bluegoatwoods
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2018
- Messages
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Hi, folks.
My wife and I are pondering 'going RV' in retirement. This might well be a good place to get some general ideas about cost, pros and cons and stuff like that.
Our aim will not be to live a nomadic life. We'll be fairly stationary. We do want to get away from the sun and get away from our kids. (Our kids aren't all bad, by any means. But they're sticking too close and causing too much drama.) It's really only me who wants to get away from the sun. Heat and bright simply kills me. My wife kinda likes it. But she'll come along with me if it means that she can get away from true winter weather. So the tentative plan is to spend summers somewhere around, perhaps, Green Bay WI or maybe further up around Lake Superior and then spend winters in maybe eastern Tennessee or even a bit further south. The Outer Banks would be pretty neat, though I don't suppose it's very warm there in January. But anyway.....
We're gonna need two RVs. It's not that we don't get along. We agree that our marriage has been successful. But we bicker. Plus we'll each have possessions and we won't want to share limited storage space. And we're each going to need our own personal space. A moderately sized RV will be the minimum for each of us. We could even go quite small (each), I suppose, as long as our hobbies or other interests don't require much equipment. I'm looking at the width of my house right now. It must be about 30 feet. An RV that long would be enough for me and I imagine I could make do with something shorter if needed.
I can think of a number of reasons I wouldn't choose a motor home. I'm sure ours will be pull-type trailers. I'm inclined toward fifth wheel types. But the kind with a standard tongue could be acceptable. Particularly if there's a large cost difference.
We would make a decent pickup truck our four wheeled get around vehicle. Supplemented by bicycles.
So I'm thinking that we'd handle our winter/summer migrations by hauling one RV with our pickup and hiring someone to haul the other. I believe there are people who specialize in hauling RVs and such long distances for those who don't want to do it themselves. And I figure it can be hired in any case. I also figure that if I bought and maintained a truck capable of such a job and hauled one, perhaps, 1000 miles then I'd probably need to collect $1000 at a minimum to make my living. Though maybe a bit less if I felt sure that I'd pick up another job quickly. But I don't know how to calculate such things. Is there some 'industry standard', ballpark figure that I can use to calculate the cost of having one RV hauled?
We would probably choose to stay in private campgrounds while the RVs are stationary. If only to have some small group of people........campground management, if no one else...........who we're at least somewhat acquainted with. We'd stay away from places that are truly 'dumpy' or that are wide open to the sky and surrounded by agriculture. The places would need to have some tree cover and be decently maintained. But they wouldn't need to be fancy and they wouldn't need to be the sort of places that offer entertainment or activities.
I've gathered that it is possible to rent spaces for a season as opposed to night-by-night. Is there some way of calculating costs? I'd guess those would vary property to property and region to region. Even season to season.
Would a half ton pickup..........assuming it's in good shape...........be sufficient for a gentle journey twice a year hauling an RV?. Or will I be forced into a three-quarter ton? How about a half ton with a stout engine and manual transmission?
I'm sure I can think of other questions to ask. But maybe it's not necessary just yet. I'll post this and perhaps some of you folks might have some info for me. Thank you!
In the meantime I'll simply start browsing the forum and see what I can learn. It'll be fun!
See you around.
My wife and I are pondering 'going RV' in retirement. This might well be a good place to get some general ideas about cost, pros and cons and stuff like that.
Our aim will not be to live a nomadic life. We'll be fairly stationary. We do want to get away from the sun and get away from our kids. (Our kids aren't all bad, by any means. But they're sticking too close and causing too much drama.) It's really only me who wants to get away from the sun. Heat and bright simply kills me. My wife kinda likes it. But she'll come along with me if it means that she can get away from true winter weather. So the tentative plan is to spend summers somewhere around, perhaps, Green Bay WI or maybe further up around Lake Superior and then spend winters in maybe eastern Tennessee or even a bit further south. The Outer Banks would be pretty neat, though I don't suppose it's very warm there in January. But anyway.....
We're gonna need two RVs. It's not that we don't get along. We agree that our marriage has been successful. But we bicker. Plus we'll each have possessions and we won't want to share limited storage space. And we're each going to need our own personal space. A moderately sized RV will be the minimum for each of us. We could even go quite small (each), I suppose, as long as our hobbies or other interests don't require much equipment. I'm looking at the width of my house right now. It must be about 30 feet. An RV that long would be enough for me and I imagine I could make do with something shorter if needed.
I can think of a number of reasons I wouldn't choose a motor home. I'm sure ours will be pull-type trailers. I'm inclined toward fifth wheel types. But the kind with a standard tongue could be acceptable. Particularly if there's a large cost difference.
We would make a decent pickup truck our four wheeled get around vehicle. Supplemented by bicycles.
So I'm thinking that we'd handle our winter/summer migrations by hauling one RV with our pickup and hiring someone to haul the other. I believe there are people who specialize in hauling RVs and such long distances for those who don't want to do it themselves. And I figure it can be hired in any case. I also figure that if I bought and maintained a truck capable of such a job and hauled one, perhaps, 1000 miles then I'd probably need to collect $1000 at a minimum to make my living. Though maybe a bit less if I felt sure that I'd pick up another job quickly. But I don't know how to calculate such things. Is there some 'industry standard', ballpark figure that I can use to calculate the cost of having one RV hauled?
We would probably choose to stay in private campgrounds while the RVs are stationary. If only to have some small group of people........campground management, if no one else...........who we're at least somewhat acquainted with. We'd stay away from places that are truly 'dumpy' or that are wide open to the sky and surrounded by agriculture. The places would need to have some tree cover and be decently maintained. But they wouldn't need to be fancy and they wouldn't need to be the sort of places that offer entertainment or activities.
I've gathered that it is possible to rent spaces for a season as opposed to night-by-night. Is there some way of calculating costs? I'd guess those would vary property to property and region to region. Even season to season.
Would a half ton pickup..........assuming it's in good shape...........be sufficient for a gentle journey twice a year hauling an RV?. Or will I be forced into a three-quarter ton? How about a half ton with a stout engine and manual transmission?
I'm sure I can think of other questions to ask. But maybe it's not necessary just yet. I'll post this and perhaps some of you folks might have some info for me. Thank you!
In the meantime I'll simply start browsing the forum and see what I can learn. It'll be fun!
See you around.
