IT WAS 3 YEARS AGO THIS APRIL THAT WE MADE THE BIG SWITCH

IT WAS ABOUT THIS POINT IN APRIL OF 2007 WE DECIDED WE HAD TO MAKE A CHANGE (Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus, New Mexico)

Another cool rainy early spring day here so not a lot going on.  It was in April of 2007 that we made the switch from a truck & fifth wheel trailer to a motorhome & no I'm not going to bash back & forth about which is better because when it comes right down to the bottom line it just depends on the personal preferences & circumstances of each & every RV'er.

A PAIR OF CARDINALS DISCUSS THE RAINY WEATHER TODAY                        

For years we had often talked about which kind of RV we would get someday if the opportunity presented itself.  Well, in late summer of 06 that opportunity did present itself & we were off on our hunt.  Back & forth we went between motorhomes & 5'vers.  So many pros & cons.  So many preferences, desires, wants, & needs.  We certainly did not want to rush into anything & make any big mistakes so with that foremost in mind...... we rushed right out & made a big mistake.

CHECKERS IS HAPPY TO BE BACK ON HER FAVORITE COUCH AGAIN

 

Actually we only had a couple of months to find something before heading off to the southwest.  Friends of ours had a really nice exceptionally clean Silverado truck & Rockwood fifth wheel for sale & we of course were knocked out by the 'Wow' factor.  A deal was struck & we brought the truck & trailer home happy as a couple little ants in a sugar bowl.  Had some doubts about the lighter truck's ability to pull the trailer in the heavy mountain regions of the southwest so traded it in for a bigger GMC truck & were soon headed off down the road for the great American Southwest.

           

FIRST TRUCK & 5VER   -   SECOND TRUCK   (click on photos to enlarge)

I think it was in Columbus New Mexico on our way home about 2 months later when it finally became apparent to us that we may have made a wrong decision.  We slowly began to realize we had not clearly thought the whole RV vehicle thing through clearly enough.  Main concern was the 3 doggy guys.  They had to ride the many long tedious miles in the small seat behind the front seats so we constantly had dog breath breathing over our shoulders for miles & miles.  I had to build a ramp before we left to get the guys in & out & they were always crowded back there too.

TEACHING THE GUYS TO USE THE RAMP:))

ROCKHOUND STATE PARK, NEW MEXICO

Had to carry a separate generator in the back of the open truck & I didn't much care for having to wrestle with that thing all the time.  Not a lot of storage space in that fifth wheel compared to the motorhome we have now either.  And, I never did care for that hooking up procedure but I did prefer the manual leveler legs on the Rockwood compared to the troublesome hydraulic levelers we have on our Damon motorhome now.  And the fact we had to drive around in a big tight suspension pick up truck when we got to where we were going didn't impress me either.  Those trucks may be fine on smooth paved roads but get them out on the bumpy back roads of the desert & the ride is like an old lumber wagon with every bump trying to eject you through the roof.  I'm sure some guys think this is really cool but I am not one of them!!!!

TRUCK WAS COMFORTABLE AS LONG AS IT WASN'T ON A ROUGH ROAD (Darby Wells road west of Ajo AZ.)

Our 28' Rockwood was also known as an ultra lite which meant it didn't have the full insulation, etc that other 5th wheels have & this was made quite apparent to us in Columbus, New Mexico when the temps dropped below freezing & it snowed for a few days.   We just could not get warm inside that thing.  I think we had pretty much made up our minds by this time & on the way home that year we ran into heavy Michigan snow storms that promptly took care of any remaining doubts in our mind.  We picked up a lot of ice & slush on the trailer & the added weight made it buck like a rodeo bronco.  I couldn't even hold a cup of coffee steady in the cab.  By the time we pulled into our driveway in Bayfield the writing was on the wall.  We had made a poor first choice & were going to have to start all over again.

   

HAD TO USE A PROPANE TORCH & UN-THAW THE HITCH TO GET THE TRAILOR OFF THE TRUCK

We spent about a month running around looking at motorhomes in the area & reading reams of info on the internet.  Thought about a bigger Class C for a bit but we had already had a couple of those & decided a motorhome was a better way for us to go.  Looked at some more rigs in London & then I remembered seeing a fellow's place in Grand Bend with 5 or 6 motorhomes for sale, so that's where we headed.

WE WERE ORIGINALLY INTERESTED IN THE CENTER RIG WITH TWIN VERTICAL WINDOWS

We were impressed right off the bat with Ron Krauter at FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE.  Ron & his wife Jan are RV'er's themselves & spend their winter's in the southwest around Parker, Arizona.  Ron is extremely knowledgeable about RV's & the whole RV  lifestyle.  Looked at some coaches but Ron said to hold on because he was heading to Florida in a couple weeks & picking up a Damon Challenger 329 that he thought would be perfect for us, and he was right.... it was:))

 

TRADING IN THE TRUCK & TRAILER FOR THE MOTORHOME

                      

DRIVING THE BIG RIG HOME TO BAYFIELD FROM GRAND BEND ON APRIL 17TH, 2007

At 33' with the Workhorse Chassis & Chevy Vortec 8.1 gasoline engine it pulls our little Santa Fe effortlessly.  If it wasn't for the rear view camera we would never know it's there.  The dogs are much happier now with all the extra room while we are moving & I love all the extra space in the big storage bins.  And, it's much more fun to drive.  Another unexpected thing I like is the fewer gasoline stops on the road.  Much bigger gas tank than the truck so we can go greater distances without refueling.  Fighting with stupid gas pumps is one of my major pet peeves by the way & I'll blog about that in another post soon.

THE RIG HAS LANDED.....HOME SWEET HOME:))

Again, this post is not meant to ruffle any feathers in the ever ongoing debate between which is the better RV to have.  Like I said, it all boils down to each individual RV'er's wants & needs.  For us at this age & stage of our RVing life a motorhome works best for us.  In the  future, who knows.......maybe a tent & sleeping bag again.  Ya right!!!!

TONIGHT'S YUMMY SUPPER....Large flake oatmeal with a smattering of 5 grains granola thrown in.  Topped off with raisins, brown sugar & banana slices.  Skim milk finished off the masterpiece:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Did you know that when the TV repairman got married the reception was excellent or that a cardboard belt would be a waist of paper.
But, not to worry because the little old woman who lived in a shoe wasn't the sole owner - there were strings attached.   And besides, when the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U C L A.  And, just in case you think I'm getting a little to smart alecky here, just keep in mind that those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.  Ok, & don't tell anyone about the dog who  gave birth to puppies near the road and was ticketed for littering.

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

HOW DID YOU END UP WITH A CLASS A??

Recently while reading one of our favorite RV forums here on the internet, RV NET http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm I came across the topic, "How Did You End Up With A Class A Motorhome?" There were quite a few responses & I found them all interesting so decided to throw my 2 cents worth in as well. Well, you know what my 2 cents worth ends up being. On & on & on I go. How do people keep things so short & concise?? Well anyway, figured I may as well copy & paste it into the blog here in case it gets booted out of the RV forum...............................

Guess it started with an old beat up Volkswagon hippy van back in the late 60's. It was pink & white & somebody had painted "Van-go on the front. Next was an orange Volkswagon camper van in which I took myself out to the east coast of Canada & back in 86. That was followed by a full size Dodge conversion van which I took a real beating on. A few years after meeting Kelly in the early 90's we bought an old 79 Dodge 17' Centurion Class C. It was a bit of a beater but we did manage a few local trips with it & that little rig was instrumental in putting us on the one way RV path of thinking, forever. Next came a 24 Prowler TT. Nice clean rig but I wasn't crazy about the hooking up arrangement. We became busy around that time & didn't use the trailer a lot so finally sold it. But, the RV bug never leaves you alone. Not ever, not never. A year or so later we bought another Class C but by the time we got down into Texas for a quick holiday in December of 05 we new it's 21 foot length wasn't big enough. It was a Ford Gulf Stream & we sold it a few months after returning home. It had some issues. Then in August of 2006 came the opportunity to finally move up the ladder a bit. But, what to get. Our choice was narrowed down to either a used fifth wheel or a Class A. We had tried all the rest so it was time to have a go at something different. Back & forth & back & forth we went weighing out all the pros & cons & comparisons. Read all the RV forums, talked to RV owners, & read the RV mags trying to make sure we made the right decision. Class A motorhome or a truck & fifth wheel combo. No room for error this time!! After many discussions we finally made our choice...........Truck & fifth wheel it was. (GMC truck & Rockwood trailer) Off we headed for the American southwest for a couple months. I don't know just where or when it was that we both began to realize it, but maybe it was the look on our faces after awhile somewhere between Texas & Arizona that told us.....oooops. You know that kind of look. It comes over your face when you finally come to the realization that you have just made a very big mistake. I won't go into all the details of why we knew we had made a mistake because I don't want to get pounded out by a lot of fifth wheel drivers out there. It's a great way to go but it just wasn't for us. We returned home around the end of January 07 & a short 3 & half months later we traded that truck & fifth wheel in on a 2003 33' Class A motorhome. This past winter we spent over 4 months in the southwest again & have never once regretted our decision to move to a Class A. It's been a long expensive road from the pink & white hippy van to our Damon Challenger but we are finally happy campers.............well, maybe if we had a little more length:)) Awwww nuts!!