If you don’t know about me peruse my website and this blog, check out my last one for tips I shared as this is the next in a series: https://carolspieceofmind.org/blog/rv-newbies-and-how-not-to-get-scammed

I am just an average consumer, who decided to buy a motorhome after COVID-19 confined us to our house for way, way too long. I love my house, I love where we live, I am blessed to have a house I love so much with a yard that is so beautiful, but I confess, I got cabin fever. I wanted the option to travel. I saw what happened on cruise ships during the crisis. Not gonna happen. Many countries are sketchy about travel “Sure come on in!” Is what the airlines say and you’ll even hear some countries say it. Take England for example they are are “Jolly good! Pip, pip! Cheerio O!” The next minute, “Quarantine!”

So going out of the country is going to have to not be on my bucket list for awhile.

The idea of RVing around our great big amazing God-given land plopped into my mind mid-quarantine and that is when my intense college-level research to find the “perfect” RV began.

Only to find out there is no “perfect RV.” Impossible expectations #1 shot down almost immediately upon embarking on this adventure. Good to know!

So I settled for the “almost” perfect RV when doing my digging. As I noted in my first blog, we decided on a Class C because I wanted sleeping capacity but not only that, most importantly, I wanted to be be able to drive it myself and not rely solely on my husband to take the wheel. I did not have the confidence driving a Class A for instance and one big reason was a YouTube video I saw of a Class A taking a corner.

It just looked like The Leaning Tower of Pisa. I had actually gotten us down to the top three Class A’s we wanted. Then came the nightmares of me trying to drive the rig, I just couldn’t do it. I kept seeing me trying to take a curve a tad too fast and us tipping over.

Now I know, this is absolutely a personal preference, and the next logical thing to do is, do not take curves too quickly! I just could not get that video out of my mind though, so I went back to the drawing board and began researching Class C’s and we pulled the trigger on a Jayco Greyhawk Prestige 31FP The only drawback for me with this rig is lack of storage outside however with the bunkbed configuration I figure we can have the storage inside.

Now this rig I can drive with ease! Like driving a Tahoe. It’s almost too easy to drive and that is a caution. All videos I’ve watched say keep your speed to between 62-64 mph - but under 65. This not only saves gas, but it is simply safer.

I also discovered, this is like a house on wheels and given that, consider that it goes through something akin to an earthquake whenever you hit the road, so expect even your beautiful brand new rig to have problems. This surprised me while I did my research, but I (so far) never found an exception to this rule. While I did find those who had only minor problems to report, there are always problems. Thus, find a good dealer who will stand behind their product and do not make a big vacation you’ve always dreamed of in your rig the minute you drive off the lot before taking her out for a few “shake, rattle and roll” minor trips close to home first.

Inspect that rig before you do drive off the lot. Many say, get an independent inspection the day you go to pick it up and do not drive it home unless they agree to fix the problems you find (if any) unless the dealer agrees to fix those problems. Once you leave the lot, I have watched videos and read the nightmares of the promises made and not kept by dealers to the buyers. So buyers, beware.

There are some great resources out there and I have a list of my favorite ones for you here.

The RV Odd Couple

I have probably watched all of their videos. They aren’t just helpful - they are super informative about RVing and about the industry and they make me truly laugh my head off. Be entertained while you learn. They literally teach classes for newbie RV owners and it’s FREE. So they’re not money-grubbing YouTubers. Love this family.

Another resource I used is Liz Amazing

She was a woman traveling alone offering advice on the road and when she unfortunately found herself with a broken hand, another full-time RVer named Paul she had known from her travels helped her out and soon they struck up a romance and now they both offer advice from the road that is very helpful. They are simply adorable but also so helpful.

The RV Show USA Is more of a radio program however they have a website and YouTube program I watched and have used as a valuable resource. This guy tells it like it is and I have enjoyed his no holes barred advice and the guests he brings on.

Creativity RV is Robin Barret, author, full time RVer and Nomad living her dream. She was a “Nomadland” star before any the book and movie came out and unlike the movie, she chose to ditch the sticks and bricks not because she had to, but because she wanted to. This lady is sassy, smart and gives great advice for being on the road in your RV, how to fix your RV, buy one, camping etiquette and much more.

Enjoy The Journey.Life follows Tom and Cheri and living full time in their fifth wheel home as they around the USA. They seem to be very professional at this, able to give away 100K in prizes during one of their recent contests, so they are full timers in more ways than one that’s for sure. They include many stunning drone videos as well. They are a delightful couple, to watch and do offer many helpful tips especially about places to Boondock (stopping at places overnight for free without hooking up or in most cases using your slide-outs) as well as their opinion about the campgrounds they visit.

These are just a few of the resources I used. I watched their videos, read their blogs, did research that amounted to at least five to six or more hours of intense college-level work often seven days a week month after month before making the decision about the motorhome we ended up choosing. It’s a huge investment, I wanted to be as certain as we could especially understanding the minute we drive it off the dealer’s lot, that rig would depreciate—-quite a bit. That is the nature of the beast though and we are ready for this — or at least we think we sure hope we are!

I hope you will join me for tips and tricks about RVing from a military perspective. Journey with me to military bases and Naval stations where I’ll share unique history that is little known about these places and how you as an RVer can visit these camping areas for yourself and take in these historic areas first hand.

Until next time!

Duty, Honor and Seeing the Country RV Style!

©Carol Van Drie/RVing the Military Way 2021