I go crazy. I do like (actually prefer) sleeping in the bunk up top. I opted for that over the rear bed in my rental. I would probably remove the dinette and have a smaller table to use with the sofa to get extra floorspace.
My husband will probably always prefer to stay in a nice hotel, anyway. (I’ll have to add that to the budget, of course, but he has more money than me…) He is also really tall and feels really cramped in the RVs.
“I need FLOORSPACE when I am awake. If I am running into corners, I go crazy. I do like (actually prefer) sleeping in the bunk up top. I opted for that over the rear bed in my rental. I would probably remove the dinette and have a smaller table to use with the sofa to get extra floorspace.”
And here I started out by recommending a Casita!
)
Though, FYI, here’s a table idea from a Casita group that creates space:
http://www.jeeptrek.com/ForumPix/BedMod/P2250001.jpg
I hope you don’t get “forbidden” on that one. Anyway, that’s a 2 foot round in pine that they got at Lowe’s. I thought about using it in my Daze. But I kind of like the way the table folds up to the cieling and opens ALL of the floorspace in the unit, but still come’s down when you need serious table space. I don’t have a picture of that, but here’s one with half the bed down and half up, you get the idea:
http://i47.tinypic.com/34hx7rs.jpg
I also like head room in the cab, so I cut the mattress I put up there almost in half and put it in a mattress cover. Now when I’m not in it, I fold it forward and then fold the platform forward. Then I can stand up from the driver’s seat and go to the back without going outside. When I want to use the bed, I fold it back down, and the bed stays made. It’s easier to see than to explain:
http://i50.tinypic.com/iqzk9h.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/wrghlx.jpg
Whatever you end up with, you are going to need a backup camera. Don’t worry if the unit doesn’t have it, they are cheap and easy to install. I bought this one at Sam’s Club for around a hundred bucks:
http://i50.tinypic.com/20zrzo5.jpg
Makes backing up a piece of cake, unless you have a toad. And if you hook the power from the parking lights instead of the backup lights, you can use it just to see what’s following you.
Bob
“My husband will probably always prefer to stay in a nice hotel, anyway.”
Just don’t ever let him shine a black light on those ‘clean’ sheets. It’s amazing what shows up.
Bob
if you are interested, i made a comment several hours ago that never showed up. Who knows why.
It had some pictures of how floorspace can be handled. In my Daze, I can walk the entire length of my RV.
Here are some of the best floor plans in the business. They haven’t changed them in 30 years:
http://www.lazydaze.com/flrplans.htm
My favorite is not the one I have, the Twin King, but rather the 24 foot Front Lounge with the rear bath. That one has no dinette, but rather a flip up table between two armchairs. Both plans allow you to stand up and walk nearly the length of the RV.
Born Free has similar plans. Unfortunately both brands are usually expensive and hard to find used.
Until recently Safari Trek made 24 and 26 foot Class As with a trick bed that lowered from the ceiling into the living room. Here is one, but I’m not sure it’s the 24 footer:
http://www.travelizmo.com/archives/001347.html
I drove a used one in Austin last year. Pretty posh, but a slightly low ceiling in front because of the bed. I had to bend my neck. No sale.
Bob