Archive for the ‘RV’ Category
Motor homes are an ideal way to travel for lots of people. you may be surprised to find out how many places there are to take your RV for a family vacation.
There are lots of types of motor homes to choose from. You can find anything you want, big or small, simple or complex. If a motor home sounds like the way to travel for you, check out your local dealer. Or, even better, surf around the web. You can find sights with lots of models, including detailed photographs and specifications.
Let’s first talk about the options that traveling and vacationing by recreational vehicle allow you. One of the most popular A Class A motorhome is large enough and sufficiently comfortable for fulltime RVing. It is literally a home on wheels is Winnebago models. The Winnebago Journey is an upscale Class A diesel hauler that has many luxury upgrades compared to the Journey express. It is built on the extraordinary Maxum Chassis, which not only gives the Journey an incredible ride and handling, but extensive exterior storage.
With a Winnebago Tour you’re not committed to staying at hotels. Obviously you have brought your home on wheels with you! No worries about if the hotel location is ideal, or if the room and restroom will be clean and bed-bug free. Take advantage of the experiences RVing can offer. See the beautiful countryside between destinations. Take advantage of spur of the moment pit stops at interesting places.
In your RV you also have so many conveniences right there. Don’t worry about having to stop for potty breaks. If the kids are hungry between meals they can easily grab a snack to hold them over.
Campgrounds are so convenient and affordable, and a very safe alternative to tent camping. There are hundreds and hundreds of valuable reasons to turn to RVing for future travel and vacations. To read more, visit Dave Arbogast RV. Our passion is RVing and we believe it could be yours too!
1. What size RV are you and other family drivers comfortable with pulling or driving? Whether your new RV is a towable that you will pull with your tow vehicle or a motorhome pulling your automobile, truck or SUV, you have to be comfortable driving the total length of your RV and vehicle. I have heard of people who purchase a large RV for the room inside only to be scared to death of the size and not use it and, in a short time, trade it in for a smaller RV. When you are considering an RV purchase, ask the sales person at the dealership or the individual you are purchasing it from to let you test drive it. Ask for an experienced RV driver at the dealership to go with you as they can give you some driving tips which could make you feel more comfortable.
2. How many people and pets will be traveling in the RV? When shopping for an RV or at the very least when you have narrowed your search down to a few, take the kids or other traveling passengers with you. Everyone should be in the RV at the same time to determine maneuverability with everyone on board. Do you feel like you are tripping over each other? If you have pets that will travel with you in a crate, bring a measuring tape with you and measure out the area required for the size crate or tape together sheets of paper in the size of the footprint of the crate or find a cardboard box the approximate size of the crate that you can break down and set up in the RV you are considering. This will give you a good visual of how much floor space the crate will take.
3. Does the RV have enough storage? Obviously, there is a big difference in the amount of clothing, food, shoes, toiletries, food and supplies required for two people using an RV for weekend getaways and a family of four with two dogs who want to travel across country for an extended vacation. Make sure the RV has enough storage but never exceed the weight limitations established by the manufacturer.
4. Will the kitchen table adequately and comfortably seat all family members? Though the goal may be to have all meals outside on a picnic table, weather and other factors can force meal times inside the RV. The two common type of kitchen configurations found in RVs are the bench style or traditional table and chairs. Many times the bench style seating will have storage underneath and can be converted to an extra bed. Do you need those features or will your family more comfortable with the table and chairs configuration even though it means losing storage and/or a bed. Look at RV floorplans with both configurations to help you decide.
5. How comfortable are the bed(s) both in size and comfort? If you are used to sleeping on a king size mattress at home because you are over 6′ tall, a full size bed may not be a comfortable size for you in an RV. If the mattress is too soft or too hard, it can be changed to a mattress you prefer. If the bed for children is a pull out couch in the RV, pull it out and make sure the kids will be comfortable.
6. How does the size and layout of the bathroom suit your family? Is the shower stall large enough for the size of all family members, even those who are tall or on the larger size? One configuration that many RVers like in the bathroom is the toilet and sink in a separate room. Make sure every member of the family tries out this configuration as the small room can seem claustrophobic to some and the area for the sink may not have a comfortable amount of elbow room for some to perform their daily routines such as brushing teeth, shaving, etc.
7. Do you want slide-outs in your RV to extend your inside room? Slide-outs are a great way to increase your indoor living space. Tour some RV floorplans with slide-outs if you are looking for more room.
8. Where do you and your family like to go and stay? The larger the RV, the less choices for RV parks and campgrounds. Many state parks, national parks and older RV parks have smaller RV sites that may not accommodate the larger RVs usual ly over the 32-36 foot length range. Purchase a campground directory that will not only give you many choices of RV parks at your destinations but it will tell you the average size of the RV sites.
Traveling in an RV is, in our opinion, the best way to travel. You take the conveniences of your home with you. But to get the maximum enjoyment out of your travel adventures, you need to choose an RV that is just the right size for you, your family and other guests. There are a number of considerations to finding the perfect size RV for you. But you will find it!
By the time I was 18 years old we had lived in 21 different places, so my wanderlust comes naturally. Which means it wasn’t a complete surprise to my family when my wife and I decided to sell our house and move our family of four into a travel trailer so we could see what was over the next hill (and the one after that, too).
The trailer we ended up with is 26′ long with 208 square feet – a far cry from the 3,800 square feet on five acres that we started with. Why get such a small trailer – especially when our kids are teens and not toddlers? Simple. It came down to our desire not to incur any more debt. We could afford to pay cash for the trailer we ended up with and “no payments” was worth the smaller size. If you can afford a larger size, go for it. But don’t let that be a reason why you can’t hit the road if that’s your dream.
We went from the house to the trailer in stages, almost by accident, but the way it turned out is now the way I’d recommend if at all possible. We had no way to know how long it would take to sell our house so we got that moving as soon as possible – and then when it sold we weren’t quite ready to hit the road since it was the middle of winter in Alaska.
We rented two storage units for most of our things and found a small furnished apartment, about 750 square feet. Over the next several months we started going through boxes and putting things in three categories:
- Get Rid Of (Garage Sale or Donate)
- Take With Us
- Put In Long-Term Storage
We actually ended up with a fourth category, “What Do We Do With This?” but things didn’t stay in that one for too long before they got shuffled to one of the main categories.
By the time spring came to Alaska we had enough stuff for a killer garage sale. We held it for two weekends and things that didn’t sell got hauled to the Salvation Army thrift store – no saving them for another time. We emptied the largest of the storage units and put the long-term storage items (keepsakes, photo albums, etc.) in a small storage unit.
Now we were down to just the stuff to take with us and at that point my wife and daughter decided to fly out of Alaska and visit with relatives for a few months while my son and I finished things and drove down in the pickup. Nice plan, but when we got ready to go I realized everything we had left was still too much – there’s no way we could fit it all in a travel trailer.
So one more round of going through everything got us to the point where we could actually get going, buy the trailer and move in. Although once again we had to load the trailer and whatever didn’t fit had to be taken care of.
The moral of the story is, no matter how much you think you’ve downsized already, do it some more! Be more brutal in deciding what you can live without, because no matter how much you think you need X, Y, and Z, there’s only going to be enough room for X.
With many expensive consumer products, there is always a debate about whether buying the item or renting the item is better. Most of the time the decision of buying or renting is based on how you use the product. When it comes to a recreational vehicle or RV, there are some conditions where it does make sense to actually purchase the RV versus renting it. There are advantages to owning the RV versus having to rent one.
The first advantage is that you will not be limited by rental time. Some people have lots of vacation time or are retired and don’t need to be limited by certain times like in rental agreement. Buying the RV does give the freedom to take trips for as long as you would like without having to return to a certain location. For many this is one of the best aspects of owning an RV.
When you own an RV, you also don’t have any mileage limitations. Many rentals allow you a certain number of miles to use the RV and will charge an extra fee for each mile that you go over this limit. To some this is too much of a limitation and owning the vehicle makes more sense.
If you are going to use your RV out of the country, owning it is almost required. Very few will rent you an RV that you can take out of the country. This is because of liability. For cross country tours, owning your RV is much better.
If it doesn’t cost you very much to store your RV or it can be stored on your own properly, it does make sense to own it. Storage costs are one of the big arguments for renting instead of buying. If you can store it for free, this argument is no longer valid.
Owning an RV is much cheaper than renting if you spend more than six weeks in one each year. This justifies the storage fees, insurance, and maintenance costs versus just taking this money and renting.
Why would any recreational vehicle (RV) owner wants a Do It Yourself (DIY) solar system? One of the reasons is the high cost of a custom built solar power setup. An RV usually has 2 options to generate electricity for the living compartment. The first option is to use a gasoline generator to produce electricity when the vehicle is parked. Some people do not fancy this option because it is noisy and creates a lot of pollution. It also has a high running cost because you have to constantly top it up with gasoline.
The second option which is more desirable is to use solar panels to generate electricity. It is clean, efficient, does not generate any pollution whatsoever and require minimum maintenance. The only drawback in the installation cost. A custom built RV solar power system which can generate up to 440 watt can cost as much as $3000! Many RV owners would rather spend the money on other improvements. Because of the high cost, many motor homes owners are turning to Do It Yourself (DIY) solar kit for RVs. The system is not perfect, nonetheless, it is capable of generating usable electricity for the living area at a lower cost.
A homemade solar system is actually quite simple. The key components are the solar panels, charge controller, battery storage unit and power inverter. The other miscellaneous parts supporting the system are amp meter, voltage meter, disconnect switches and safety cut off fuses. The heart of the entire system which is the solar panels is to be installed on the roof of the vehicle. If your RV has a flat roof, this will be a simple process. However, if the roof of the vehicle is curved, then a special mounting would have to be made to cater for it.
The mounting plays a major role to ensure the Photovoltaic (PV) panels are working at its optimum capacity. When it is laid flat on the roof, the panels will not have the best angle to capture the sun light. Movable mounting which can be adjusted or tilted would be the best solution.
All the PV panels are to be connected to the charge controller which will use the current generated to charge the battery bank. When building the battery bank, it is best to choose true deep cycle battery. This is the type of battery used on electric golf carts. They are more durable and can be discharged to a lower level without damaging its internal plates. The final step is to hook up a power inverter to the battery and then run an extension cable around the RV living compartment. You can now enjoy free electricity on the open road courtesy of the sun.
Caravans and motor caravans have made quite a comeback. We’ve noticed it in the insurance brokers, and I’m sure they’ve noticed it in travel agents and caravan parks too. It seems that in a drive to save money, people have turned their backs on costly overseas destinations. Official Figures suggest that an extra 5 million holidays will be taken at home this year.
According to the National caravan Council there are now 500,000 caravans in regular use in the UK by no less than 1.5 million caravan fans. Meanwhile, the Camping and Caravanning Club has reported a massive 21% increase in the number of bookings. Perhaps its a counter cyclical marketplace, but the caravan manufacturers aren’t complaining about the recession. Swift recently reported 12% year on year growth.
Similarly, the Motor Caravan fraternity appears to have increased too. The United Kingdom Tourism Survey in 2009 reported a 13% increase in the number of trips taken.
All of this is going to mean that the roads are going to get busier and busier, and take more and more of a battering. All this additional pressure is on top of the beating that our roads took during the winter. We have all noticed the dreadful pot holes in the road.
There have been times, when out on my bike, I have wondered if I might see a little kangaroo head sticking out from one of those pot holes. I am sure they will be causing damage to cars, caravans and motor caravans. Indeed I wonder whether they will actually cause accidents.
It’s not compulsory to buy insurance for caravans, but advisable. You wouldn’t pull any other important belonging behind your car, or leave it unattended in a park without insuring it, would you? There are, I’m informed over 30 motor caravan and caravan insurers, so it feels like the specialist advice is available to those willing to look for it. My advice would be to ask a broker to help you. In a recent survey conducted by well respected magazines brokers came out as the most competitive for price, and its good to be able to ask questions and get proper advice… from a human.
Have you as well as your loved ones decided to get yourselves a motor home so that you can improve your bonding time and travel with comfort and ease? Well, prior to finally choosing the Recreational vehicle you want to get, it is crucial that you research the various kinds of motor homes first.
Listed here are the various types to know more about:
Traditional Coach-built Motor Homes
This is the most typical kind of motor home that can be observed on the highways of the United Kindom. They often have large over-cab hump and may accommodate a fair-sized bed and still have lots of roomy area for storage. This sort is actually a useful vehicle for families as well as couples who prefer to travel around UK and other European countries. They have regular kitchen, washroom and can support 2 – 6 individuals.
Camper-vans or VW Campers
Camper-vans are legendary to be Volkswagen models. They are still mass-produced and have a selection of publications as well as clubs for its hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts. This sort can easily accommodate three to four persons and it’s small enough for drives in both cities and open highways. This kind of Recreational vehicle is perfect if you have extreme enthusiasm to tour around Europe.
Campers have a selection of nice and ideal functions – windscreen sunlight visors, roofing racks for surfboards, raising rooftops, chrome fixtures as well as trims, etc. These features can be a direct conversion of Volkswagen or from many noted camper-van professional converters.
Low Profile Coach-built RVs
This type offers features and style that is comparable to the traditional coach-built motor home. Nevertheless, rather than the over-cab bed, it has a low profile style that has streamlined form as well as lower roof for better clearance and handling.
Van Conversions
This sort is usually called the panel van conversion and can be available from medium to big sizes. Well-known commercial vehicles are the base units for creating this particular motor home type. Nearly every unit introduced includes a sliding door feature. They have outstanding amount of space inside and most have spacious washrooms, well-equipped kitchen areas than the micro-sized or scaled-down van conversions.
Many models also feature dual beds at their rear, that runs across the van’s width. In the event that owners are taller, they might have trouble with fitting inside. As such, it’s also important to look at the actual dimensions as well as design of a RV, before you buy it.
A-Class RVs
This type is very large and recognizable because they don’t have a detached cab area. Models of this kind will often have large front windscreens, like those in buses.
Tag Axle or Twin Axle Recreational Vehicles
This sort is generally the manifestation of a very large coach-built motor home that already requires an additional set of wheels in order to amply support its length and weight, like the twin axle caravan. The third axle has been known as the tag axle. They are a lot more roomy although it may be difficult to drive due to the twin axle at its rear.
Additional types of RVs include the American Recreational Vehicles, Home Constructed Motor Homes, and Mini Motor Homes.