RV owners justify staying on the road

KC Star ^ | 7/5/08 | ALAN GOFORTH

[stevio]

I don’t think we’ve seen the bottom yet either. But at some point you have to feel comfortable you’ve found the right vehicle at your price.

[buccaneer81]

I like REAL men, a man’s man. There are very few left out there.

Public schools and "Family" Courts are achieving their goals.

[NoGrayZone]

That’s a damn shame. God made us different for a reason, for both “sides” to become one whole.

That can’t happen if both “sides” are the same.

Just depressed myself.....I shall grab a glass of wine.

[SaveTheChief]

My dream is to RV cross country...

I would really enjoy doing that too. For the time being, I would like to get a lightweight travel trailer and see how that goes.

[cherry]

that sounds like fun.....I hope we get to travel if we ever get to retirement....just driving in North America....ALaska.....Canada....the lower 48 is all I really want to do...my husband and I are just simpletons because we love the trees, the valleys, the wildlife including the birds, flea markets, garage sales, interesting cafe's, music, etc etc....the road was made for us...

on a dissenting note however...one of the comments made on the KC Star discussion board has some weight...

.there have been generations that just hit the lotto when it came to luck....and the people born just before,during, or right after WW2 have hit the jackpot....good times following the war, stable families, opportunities and jobs with long standing companies that gave a great pension so you could retire at 55...

compared to people born a little later....big time pensions gone as well as retirement dreams because big time corporate America has retreated....

higher SS taxes, higher income and propterty taxes, no pensions or small reduced pensions, and now a stinking stock market....

some people did win the Lotto and some got stuck paying it off....

[KC_for_Freedom]

My wife and I (and the dogs) took a few years off and traveled the country. We still have the travel trailer and hope to get on the road again when our son is more recovered from his vehicle accident. Even with the higher cost of gas, it is still a good life on the road. You travel less distance and spend more time in camps. Gas would have to rise several times the current price to drive all the RV-ers out. (Of course the prices now will hit the very low income people and that is a shame. If our country would drill and refine we would see prices drop or at least rise less rapidly.)

As for the environmentalists telling us what we can and can’t do, I intend to take the same attitude that I do about firearms. They will have to pry my gun out of one hand and my other hand from the wheel. We have already given up so much freedom, the line must be drawn somewhere.

[cherry]

"My dream is to RV cross country (with the man driving of course. It would help if I actually got a man.....). "

folks, we get complainers on FR all the time about men, about women..especially about women.....

but the absolute truth is life is easier, more fun, more fulfilling with a companion....so here's hoping you find someone for your own....there are good men out there........

but there are clubs where single women..some never married and others who are widowed...who do travel extensively in groups with RV's ....

[brushcop]

They don’t need to justify it. If they can pay the price for the fuel they can do what they want with it.

Good retort! I was just going to say the same thing. The Enviro-nuts militating ends at the muzzle of my AR-15. Time to bear down on these fascists, I'm of the older generation but I sure read some excellent comments and thinking from our younger generations on this forum 'an GOOD ON YOU!!

[randita]

Here's our rig:

We were going to drive out west this fall (RT would have been about 5600 miles) but instead we decided to stay on the east coast and hop around to some state parks in the Blue Ridge Mtns. ($20 a night), then down to the Smokies ($24 a night with full hookups and cable TV) for three weeks total trip time.

We'll do about 1400 miles RT on this trip. We prepare almost all our own meals so don't count that any extra cost than we would have at home. Even with the cost of gas, we're ahead of the game. It works out to about $55/day for our vacation for the both of us for gas and lodging. The only way you could do the same trip for cheaper is if you drove an economical car and tent camped along the way.

With our rig, we have most of the conveniences of home including internet access because we have a Verizon Aircard with an antenna booster for the more remote areas. And you don't have to live out of a suitcase or set up camp. You just pull in and plug in your power cord and hook up your water line. Then dump your tanks when you leave. If you had a satellite TV set up, which we don't at this point, you'd really have it all.

It really is the way to travel, but for the time being, we'll stick close to home to save money on gas.

Lest you think we're gas hogs, both of us work at home and we put only about 15,000 total miles on both our cars combined per year. People who commute can put more mileage than that on one car alone.

[NoGrayZone]

I had no idea there were any such clubs. But, my propblem (I did say MY problem) is that I've always imagined doing it with my man.

"we get complainers on FR all the time about men,"

I wasn't complaining about men, just the lack of real ones.

[Randy Larsen]

I checked your profile page NGZ, and I think I’ve discovered the cause of your problem.

You need to get out of New York!

There aren’t any single conservative men willing to live there anymore!

[JennysCool]

I'm seeing just about as many RVs on the road this summer as last.

Despite what the hysterical press wants us to think, a $2 jump in the cost of a gallon of gas does not spell doom for most Americans. We're a resilient people.

The socialist press hates that resiliency, though!

[Mercat]

My husband was born in 1942 and I was born in 1948 so I guess we’re in the generation you’re talking about and our lives have been blessed. We don’t have a huge retirement though although better than some. I’m self employed and my husband has been managing our rentals since he was about 54 varying results. As we watch the securities AND real estate markets slide, I keep pushing my retirement date further out. But I do get to set my own calendar and rarely work more than 30-35 hours a week at a job I enjoy so I guess life is good.

[Gritty]

Liberals hate the individual freedom Americans have on the road and gasoline powered private cars and RVs symbolize that.

Most figure $10/gal gas will clean these riff-raff off the roads, drive them off the landscape into Soviet-style bloc housing and mass transit in the cities, and leave most of the country empty so they can "manage" it according to their green fancies.

Oh, and another benefit is they will have quieter views from their own 5,000 sq/ft energy-efficient log homes on top of a mountain where they can sip their chardonney and contemplate the future of Gaia.

[Guenevere]

We are a frugal family.
My husband is a hardworking, tax paying, frugal man.

A couple years ago we bought an RV that had been sitting at the dealers for a year, and hadn't sold.

They lowered the price... hugely!

We feared it might have problems while sitting in the elements for a year, but it hasn't.

We make short trips to local campgrounds with our granddaughter/daughter/son in law and have a blast.

It has paid for itself....

It's lovely having one's own bed, fresh sheets, clean towels and bathroom.

The more stories I hear about careless maids using or reusing towels to clean the dishes AND the toilet...
..the recurrence of bedbugs...lice...etc.

..the more cost efficient this has become.

Our longest trip (so far) has been to Texas at Christmas with the five of us...

..and our Class C did just fine.

I highly recommend RVing.

[NoGrayZone]

"You need to get out of New York!

Ain't that the truth!!!!

Just on the phone with my sister. We're looking to move upstate, we're going to go check it out in the fall.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

There is a lot of Liberal Hate out there aimed at anybody who doesn’t aspire to own a Prius.

[Excellence]

I’ve been living single in a motorhome for four years. It’s not that difficult, really. They’re not much wider than a large truck. The height can be a problem in parking lots with low-hanging trees.

[Rebelbase]

I drove 500 miles this weekend and only saw a handful of RV’s on the road. Overall, traffic was lighter than a typical 4th of July weekend.

[annelizly]

exactly....unfortunately i’m in the generation paying it off. and you forgot the part where there aren’t many jobs offering exployer paid health insurance anymore.

we’ll be lucky to ever be able to retire.