A Week of Thinking

It's hard to believe that cooler temps have hit the Midwest here in southern Indiana. It's 68 as I sit here writing this. Just last week it would have been in the mid to high 80s now at this same time. So, the windows are open, with no fans running.

Like this post title says, it's been a week of thinking, also getting more information about different types of boondocking and camping from people that have a lot more experience than I.

A few things are pretty consistent over these past 10 months since this "rv urge" hit me. Of course everyone has a different type of rig, different maintenance, different lifestyles and experiences. Each has a different rig set up, some have animals, toads they tow, or toys they ride ... all different circumstances.

I have come to the conclusion being on the road will cost me no more than I want it to. As living in a house, with a job and unexpected expenses, or spending money on entertainment .. my costs per month are pretty set.  I don't think it will change much living on the road. Sure, I will be able to save monthly but then that savings will be used later for routine maintenance or unexpected repairs on the rig I choose. Just like living in a house.

One thing I did decide this week, it's not the ability to afford major repairs that pop up on occasion but what I am willing to spend. After a lot or re-reading information I have saved, the Class DP is the most expensive. There are a couple of friends of mine that have these and have never had any kind of problem with them. Yet, some of the blogs I follow have them and describe some expenses they have had to pay, in amounts that I don't want to deal with.

So I think of me and wonder, which side of those stories would I be on. If I am on the expensive side is it worth it to me to have a Class A DP.

More than a few people with large Class A's have told me privately they wish they either had bought a smaller rig or will when they will buy their next one. Hearing something like that, makes me think.

The Class C from what I understand in most cases can be worked on at a service center of the type of engine. A Ford or Chevy dealership, local garge. A place easier to find than a speciality diesel shop and a little less cost. The number of slides you need are nice, sides work for some all of the time with no problems and others have had problems. So is the extra room for comfort worth it?

Do you look at the comfort level more than what it would take to be on the road with minimum cost? Could I spend less on a rig, find it dependable and get on the road without the initial expense I was planning on in making the purchase and be just as happy? I will only find this out when I do it.

Smaller rigs can get into more places boondocking.  Boondocking is what I plan on doing the most of. Free stays as much as possible, that has always been the plan. Seasonal movement more than a tourist on vacation movement.

The hounds, they can adapt to anything I will buy. Right now they are all sleeping together on their favorite Mexican blankets within an area of 5'. They do that a lot throughout the day. So does it really matter if I am sitting in a 36'-40' rig at night while on a computer, watching a movie or reading a book after thinking I needed a bigger rig for the comfort of my hounds and I?

I envy Glen over on To Simpify because he can live in such a small space (A great Chinook) has stayed full-time longer than he had originally thought he could. He travels to some great country and does so with only minor repairs over the course of a year. Yet even in that rig there are places I want to go and stay, where the Chinook could not get me there. Yet, he has some wonderful "front yards" in his travels and easy to find a place to park his home.

Then I analyze what year of rig to buy. Everyone has different experiences with the years they have now or have had in the past. Would I have good repair luck spending less to buy an older model? Or would I be the one that has a 1-3 yr old rig that has repair problems one after another. Some in this range of age have no problems at all. Just like buying a car or truck, new or used. I have/had both with different results .... so that is a moot point I guess.

The problem I have and have mentioned before .... I like them all!!  No matter what class of rig I look at ... I like them and want them. Everything from a small fiberglass trailer to the Earthroamer.

That right there makes it really hard for me to decide on what to buy.

What about a 4x4 Pickup pulling a trailer. There are a lot of people doing that for a number of years successfully. Some pulling a 16' trailer and having a blast of their life while other are boondocking with a 35' 5th wheel. Some of those 5th wheel towing rigs have been towed for repairs while others are great. Wandrin' has been traveling that way for 12 years or more.

Just like owning and living in a house.  Some are "money pits" while other are just general maintenance. In my case living in the Midwest, what you put off in routine maintenance in the summer could be costly in the winter. That is the part, the time spent in that type of preventive maintenance, where I am getting tired of and would rather be sitting in my chair in front of my rig somewhere, watching the sunrise, soaking up the rays or watching the sun go down.

So, you can see where I am at in trying to decide what to buy and when to leave.

I have absorbed a lot of information and looked at a lot of pictures of different setups, heard a lot of different stories and opinions.

I know a lot of what I have written tonight has been mentioned before. I can only guess that when it's the right time to happen, everything will fall into place and I'll sit back and think "that was easy, why did I take so long?".

The range of thought this week was wide. From a Class A DP towing a 4x4 jeep all the way down to traveling in my Mini Cooper with a rack on top with my camping equipment and the hounds in the back.

You can see that my mind is very similar to scrambled eggs right now. Tons of thoughts and not even a clue on what to do.

For those that have posted comments or emailed me their thoughts on all of these lingering questions I have all the time ... Thank You!

Now,back to your blogs, RVs for sale sites, and google images, while I hear the coyotes and crickets outside my open window.

I Started Looking at Smaller Class C & B+

Yes, I moved my search away from Class A's to the Class C 27-31' and even some 27' Class B+ .... I LOVED them!!  I could see me getting away to locations that a Class A may not get. The main thing was, the repair cost. Class A diesel repair compared to a Ford engine Class C or B+ (with sides).

Sure I have the 3 hounds....but I tried a little trick in my house. I measured the living space of a Class B, put the hounds in that area and took a look at what I might be looking at. In a way, I think I could do it....reason is???

If I am parked somewhere out in the boondocks, BLM, Federal Parks or Corp of Civil Engineering land ... I am going to be OUTSIDE!!  Even if Im in a chair looking at the sights, reading or napping. ..... outside!!  I just need somewhere to fix my meals, sleep and watch games on the tv. I can do all of that inside a Class C or B+ and 3 lazy hounds.

What do they do now when I watch games ... they sleep.

I know the tanks are smaller, could decrease the number of days I am out but are larger tanks and more storage space a good reason to spend more for a larger Class A???

I am traveling light ... seriously.  When I was working at home a few years ago, I lived in a pair of jeans in the winter, shorts and tshirts in the summer.

I really like those Dynamax's.  I also like the Jayco Melbourne, like John's.  I can almost see a Lazy Daze, with half of the back room my computer desk and the other side the bed.

Blast away with comments ... I know ... always back and forth

A Crazy Day ... House Repairs

Saturday started out normal. Sunny and 84 degrees at 8am, waiting for the grass to dry so I can mow the yard. Cup of coffee and reading blogs. Just sent an email to my dad and a few minutes later, I lose power here at the house and as the overprice iMac plus the 27" monitor try to reboot there is a loud explosion outside at the transformer. It was nothing like I have heard before, even in the worst storms.

I go outside to make sure nothing has blown into the transformer, even though it's a perfect weather morning. Then look up on the roof where the main power goes into the fuse box, looks good there.

I check out my fusebox expecting some breakers to be popped ... and not a one ...not one. I called a couple of neighbors and a landscaping business nearby on the owner's cell phone.  Power completely out.  About the time I start to walk back inside, the transformer has a huge explosion!

Power is out for almost 4 hours and kicks back on just as the outside temps had hit 97 degrees. Yes, it was hot inside, outside etc.

In the meantime inside I smell a "slight' aroma of that infamous electrical burn smell. Even though the power is off, both surge protectors where the computer is  .... no lights, completely off.  I check my living room, one surge protector mounted into the socket is fried and "brown explosion" marks are on the wall.

Remaining calm and already in my mind thinking my HD large tv is history as well as the overpriced Mac's. Not being an electrician, I start my process of elimination. 2 fans plugged into different outlets are running so I'll plug my computer in that one directly to see if my worst fears are real or not, or will the overpriced Mac bootup????

Plug it into the wall outlet that I know is working .... computer boots up!  Shut that down and plug in my overpriced large Mac Monitor ... looks good. Both surge protectors are FRIED. (must have been that burnt smell).

On to the living room. One wall outlet is fried. I look at the other outlet with the wall mounted surge protector that I had my DVD player and PS3 plugged into due to the length of the cord. Due to those lengths, I had to plug my Directv DVD, my large TV into the fried outlet. Using an extension cord to reach the good outlet, I plug both tv and the DVR directly into the good outlet, both turn on. DVD says "starting up will take a few minutes".  I figure incorrectly that if I have a screen then both the tv and DVR are good....Call the tech help at Directv (she was great), we determine that the receiver is fried and she is sending out a replacement. We tried connecting to the tv with new HDMI cables, then the component and video cables ... no good.

An interesting thing that makes me think my tv is wasted. Maybe a reader with more electrical experience can enlighten me.

Each time I moved the component cables (red,blue,green) and the video cables to a different port (AV1 or AV2), the port it was plugged into would disappear from my tv source input list. Same thing happened when I tried 4 different HDMI ports...whatever port the cable was plugged into, that port would disappear from the list.

So, I head to Walmart for 2 new surge protectors, have my computer, ipad dock, modem, printer and desk light all working normal with the new surge protector.

I'll spend the rest of the night trying to find out if I can plug and play a DVD player and PS3 into the tv, one that is not getting a tv reception signal from the DVR, or will I need some sort of antenna signal to get the DVD player or the PS3 to play.

As for RV's ... It was a week of reading about a lot of problems with what some people had. A few LARGE repair bills ... much like my day today!!!

The yard was mowed but I kept thinking as I mowed, that I am so tired of house and yard upkeep. After some of the bill totals I read about, I am not so sure my house repair bills will be a lot lower than RV repairs.

There always seems to be some doubt in back of my mind about RVing.....and those HUGE repair costs is what keeps me wondering about the future. I have cashed saved for house emergencies but the more I save the tighter I get in spending it.