Moving back to the USA - Need Advice!

[WanderingRose]

Where you are looking for an RV is considered the "Rust Belt" for a couple of reasons. One is they heavily salt the roads in the winter so vehicles get very heavy rust in a few years. This causes many problems and will make the resale value very poor.

I live in the upper Midwest, am on my third RV and never had a problem with rust.

I keep my rigs clean, including the undercarriage, and pay close attention to any spot of rust, like from a rock chip, so that it doesn’t develop into something serious.

I also drive out of my home area in the winter months, rather than camping and driving around here.

My current rig is 14 years old, with no rust.

 

[mpruet]

There is a disconnect between your requirements and your size suggestion. Let’s consider...

Water Usage —-
A truck camper (as well as a class-b) just doesn’t hold that much fresh water, or have large holding tanks. Most camping folks consider the primary purpose of fresh water to be for drinking and cooking, not showers. Generally you are going to be using a gallon of water per minute while taking a shower and that means a gallon less fresh water and a gallon more waste water. The larger (and more expensive) truck campers have 40 gallons fresh water at best, but closer to 15 gallons of waste grey water. I’m part time, but when I’m on the road I tend to boondock a lot. I tend to stay at a paid full hookup campground only once a week and will take a shower then as well as once while boondocking. Yep - only twice a week. On the other days I take a sponge bath.

Also you have to think about water used for cooking and washing dishes. I generally use paper plates and a vinegar/water combination to clean any cookware. It just takes too much water to wash dishes in a sink.

Power Usage —

You will be using your max power consumption after the sun has gone down. You need to be in conference with folks in Asia and that would generally be later in the day here. That means that when you should be closing down your power usage, you would be using your max power. You’ll be near your lower limits as you go to sleep and that’s not good.

I would consider NOT using your house batteries to power your computer. Instead I would use some form of a lithium power generator to run the computer. The house batteries should be used to run the critical appliances in your rig such as a fridge. You don’t want to over-stress that system. You can still recharge the house and the computer battery during the daylight hours.

Space —

A truck camper is VERY SMALL. Some of the larger models have slide-outs, but that adds expense and also can not be extended if you want to park in a normal parking spot.

 

[WonkoTheSane]

There are lots of ClassB’s out there, some more expensive than others, some very high tech while others and older models more low-tech.

I prefer older, and low tech.  I have an older ClassB on a dodge sprinter chassis with a MB Diesel engine. I love it, get good fuel mileage and it is a fully self contained house on wheels.

They are a bit more pricey, but you have a vehicle and an RV, and personally I feel it is the best way to travel.  Well maintained and with workhorse Diesel engines, their resale value is higher than you might expect.

If you can do small, which everyone cannot, and if you get along very well with your partner.

The ClassA’s are serious gas guzzlers, and that and their sheer size makes them prohibitive for many of us.  I would not have one, even if I could afford it.  Their size also limits campground options.

Campground rates vary widely, from free to $100 or more a night, depending on the type, area and time of year.

I like the AllStays app, which gives you private and public campgrounds, their rates and amenities.

We have always had the “spend less, do more” mindset, opting for less expensive campsites so we could afford to travel and see the country.

As a widow these past almost 7 years, I tend to go more to favorite places and stay longer, still mixing it up in terms of campgrounds but sometimes opting to spend more for a longer stay with full amenities in a beloved place.

As for showering, there are lots of tips and tricks for minimizing water usage, and as you get down to the wire perhaps explore some of those threads here.

If you have never camped or RV’d, I would suggest caution in plunking down lots of money for something until you have a pretty good idea of what you really want and what you really need.

Yeah, I think a Class A is out of my range, too big and too expensive to run.  I have to admit my wife's eyes got pretty big when she looked at those interiors, though!     A lot of them are bigger and have more amenities than the house she grew up in!  We get on wonderfully, that is likely the least of our worries.

I'll check out that app, thanks!

We'll be able to figure out the water usage and everything else, I'm not super concerned, we're both people who grew up under difficult circumstances so we're used to figuring out ways around problems.

I don't know if it counts as RVing, but many times when I was young I traveled around the country sleeping in the back of a car (often an old Subaru wagon or similar cheap, bulletproof car) or just hitchhiking.  I'm pretty sure of what I need, the only really hard part I think is going to be the power at night.  I figure if I can take as much load off of the electrics as possible, and just use it for my laptop and lighting, I should be able to figure it out with battery.  I found a calculator that shows that I will be well over what I need while keeping discharge under 50% with 250AH AGM.  If I can just find a way to charge that back up daily I'm basically set, I think.

Hopefully I can find a good diesel Class B, though most I see are gas.

 

[justanothermaroon]

Monthly rates are much better. I'm in Capitan, New Mexico for the summer (leaving today). $240 a month plus electric (paid a total of 285-300, depending on a/c use), great Verizon signal, clean & spacious shower room, nearby laundry, grocery store, restaurants, national forest. So staying somewhere for a month at a time might work great for you.

 

[ridgeway]

I live in the upper Midwest, am on my third RV and never had a problem with rust.

I keep my rigs clean, including the undercarriage, and pay close attention to any spot of rust, like from a rock chip, so that it doesn’t develop into something serious.

I also drive out of my home area in the winter months, rather than camping and driving around here.

My current rig is 14 years old, with no rust.

I am not implying all "rust belt" vehicles are bad, but most people do not take the precautions you do and get full winter/salt exposure. If you have the entire country to look for a vehicle their are much better states like Texas, AZ, CO.

The majority of vehicles I have seen from the "rust belt" older then 10yrs have been pretty bad with rust 15yrs real bad... As a buyer t is not hard to spot just lay on the ground under the vehicle, look at the back of the wheel wells, bottom of doors.

 

[WonkoTheSane]

Monthly rates are much better. I'm in Capitan, New Mexico for the summer (leaving today). $240 a month plus electric (paid a total of 285-300, depending on a/c use), great Verizon signal, clean & spacious shower room, nearby laundry, grocery store, restaurants, national forest. So staying somewhere for a month at a time might work great for you.

Are weekly or two-week rates any good? 

We won't have the time to stay a month in one spot, though that rate sounds SUPER good! 

If I could even stay at twice that amount on average across the trip I'd be more than happy!

 

[Gypsyjoe#1]

Hopefully you mean the RV only has a few more months!  If it's you, I hope your days are pain free and filled with as much joy as you can handle!

Sorry to say, but it is me. But I have lived and am living the life I want. What better way is there than donating my home to howa.

 

[WonkoTheSane]

Sorry to say, but it is me. But I have lived and am living the life I want. What better way is there than donating my home to howa.

No better way, friend! 

I wish you a joyful and peaceful journey onward. 

My wife is a Buddhist and would assure you that this is just but one step on the path.  I'm an old fashioned skeptic but I always remember that the bits of you that touched the world forever changed it and that the entire future history of creation is indelibly etched with your fingerprints.

Fair winds and following seas!

 

[WanderingRose]

I am not implying all "rust belt" vehicles are bad, but most people do not take the precautions you do and get full winter/salt exposure. If you have the entire country to look for a vehicle their are much better states like Texas, AZ, CO.

Agreed.

A vehicle taken care of anywhere is better than one neglected

That said, my current ClassB lived in Arizona, and had fairly extensive sun damage.

 

[HungryCoyote]

For long, hot showers, I would definitely check into planet fitness. They have many locations. I don't work out. It is still a great deal just for the facilities.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I think its all perfectly doable as long as you go camping in one of these:

 

[highdesertranger]

LOL. highdesertranger