Looking for an RV
01-15-2015
So we decided to look at RV’s, not buy just look. The first step was to look at local lots and see what our options were. At the same time I started to go online to research RV's and what we should be looking for. One of my favorite websites was/is irv2.com since it was written by people who were pursuing the same dream. It was also interesting to see how many answers there were for the same question. One of the first things I picked up was that floor plan was very important so we focused on floorplans when we started looking. Now at that time we were living outside Orlando and while there were a few lots there really was not that many units to look at. We had decided that we wanted a class A since we wanted to be able to tow a jeep, we wanted diesel since I had always had diesels for pulling my horse trailers and loved the power, we were not set on a size and were staying open minded about everything else.
One of the first things we noticed is that RV’s are like houses in that there are many different levels of build quality and materials. We also found that there really are not that many floor plans to choose from but we felt that we didn’t want the TV in the kitchen area since then you had to look through the kitchen to watch the football game. We expanded our search area to Tampa and saw a few more. We also left our name and number with a list of must haves with the salesperson. I honestly didn’t think that would matter but would end up being key in our future home. After a couple of weeks looking the fun wore off and we decided to take a break and come back after the summer to start looking again. Since this was only a fun toy we didn’t want to spend our whole summer working to find it.
About a month later one of the salesmen called and said they had just taken in a trade and even though they had not had time to clean it up he thought we should really come take a look before it was put out on the lot to the public. It was a 2003 Travel Supreme Select. I asked Jim what he thought and we were soon on our way down to the RV dealership.
The unit was filthy, the finishes were original, yet we felt something that we had not felt on any other unit. We were interested! I took a bunch of photos and made some notes on the condition for the interior and exterior, then told the salesman that we would talk about it and get back to him. We then went home and started to research as much as possible about the builder, reviews on that unit, problems/maintenance issues to look at, value of unit that age, etc. After doing our homework
we felt we needed to go back and take another look.
From the Blogger, Cindy Boyd: He said…She said...This blog is about everything my husband and I have learned on our journey to RV fulltime and how two people can have the same experience yet see it very differently.Photo: 2003 Travel Supreme Select
Photo Credit: RV Trader
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Before buying my 5th wheel, I to researched the online sites, walked the RV lots and had pretty much decided that, money being available, I'd love to have a Class A. Then I came back down to earth and once my wife passed, made the decision to sell all my stuff, house and retire. I went to a Camping World RV lot and looked at a Class C, which for me didn't make sense. The cost was high and the room was small for the price. The salesman asked if I had looked at 5th wheels and I had not so off we went. After looking at 7 or 8 different models, and you're correct about the floor plans, I walked in my new home. It was the Cardinal by Forrest River and it was a 38', 5 slide out with many cool things including a full sized refrigerator. The bedroom was in the rear and the living area was upstairs from the kitchen area. It really did feel like home. Needless to say, I bought it and now am a full timer. The point of my comment is simple, don't close doors on anything as you might find your "home" in the strangest place.
