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Old 02-10-2019, 10:34 PM   #1
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kudos to this forum...seriously

We bought our first trailer last June and went into this quite naive. I had NO IDEA how much there was to know and learn (and buy...sheesh!). I also didn't realize how much work trailers are as they are often not perfect even when brand new. I have lowered my expectations a little...unfortunate, but it allows me to sleep better at night.

I have to just say....THANK YOU to everyone who has patiently responded to my many questions in the various forums since last summer. What a GREAT FORUM! What GREAT PEOPLE! I know we are all invisible people to each other in various parts of the country and in different situations, but I LOVE the conversation. I have learned so much.

So again, thank you. Especially to those who know a lot and post a lot. Often, questions may have been asked many times before. I usually try to do a forum search before asking, but so grateful for those who take their time to help me and others due to a common/shared interested in camping and RVing.
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Old 02-16-2019, 10:03 PM   #2
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I went into this sort of the same way, but did expect it to be that hole in the road to throw cash into. The first year at least $4K was spent in addition to the trailer, just outfitting it. Other than a couple mods such as an electric tongue jack, surge suppressor/voltage line condition, a hitch storage rack and jack stabilizers the next year, that was it. It has been very cheap to camp. Been very pleased with our Coleman, everything has been working well. Turned out to not be that proverbial hole in the road after all. Now a boat OTOH......
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Old 02-16-2019, 10:26 PM   #3
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I went into this sort of the same way, but did expect it to be that hole in the road to throw cash into. The first year at least $4K was spent in addition to the trailer, just outfitting it. Other than a couple mods such as an electric tongue jack, surge suppressor/voltage line condition, a hitch storage rack and jack stabilizers the next year, that was it. It has been very cheap to camp. Been very pleased with our Coleman, everything has been working well. Turned out to not be that proverbial hole in the road after all. Now a boat OTOH......
I could have stayed in a lot of hotels for 40K
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Old 02-16-2019, 10:49 PM   #4
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I could have stayed in a lot of hotels for 40K



There is that, but then factor in meals and such and it quickly reduces how many trips you can take where a weekend trip to a local campsite can cost $20-30 for a weekend. Then there is the comfort of your own "home" and if there are more than 4 people in the group, like there is with me, 3 adults, 2 kids, then there are two motel/hotel rooms to deal with.



Then there is the quality of the hotel/motel rooms to deal with too. What got me into an RV was thinking about a trip to the Grand Canyon, figuring in the costs of the motels along the way, meals, etc. and by the time I added it all up, it was more than a down payment on the trailer. So far we got in a dozen trips in the 3 years we have had it. Would have had more, but I had truck issues last year the got resolved by replacing the truck.
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Old 02-16-2019, 11:41 PM   #5
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There is that, but then factor in meals and such and it quickly reduces how many trips you can take where a weekend trip to a local campsite can cost $20-30 for a weekend. Then there is the comfort of your own "home" and if there are more than 4 people in the group, like there is with me, 3 adults, 2 kids, then there are two motel/hotel rooms to deal with.



Then there is the quality of the hotel/motel rooms to deal with too. What got me into an RV was thinking about a trip to the Grand Canyon, figuring in the costs of the motels along the way, meals, etc. and by the time I added it all up, it was more than a down payment on the trailer. So far we got in a dozen trips in the 3 years we have had it. Would have had more, but I had truck issues last year the got resolved by replacing the truck.
LOL! I was just lamenting since my RV is sitting in the back yard up here in Georgia. We are considering going FULL TIME but trading this in on a full time type RV with a truck to match and towing a car of some sort. Kinda reminds me of a circus parade...
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Old 02-17-2019, 12:06 AM   #6
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LOL! I was just lamenting since my RV is sitting in the back yard up here in Georgia. We are considering going FULL TIME but trading this in on a full time type RV with a truck to match and towing a car of some sort. Kinda reminds me of a circus parade...



Ahh, the good life. I am planning to do the same when I retire, unless I win the lotto before that time.
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Old 02-17-2019, 12:32 AM   #7
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Powerball tonight!
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Old 02-17-2019, 02:11 AM   #8
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I recently read somewhere that most RVers bring their pets. And that most actually bought their RV so they COULD bring their pets with them
And when I say "most" it was over 50%. Just can't recall the actual number.
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Old 02-17-2019, 05:13 PM   #9
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I recently read somewhere that most RVers bring their pets. And that most actually bought their RV so they COULD bring their pets with them
And when I say "most" it was over 50%. Just can't recall the actual number.

Here it is:
If you have ever traveled with pets, you know how much enjoyment they can bring to your lives and your adventure. In a recent survey, over 75% of RV owners travel with pets; in fact in most cases they bought the RV strictly to be able to take their pets more conveniently.



https://www.rvrepairclub.com/article...s-to-consider/
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Old 02-18-2019, 12:29 AM   #10
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Personally I want to know who slept in my bed last,, that's why I have a rv
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Old 02-18-2019, 02:00 AM   #11
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Personally I want to know who slept in my bed last,, that's why I have a rv

Good reason!


And I don't have to wait 10 minutes while my wife checks for bedbugs and the bathroom for................I don't even want to know hahaha
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Old 02-18-2019, 02:05 AM   #12
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Good reason!


And I don't have to wait 10 minutes while my wife checks for bedbugs and the bathroom for................I don't even want to know hahaha
Exactly, I have no wife but I have heard too many stories about hotels and motels
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Old 02-18-2019, 03:32 AM   #13
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I could have stayed in a lot of hotels for 40K
But at the end of the day you would have spent all 40k with no assets remaining. At least with the RV, you still have some of that 40k after depreciation if you sell the RV. Or, you continue to use it in lieu of spending yet another 40k on hotel rooms,
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Old 02-18-2019, 10:30 AM   #14
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But at the end of the day you would have spent all 40k with no assets remaining. At least with the RV, you still have very little of that 40k after depreciation if you sell the RV. Or, you continue to use it in lieu of spending yet another 40k on hotel rooms,
...fixed

don't get me wrong, I like the lifestyle. We have been looking at going full time which the current RV is not 100% suited for. That being said, we are looking at DRV. I got trade in value of 16k for my two year old RV with ALL the upgrades. and yes, sometimes I wonder since I had to spend 50k on a truck to pull it with ... so, that's 90k invested.
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Old 02-18-2019, 11:18 AM   #15
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Kind of understand where you're coming from Franktafl. If we didn't snowbird in your state for 5 months out the year, I too would have second thoughts. Especially since our current is 43' long and severely limits access to state and national park campground. Like you're looking at; took a beating selling my gorgeous 2015 Voltage 3990, however not as bad as the dealer wanted to give me (16K less than I sold it for privately).
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Old 02-18-2019, 06:16 PM   #16
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Good reason!


And I don't have to wait 10 minutes while my wife checks for bedbugs and the bathroom for................I don't even want to know hahaha
All the hotels in all the many years traveling for business and pleasure and not one incident of bedbugs. In fact, I’ve never heard of an incident amongst friends and family or casual acquaintances either.

The only place I’ve ever heard of bed bugs mentioned along with a hotel is the National inquirer, and I don’t believe anything they say. I think you have a better chance of Winning the power ball lottery than encountering bedbugs from a hotel IMHO. However, AirB&B? That would worry me about bed bugs and all kinds of other unmentionables.
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Old 02-18-2019, 08:31 PM   #17
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I'm lifetime Platinum with Marriott, that's over 1600 nights lifetime for me and over 2 million points on my account. Needless to say, when I was traveling I would only stay at Marriott properties (mostly Courtyard) and usually only the ones I was familiar with.
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Old 02-19-2019, 12:13 AM   #18
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I could have stayed in a lot of hotels for 40K
Where's the fun in that?

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Personally I want to know who slept in my bed last,, that's why I have a rv
Me too! Searching the bedbug registry when making hotel reservations is terrifying.
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Old 02-19-2019, 03:48 PM   #19
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Where's the fun in that?



Me too! Searching the bedbug registry when making hotel reservations is terrifying.
There is a bedbug registry? Gosh. We experienced these ONCE in a hotel in Moab, Utah. But they were in the chairs/furniture. We had fashioned a bed out of two chairs for my young daughter. She woke up with bites all over here.

Honestly, when we were looking to buy our first trailer last summer, I had the same mathematical thought....how many hotels/vacations could this pay for.

Then I reminded myself that there ARE NO HOTELS in the areas we wanted to camp, and how nice it will be to carry have some comforts with us in these more remote beautiful areas.
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Old 02-19-2019, 05:08 PM   #20
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There's trips we take with the Voltage and trips we take in the car and hotel it. Each has it's advantages. Never seen a bedbug. We stay exclusively at Holiday Inn Express.

We just got back from 3 nights in Vegas with our Voltage. We had 3 adults, a teenager, 2 small dogs, and a large husky in our truck. I was thinking how nice it would have been to be in a Class A with room for everyone to move around. Wife won't let me add the Class A and also keep the Voltage
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