Wondering if I am going backwards or full circle

[Terier]

I tend not to use something I'm not crazy about to start with. Unless both of you are on board with the replacement RV it might sit even longer than the one you have now.

[Normy]

Originally Posted by WWTTA

I would like to chime in and add an "older" woman's perspective. I agree totally with your wife...you may both be in excellent health and great shape....but time does take a toll, and women and men ARE different. Downsizing makes perfect sense, both from an economical point of view, and ease of maneuvering the unit. However, it is unrealistic to assume that it is no big deal for a woman to give up a fair size rest room and a comfortable bed when the facts are that aging is happening all the time, and those "luxuries" make camping and traveling comfortable. YOU may not want or need those luxuries, but most older women do...otherwise, the trip may be fun, but sleeping and taking care of nature calls can be miserable...before long, the trips stop being fun altogether. That being said...have you looked at the 19 to 23 foot Micro Lite travel trailers? A used one would cut the expense, in case you don't use it as often as you plan, and the comfort would still be there on trips...and the smaller units go just about anywhere a pop up would go. Hope you find a unit you both enjoyand hope you'll let us all know what you decide on...and why you decided on it.

Well said. I kinda just thought it was a woman's prerogative to complain just for the sake of complaining (kidding of course, we've been together 29 years).

I see your point. My needs tend to be simpler, so I base things on how it affect me more so than us, a "tree" off into the woods is good enough for me so too speak.

I will obviously try to keep her happy because what's the point otherwise.

Thanks
Normy

[Hoglou]

We too are empty nesters. We too were in a pop up. As it was mentioned every trip is weather sensitive and prep time is compartitvely high. We looked at a TT in the mid 20s in length as we have a TV,but we went with a small class C and a jeep toad. We could not be happier. We leave it "hot" 24/7 next to the house and can be on the road quickly. Pull the power, move up twenty feet and hook the toad. It takes the wife longer to fill the freezer in the coach. We even go to the lake over saturday night as set up is little more than five procedural steps after putting it in park. The concern I see from Normy is length. We have multiple "pusher" friends and yes my wife has had pusher envy when we visit the massive space. We are blessed with the resources to move to an A. We have even test drove four diiferent units but we always come back to appreiating our little C for the ease of driving and park anywhere. As a funny aside we frequently ask our pushers to pull over at the next Denny's or Waffle House for a cup of coffee and we get either it is not on our "route plan" or does it have a pull thur. We concluded that for us RVing is a balance of maximum creature comforts with the ease of use that in large part comes with size (equating to the number of uses when time is availble).

Think microwave popcorn over using a pot as we had to as kids (remember?).

[Exiled Bohemians]

I was also going to suggest looking at the R-Pod, we got a Vibe, but mostly because we have 2 dogs that take up as much space as a few kids.

If you so get the canvas, you will be adding another obstacle to getting out to camp - and that is your wife's unhappiness with the pop-up!

You want fewer challenges to overcome, not more!

Good Luck!


Traveling 9/1/2014 - 11/1/2014
2015 Vibe 6504 • 2005 BMW X5
http://instagram.com/bohemians_in_exile

[Ford Idaho]

Sell the MH, use the money for hotels.

I see no point in buying another RV if all you are going to do with it is look at it sit.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

Sell the MH, use the money for hotels.

I see no point in buying another RV if all you are going to do with it is look at it sit.

X2!...and yall will be comfortable, rain or shine!

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by Cajun Po-Boy

X2!...and yall will be comfortable, rain or shine!

No bed/s to make or floors, windows to clean.

Old saying, Waste not, Want not....

[Backcountry]

Originally Posted by Normy

Not necessarily use it more, but letting "something" sit unused more often. Currently for whatever reasons seem to arise, we haven't been able to camp as much as we have in the past. Now with the kids gone, it's even easier to just not get in the "woods" as we use too. With MH's or C's etc, the more they sit unused, the more you spend keeping it "running". We have our MH 6 years now and every year we use it less. That's just the way it's been. Life gets in the way sometimes for a lack of a better term.

Let me put it this way: if you get something that you or you're wife are not going to be as comfortable in, you'll probably want to use it less, resulting in more time having it spent inactive.

Get something with the times that you'll be using it in mind - not the times you won't.

[Normy]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

Sell the MH, use the money for hotels.

I see no point in buying another RV if all you are going to do with it is look at it sit.

I never said it would never get used? All I'm saying is as of right now is we haven't been able to camp as much as possible these past few seasons. And with the kids on their own, yes we will hotel it more for the further destinations but we don't plan on not camping.

Camping as most folks are aware (my opinion), is a certain lifestyle that not everyone would enjoy. Other than tenting it, camping is really not a cheap alternative for vacationing. To me it's a great lifestyle choice for slowing life down, getting families to create bonding and lasting memories. Cheaper? Not really. The bigger the"rig", the bigger the TV (tow vehicle) if needed. Also, if you want a "toad" for site seeing etc, usually you pull behind the MH or your spouse follows behind, or you rent one.

My point is not to get rid of the MH to save money, it's unless you have the "free" time to continually camp as much as you want, you are much better off having some kind of tow behind, than a class A, B, or C. These rigs require constant use to keep the motor and drive train in good condition. If you think about it, any time you let a "motor vehicle" sit around not getting some kind of use, it can literally rot out from under you. (I'm being dramatic of course).

We are not able to full time it, and I'm not sure we are the type to do that. Again, it's another dimension of a lifestyle. I can see maybe once retired, then take a year and roam the great USA, but that would be about the extent of it?

So rather let the rig sit and get "old", we both decided a smaller unit and the kind of camping associated with it. Keep in mind the larger rigs offer yet a certain style of camping. A lot of times it's resort camping or limited site choices & sizes required, pull thru's if you're even more limited to driving experience. It's not better or worse, it's just different. And from my experience, you can close up a tag along for extended periods of time and really only worry about mice or a fridge not working. ( Again, being dramatic).

All we want right now is a smaller unit to do the camping that we enjoyed most. Wooded, very wooded, out of the way. More choice sites, etc., things like that. We already have the truck to tow whatever we get, so that's not an issue. We like camping and will continue to do so.

So all I was wondering is if there is anything I can tell my DW about the Rockwood high wall that could persuade her to consider as a choice to think about? As I can tell they are much different from the standard popups like the kind I had in 1990. I bunch of you gave me great reasons why I should listen to my DW. They make sense and are valid, so I'm sure we will go with a TT.

I'm thinking if I can keep it 30 feet or under ( I believe the Rockwood HW popup is 28 feet open), that's where my train of thought was originally.

So as far as TT'S go, any suggestions for the Forest River brands?

Thanks all!
Normy

[handbuilder]

We had a 34' motorhome & used it for over 10 years. We sold it when it began to sit and not get out as much. It sat because our camping style changed, the places we frequented changed and the motorhome no longer fit our needs. We eventually bought a smaller 19' travel trailer and at the same time inherited my Dad's 33' motorhome, and picked up a 13' scamp style trailer.

I realized I didn't enjoy towing the 19' trailer and the entire time I owned it, I never used the on board shower (used campground bathhouse or trailers outdoor shower for a "horse" bath when boon docking) I decided to sell the travel trailer and buy a hard sided pop up.

I love how fast and easy it is to put up and take down. Towing is awesome and it doesn't cost much more in gas to tow. It tracks great with its low profile and I like that I can see behind it in my rear view mirror. Of the various rvs we've had, the A-Frame is by far my favorite!

We are empty nesters, and we use the A-Frame for travel as well as camping and glamping. We all have different camping styles. It's all about each user enjoying their rv in whatever way they choose - you know your wife better than any of us. I for one, will share no regrets in downsizing my rigs to a simple hard sided pop up.

Best wishes and happy hunting for your next camping rig!

[Papa GLS]

Normy
This my experience. Started with 35' MH. Didn't like driving it, so went very short distances & not very often. Downsized to 25' Salem TT & still didn't go far or often. Then went to R-Pod 178; liked it, went more & farther. Problem was bathroom & storage. Now have Flagstaff 21FBRS & love it. Just me & DW & have a bathroom & plenty of storage. Small & light enough to tow about anywhere. Just sharing my mistakes so maybe you won't make the same. Camping should be enjoyable & now it is.
Good Luck