As this thread about what kind of rig do I need continues, I will give you a bit of our own story. When we bought our rig, slide-outs where almost unheard of. So we ended up buying a standard 36 ft gas powered Class A motor home. There were diesel units available but we could not find anything that we liked the inside of. It’s true that the diesel may have more power, and get you to that next location quicker, it is not the diesel that makes your life more comfortable when you get there.
We bought our rig because of how it was laid out inside, and how it looked. We wanted to be comfortable. We wanted to be able to sit and look at the scenery from inside our rig without having to strain to look out a window. We wanted room for our stuff, especially my tools. And one really important thing was the fact that my wife and I like to sit in bed in the morning, have a cup or two of coffee, and plan our days. We call these times our directors meetings. Now the reason I bring this up is the fact that for us it is great to be able to sit in bed and look out a window at the scenery. In our rig we can do this. Especially when we were parked on the beaches in Mexico, we just loved this time of the day.
So if you are going to get into the Full Time RV Lifestyle then you will really want to think this through. Will the rig allow you to do things that you really like to do. As I said in other articles the RV is your new home, you have to look for a new home, not an RV when you are making your choice.
Salesmen will tell you all the features and benefits of a particular RV, don’t let yourself be pushed into an emotional buying decision. Put yourself in the same position you would be if you are buying a brick and mortar house. What would you be looking for, look for the same things in the RV.
Remember flash and polish does not a comfortable house make. It is amazing but you will find that if you ask the salesman to leave for an hour or so, and then just spend some time in the rig imagining yourself doing some of the things that you do everyday, you will quickly see if the particular RV that you are looking at will work for you. Give yourself time to get by the emotion, and think practical. You can reform an emotional attachment to the outcome once the decision has been made.
Many people have made emotional buying decisions in regard to RV’s since it was a totally new field to them. They would not have done the same thing with a house since they have been around houses all their life, they know what they are looking for. Just keep this in mind when you are looking for that perfect RV.
Our RV When We First Bought It
The picture on the right shows what our RV looked like on the day that we bought it. Today it would seem outdated, but it has been a very comfortable home for us for over 10 years. We bought this unit for only $30,000 so our home expenses have basically worked out to $3,000 per year. To me this is an extremely economical price for a comfortable home that I can take with me anywhere.