Traveling suggestions please!

[Philos3]

My wife, who has never RVed before, will fly with me the first week in February to Illinois to do a factory pickup of a new 25 ft Class C for CruiseAmerica. We will head South and West to arrive in SF California ten days later, where CruiseAmerica will take delivery.

Any destination/sites to stay at suggestions will be welcomed.

[timfromma]

You can't beat National Parks if you like natural beauty. Alot of places close down this time of year for the winter so plan ahead.

[Philos3]

"so plan ahead"

Thanks for the information.

One advantage of renting this unit will be to test out some of our assumptions and beliefs as to whether or not we will like Rving together, AND if a 25 class C will work for us for us in the future, OR if we want something longer like a used 40 Country Coach Class A, OR to abandon Rving altogether.

As to planning ahead, way ahead, the next step in our game plan will be flying to Belize. After Belize, I would like to rent a 40 ft Class A for 10 days. Thereafter, France. All this year.

We will then play 52 cards pickup and go from there.

I'm purposely staying mentally all over the place...and not locking down my decision making.

[timfromma]

We went with a TT over a class C so we didnt have tow a vehicle with us.

[Philos3]

"TT over a class C so we didnt have tow a vehicle with us."

Obviously an excellent option I should have mentioned, and one I have spent a lot of time considering and researching. (like a Ram 2500 and moderate length Grand Design 5th or 30 ft Airstream tt, honoring the weight limits that some in this forum love to deny - very strange from my point of view.)

One big issue is that my wife continually and easily gets motion sickness as a passenger, and she hates taking motion sickness medication, so I told her she must drive sometimes, to include driving a 2nd vehicle when I'm driving. The above Ram 2500 option is something she could learn to drive and I think it is an acceptable daily driver.

As a result, I believe the best option is a motorhome for the first two years on tour. If we decide to buy one it would be with an eye to buying something like a Class B or C, then trading it in a year or two later for a longer used class A quality MH after traveling on tour around the U.S. - my original goal to see more of my own country after having visited some 35 countries internationally when I was a bit younger.

That could change if we find a half dozen or so destinations we want to continually return to, and get use to advance site planning with some knowledge of sites we like, which would also reopen the door on a tt or 5th.

Except accidentally, one needs to preference experience above logic as to what works long term (weight denial excepted). It is possible to rent an apt for an extended stay, so we are giving that some thought as well. And I don't know if we will commit to having our dog with us or re-home him if we decide to fly internationally instead of doing the rv routine.

[timfromma]

One idea we have for retirement is buying 2 or 3 small condos in various parts of the country and traveling between them as the mood hits us.

[lbrjet]

What is your planned route?


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[Philos3]

"buying 2 or 3 small condos in various parts of the country "

Those would be good investments, as are plots of land to put an RV on.

Maintaining it all in good condition is always part of the consideration.

An RV is not a good financial investment. It really is simply an entertainment expense.

[Philos3]

"What is your planned route?"

Generally south then west over 10 days.

I'm looking at some RV route planning software to help with the route.

I also plan to buy a large map of the U.S.

I'm aware of allstays and RVparky, so will use them to.

We revised the date to Feb 8th, so we have quite a bit of time to fuss with it.

It's a 25 foot winterized C, so that provides a lot of flexibility.

[lbrjet]

Generator?


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[Philos3]

It comes with a generator.

[timfromma]

Originally Posted by Philos3

"buying 2 or 3 small condos in various parts of the country "



Those would be good investments, as are plots of land to put an RV on.



Maintaining it all in good condition is always part of the consideration.



An RV is not a good financial investment. It really is simply an entertainment expense.

It's all just a dream for us at this point. We still have a good 20 years left in our working lives.

[Philos3]

I'm finished with work and am just beginning to move along. More of a goal than a dream for me, which is why I tend to be vague on some issues at this point.

If I had not traveled so much to so many different countries, I would probably think a lot differently these days. Some things that excite others just doesn't get it done for me.

[Teetime]

When crossing Arizona on I40, a really good CG is the Meteor Crater RV park about 20 miles west of Winslow. It's about 1/2 mile off the highway, and has the best shower/toilet facilities of any park we've stayed. We've hit others in Mojave and Amarillo, but will look elsewhere on our next trip.

[alsdas88]

Try not to judge owning a Class C by the quality of a Cruise America purchased unit. While the unit will be new, they typically are the least optioned lower level type units.
Before you buy, take a look at the many options available. If your wife decides she will like the experience, there are many options to choose from.
Have fun on your travels.

[Philos3]

To clarify,
1) primarily we want to see if we like touring together in an RV,
2) secondarily letting my wife test her assumption that a 24 foot RV is more than sufficient, and testing my assumption that a 24 foot RV will not be sufficient. I will miss not have a recliner, for one issue.

My wife is 15 years younger than me and has no experience in an RV, so she is mostly working off her imagination, rather than from experience. My wife loves taking pictures so I think she will be overjoyed.

Unfortunately, when it comes to me, evaluating quality, options, and classes, are long past well overdone. But buying has simply been untimely up to this point, which is why I have taken some of the wait time to become a qualified service technician and RV inspector during my retirement, among other interests.

We are, though, following our game plan which is to rent an RV, maybe more than once, and do some overseas traveling so we can decide based on a bit of mutual experience the direction to direct our entertainment costs.