Decisions, Decisions, Decisions (Part 2)

Here is part two continuing the earlier post on our process of becoming full time RVers.  I thought I would touch on two other topics that really went hand-in-hand.  Working out our timetable and choosing our Motorhome.

As far as the timetable goes, as I mentioned in the previous article, we had made the decision that we would sell the house in the Spring, 2017.  We spent quite a bit of time deciding if we needed to rent something in between moving out of the house and in to the Motorhome.  At first we thought this would help us ease into the process and give us more time to make other decisions.  I think that could have worked in some circumstances, however, it would mean moving twice and it seemed like it would just drag out the process.  Especially when it came to downsizing.  So, we made the decision to go right from the house to the motorhome if at all possible.  Another decision that required a lot of discussion was when to buy the motorhome.  If we wanted to move from the house to the motorhome, it meant we better purchase one before the house sold.

To be honest, the timetable was really a leap of faith.  Not knowing how long it would take to sell the house, we knew it would be fluid.  We tried to position ourselves as best we could to get the outcome we were looking for. We decided to put the house on the market in May, I set my retirement date for July 31^st, and we started looking for our motorhome during the winter.  No guarantees, we just kept moving  forward.  The house sold quickly, even though it took longer than expected to close.  We found our motorhome in March and moved in to it in July; the house closed in early August.

Our set up - ready to roll

Motorhome Purchase:  During the winter we began our research and discussion on what type of motorhome would meet our wants, needs and budget.  Early on we decided on a Class A Motorhome (gasoline engine) and knew we would be towing a vehicle. We did a lot of reading and went to RV shows.  From everything we read and heard, purchasing a used RV was the way to go for significant savings and there seemed to be a lot available on the used market.  We decided to look for one, no more than 5-6 years old with low mileage.  Several websites, including "RV Trader" were good sources for searching the used market. Beyond that, we started looking at manufacturers, size, configurations, and amenities.  At first we thought something around 30’ would do, but soon realized that if this was going to be our home, we preferred something a little bigger.

I purchased a current copy of “Motorhome Comparison Guide” by JR Consumer Resources Ltd. which was a tremendous help.  It had ratings of all the Motorhome manufacturers by class and model year. (Note this book did not include ratings for 5th wheel RVs.)  Just like the housing market had a downturn in 2009-2010, the Motorhome/RV industry did also.  Some manufacturers were on hard times and went through bankruptcy; others merged or were bought up, and some had significant quality issues during this time, likely due to the transitions and trying to lower costs.  It was very interesting to look at the manufacturers’ quality ratings from model year to model year. 

After much consideration and looking at several different mtorhomess, we started honing in on the Winnebago Adventurer 37f model. 

I can really only speak of the Class A motorhomes since we mainly focused on this type.  Some considerations:  Space is precious, you have to look at options, for example, how many people do you want the ability to sleep?   A lot of space is required to have sleeping options for more than 4 people.  Some motorhomes have more “head room” than others was well as larger showers, etc.  All of these a consideration for Jim who is 6’2”. 

We decided to purchase a 2012 Winnebago Adventurer 37f model that came on the market at a dealer in Tallahassee FL in March.  We were able to put a hold on it with the dealer until Jim flew there to check it out and make the deal. They held it for us until we came back down in April to drive it back to Michigan.

Baking cookies in motorhome

Molasses Cookies!

The features that made this unit the right one for us:  It is 37’ long, 3 slide outs, and higher ceiling.  Two of the slide outs are opposing, making the living area feel more spacious.  It sleeps 4, with a king size bed in the “bedroom” and the sofa in the main area makes into a queen bed.  It has table and chairs as opposed to the “booth” style eating area.  We have 1 ½ bathrooms, a kitchen area with solid surface counter top, convention/microwave, and a stove and oven.  The oven was a real bonus for me and something I really wanted if at all possible.  It’s smaller than a regular oven, but I have baked it in and it works great. 

Another luxury item is the stacked washer and dryer.  Again, it has proved to be a welcome amenity especially for full-timing. We really didn’t think the extra bathroom was necessary, but that has also proved to be worth it; especially for full-timing.  Other considerations of course are storage, both inside and the “basement” compartments; slide outs, and layout.  Checking out quality and materials is also an important consideration. 

The operating systems on motorhomes are complex.  From the multiple ways to power the coach, to the water and waste system, there is a lot to learn and understand, let alone getting comfortable driving a large vehicle. There has been some trial and error, but luckily Jim had time to devote to learning the systems and ability to make repairs and upgrades that met our needs before we set out earlier this month.  So far, we have been very happy with our choice.

Some other observations:  We have found that some campgrounds, including some of the National Parks, can only accommodate motorhomes and RVs smaller than ours; sometimes 30’ is the limit.  There are also some roads, especially in the mountains where a vehicle this large cannot be taken.  It’s a trade-off, but we like the larger size for our day-to-day living.  We have been able to find a park close to, if not at the destinations we traveled to.  Since we tow our car, we set up the motorhome at a camp site and drive our car to the various attractions.

This process took us about a year.  We didn't have much Motorhome/RV experience, but tried to do our due diligence each step of the way.  This type of experience will be different for everyone, but I think that's part of what makes it exciting and rewarding.