[Birdman]

  I'm about 4 yrs. from retirement and my wife and I like to travel but have never really camped or "roughed it". Normally we drive to where we want to go and stay in hotels. The older we get the more we hate staying in hotels and unpacking everything.We have been recently looking at Motor Homes and have really gotten the "bug". The last time we got the "bug" we bought a new boat that we hardly used and regretted buying . We sold that boat at a considerable loss and are worried that the same thing is happening again except on a larger scale.How do you know if rv ownership and full time rving is right for you and something you wanted to do long term. When we go on vacation now we love planning and going but also are really glad when we get back. Any recommendations?

This is the company and rv we are thinking of buying

Featherlite Coaches - INVENTORY

Carl Bird

[NewellCrazy]

Welcome Birdman,

In your position before spending that type of money on a gorgeous luxury coach I think I would try renting an RV first to make sure you can manage and that this lifestyle works for you and your wife.

Sean

[The Newell]

It is easier and more enjoyable to take your closet with you than to pack bags. Additionally having your own bed and bathroom is so much nicer than hotels/motels.

[Newellin Thunder]

RVing is a life style more so than a form of recreation and the entrance fee for the lifestyle is high, so you better have high confidence before you spend huge amounts of money on it. Renting is one option to gets some experience and buying a used rig is another way to get your feet wet without risking too much.

Newellin Thunder

[Birdman]

Thanks everybody for the replies! I guess we are somewhat afraid of making a mistake. I'll rent a motor home and go from there.

[fulltiming]

Renting first is an excellent move. My wife and I had 'camped' in our Starcraft conversion van but didn't like the idea of not having hot water other than using a small microwave oven we stuck under the seat. It was OK for a day or two but just not us. We bought an older 23' Airstream trailer and now had indoor running water (hot and cold), heat, A/C, a multi burner stove, oven, 8 cubic foot refrigerator and were on the way to enjoying RV'ing. We then rented a motorhome and enjoyed it so much that we decided to start fulltiming. At that time, we were still watching our $$'s so we upgraded to a 34' Airstream. We lived and traveled in that Airstream for several years. At that point, we knew we could live together in an RV and were enjoying the travel so we switched to a motorhome. The more you travel, the more you will like a motorhome. If you like to sit in one place month after month, there are less expensive RV's out there but if you like to move every few days or every week or so, you can't go wrong with a motorhome.

As far as roughing it, my wife's favorite saying is her idea of roughing it is having to stay at a Holiday Inn.

The important thing is can you and your bride live together in very close quarters for extended periods. If the answer is no, it is unlikely that you will get much 'value' out of any coach but especially an expensive motorcoach.