Many moons ago, Mike and I developed a retirement plan. Our target date of March 1, 2020 would be shortly after I turned 55 (Mike is 5 years older). We would sell everything, buy an RV and explore the United States.
As we neared our RV Lifestyle GO Date so began the search for the perfect RV? I use a question mark …. well… because is there really such a thing as a PERFECT RV?
Having no prior knowledge or experience with any type of RV, Mike (because he is the planner and executor) began the search with smaller more affordable new gas engine Class C’s. Keep in mind, we have a crap-ton of toys: bikes, kayaks, white water raft, backpacking equipment and all of the assorted goodies that come with those toys. It was A LOT of stuff before you even add in the household goodies.
After months of on-line research, with a budget and a list of 12 or so Class C RVs to look at, we excitedly set off to one of the RV Supershows at the Tampa Fairgrounds.
To say it didn’t go as planned was an understatement…… one by one we quickly ruled out EVERYTHING on our list. Mostly it boiled down to the amount of storage and then the workmanship was disappointing for a full-time lifestyle.
Mike went back to the drawing board. With the help of the all mighty internet, he expanded our search with much larger gas engine Class A RV’s with lots more storage and narrowed it down to a few Tiffin and Newmar models. Eventually we added in the 2011 and older Monaco family models.
We then knew we needed “professional” help so we made an appointment with a wonderfully kind, knowledgeable and (most of all) patient salesman at a large dealership in Venice, Florida. He patiently spent HOURS with us on numerous occasions before we narrowed it down to a Tiffin 40′ Open Road gas model. HOWEVER…..once Mike drove the gas model, he felt several things were unsatisfactory: acceleration, braking, steering and noise were all disappointing. He wanted to test drive a diesel…. well, once he drove the diesel it was a definite no-go on the gas.
Our budget would definitely NOT allow for a new diesel model so began the regional search for the perfect “affordable” diesel. We visited just about everywhere in Florida from Tallahassee to Naples, Clearwater to Melbourne and even into Georgia. From private owners to brokers to dealers. This went on for about a year as our original salesman kept phoning us with potential options but our budget was limiting us with our dream “unicorn”.
We continued to do on-line research, follow blogs and YouTube channels of full-time RV’ers which gave us a much more developed sense of what would work for us.
Along the way we created a honed list of MUST HAVES and Bonus Items, had worked through a few storage quandaries and were still ahead of the game with about one-year to go when we ran across an ad for something very interesting.
One side note that always amazes me: We had planned to sell our 2009 Cherry Red Mazda Miata for an new Subaru SUV just before the big move, a little ahead of the game, our neighbor wanted to buy our toy car so off we go just knowing we would find the perfect Subaru in a day….. because we (originally) wanted to flat tow, the Subaru models were very limiting and our choice boiled down to the Crosstrek Manual Transmission model. The ONLY (and I do mean ONLY) model in the southeastern United States at that time was in Clearwater and it was Orange! Being used to a car that “stands out” I was game but Mike was not… long story short we ended up with the Orange Subaru and absolutely love her!
Now…. back to my “interesting” story line…
We traveled to Naples to meet with with a private seller of a 44′ 2011 Monaco Diplomat DFT (the Monaco story is rather interesting and they have quite a following). Upon pulling up to the RV we were in love! The oranges in the RV matched the car and we just knew they would make a striking pair. Trying not to get too excited, our host took us inside and we were amazed at the size and all of the “extras” . After several weeks of arranging for the owner to get an inspection, negotiating and paperwork we closed the deal.
Mike immediately began the planning process of where our first “season” would be and starting booking RV Parks and putting together agendas. NOTE: He continues to plan and book everything one year in advance. This has served us well with the rapid increase of RV’ers.
We took possession of her in October 2019 and found a storage facility to keep her safe while we slowly “made her ours” with some decorating, regular maintenance and a few upgrades and repairs.
We sold our home in December 2019….. moved to Inverness (as was always the plan) with a small home we had purchased with 90 yo Mom.
Then COVID hit! Turned out to be the PERFECT time to be in an RV (thought the rest of the world) and hence the RV parks were very busy…….
Didn’t phase us…..we had an amazing time touring northern Georgia and all of New York State from the Thousand Islands along the St. Lawrence to the Finger Lakes (famous for their wine regions) to the Adirondacks to the Catskills.
At first I was super apprehensive about the lifestyle and suffered a lot of anxiety over selling my beloved home but after about 2-months on the road I was HOOKED! Mike, being the true adventurer, never looked back!
But along the way, there are ALWAYS issues: mechanical, engine, house it doesn’t matter there will always be something to diagnose, repair or replace…. fortunately for us Mike is great with those things. I, on the other hand, make a great assistant 🙂
So when shopping for an RV, these were the MUST HAVES on our list:
- 40′ – 44′ size large enough to comfortably live in full-time and store all our gear
- Cummins 350 or larger diesel with less than 80,000 miles
- Large generator with Auto Gen cycle
- Large slide outs giving us plenty of space when camping
- One-and-a-half bathroom plan
- Three roof top a/c units with vent fans having a rain cover
- Large residential fridge
- Computer work station
- Stacked washer and dryer, not the combo type
- Large TV that is located in the living space, not the one over the cab
Things that were a BONUS in our final choice:
- Ten Airbag Roadmaster Suspension (more comfortable ride)
- Electric Cord built-in reel with locking cover
- Hydralift (this came in handy to transport our Yamaha motorcycle)
- Large comfortable recliners that sleep dreamily
- Fireplace (electric)
- Sleep Number king-size bed
- Extra large closet that is the width of the RV (helps to store a wide variety of clothing)
Things that we wish for now are:
- Side radiator
- Rain gutter system
- Larger patio awning that can be left out during small wind events.
No matter if your rig is brand new or an older model, you will always have maintenance, repairs and upgrades you want to install.
My next post will about the most aggravating elusive gremlin that haunted us for over a year.
Dream Big, Travel Far, Live Well ……
What’s Next?
Next post will be Rosie’s “gremlin” dilemma that took us over a year to figure out…. maybe ?
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