In the Clouds

Yes, the gray clouds are building up over full time Rvers . No, I'm not talking about clouds caused by age or gray hair), but of the Real I.D. Act which goes into effect in May, 2008, requiring that driver license applicants (or renewals) prove their principal residence by showing a utility bill, a bit difficult when you are full timing in an RV. You may read more about it here. Our dream is to live in an RV before we are too old to drive it, although, that is closing in. This may put a damper in it. . . . I plan on reading more details on it, before I freak out, but at the least there are people out there suggesting we understand the law and then jump at contacting those in control.

Tuesday Tumble - Two Important RV Decisions

Safety first, for me. The other most important considerations, even before the right floor plan are:

Every person who will be a passenger in the front needs to sit in the front passenger seat. Not all RVs have room for you to sit straight. Many have the large bump outs for the engine and even as small as I am I cannot sit straight in the seat because I have to shove my feet to one side which barely twists my body. It doesn't seem like much, but after many hours riding, it becomes quite uncomfortable. I have eliminated many RVs from our search because of that. I am not assuming this, my husband's van has caused me many uncomfortable miles, or miles with my feet pulled up cross-legged to try to untwist my back. And if the seat is too high for you, be sure you can put something safely beneath your feet to take the pressure off your legs. They will say just sit at one of the other seat belted positions. Are the seat backs there high enough to protect your head from snapping back?

Make sure that if you are a TV watcher, it is in a place you can watch it without hurting your neck. Some seem, in spite of their large size, to have been thrown in as an afterthought, to use more as a radio, because you just can't watch them comfortably.

Tuesday Tumble - Buying an RV - Choices Galore

RVs never cease to amaze me, no matter how big or small. Yes, we were two of many that are considering the purchase of an RV later this year.

Just going to the one or two dealers is not necessarily enough. You may be lucky and find the floor plan and RV of your dreams on your first try. But if you don't, realize there are more floor plans than most of us have the imagination to conceive. Add to that more options offered than in a car and it both is overwhelming but wonderful, because the possibility of finding what you REALLY want is there.

We have attended seven RV shows in three cities in the past two years. We have logged miles of walking, asked questions, read brochures, and eavesdropped on other consumers as they questioned salespeople and other RVers. No, it shouldn't take you that long, we started out just curious, no intentions of ever considering one, just humoring me, so to speak. In the midst of that research, I perused websites and RV blogs, looked at so many floor plans my brain started to think in them. (OK, I made that last phrase up, but you get the idea, right?)

Safety and quality come first. Two other extremely important considerations are brought up at the end of this blog, but floor plan is almost everything when it comes to making it work for you. There is a floor plan out there that will probably work well for everyone, but it will take hunting, because there are many more that won't work! If you haven't looked inside an RV, you will not understand the truth in my words.

Choices To Make:

KITCHEN

front kitchen - back kitchen - middle kitchen

two burners - three burners

single sink - double sink

plugs on counter or not

virtually no counter space - some counter space - "lots" of counter space

BATHROOM

back bathroom - middle bathroom

window in toilet area - no window in toilet area

if shower and toilet and sink together - large enough to use or bump every part of your body as you almost straddle the toilet

shower separated from toilet and sink - shower, sink and toilet all separated from each other

(Note: a few tiny RVs have only one sink for kitchen and bath, though a few of those have inserts to put in the kitchen sink, for those who are braver than I germ wise.)


SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS

Bedroom front - bedroom back - no bedroom at all

Sofa Bed - Dining table conversion bed - above the cab if you are agile - queen or king bed with room to walk around - bed shoved against 2 walls so you climb over each other or a combination of some above

DINING

Individual tables placed when you need them in front of sofas - a real table and real chairs - a dining booth (u-shaped booth or normal booth) - individual tables placed in front of lounging chairs or drivers and passenger seats once rotated

OPTIONS

I have only barely touched the major choices. There are so many I could not possibly list the rest, but a few:

No slide outs
How many slide outs?
Sofa or chairs
Desk area
Generators
Inverters
Cloth or Leather
Interior colors
Cabinet choices
Extra seating or extra storage
Surround Sound
Awning

Have fun. . . Because there are engine options and . . . .

Tuesday Tumble -Chemicals in RVs

If you are sensitive to chemicals, don't open drawers or cabinet doors on a new RV. For the most part many of the RVs had been exposed to fresh air enough the chemical smells were not too obvious, but there were a couple that left my eyes burning horribly and my head starting to react when I opened a drawer that had most likely not been opened much. I also noticed that a few of the RVs would evoke a reaction almost as soon as I walked in. I sure hope they had not been opened up before that show. . . and that is not how they will be for years.

But there are some really really nice RVs sold now. We will probably never get one at this rate. I want a small van type for going to smaller parks on the weekends, a Class B or C for quick trips to Florida (quick is not exactly a truth here), and a big one to live in full time. Oh, and a toy hauler, just because I like them. Now I can't have all four, nor three, probably not even two, and maybe not even one, but it sure is fun trying to wade through hundreds of them repeatedly to find that perfect one for us. It is out there.

If you are even remotely interested in RVing in the future, you better start your search now.