RV Lifestyles

 

 

What type of RV'er are you likely to be? Full time, Part time, Snowbird, Frugal, or Minimalistic. What you choose to become is totally up to you and there is no right way or wrong way to do any of these. You could choose to be a Fulltimer which is probably the most popular. With all the options out there its pretty divided as to sell the house or keep the house. Again NO Wrong Answer. A lot of folks sell the house and everything in it to begin funding their fulltime adventure. Some people want a home base just in case things don't work out.

Snowbirders (Is that even a word, I don't know, but I'm using it) will live half their time up north and the other half down south. Not a bad plan if you ask me, since we are expecting ½ to ¾ inches of ice over night. You get the best of both worlds. Warm weather up north during the summer and warm weather down south during the winter.

Frugal RV'ers are people that watch what they bring in and payout each and every week. Unless you have a really good retirement income you will probably be one of the frugal travelers. We will be in this group since I won't be retirement age for six more years. If you come up with a workable budget and stick to it this type of lifestyle should work for you. Of course I plan to carry a rabbit's foot with me at all times. Frugal RV'ers might even be part of another category in the RV lifestyle by boondocking to save more money. You don't pay for a camping site when boondocking. Of course you don't have electrical power or city water either, even more ways to be frugal.

People can be minimalistic in a regular house without being a RV'er. One definition of a minimalist is (It’s simply getting rid of things you do not use or need, leaving an uncluttered, simple environment and an uncluttered, simple life. It’s living without an obsession with material things or an obsession with doing everything and doing too much. It’s using simple tools, having a simple wardrobe, carrying little and living lightly.) I guess you don't have to worry too much about weight limits.

A lot of RV'ers live a combination of all of these lifestyles in some form or another. I've heard some people say they have a rule in their rig, If something new comes in then something old has to leave. Just assuming here but I'm guessing that does not include your spouse. Most RV'ers aren't collecters. They have all the souvenirs and tee shirts they need. About everybody takes photos to reminisce over years later. Although some people collect small key chains from their travels along the way. Most will also have an outline of the United States on the door of their RV and fill in each state after they have camped there.

The bottom line here is, there is NO one way to travel in your RV. However you travel is the right way for you, as long as you are happy.

Safe Travels and I'll see you down the road.

Insurance needs and Choices Part II

Insurance needs and Choices Part II

So I've started to look into insurance for our soon to buy 5^th. Wheel. All I want are some quotes so I can compare to see who has the best rates and best coverage. Fat chance this is going to be easy. Tried searching the forums, of course everybody has an opinion and no two of them can agree on which company has the best deal. I guess it really is a personal decision. I did find out the big players in the insurance business isn't always the way to go. 

I started my search on Sunday night, knowing nobody would give me what I wanted right then. I filled out all of their forms and hit submit. I was expecting a full in box when I got home Monday thinking with today's economy the insurance companies would be crawling over each other for new business. How wrong I was. Not one of them responded to my request for information.

I did get a phone call Monday from one company wanting to discuss my needs, but I was in a meeting and didn't take the call. I have a problem with a company that doesn't listen to what I'm saying. I was very clear on how I wanted to be contacted and by phone was not the accepted way. That's why I included my e-mail address with instructions stating to send the information to that address.

Maybe its just me but if you can't or won't follow my instructions I guess we will not be doing business together. My research in the forums found that Good Sam seems to be the best at rates and coverage. No Good Sam doesn't really sell RV insurance, they out source to another company. But with the Good Sam name on it they want to make sure RV'ers are happy with the product. So my search continues and I'll let you know WHEN and IF I can put this little piece of the puzzle to rest.

Last weeks blog post had a sentence in the last paragraph that said.

Anyway, we have narrowed our choices down to just a few and still have time to refine the list or change it completely by the time we are ready to get on the road.

I put that in there to let people know I'm Done looking. I've seen enough RV's to make an intelligent decision on what I'm willing to live in. Well guess what, seems there is another 5^th. Wheel out there that needs a look or two. While reading the forum at IRV2 somebody brought up the Forest River Heritage Glen 327RES. Of course I had to look it up. Seems it is just about the same as the Wildcat 327CK. There are some differences good and bad. But the bad aren't that bad and the good are a lot better than I can pass on.

They are both built by Forest River. The Heritage Glen is classified as a Lite while the Wildcat is not. The quality seems to be the same, and the Heritage Glen will carry 905 more pounds than the Wildcat. Just what I need, to tell Barb she doesn't have to sell or donate as much stuff as I thought. I guess the hunt continues.

 

Safe Travels and I'll See You Down The Road.