Anyone into RVing?

[Test Monsterone]

It’s been an idea of mine for a few years, but financial reasons and practicality have stopped me from buying an RV. The Mercedes Sprinter RV conversions look pretty awesome, though. For around $75,000 you can get a used Roadtrek Adventurous or something similar, low mileage, that has the works. Kitchen, bathroom, plenty of seating, and a big bed. I always wanted to go up North into Canada and Alaska and have some adventures.

If you consider what you’re getting, it’s not that bad. Runs a 6 cyl diesel and gets between 20-25 mpg. Anyone live the RV life?

[wango]

Check with marine buzz. I’m purty sure it’s a full time thing with him & his wife.

Every time I hear RV’s, I think of the movie “Dusk till Dawn”. If you pull the trigger & if it were still open, you would qualify to get into the “Tittie Twister” club down in Mexico

[Test Monsterone]

Check with marine buzz. I’m purty sure it’s a full time thing with him & his wife.

Every time I hear RV’s, I think of the movie “Dusk till Dawn”. If you pull the trigger & if it were still open, you would qualify to get into the “Tittie Twister” club down in Mexico

Hopefully he chimes in. I am not interested in anything in Mexico at this point. Only the US and Canada. If I do end up going on this journey, I'm gonna have to purchase some protection. I'm already picturing myself shooting off bad guys while my girl is driving the RV. That or having to fend off a bear. Not trying to be Timothy Treadwell any time soon. Have you seen the documentary on this dude? Pretty wild.

If I was still in LA, I would consider doing the PCH all the way up to Canada with a regular car and just stop at hotels.

[wango]

Hopefully he chimes in. I am not interested in anything in Mexico at this point. Only the US and Canada. If I do end up going on this journey, I'm gonna have to purchase some protection. I'm already picturing myself shooting off bad guys while my girl is driving the RV. That or having to fend off a bear. Not trying to be Timothy Treadwell any time soon. Have you seen the documentary on this dude? Pretty wild.

If I was still in LA, I would consider doing the PCH all the way up to Canada with a regular car and just stop at hotels.

Just joking about Mexico. I have an odd habit of making movie references to many things I see daily.

The wife & I did a long road trip north, a lot on PCH, many years ago - really cool.

Lol regarding Treadwell/“Grizzly Man”. Yup seen it and as the wife loves trips in which she is up close and personal with animals in their natural setting; she dragged me along (reluctantly at first) to do a 3 day tour at Katmai in Alaska (where those bears are & he spent his time/died there).

He broke all of the rules for that place & got him & his girlfriend killed. He was practically begging to get attacked, because those bears are harmless if you follow simple rules. Our tour guide who’s been there forever & knows the place (and all of the bears) like the back of his hand, saw him frequently & told us that he was a nut-job.

[Test Monsterone]

Yeah, I know you were kidding - but on a serious note; I'd walk through Katmai covered in fish oil before I'd walk through Mexico. hah...

It's sad cause his girlfriend was terrified of bears and she didn't really want to go. She went against all her instincts to appease him and look what happened. Had to see him getting eaten alive before it was her turn. They had no weapons, not even bear spray. The eerie part is when the pilot comes to pick them up the next day and goes looking for them in the bush... he said he gets a weird feeling that something is wrong so he turns back to his plane, and as he approaches it, he looks back and sees a grizzly following him. Then he flies over the area tryin to see them, and sees the bear eating their carcasses. You don't even need horror movies when you have stories like this.

[wango]

Weapons are not allowed there. Our guide carried a flare. He said in 10 years, he’d used it once.

It really was tragic about his girlfriend. If I recall from the end of the documentary, the video camera was on & they had an audio recording of the entire thing; gruesome.

What’s bizarre was that within our first hour there, we felt totally safe from any harm. We could have legitimately been in possible danger only once, but still felt comfortable. BTW, they are f’n jaw dropping & huge. Possibly the greatest experience I’ve ever had.

This was one of the moms and her cubs that we saw. This was probably about 50’ away, but most times we were closer.

No f’n way am I going near Mexico, the cartels are more brutal than the Grizzlies when they do you harm.

[Honkey_Kong]

RVs are endless money pits. Even if you buy it in good shape, you're going to be fixing leaks or broken pumps all of the time.

I'd suggest renting an RV for a trip and seeing how you like it before you drop $75k+ on one.

[lovbyts]

Weapons are not allowed there. Our guide carried a flare. He said in 10 years, he’d used it once.

It really was tragic about his girlfriend. If I recall from the end of the documentary, the video camera was on & they had an audio recording of the entire thing; gruesome.

What’s bizarre was that within our first hour there, we felt totally safe from any harm. We could have legitimately been in possible danger only once, but still felt comfortable. BTW, they are f’n jaw dropping & huge. Possibly the greatest experience I’ve ever had.

This was one of the moms and her cubs that we saw. This was probably about 50’ away, but most times we were closer.

No f’n way am I going near Mexico, the cartels are more brutal than the Grizzlies when they do you harm.

I really think it all depends on where you go. Honestly I have walked around a lot of neighborhoods alone and at night I probably should not have but like someone once told me there, If you are looking for trouble you will find it and if you are not most likely you wont. Ive never had a problem.

Im actually headed to Playa Del Carmen in a few weeks. Ill keep you updated.

[Test Monsterone]

RVs are endless money pits. Even if you buy it in good shape, you're going to be fixing leaks or broken pumps all of the time.

I'd suggest renting an RV for a trip and seeing how you like it before you drop $75k+ on one.

Party pooper! I figure if it doesn’t move it doesn’t need repairs (much). So if I’m using it, I’m getting enjoyment out of it, and some hopefully minor repairs come along the way, then so be it. I like your idea of renting one for a week and seeing how that goes. My initial intent was working remotely from my laptop and being able to travel. Can’t really see much in a week when you spend the first 3 days just driving. Then again, you can’t work remotely if you have no internet connection in bear country.

[lovbyts]

Party pooper! I figure if it doesn’t move it doesn’t need repairs (much). So if I’m using it, I’m getting enjoyment out of it, and some hopefully minor repairs come along the way, then so be it. I like your idea of renting one for a week and seeing how that goes. My initial intent was working remotely from my laptop and being able to travel. Can’t really see much in a week when you spend the first 3 days just driving. Then again, you can’t work remotely if you have no internet connection in bear country.

I was going to suggest the same things as Honkey Kong. Unless you are going to use it a LOT as in retire and live in it for months at a time it will be a money pit and even then it needs a lot of regular maintenance.

I got the RV but several years ago and had one for about a month. lol I got a great deal on it but realized it would need a fair bit of work to be what I wanted. Im not sure why they make them the way they do except for $$$ so they are cheap to make but cost the owner a lot more in the long run. Id say 90% of them get dry rot due to leaks even if you get it sealed every fore years and 90% of people dont.

I got lucky and mine was sort of a 1 off with old western type cabinets and lighting and some ex Microsoft hippy time fell in love with it so I sold it.

It sort of the same with a boat, the 2 happiest days of a boat or RV owner are the day they bought it and day they sold it. lol

[yeahbuddy289]

I use to go camping with my grandparents when I was a kid. Started out in a pop-up then they bought an RV. They would take my brother and I for a week. It was awesome, we’d fish every day, ride our bikes through the woods, have fires every night, all that good stuff.

It was great to get away from everything, even as a kid. It also made you appreciate what you have at home as far as conveniences lol.

I don’t know that much about RVs but my only thought would be to by something on a Ford econoline chassis. Because under all that RV stuff, it’s still just a Ford, which means powertrain wise it will still be relatively cheaper/easier to fix. Plus, a lot of Ford dealers do powertrain repairs on Ford RVs. So if you have issues out on the road it may be easier to find a Ford dealership as opposed to an RV repair facility.

[ReadyOnDeck]

I have been wanting to go off grid for a while now, but it makes a difference if your house has wheels or not. It's better to have wheels bc it's not a permanent structure. You just gotta cop some land and ensure its mobile. Lot cheaper

[songdog]

As a xTruck driver I hated to see most of them on the road.A lot of them couldn't handle their rig change lanes without really looking.And hell I ain't even going to talk about bad weather or low signs at fuel stops.They should be make to have a endorsment on their lic for those things.

[Test Monsterone]

As a xTruck driver I hated to see most of them on the road.A lot of them couldn't handle their rig change lanes without really looking.And hell I ain't even going to talk about bad weather or low signs at fuel stops.They should be make to have a endorsment on their lic for those things.

You're probably thinking of the typical RV, I'm looking at these Mercedes Sprinter conversions:






I've driven a big box truck with a trailer across the country East/west/north/south several times, but I know people out there drive like sht.

[Test Monsterone]

I use to go camping with my grandparents when I was a kid. Started out in a pop-up then they bought an RV. They would take my brother and I for a week. It was awesome, we’d fish every day, ride our bikes through the woods, have fires every night, all that good stuff.

It was great to get away from everything, even as a kid. It also made you appreciate what you have at home as far as conveniences lol.

I don’t know that much about RVs but my only thought would be to by something on a Ford econoline chassis. Because under all that RV stuff, it’s still just a Ford, which means powertrain wise it will still be relatively cheaper/easier to fix. Plus, a lot of Ford dealers do powertrain repairs on Ford RVs. So if you have issues out on the road it may be easier to find a Ford dealership as opposed to an RV repair facility.

That's a good point about the Ford. Mercedes makes the Sprinter van which a lot of RV companies use, but the #1 complaint I always hear on these is the difficulty of maintenance. A lot of Mercedes dealerships don't even deal with the Sprinter vans, and those that do can have people waiting a month or longer to get it repaired. Everything is more expensive, too, since it's mercedes. I like the look of their new Sprinters, but the American versions are more convenient in that sense. MPG is important, and while some of the Sprinters run diesel 6 cyl and are more fuel efficient than comparable gas powered American vans, the higher price of diesel actually makes the Sprinter less economical. A lot of factors to consider.

[yeahbuddy289]

That's a good point about the Ford. Mercedes makes the Sprinter van which a lot of RV companies use, but the #1 complaint I always hear on these is the difficulty of maintenance. A lot of Mercedes dealerships don't even deal with the Sprinter vans, and those that do can have people waiting a month or longer to get it repaired. Everything is more expensive, too, since it's mercedes. I like the look of their new Sprinters, but the American versions are more convenient in that sense. MPG is important, and while some of the Sprinters run diesel 6 cyl and are more fuel efficient than comparable gas powered American vans, the higher price of diesel actually makes the Sprinter less economical. A lot of factors to consider.

The price of diesel is insane… hopefully it doesn’t stay that way forever. But one thing that won’t change is the cost of maintenance for anything diesel. Oil changes are way more expensive, you have fuel filters to replace, DEF to add. If its cold out you have to worry about your fuel gelling. Also, with todays strict emissions on diesel vehicles, they can be pretty unreliable. If you have one sensor in your exhaust fail your vehicle won’t start. If you have a problem with the DEF injection system your speed will be limited until it goes into idle only mode.

[Test Monsterone]

The price of diesel is insane… hopefully it doesn’t stay that way forever. But one thing that won’t change is the cost of maintenance for anything diesel. Oil changes are way more expensive, you have fuel filters to replace, DEF to add. If its cold out you have to worry about your fuel gelling. Also, with todays strict emissions on diesel vehicles, they can be pretty unreliable. If you have one sensor in your exhaust fail your vehicle won’t start. If you have a problem with the DEF injection system your speed will be limited until it goes into idle only mode.

That's crazy, I didn't know any of that. Thanks man, this makes the choice much easier. Unless diesel gets much cheaper than gas, it's a hard pass. The part about the engine not starting if a sensor in the exhaust fails is pretty alarming. Imagine being stuck somewhere in the wilderness and freezing to death because of a dumb sensor.

[yeahbuddy289]

That's crazy, I didn't know any of that. Thanks man, this makes the choice much easier. Unless diesel gets much cheaper than gas, it's a hard pass. The part about the engine not starting if a sensor in the exhaust fails is pretty alarming. Imagine being stuck somewhere in the wilderness and freezing to death because of a dumb sensor.

This is how it is with Fords 6.4 and 6.7 diesel, I’d imagine they are all similar as they are all being choked out by the same emissions equipment. I own a diesel myself but it’s much older and the emissions equipment was almost nothing and very easy to bypass without getting a huge fine by the DEC.

[Octaneforce]

Tm, did you ever get something?

Ive been rv’ing on my vacations in my class a for years. Its big and sloppy and eats fuel, but i dont think i could ever survive in a sprinter conversion. By the time you pack it with your girl, her things, a dog, and basic cooking utensils you will be shuffling around aggravated that you didnt get something bigger. Not to mention how small the bathrooms are in those sprinters or “class b” motorhomes.
The sprinter will definitely be better on fuel than a gasser class a, but not by much, and the upkeep on an expensive modern diesel will probably offset fuel savings. Albeit, any money savings goes out the window when it comes to rv’ing. I do it because its amazing to have a version of your own home anywhere you go. Total first world convenience. Its definitely cheaper to drive a small car to hotels, but thats no fun!

[Test Monsterone]

Tm, did you ever get something?

Ive been rv’ing on my vacations in my class a for years. Its big and sloppy and eats fuel, but i dont think i could ever survive in a sprinter conversion. By the time you pack it with your girl, her things, a dog, and basic cooking utensils you will be shuffling around aggravated that you didnt get something bigger. Not to mention how small the bathrooms are in those sprinters or “class b” motorhomes.
The sprinter will definitely be better on fuel than a gasser class a, but not by much, and the upkeep on an expensive modern diesel will probably offset fuel savings. Albeit, any money savings goes out the window when it comes to rv’ing. I do it because its amazing to have a version of your own home anywhere you go. Total first world convenience. Its definitely cheaper to drive a small car to hotels, but thats no fun!

Nah, just kinda researching and planning still. I wouldn't have anywhere to put it right now, anyhow. So you basically have a tour bus, that's pretty sweet. I like the idea of having "your own home anywhere" as you say, cause I've never been into camping, but this would allow me to go anywhere and still have the creature comforts. I do wish they were more economical. Maybe they'll come out with a hybrid at some point.

[Frank777]

I have liked RVing since childhood. My parents and I often went camping. Now I do this with my own family and I hope my children will also have only good memories of our adventures.

[jioptret]

It's a childhood dream of mine, but I haven't earned it yet.

[bedolaga]

Buying a motorhome is a great idea if you like to travel in comfort, and stay in places that are not accessible to ordinary people or where it is difficult to get to an ordinary person. But in spite of all this, I like traveling in a regular passenger car more. Even more, I liked traveling on it, after I did a little chip tuning, having bought a special kit from ecutools. It gave me a new feeling of driving an old car. So I just don't see the point for me personally to change to another car, as I've only recently experienced new emotions from my old car.

[Honkey_Kong]

Buying a motorhome is a great idea if you like to travel in comfort and stay in places that are inaccessible to ordinary people or difficult for the average person to reach.

They're also endless money pits. If you buy one and use it a lot, it's worth the investment. If you're like most people who only will use one few times EVER, you're better off renting one for the trip or staying at hotels.