RV LIFESTYLE
- Thread starter Ramblinman
- Start date
olroadbeech
Happy Verified UPSer
We just have a van that can be parked anywhere. It looks like a contractors van so a lot of times we can park in industrial areas at night and blend right in.
anyplace like 24 hour diners, walmarts, and truck stops are great. the noise does not bother us in the truck stops. It's music to my ears.
the one place we rarely stay is rest areas. too many sketchy people creep thru and have given us trouble in the past. people bumming smokes or asking for money or things. got robbed once and almost robbed a second time years later convinced us to stay out of them unless necessary.
our best experiences were in Florida. Ft. Lauderdale and down south to the keys. Worked a little or just picked up cans for gas money . A really good trick is to have a metal detector. Looking for coins and rings and such. But the best part is that it is a conversation starter. People are so curious about what you find and before you know you have made a new friend. Sometimes they will invite you over for dinner and a place to park for the night.
The Keys are absolutely fabulous but it is hard to find a free place to park. You will be woken up by the local cops and told to move on. We found jobs easily to stay busy, make new friends , and earn gas money. In a couple weeks or a month we moved on. Employers are used to that down there.
The best time for us to go anywhere is offseason. When we were young we loved the crowds and the party atmosphere but now we feel like locals anywhere we go and want to just blend in.
Even though we have the money , we like to take part time jobs because we get to make more friends that way and learn about the people. the scenery may be great but it is really the people and the experiences you may have with them is what you really remember.
anyplace like 24 hour diners, walmarts, and truck stops are great. the noise does not bother us in the truck stops. It's music to my ears.
the one place we rarely stay is rest areas. too many sketchy people creep thru and have given us trouble in the past. people bumming smokes or asking for money or things. got robbed once and almost robbed a second time years later convinced us to stay out of them unless necessary.
our best experiences were in Florida. Ft. Lauderdale and down south to the keys. Worked a little or just picked up cans for gas money . A really good trick is to have a metal detector. Looking for coins and rings and such. But the best part is that it is a conversation starter. People are so curious about what you find and before you know you have made a new friend. Sometimes they will invite you over for dinner and a place to park for the night.
The Keys are absolutely fabulous but it is hard to find a free place to park. You will be woken up by the local cops and told to move on. We found jobs easily to stay busy, make new friends , and earn gas money. In a couple weeks or a month we moved on. Employers are used to that down there.
The best time for us to go anywhere is offseason. When we were young we loved the crowds and the party atmosphere but now we feel like locals anywhere we go and want to just blend in.
Even though we have the money , we like to take part time jobs because we get to make more friends that way and learn about the people. the scenery may be great but it is really the people and the experiences you may have with them is what you really remember.
burrheadd
KING Of GIFS
The Milkman
Well-Known Member
wkmac
Well-Known Member
That van looks like it has made multiple trips from Fairbanks to Deadhorse and back (Dalton Highway).
The Milkman
Well-Known Member
This is a Walmart In Whitehorse Yukon, it was packed, there was Shell station next to it that had a dump station, water, propane etc. So it was a good place to spend the night, note The time on my watch
burrheadd
KING Of GIFS
Donner Pass mostly
wkmac
Well-Known Member
When we make the run from Dawson to Tuktoyatuk, we plan on a Sat phone and may go with Sat internet hook up. We are also going to get the license to run Ham radios but might even go for the general license to run even more powerful radios.
Once you enter The Dempster, the sign clearly sez there are no emergency services beyond this point so you are entering hundreds of miles of some of the most remote travel you can take on the planet. In winter, Hurricane Ally above Eagle Plains can be very deadly for those unwilling to play the wait game with the weather. 50 below and 100 plus mph winds in the open tundra is itself a killer.
Our current nav setup we are building for use south of The Dempster uses a Delorme In Reach for Sat/GPS up and downlink synched to a tablet for both mapping and with the In Reach, texting functions. Probably incorporate a HEMA system as well along with Google Earth. Using Ram Mount hardware to mount devices which can even synchs to the truck's ECM that we get on the fly input on the truck's operating systems from oil temp/ pressures to battery/alternator output/condition to trans temps and everything else in between. Once you leave Dawson City headed for the Northwest Territories, there is little room for error.
wkmac
Well-Known Member
Had friends describe watching the sun set in Tuktoyatuk at 2:30 am and then the sun rise about 4:00 am. Still it never got fully dark.
Even wilder was being on a boat well out in the Arctic Ocean at the mouth of the McKenzie River where the sentiment outflow is so much, the water is mid shin deep and you are in the water running around in what feels like the middle of the ocean. Look up and you see caribou out there as well.
Amazing world we live in.
The Milkman
Well-Known Member
We left late May 2010, when you get up to Washington State & B.C. your days get longer. You just have to remind yourself otherwise you will be driving till Midnight wondering why you are starting to get tired. can make good time on the road
Areyoukiddinme
best 2 weeks ever
thanks for starting this post, for a couple months now I've been toying with the idea of buying an older class c mid 80's somewhere in the 23 to 25 foot range. I found one and we are gonna go take a look at it today(if it isn't already sold). I'm thinking if I get in on the cheap with something sound mechanically I can update the interior. Any thoughts on what I should look for or avoid? I figure if we like using it we can upgrade if not its no big loss.
olroadbeech
Happy Verified UPSer
I would go with a toyota for a lot of reasons. and if i found a good one, then i would pay a mechanic give it a looking over. cosmetics would come later.
there are some great RV forums out there also that would give you some good info.
Areyoukiddinme
best 2 weeks ever
thanks, I'm looking at some websites now
The Milkman
Well-Known Member
My 1st thoughts are, the drive train, how many miles, has it been maintained faithfully. I have since day 1 kept all my records. When they sit, many things can happen. The water heater for example, I flush it out every year and check the anode because of the hard water buildup from the water at campgrounds, dump stations etc. You need to maintain that fairly often, mine is propane so not sure about electric ones, the regulators could mess up on propane ones. The fridge on mine is a/c, d/c and propane. another appliance which needs to be maintained. If it has a generator they need to be run at least once a month under a load at least an hour or so, so the carb does not get gummed up. I use a gas stabilizer when I am not going to use the rv for a while, so the gas does not get stale, check the tires for outside weathering, these things are heavy once loaded with water and gas. Run the water, etc, check the interior for water stains in and around window frames for any sign of a leak. Have a mechanic check the engine out for you, once you lift the hood you should be able to tell if it has been maintained. Is the air filter clogged up etc, wires all dried out? Also get up on a ladder and check out the roof, look for cracks and or signs of previous repairs, check the a/c. the list goes on and on. I paid too much for mine to let it fall in disrepair, I want it to last
MC4YOU2
Wherever I see Trump, it smells like he's Putin.
Check the inside ceiling and inside all the upper cabinets for water stains. If there's any stains there is probably mold as well.
A class C is a two headed beast, both trailer and drive vehicle combined wth twice as many systems and things to check. Worth the money to have a good RV mechanic to give it a thorough going over to point out things a novice would easily miss. Anything they find gives you bargaining power if you decide its worth it.
A class C is a two headed beast, both trailer and drive vehicle combined wth twice as many systems and things to check. Worth the money to have a good RV mechanic to give it a thorough going over to point out things a novice would easily miss. Anything they find gives you bargaining power if you decide its worth it.
Areyoukiddinme
best 2 weeks ever
thanks what do you think about length is 23 feel enough
A P1000 is a little over 25 foot.
The Milkman
Well-Known Member
As you can see mine is a bit over 20ft. I remember an old senior man in our center telling me to get the smallest one you feel comfortable in. He was an rv'er for years. As you can see my wife and I are not small people, yet we went to Alaska 2 times , each one over 3 months in length. We managed, take the boss, walk around the inside, try to pass each other etc. The smaller you are the better gas mileage, easier to pull into campgrounds, get under low bridges, pull into walgreens etc. The only downside is if you are in the doghouse with the boss you have nowhere to run and hide LOL
Areyoukiddinme
best 2 weeks ever
haha
brownmonster
Man of Great Wisdom
I'm convinced. Priceline hotels as you cruise along.
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