RVs are not difficult to drive, they are longer than other cars so you just need to handle them well through corners. And the special thing I is that you can drive it and relax with it anywhere for a long time
Ive only ever used one u pull behind a truck. It was 30ft, and lived in it for a few months. It wasnt too bad. Every other day fill up water, to do dishes, shower, have water to flush all that. Charge it once a day for 2 hours with a 30amp generator, and ur good on power for the day, depending on use. If u used the propane thermostat itd average about 10 good heatings before running outa power. Depends on battery size i guess. An ac to dc converter/battery bank to tv and dvd player would run about 3 hrs. Pretty cold in the mornings. Super hot the rest of day. Showers usually started out hot and got real cold by the time u got to washin ur balls n ass. Shitter would last 2 weeks before needin dumped for 1 person, probobly weekly for 2. Propane would last along time usually 2 1/2 weeks per tank, thats with cookin using stove top, some oven use, heating up water for showers, makin coffee in the old style coffee makers. Id imagine itd eat through it if its in the winter though with the thermostat. The 30 amp 3000-4000w generator is necessary to be able to run "most" rv/camper air conditioners. Id say go higher if u can, if u want to use everything at once, like ac, and microwave would pop the generator fuse. A 2 gal gas can for the generator would last a week with ac use id say maybe 3 hours a day. oil about the same time for a quart
My wife and I were considering what you and your husband are; and what it ultimately came down to for me was A) Vehicles are depreciating assets, from the second you purchase it, it starts losing value so youll never get your money back out of it, so make sure you know that going into it. B) There were a lot of hidden costs, like if you want to park somewhere more permanently and have hook-ups; that can get just as expensive as rent in some places. The idea of a pull-behind was what I was more lending towards but that would only be a suitable situation for 1 person, in my opinion, I wouldnt put a family into a pull-behind. What I have ultimately ended up deciding, is to just keep renting for now and then maybe look into a manufactured home/ trailer home/ a tiny home. I want to get outside the city a little bit as well, but our next move will also depend on our employment situations in the next couple months. Best of luck to you guys! I would advise finding land and building/ parking a tiny house of some sort. Something that you have the potential to sell for a profit. I do not like investing in things unless I can at least get my money back.
I wish I'd never bought the house I have, I feel like I'm trapped! Modern 5th wheel trailers are nice, using household quality appliances in the higher end ones and still WAY less than buying a home. This would be my dream setup...
If you buy used and buy smart or right then your not going to loose allot of money ... My truck is still worth what i paid for it There are tons of little costs to getting ready to hit the road with any Used Diesel truck and travel trailer. If the trailer has sat in one spot for a year or two i would have concerns about the tires . It was 1222.00 to put new tires on my 5th wheel . LP/12v/ 120 volt refrigerators can easily run 2500.00 bucks , and you need to make sure that none the water lines have froze and broke . Another common cost is the trailer batteries ,, you want deep cycle batteries ,, not deep cycle marine batteries . There is a difference in the two batteries .. My 2 new deep cycle batteries were about 400.00 for the pair . I have a recall on the refrigerator in my trailer so the trailer needs to go to reno for new fridge under warranty . Most used RV's will need the most maintenance when you first buy it .. Always look at the roof ,, if the roof has leaked you might have considerable water damage and you might not want to buy that RV . Most RV's that people have lived in full time ,, you might look super close at . normally those trailers don't retain their value like trailers only used for camping out a few times a year .. The awning and UV'ed out trailers thats been sitting in the sun for years is another concern . Built in generators ,, getting the LP tanks up to date . All those things are extra out of pocket expenses . Me I plan on camping off grid .. I can see where that isn't the normal for most RV er's from the eastern part of the USA ,, but there is tons of Off grid camping in the west and in the rocky mountains . Having room to store your trailer while your not using it is also a issue ,, allot of people who park their trailer in a storage place get broke into and storage fees . The 5th wheel I bought has been sitting for 6 years ,, so far i have put about 1600.00 into tires and batteries ..
Update I Have a refrigerator recall .( Dometic ) The first RV authorized Dometic refrigerator I called said they would do the work but i had to pay for it all upfront and i would be the one who had to file a claim with Dometic . to get myself a refund . I asked them if they had Dometics phone number and they said no i hade to find it out myself . I googled Dometic and called them .. and called them and called them . Once I actually had a lady answer the phone but it was a super bad connection ,and they hung up .. I had waited a hour just to get hung up on ,, i tried calling back but that time they had 8 people in front me. This was becoming frustrating and never could through to Dometic . So I started to call the nearest RV dealers which the nearest is 180 miles one way . Finally I found a rv dealership that would do the recall . I bought this 5th wheel used so today was the first time i have pulled it. I put new tires on it ,,,, Fuck ME 1224.00 $ for 4 tires . These are 14 ply tires . My truck is a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 heavy duty with the 1 ton tow kit , what ever that is . crew cab 4x4 I have the Cummins 5.9 24 valve inline 6 cylinder diesel engine ,, with 6 speed automatic transmission. I was hoping for 13 to 14 MPG pulling the trailer on flat ground , Hills were about 9.5 to to 10.5 @ 65 mph and on the flats I got 11 to 13.5 MPH @ 65 mph .. I dropped the trailer off at the dealership and on the way back set the cruise at 70 mph . Wow couldn't believe it I was getting 25.5 mpg where normally i got around 20.5 to 22 mpg @ 68 mph . I hope to be traveling the Northwestern Rocky's beginning in 2 to 3 weeks ..
When I had my 5th wheel at the dealership I seen a couple very nice 5th wheels with 5 or 6 slide outs . For me and what I can afford I think buying 100K and up RV's is out my finances. I seen a 55 ft 5th wheel used for 185 K . Pretty sure it was to heavy for my Dodge , thinking it would take like mid range commercial sized diesel truck . I had a 1962 GM greyhound bus professionally converted to a RV ,,, no slide outs . My bus got 3 to 3.5 MPG , allot of parks restrict longer RV's . Just rambling .. The 5th wheel I bought pretty much sat for 6 years and had a recall on a refrigerator part . Dometic refrigerators customer service is way understaffed . Pretty tough to give a customer service rep shit when its the company they work for fault .. Everything has been ok on all the repairs or things that need done on the RV with the exception of Dometic . And thats because they make the customer wait hours a day to get in contact . Sometimes it takes days to to talk with someone ,,, So ...... I talked my girl friend into dealing with them to get the parts i need .. She did a great job ... Dometic refrigerators front door hinges are famous for breaking . The hinge is part of the door so i had to buy the whole door to fix the fridge . 325.00 bucks My trailer came with a Honda EU 3000W Is generator. The Carburetor had to be cleaned . After cleaning carburetor i cant believe how easy the engine starts . It has electric start but the generator starts first pull every single time .. The generator is very quiet too ...