Trying to figure out budget for camping...

[bghouse]

If traveling/living without a tow it's fairly reasonable to rent a car to zip around town. I've done that a few times; and seem to remember that others do too. Enterprise has great weekend rates.

Thanks Diana, I remembered reading that also on another thread as a suggestion. Enterprise totally goes onto the list...

[Birdie]

Don't rule out the fiberglass TT. They are very solid. You will see very nice 15-20 year old fiberglass TT. It depends on how well the owner takes care of them. They hold their retail value better than any other TT. The only times I have heard of them flying apart was when a tree fell on one during a storm and lets face if a tree fell on any TT or vehicle it would be heavily damaged. They are great for towing. I towed mine with a Toyota 4Runner with a tow package. Only required the use of a sway bar. Due to construction a weight distribution hitch is not required. You will see lots of Casita, Scamp, Oliver, etc. check out the fiberglass forum.

A 22' Class B+ normally doesn't give you a full time bed and a place to setup your laptop. It probably won't have a bed over the cab either. But it could. Depends on mfg and model. For some people that works for them.

A 24' Class C normally will have either entertainment center over cab or a bed. Some have a corner bed with TV up front.

A 25-26' is probably going to have some type of cab over bed, a corner bed or maybe twin beds between the kitchen and bathroom with TV up front.

A good place to scope out what might fit for you are the RV shows or the dealerships. Just walk through everything. I looked with a friend for about 18 months before I bought my unit in 2012. Units have changed a lot in 5 years. I see some really nice used and new RVs out there. But I am on my third unit. I probably should just smile and be happy as I really like my Winnebago Vista. I took a 4 hour driving lesson in a 43' tag axle Class A to see if I would be able and like driving a large Class A. That was the best $200 I spent in my research. But my rig is about 30' not 43'. It was the mental thing of "Wow it is so big!"

Get in them and see how you feel about them. Don't be rushed because it is a little like buying a car. The salesmen will tell you what they think you want to hear to buy. Granted not all of them, but many of them. Be sure you know the gotta haves vs the nice to have but can't afford.

Best of luck researching. Have fun looking. Grab a friend to go with you.

[bghouse]

Thanks Birdie. I've been crawling inside rigs now for almost 3.5 years at shows and dealer lots from Washington to San Diego. I've gone the gambit from 5th to TT to C to A to B and now back to looking at a small C. I feel like I'm just spinning sometimes, and wonder if I'll ever get out there to make this happen. It can be so discouraging sometimes...

[Birdie]

Well don't force it! Maybe it isn't time. Take a look at your must have lists. Are they true? Are they wishes? Do you really know what is a must have and not a 'yeah that would be nice'.

Are you going to sell everything and full-time? Or, will you most times, say 9 months out of 12?. Or are you going to do 4 OTR (on the road) and 8 in? Have you nailed that down?

I see you want a full bed. Do you want a dinette or a put the table leg in the hole table? Do you need a TV? How much cooking do you do? A little or a lot? Propane stove and oven or electric? Shower and toilet together or separated? Shower or tub or combo? Carpet or vinyl floor?

There is nothing wrong with driving a nice car and staying in a Holiday Inn, Red Roof Inn or Marriott. RVing is a lot of work, and we sometimes say a money pit because things break. It can be a lot of fun, but some folks have put a lot of money in a rig and a year or two later find out, it isn't what they thought it would be and they are upside down money wise. If you had a Casita you would probably come out even or close. If you had a two year old A, C, B, B+ probably upside down. So get your spreadsheet out and go over all your items again.

Expenses are funny. You will still have about the same grocery bill cuz you eat like you do now. Or, if you don't want to cook on propane, you will have an electric toaster oven....this means you need power. Or you you out and that becomes very costly. You still shower like now, water, soap, shampoo, dump water. You may or may not watch TV like now. Depends on if you have antenna TV or at a park cable and that may cost extra. You have utility bills now, rent or house payment. That would be campground fees and RV payment. Still got insurance, but on the rig now. Still got taxes and insurance. Oh and go look at campground fees. Seriously! I am flying high if I find a Passport America campground at $18 a night. That means to non PA-AM it is $36. Senior Pass you aren't old enough, sorry, but that is usually 1/2 price too! Otherwise you are lucky with a 10-25% discount. Why would you buy a RV to stay at WalMart stores except on a travel from point A to point B and no cg around. But people do that for two, three and four nights.

If you walk in and it shouts HOME! You will know it. Have your financing lined up and it will be smoother.

Good luck.

[JudyJB]

Even with my big 32' Class C, I have almost no problems shopping and getting into museums. Sometimes, I call ahead and ask about parking, but if you get there before say 11:00 am, it is really never a problem. Name a museum and I will tell you where I parked! In fact, I had a whole bus parking lot to myself at the Desert Botanical Museum in Phoenix. Jack Horner's museum in Bozeman was a piece of cake, as was the big Buffalo Bill museum in COdy. Almost always, museums are easy. Consider that busloads of kids go to such places, so they almost always have bus and large-vehicle parking. I go to a LOT of museums!

Grocery stores are easy, as are all big chain stores, like Home Depot, etc. I can also easily park in most larger strip malls. Very occasionally, I will have to park across the street or next door at a closed business. For example, I had to go to an urgent care clinic in a medium-sized town downtown area. I checked Google maps and discovered that there was a large parking lot to a grocery store across the street, so I parked there and walked across the street.

A small C would be even easier.

And remember, you are going to be living in this thing a LOT more than you will be driving or parking it!!!

There are HUGE advantages for a C over a B:
-- larger waste tansk
-- more storage
-- built-on generator (this is a BIG one if you full-time or take long trips. Mine will run AC, while my son's portable generator just recharges batteries)
-- a real bed and more comfortable seating

[MandysMom]

Judy, my class B a Leisure Travel, has a built in generator which will run AC. We make our real bed on the back sofa using a memory foam and on trips leave it as bed which still leaves 2 small benches and a spot where we put up table. Only thing I wish was they had swapped closet and bathroom so there would be space to,swivel driver seat as the passenger seat does. We set up front tale for laptop if we both want to go on computer. Newer Bs can swivel both. And have a slide!
Velda

[bghouse]

Thanks Birdie - all great points...

Definitely going to be full time. I already sold everything except what fits in the back of my tiny Chrysler Crossfire and drove from Washington to Baja Califonia last October - so I'm not scared of limited space I get extremely itchy feet in any one place, and I have dreams about driving and traveling - lol. Especially for year 1 I plan to cut back on work and take a mini sabbatical, and recharge myself by going places and seeing things that make me happy. Bucket List Here I Come!

I definitely want a bed that stays made up with a mattress that works best for me. Dinette or table depends on the height. If it's too high, the table legs are easier for me to replace with a different DIY solution. That's primarily for computer work, as when I spend 8 hours programming I get horrible pain if I'm not careful about the ergonomics. Hopefully not so much of the computer in year 1 - but planning longer term of course.

I eat a lot of raw foods and salads, plan to take my instant pot, microwave can also steam, maybe a induction hot plate instead of the propane. I haven't had TV for almost 6 years now, I watch movies or shows on my laptop. Already budgeted for my internet.

I did think about maybe driving my cars to hotels, but the cost is astronomical - I can't do that for any serious length of time really. But I thought about it

I think I definitely may have been trying to force it with the Class B, as it just wasn't screaming HOME to me.

[bghouse]

Thanks Judy, that makes me feel so much better. I was thinking today about some of the places I go in San Diego that are tight parking lots, and we remembering that there were more open spaces farther away - so walking is always an option.

I thought almost all the Class C's have an onboard generator, right? Although I also thought you aren't supposed to run them much in campgrounds, and that only 50amp would do the A/C at that point... I need to go back over my notes

[Bethers]

I was 5 years in a small Class C without a toad and could get around towns without any problem.

[Acadianmom]

I think all small Class C's are 30 amp and most have a generator. If it has a generator it will run the air conditioner. I think I saw on a Facebook post someone had bought a Class C without a generator so something to check on. You soon learn to do the electric dance. Either running the generator or being plugged in to electric I have to turn the air conditioner off to run the microwave or a hair dryer. It doesn't take much to overload the electric system and trip a breaker.

Martha

[JudyJB]

Running the generator depends on the campground. I got stuck in one place where it was really hot and they only allowed the generator two hours in the morning and two in the late afternoon. I sweated for two days and then left. Other places, like a couple of national parks where I stayed without electric, let us run them all day if we wanted to, until quiet hours--10 pm to 8 am. I prefer to have electric, but sometimes there will be a national park like Teddy Roosevelt in North Dakota where there is none. I will call ahead and ask what their generator rules are. Some places even have different rules for different ends of the campground. One end will be limited or no generator and the other generator-friendly.

AC does not work wonderfully in really hot, like 95 degree weather, but it sure helps. Cs are smaller so they really need only one AC. Bigger As need one in front and one in back, and thus need 50 amps. Mine runs all day even in the hottest weather on only 30 amps, and I can use my microwave also while the AC is on. And it keeps me very comfortable even at 90 degrees, and frankly, I try to avoid 90 degrees. That is what is great about a motorhome--if its too hot, you head north; too cold and you head south!

It does take a little more planning without a toad. For example, I found a neat volcano where you could drive to the top. I checked the website, and it said there was an $18 fee for vehicles over 26 feet to drive up to the top of the volcano because they close the road to other traffic so you can make the turns. Going to do that on Thursday. There was a volcano in Oregon where I could not drive up, so I was very happy to hear I could do this, even with the fee.

Oh, and did you know you could park an RV at many airports for the same price as a car? I have parked at Orlando, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City with no problems. Oversized vehicle areas were in regular economy lots, on paved lots, and well-lit, and close to shuttles. I left food in my refrigerator, and it operated on propane for 6 nights. In Salt Lake City that week it was over 90 every day, and when I got back, my batteries were still charged and the food cold.

[Cudedog]

I found a neat volcano where you could drive to the top. I checked the website, and it said there was an $18 fee for vehicles over 26 feet to drive up to the top of the volcano because they close the road to other traffic so you can make the turns. Going to do that on Thursday. There was a volcano in Oregon where I could not drive up, so I was very happy to hear I could do this, even with the fee.

Ok, Judy, DISH!!

I know that there are an almost unbelievable number of volcanoes (active, dormant or extinct) in the Cascades (the mountain range that runs up the west coast of the United States, from northern California to British Columbia). Literally hundreds, if one also counts cinder cones (which I do, because a cinder cone, although generally monogenetic, is considered one of the four main types of volcano).

There are also many volcanoes in the Cascades that one can "drive up":

Lassen Peak https://www.nps.gov/lavo/index.htm,
Mt. Mazama (Crater Lake) https://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm, Newberry, Medicine Lake all come to mind. And the list goes on.

However, since I am always up for a new "volcano adventure" (if anyone wonders why, please click on my link below), would LOVE to know the name of the specific volcano you are referring to in your post. I am SO ready to go there!

As an aside, as you probably know, the pending Eagle Lake GTG is in a heavily volcanic area of northern California.

For those who are interested in volcanoes, there are several within a relatively short drive of Eagle Lake. I can not fail to mention here
Lassen Volcanic National Park https://www.nps.gov/lavo/index.htm (a short distance away from Eagle Lake), which includes the four main types of volcano: the cinder cone (as mentioned above), the plug dome (Lassen is the largest plug dome volcano in the world), the stratovolcano and the shield. Lassen Volcanic National Park is well worth a visit - I have visited there many times.

And, remember, Lassen Peak is considered to be an active volcano, and has the largest area of hydrothermal features in the United States (boiling lakes, steam vents, mud pots - the works), second only to Yellowstone. Lassen last erupted a only little more than one hundred years ago. A mere blink in geologic time.

If anyone is interested in Lassen or the general area of Eagle Lake, feel free to PM me.

Anne

[JudyJB]

Sent you a private message, but I have been to Lassen and the volcano near Bend (Newberry), which was the one I could not drive up. (Made mistake and confused these two in my message.) Have also been to Crater Lake. VOlcano I am going to tomorrow is Capulin Volcano National Monument - https://www.nps.gov/cavo/index.htm. It is a big cinder cone.

[Cudedog]

Sent you a private message, but I have been to Lassen and the volcano near Bend (Newberry), which was the one I could not drive up. Have also been to Crater Lake. VOlcano I am going to tomorrow is Capulin Volcano National Monument - https://www.nps.gov/cavo/index.htm. It is a big cinder cone.

Hello Judy!

Thanks for the PM. Capulin volcano sounds cool!

I visited Newberry volcano

https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3145/fs2011-3145.pdf

last October, and I'm thinking that the road you were unable to drive up was maybe the road to Paulina Peak. I checked out that road when I was there and decided not to chance it, even in my van - there had already been rain and snow, and the sign at the turn-off warned against an attempt. I took the advice!

Or maybe it was Lava Butte? Lava Butte is also a part of Newberry.

On a side note. . . if you were able to navigate to the road that turns off to Paulina Peak, you had already driven more than halfway up Newberry volcano. Newberry is an extremely large shield volcano, it's "footprint" (including lava flows) cover an area of about 1200 square miles - thus this volcano is about the size of the state of Rhode Island!

It is, by many estimates, the largest volcano in the Cascade chain. Newberry is another of the Cascade volcanoes that is potentially active.

Another large shield volcano is Medicine Lake volcano (home of Lava Beds National Monument - https://www.nps.gov/labe/index.htm).

In northern California, Medicine Lake volcano is a bit smaller than Newberry - it's footprint comprises "only" about 800 square miles! (the monument is on the north-east slope of the volcano). Medicine Lake Volcano, although sleeping just now, has been active for about the last half-million years, and is expected to erupt again at some future time.

Medicine Lake volcano is an hour and a half or so from Eagle Lake. Lots of interesting stuff to see there, in addition to the lava beds and the hundreds of lava tube caves, if anyone attending the GTG is also looking for an adventure!

Ah! Volcanoes! Be still my heart!!

Anne

[bghouse]

Thanks everyone, some great ideas here. All this talk of the Cascades is making me miss Washington, although I have to admit I've enjoyed being in Mexico this winter instead. Still, I miss seeing those snow capped mountains.