Camper

[Janet]

There is a magazine that comes out every week selling cars, boats, RV's, cycles..etc. So many things. Well, we have been looking or more like I have been looking at motorhomes and campers. We use to camp all the time and I really miss it. We had a tent camper, but I didn't trust leaving the dogs in it at all.

At first I was leaning more towards a motorhome, but hubby said the insurance would be higher and once we got anywhere, we were stuck there unless we wanted to tear up camp.

Well today I was looking through the magazine and found what reads to be the perfect camper at a price we can afford and is just about 10 miles from us. I called, but no one is home. They are probably out for the holiday weekend.

I don't usually find very many good deals at all, but if this is what it is advertised as, then it would be a wonderful opportunity for us. I need to get out of this house once in awhile, but hate leaving the dogs. They would love being out so often so it would really be perfect.

I'm not going to hold my breath, but I am going to keep my fingers crossed..lol.

[gja1000]

We have had a 5th wheel trailer for the past 10 years. It was just too big for us after my husband developed heart problems - I had to do everything, drive, set up, break down for travel, load and unload. So last year we decided to sell it. We made one trip with our two Yorkies and stayed in a hotel - and then we promptly bought a little 18 foot travel trailer, so they could travel with us. Our two nights in the hotel were not fun!

Also, we prefer to stay in the campgrounds which are usually outside of town rather than in town in a hotel.

I hope you find what you are looking for!!! Good luck. I've attached a picture of our little baby trailer. Opps! forgot the pic....

[gja1000]

Here's the trailer!

[Janet]

That is a nice one Gayle. I do have to say that I wanted a motorhome first for very selfish reasons. I feel much braver driving a bus (or something big) than my van. I just thought if I felt like taking off for a weekend to go visit Diana, Judy, or whoever else would have me I could do that if I didn't have to go through a big city. I would feel safer driving a motorhome than pulling a camper, but I'll take what I can get at a decent price...lol.

The camper we are wanting to look at is described like this in the ad: 1997 Mallard Class A 30 Foot. Exc. cond. non-smoker, AC and furnace, stored inside, front kitchen, full bath, queen bed in back, sleeps 6 $7500 OBO There is a picture of it too and it looks like a new one, but really the picture is small, so who knows what it is hiding.

Where do you like to go Gayle? I started camping with my family when my younger brother and I were both able to sleep on an army cot in a 9x9 tent. Mom would sleep on another cot and dad would sleep on an mat in a sleeping bag crossways under the two cots. We then bought a 9x16 tent and thought we were in a hotel....LOL. It was big (for us) and so nice. After that the parents bought a very small 10 foot camper and now Mom has a 19 foot Wilderness. It's nice and she bought it new, but the way it is arranged is way to small for us and the dogs.

[Dobie]

I hope it's what they advertised! We love camping - although we haven't done as much since we gotten the NH house.

[gja1000]

Hi Janet,
We take both long trips and also short weekend trips in our camper. This summer we went to New Mexico for 3 weeks and our 12 year old granddaughter joined us for one of those weeks. Yes, our little 18 footer is very cozy for my hubby and I and our two Yorkies (and was VERY cozy with our granddaughter). But in terms of my being able to handle it on the road, negotiate into parking lots and park it, set it up, break it down, it is perfect for us. Yes, we wish it were a little bigger, but for what we "need" it is perfect.

This summer we started out at a family reunion in Oklahoma, then drove to western New Mexico, near Gallup. We camped at El Morro for a few days and then went to Albuquerque, Red River, Santa Fe, Ruidoso, Carlsbad, and then into to Texas to Big Bend, and then on home to central Texas. The little camper was a dream to drive.

Sometimes when we just need to get out of the city, we'll go to a state park only 30 miles from our house. We love (and so do the dogs) to be out in the country. Since I teach school, we can't do any more than a weekend here and there during the year. But we usually go somewhere close to home for the week between Christmas and New Years. This is actually the best time to camp in central Texas - the winters are so mild, it is wonderful. We don't do much camping in the summer in Texas, it is just too hot.

Janet, like you, we started out tent camping, for many many years. Then we bought a pop-up pull behind trailer. Then we got the fifth wheel, and now we are back to the baby 18 footer. I just love being in RV parks, next to a river, or in a forest - there's just nothing better!!

We never considered a motor home due to the maintenance of the engine. My husband can work on cars but doesn't like to and now is really unable to do that sort of work. Yes, the insurance on a motor home is much more than on a travel trailer. I think we pay about $250 per year for insurance.

Your post mentions a 30 foot travel trailer. That will be pretty heavy - do you have a tow vehicle that has enough towing capacity to pull it? It is very important that your tow vehicle can handle the load. Here is a site that I visit frequently with my travel trailer questions. It has lots of great information on how heavy a trailer you can tow with your tow vehicle. http://www.rv.net/forum/ You have to remember that it is not just the weight of the trailer, but that combined with all the stuff you will put in it, e.g., pot, pans, clothes, fresh water in the tank, you and your husband/son in the tow vehicle. It really adds up when you start getting ready go to.

Good luck with your search - I just don't think there is anything better than RVing!!!