Okay so I'm not really a camping kinda gal... and DH wants a camper, or RV ... so what do you suggest?

[rideswithchrist]

There are are also the camping PLACES to think about. Does your hubs want a camper to go see the National Parks, or State Parks- or stay at Fort Wilderness? Those are very different destinations. If you are getting a camper, but then leaving the campsites to walk around towns and shops and rarely set foot in the park or RV resort you may be better off with hotels....but there will be way better amenities in a camper for a 3-7 day stay than a hotel. I can only eat out so many times before I am tired of it and want to make my own food and we like being unplugged every now and then.

So- backing up the previous, walk around some dealerships, RV shows and rent one to see what you think! I don't know many people that bought a camper and then hated camping though

 

[tiggerdad]

My advice would be, before sittling down with a salesperson, go to a rv trade show where multiple dealers are present. Go in and out of as many units as possible to get an idea of which manufactures offer what products.

This!

 

[Carrie Ellis]

I would also make sure where you will more than likely take it for repairs has a really good reputation.

I have always thought people should not be crowded together. WDW was probably the only place that I ever tolerated it. I like the idea of a rolling home instead of hotel rooms. It is only your germs!

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Hi everyone... I have never really posted here on the Camping board... I have lurked and read some so this is my first post here... Hi again...

So I need some info, suggestions and the like... in other words lots of help... in what to look for and cost - what does it really cost, what to look for, hidden cost, fees normally for sites and hook ups, to maintain it, and anything and everything that you can add to help with us going into this... We plan on doing some looking at all the RV Dealers around here... to start to really understand what we want and are really getting into... we will do lots of homework... before we ever even think about pulling the trigger buying... it took us 2 years to find the right boat for us... so we are in no big hurry...

Here's our plan and some back story...

As I said before in the title, I'm not really a camping kinda girl.... It's not I don't like the outdoors I do... I just hate "Sss" ( snakes) and mosquito and I am not sleeping in a tent or a pop up, at this point in my life... I want to sleep in a bed, with air-conditioning, we live in Florida so heat and humidity play into this alot... I want some sort of full bathroom... for in the middle of the night...

DH wants a pull behind... not a full on Land Yacht.... quality and dependability are important to him, as well as some cool gadgets... air-conditioning, and a big bed, he is 6'4" so he/we want a king size bed... is this even possible? a full bathroom with a shower that he can stand up in...

For us both - a kitchen - we both want more than a dorm size fridge, DH is a lean mean grilling machine... even with that I would like a oven for some baking, simple stuff, and some sort pull down or pull outs for extra beds to be able to take DD's family with us, or just our Sweet DGS!!! Grandkids are the best...
As well this will be a one time kinda purchase, we take good care of all of our stuff... so we want a brand that will last...


Moving along.. DH and I are almost through our 5 year plan....and believe it or not we have stuck to it, ... Yay us... so we know how we want to retire and working on the money end of all of that, and are starting to map out the next 5 year plan... Part of that plan is going to be buying a piece of property some where on the river, on a canal so that we can put in a deep water dock, and build our retirement house... So our plan is to park the RV/Camper on the property to use as our getaway house, until we can build the house... the boat dock comes first which is the most important thing...LOL yes we love our boat and being on the water... so see I am outdoors kinda gal... We want to use the RV or camper or whatever you call it... to do some traveling with it as well... looking at some beach trips, for the mountains.... we are not going to haul it all over the country be any means...

So Please enlighten me...

Thanks in advance...

Do yourself a favor and go i guess when it is safe and they are open, to an RV show or a large dealership, and explore. You will be surprised how luxurious many are.

 

[LovesTimone]

Op here...




You guys are amazing... I started a whole list of things to look for and look at... since we live in Central Florida, there are a bunch of them around... and normally there are RV shows around... with the virus not sure if this is gonna happen any time soon with the shows...

So we will not be "boondocking".... I just don't even really know what it is, I have a good idea... much less the sound of it... Boondocking sound like the opening line in a horror movie..." okay everyone lets go boondocking this weekend, Woo Hoo party time, then the running and screaming begins"... .. LOL...
Which is strange as I love being on the river in the middle of no-where, on the shoreline, relaxing, swimming and cooking out... but I can get in the boat and go home..

So flat pads, and hooks-up are for us... and what we want to do, simple camping... or glamping is what I believe its called...
We are planning on buying a heavy duty truck in the next 5 year plan... not sure where we are even looking on that... I think we need to know what we are going to haul, weight wise if we go all in on this....

I have a Chevy Tahoe that is a work horse, factory towing system and it hauls our boat without any problem, boat and trailer.. 25 feet... and it's a heavy... V hull 23 foot hurricane deck boat, with a 150 Yamaha motor on the back...

BOAT stands for Break Out Another Thousand... so I get there are alot of added expense's ...

If we do end up with buying a piece of property, we do want all the stuff already on it, water, sewer, lights... that stuff get super costly to put in... someone did mention put a mobile home on it... which is another thing all together...

DH and I are not in any hurry to jump in... I am a planner, researcher, and DH is the money guy to make sure we are getting the best deal before we ever even think of sitting down we will spend alot of time looking around...

I do like the idea of renting one to see what it would be really like... and there are several places around here that we can do that... so another thing for us to put on the list...

As well with living in Central Florida, their are alot of re-sales around, so thats another option for us to look at... thanks for the reminder..
As a matter of fact there is 3 or 4 huge land Yachts, and TT ( travel trailers look at me learning the language...LOL ) for sale at the place where we store our boat which is inside storage... and one of them is a Provost...it's loaded, and has been in the storage since we started storing our boat there... 4 years... it is only used once or twice a year, the adults kids of the owner... take it to Fort Wilderness, and then it goes back into storage, they pay the storage guy, to clean it, and take it for maintenance, drive it, and make sure its in good shape... he said they will never get what they are asking... and made this face... and with that ...We did not even ask what they wanted for it...

Please keep your vast knowledge coming... thanks again...

 

[rml0win]

An old addage is "buy your last camper first", which almost never happens. That being said there are a large number of slightly used ones out there. The key, you've already conquered, is research, research, research.
I believe your best choice would be a 5th wheel trailer, have it delivered to your lot and buy your hauler in the 5 year plan you stated. 5th wheels seem to be what folks like when they stay in one place for longer periods of time. As for quality, they all will need maintenance and repairs. Once you get what you want, you may turn into a camper after all.

 

[Stratman50th]

@LovesTimone ....... I have to laugh when you say "not in a hurry to jump in". Not at you, but it reminds me of us. We were thinking 8 years or so of researching and then to buy. That was March 2014. By June 2014 we were owners, LOL! In our case it was just something that dropped into our laps and the deal was just too good to pass up. Sometimes that stuff just happens and we pulled the trigger and have been happy ever since. I recommended Lazy Days earlier only because they have the most inventory new and used around. Easy to just look and look. Most reputable dealers know people look a lot with a long time out. I agree to the renting aspect as well. Nice way to get started without buying. I'm in Polk City if you want to discuss further. If you're in the area you could swing by and I'll give you a tour of ours. Tell you what we know and more important what we don't.

 

[morrik5]

Hi everyone... I have never really posted here on the Camping board... I have lurked and read some so this is my first post here... Hi again...

So I need some info, suggestions and the like... in other words lots of help... in what to look for and cost - what does it really cost, what to look for, hidden cost, fees normally for sites and hook ups, to maintain it, and anything and everything that you can add to help with us going into this... We plan on doing some looking at all the RV Dealers around here... to start to really understand what we want and are really getting into... we will do lots of homework... before we ever even think about pulling the trigger buying... it took us 2 years to find the right boat for us... so we are in no big hurry...

Here's our plan and some back story...

As I said before in the title, I'm not really a camping kinda girl.... It's not I don't like the outdoors I do... I just hate "Sss" ( snakes) and mosquito and I am not sleeping in a tent or a pop up, at this point in my life... I want to sleep in a bed, with air-conditioning, we live in Florida so heat and humidity play into this alot... I want some sort of full bathroom... for in the middle of the night...

DH wants a pull behind... not a full on Land Yacht.... quality and dependability are important to him, as well as some cool gadgets... air-conditioning, and a big bed, he is 6'4" so he/we want a king size bed... is this even possible? a full bathroom with a shower that he can stand up in...

For us both - a kitchen - we both want more than a dorm size fridge, DH is a lean mean grilling machine... even with that I would like a oven for some baking, simple stuff, and some sort pull down or pull outs for extra beds to be able to take DD's family with us, or just our Sweet DGS!!! Grandkids are the best...
As well this will be a one time kinda purchase, we take good care of all of our stuff... so we want a brand that will last...


Moving along.. DH and I are almost through our 5 year plan....and believe it or not we have stuck to it, ... Yay us... so we know how we want to retire and working on the money end of all of that, and are starting to map out the next 5 year plan... Part of that plan is going to be buying a piece of property some where on the river, on a canal so that we can put in a deep water dock, and build our retirement house... So our plan is to park the RV/Camper on the property to use as our getaway house, until we can build the house... the boat dock comes first which is the most important thing...LOL yes we love our boat and being on the water... so see I am outdoors kinda gal... We want to use the RV or camper or whatever you call it... to do some traveling with it as well... looking at some beach trips, for the mountains.... we are not going to haul it all over the country be any means...

So Please enlighten me...

Thanks in advance...

I would suggest you do what we did before we bought our first motorhome, try renting one to see what you like or dislike about that possibility. Perhaps you can do the same with travel trailers. But the main point that I agree with you big time on, is I HATE snakes and have adverse reactions to mosquito bites. I'm not a rustic camper by any means but I LOVE Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World big time!

PS we tow a 2015 Chev Equinox behind our 34.5' Class A motorhome. That gets us around the need to buy a tow vehicle large enough to handle hauling a loaded travel trailer.

 

[morrik5]

@LovesTimone ....... I have to laugh when you say "not in a hurry to jump in". Not at you, but it reminds me of us. We were thinking 8 years or so of researching and then to buy. That was March 2014. By June 2014 we were owners, LOL! In our case it was just something that dropped into our laps and the deal was just too good to pass up. Sometimes that stuff just happens and we pulled the trigger and have been happy ever since. I recommended Lazy Days earlier only because they have the most inventory new and used around. Easy to just look and look. Most reputable dealers know people look a lot with a long time out. I agree to the renting aspect as well. Nice way to get started without buying. I'm in Polk City if you want to discuss further. If you're in the area you could swing by and I'll give you a tour of ours. Tell you what we know and more important what we don't.

Another Florida location to shop at for RVs is General RV in Ocala and they have many locations throughout the country. We watch a lot of You Tube videos from Matt's RV Reviews (has a channel for both motorhomes and travel trailers) and he is a salesman at the Ocala location.

 

[Stratman50th]

Another Florida location to shop at for RVs is General RV in Ocala and they have many locations throughout the country. We watch a lot of You Tube videos from Matt's RV Reviews (has a channel for both motorhomes and travel trailers) and he is a salesman at the Ocala location.

Matt is a Goof! But I like and watch him too. I only suggest Lazy Days not for shopping, but for looking. There's a General RV down here in Tampa as well.

 

[loves to dive]

Matt is a Goof! But I like and watch him too. I only suggest Lazy Days not for shopping, but for looking. There's a General RV down here in Tampa as well.

We went to both of those when we were looking, hubby was working in Bradenton so we used that as an excuse for the dog and I to travel with him.

OP - You might also look at some of Josh the RV Nerd with Heylett RV video. We watched a lot of his because he shows a lot of different brands. Even got a quote from them but our little north Ga. dealer gave us the best deal, even better than Lazy Days, which surprised me.

Oh, and think about how you are going to pay for it. We knew going in we were paying cash for both the truck and the RV so that sort of drove the time frame of buying and helped set a stick to budget.

 

[StormyCA]

"he said they will never get what they are asking... and made this face.."

Don't know if it's true or not but when we were first looking, a salesman told us that a MH (vs a TT) was a 'rich man's RV' because they depreciate drastically and you'll never get anything like you'll think you will as a resale, especially if you've take a large loan out to buy it and want to get enough to pay off the loan. A TT is (generally) less expensive and doesn't devalue as drastically as long as you take good care of it and you can still drive the truck after you've sold the TT.

 

[Stratman50th]

"he said they will never get what they are asking... and made this face.."

Don't know if it's true or not but when we were first looking, a salesman told us that a MH (vs a TT) was a 'rich man's RV' because they depreciate drastically and you'll never get anything like you'll think you will as a resale, especially if you've take a large loan out to buy it and want to get enough to pay off the loan. A TT is (generally) less expensive and doesn't devalue as drastically as long as you take good care of it and you can still drive the truck after you've sold the TT.

I think it's kinda what you are looking for and how you plan on using it. At least that's why we got into it. You shouldn't buy a MH or a TT based on what you think you'll get out of it. Some coaches really hold their value, at least after the initial depreciation when you drive it off the lot. I don't know anything about TTs and their value. I also look at these things like boats. You take a depreciation hit every time you trade up. Firm believer here in buying your last coach first, but that's just me. Everyone must go with their own heart and wallet on the issue.

 

[Sjm9911]

It all depends on what you want out of it. My TT is smaller. Ans used. Its nice for me and my familly and its what i could easilly afford. So , its not my end coach, but something to go out and have fun with. Its a hotel room, its a camper and it made it to the fort and back from NJ! I will keep it as long as it serves this purpose.

 

[PaHunter]

You need to know how big or small a trailer you want. What kind of tow vehicle are you going to use to move it. One ton with dual rear wheels can haul some of the biggest campers. The better quality the trailer, the heavier it is going to be. Some will require a 450/550 or a Medium Duty truck to haul it. Some higher quality trailers can weigh in the 23 to 25 thousand pound range.
Our trailer maximum weight is 16k, and we pull it with a HDT. (see picture below). As far as getting in to places, I got my trailer, and tow vehicle in to Gadsden Alabama city campground, Nocalula Falls. Google it. Nice place, but really not meant for us big boys. In and out nothing damaged.
As far as reliable wheels and tires for the trailer if you plan on having it, get the Boar Wheel system. Most dealerships can have them installed before you pick it up. On a heavier trailer, it is the only way to go. I will be reviewing ours when we get it back from the shop.
It is all about compromise, trailers only have small ovens and are not very good for baking. It can be done, but the are small and finicky. Our trailer has a king size bed and a shower area that is about 9 feet tall. Fifth wheels will have the largest bathroom areas and king beds but are usually heavier.
Research, research and more.

 

[Stratman50th]

@PaHunter ....
Where's the "picture below"? I mean, I've seen it before, but I'm always up for another picture! Thanks!

 

[Tallis]

While it's clearly not what you're looking for, as a long time pop up owner and Florida resident, I just have to point out a few misconceptions .... because, you know .....

Our pop up has a full bathroom, a roof top air conditioner that keeps it very cool in the FL summers, and king sized beds that easily accommodate a 6' 4" person.

We also own a 29' Keystone Cougar that has two bedrooms and would accommodate a full timing family. I'm happy with the quality of the trailer, but takes very heavy duty truck to tow it. I completely agree with those who said start with a capable tow vehicle.

Okay, that's all. Ducking out now. Best of luck!

 

[LovesTimone]

OP here...

WOW and WOW... It is really amazing how much you can get from the people here on the board, such good solid info, and my list keeps growing and growing... Alot to think about and research... I have learned that people here are so great, and willing to share info...
Thanks sooo much...

DH and I were talking about what we hope for and think that we can do for the next 5 plan... and of course we have to meet with the financial planner guy... and he will bring us in line with what we need to do to get to our ultimate goals for retirement...

I was telling DH, about renting something and start trying them out... he was on board... So I am going to look and see what we have going and pick a weekend and make it a long weekend and maybe head to Fort Wilderness, and have DD, SIL and sweet grandson come along. To get a feel of what we will really need, space wise and such... DH was like since we are most likely not going to Japan in the fall, ( bucket list trip) maybe we can rent something and get up to the mountains, for a real test of if this is for us... Vacation and research... sounds like a plan...

Where is the picture of whatever an "HDT" is... can someone tell me what it is? or maybe a picture... please and thank you...

I was thinking about security as a whole... how do you protect yourself ?


For us this is not something we want as a lifestyle, this is just something we want to serve a larger purpose, and be able to use it when we want... We have a-lot of other interest... Traveling internationally is our real jam, We also love to cruise, love being on the water in our boat, fishing, snorkeling, swimming, as well as having family time with DD and her little family, hanging with our friends, so lots of interests... I totally respect if you are into as a lifestyle, and I think that's really wonderful... for us as DH said it would be like another toy for the toy box.. LOL

So what should we rent first? for a trip to Fort Wilderness, 4 adults and a 5 year old...

As well what should we do at Fort Wilderness?

As always... Thanks so much...
Please keep your knowledge coming...

 

[StormyCA]

I don't have a pic, but an HDT is a Heavy Duty Truck, it looks like a 'commercial' tractor-truck (ie like a Peterbilt). I've seen them and I don't know if they're actually different, or if they're modified for non-commercial use. I don't know if you have to have a 'special' license or if they're more complicated to drive than a 'regular' truck.

They're for those HUGE 5ers/toy haulers. For how you describe your expected use, you do NOT need an HDT. IMO they're for pretty hardcore campers who travel 'heavy'.

 

[Stratman50th]

OP here...

WOW and WOW... It is really amazing how much you can get from the people here on the board, such good solid info, and my list keeps growing and growing... Alot to think about and research... I have learned that people here are so great, and willing to share info...
Thanks sooo much...

DH and I were talking about what we hope for and think that we can do for the next 5 plan... and of course we have to meet with the financial planner guy... and he will bring us in line with what we need to do to get to our ultimate goals for retirement...

I was telling DH, about renting something and start trying them out... he was on board... So I am going to look and see what we have going and pick a weekend and make it a long weekend and maybe head to Fort Wilderness, and have DD, SIL and sweet grandson come along. To get a feel of what we will really need, space wise and such... DH was like since we are most likely not going to Japan in the fall, ( bucket list trip) maybe we can rent something and get up to the mountains, for a real test of if this is for us... Vacation and research... sounds like a plan...

Where is the picture of whatever an "HDT" is... can someone tell me what it is? or maybe a picture... please and thank you...

I was thinking about security as a whole... how do you protect yourself ?


For us this is not something we want as a lifestyle, this is just something we want to serve a larger purpose, and be able to use it when we want... We have a-lot of other interest... Traveling internationally is our real jam, We also love to cruise, love being on the water in our boat, fishing, snorkeling, swimming, as well as having family time with DD and her little family, hanging with our friends, so lots of interests... I totally respect if you are into as a lifestyle, and I think that's really wonderful... for us as DH said it would be like another toy for the toy box.. LOL

So what should we rent first? for a trip to Fort Wilderness, 4 adults and a 5 year old...

As well what should we do at Fort Wilderness?

As always... Thanks so much...
Please keep your knowledge coming...

As far as rentals, check with the local companies in the Orlando area. You reserve the lot at the Fort, check out what they offer based on your needs, and they set it up on the site you rented. All you do is show up. For the travel part, again a company that rents motor homes for you to use. Again, choices based on how you will use it. I don't know about rental TTs. You would probably have to provide your own tow vehicle but someone more familiar with this would have to jump in.
We love the Fort now. It's the only place on property that we would stay in. My house is a lot nicer than any of the rooms available on property. At least in my opinion.
Finally, this is PaHunter's rig. It's nice!
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