Here and There

Scott and Jackie's Travels – Thousand Trails Reviews, Campground Reviews, Fulltime RVing, European Travel

Tag: full time

My motorhome versus 5th wheel story

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The sure-fired, guaranteed, spirited discussion topic among fulltiming RVers is, well you know what it is: which is best for fulltiming, motorhome or 5th wheel.  The obvious thing is that both are quite suitable.  After all, there are thousands upon thousands of people happily and enthusiastically traveling and living in both.

Note: after 6 years in the 5th wheel we did make the move to the motorhome. Here’s my article comparing the two.

Still, there are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Just for fun, here are my comparisons (note: I’ll update this list when I come across more “pros” either way):

Motorhome

  1. Easier to park and set up – important for people who move often or are challenged by such things. One thing that helps is that the driver is sitting right up front over the wheels – and the steering on a mothorhome lets the driver turn the rig very sharply
  2. Lends itself to the famous “in motion passenger pit stop” and it’s less famous cousin, the “honey grab me a soda from the fridge” in motion request
  3. Better for “bugging out” from a rest area or Walmart parking lot if things sound a bit strange outside
  4. If you tow a car you have a small, economical daily driver – also nice for scouting out the campground for sites upon arrival
  5. Most comfortable travel vehicle
  6. It provides the famous, “we don’t have to even go outside if it’s raining when we arrive” advantage
  7. While there are more steps to get inside, once inside it is all one level

5th Wheel

  1. More room inside – important for people who stay in one place longer
  2. The “house” and the vehicle are separate – really important when the vehicle has to go in the shop – you don’t have to get a motel room for, say, a transmission rebuild
  3. Cost of maintenance on tow vehicle is generally less – doesn’t require “big rig” service oil changes, and camper tires are less expensive
  4. Depending on your taste, startup costs are generally less
  5. Greater variety of floor plans
  6. More stable when driving in windy conditions (assuming a well matched tow vehicle and 5th wheel)
  7. Propane tanks can be removed and taken to a refill station
  8. When you want to upgrade you can upgrade the tow vehicle and 5th wheel separetly rather than having to greater expense of trading motorhomes
  9. A 5th wheel is easier to level on sites that are unlevel front to back – you don’t have to worry about putting the front tires up on blocks or having them dangling in the air if using an automatic leveling system
  10. Here’s a real biggie: a husband towing a 5th wheel is somewhat less likely to drive off without the wife aboard. 🙂

Here’s our story: when we began our search we set a budget for our fulltiming rig.  We started off looking mostly at diesel motorhomes but soon became discouraged that the nice ones were over our budget.  We began pricing bigger pickups and 5th wheels.  It became apparent to us that we had a better chance of staying under our budget while getting something we liked if we went the 5th wheel route – and we did.

A big influence on us was the living space available in the 5th wheels as well as the better floor plans.  We wanted a normal living room set up, including a more natural location of the television.  Most motorhomes we looked at didn’t offer such a floor plan.  A lot of 5th wheels didn’t either, but some did.

Now that we’re fulltiming, I admit that there have been times when I wished for a motorhome/towed vehicle.  The truck uses a lot of fuel, towing or not.  When we arrive at a campground, I really dislike driving around with the 5th wheel in tow while I cruise up and down narrow roads trying to pick out a campsite.

Most of the time, though, I’m convinced we made a good choice.  We like the living space the 5th wheel provides.  We think some of the advantages of the motorhome are minor at best.  After all, we would have to stop motorhome or 5th wheel for the driver to make a pit stop – not to mention that walking around in a motorhome in motion is somewhat dangerous and likely illegal.  We haven’t had to set up in any downpours, and if we did, we’d just get a little wet moving from the pickup to the camper where we’d wait it out.  Also, we don’t do camp Walmart or stay in rest areas so the possibility of needing to make a run for it from some undesirable situation really isn’t that great.

Then, we’ve had the pickup in the shop three times now, once overnight.  It was nice not having to take our whole house in to the shop and vacate it just for new radiator hoses!

Maybe, someday, we’ll join the motorhome crowd.  When we do, we’ll enjoy some of the advantages of living and traveling in a motorhome.  At the same time, though, I think we’ll miss some of the pluses of our 5th wheel.

Winter projects 2013-1014 wrap up

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We’re winding down our first winter as fulltimers and looking forward to several months of travel; exploring new places.  We divided our winter between Dickinson and Rockport, Texas.  Dickinson is close to family and friends (and doctors) and Rockport is a nice Winter Texan destination.  Obviously, there are advantages to being in both places.

During these months we’ve taken on several projects: including the maintenance, repair, and upgrade varieties.  Here’s a wrap up of those projects.

Maintenance:

  • Washed camper, waxed front cap
  • Flushed the water heater
  • Sanitized the fresh water tank
  • Replaced the reverse osmosis water filters
  • Had the pickup transmission and rear end serviced
  • Had the pickup tires rotated
  • Refreshed and repaired some of the camper caulking
  • Checked roof and applied fresh Dicor caulking where needed
  • Repacked the wheel bearings

Repairs:

  • A biggie: had to replace a bent axle (I know exactly where the damage was done)
  • A few light switches that were getting quite stiff to operate were replaced
  • Camper floor reinforced where factory had under-engineered it
  • Recaulked the floor around shower stall where there were some leaks
  • Pulled the toilet to replace a leaky valve
  • Changed pin height on camper (needed a bit more space between camper and PU rails)
  • Fantastic Vent repaired (now opens and closes with thermostat – and rain sensor works)
  • The two camper 12V batteries replaced
  • Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors replaced

Upgrades:

Yet to come: the F350 goes in the shop to find a small coolant leak

As you can see, there’s been a lot to do! Special thanks to my friend Ron who is the brains behind many of these operations – I couldn’t do the mechanical stuff without him.

We love being touring fulltimers, but we’re learning that these rigs need more upkeep than a “sticks and bricks” house does. As you can see, most of the time and effort went into routine maintenance that needs to be done on a regular basis.

Now, with Spring upon us, we’re getting excited about our 2014 Adventure!  Stay tuned, good times are ahead!

Campground Review – Wilderness Oaks Resort – Rockport, TX

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It’s our first winter as fulltime RVers and we’re still learning as we go. We spent three months at a more residential park near family and friends and now we’re just finishing our first experience in a genuine Winter Texan resort here in Rockport, TX. The really big area for Winter Texans is still another 160 miles south of us, but this area, just north of Corpus Christi is probably the second most popular destination. Many of the people come south to escape the hard winters in the Midwestern states and central Canada. They come for the entire winter, staying from three to five months; and many have been making the trip for years, migrating south, landing in the same RV parks with the same neighbors year after year.

Obviously, being in a place like this is a new experience for us. We’ve been staying in campgrounds for a week or two and then moving on. Our stop here is for a month and we’re surrounded by people who are here for the entire winter. It’s a different experience for us and, while we’re looking forward to our next big adventure, I’d say it’s a positive one.

We picked this particular resort because of a combination of it having pretty good reviews on the internet and competitive prices. In general, we’ve been satisfied. Wilderness Oaks RV Resort has a nice community feel. There are plenty of activities: exercise classes, a ladies’ Bible study group, pot luck dinners, special events, music nights, and table games most every night. People are welcoming and friendly.

The campground itself is older and because of that the sites are smaller than we’d like. I was really challenged to get our 5th wheel situated in our site (although had our across-the-street neighbor been home and available to move his car from the front of his site it would have been much easier!). The back-in sites are shallow and the pull through sites are narrow. There are a couple of rows of pull throughs out by the highway and when they are full folks pay for the convenience of having a pull through by barely having room open their slide outs. Those sites wouldn’t be bad for overnight travelers but I’d hate to spend a month in one of them.

The campground has a heated pool and during the winter there’s an inflatable dome over it. Unfortunately for us, there was a problem with the dome that forced management to close the pool for most of our stay. There’s also a hot tub that we never tried out.

Probably the biggest negative here is the county airport that adjoins the property to the south. It’s not a busy airport but at times, especially when an area Navy base uses it to practice “touch and goes” the noise can get irritating. There’s also a helicopter service that makes a lot of racket when they fly. I will say that most of the noise is daytime only, and then, not all the time.

All in all, our feelings about this campground are much more positive than negative. The area is interesting, the facilities are acceptable, the people are friendly, there are lots of activities, and our campsite (although a bit cramped) is okay. As our future unfolds I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up spending more time here.

What is a fulltimer?

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There are some never ending debates in the RV world.  For instance, among avid RVers toss out the question, “Fifth wheel or motorhome?” and you’ll find yourself in an opinionated discussion.  Ask the fifth wheel crowd, “How big of a truck do I need?” and the rest of the evening will be filled with discussion.

And, if you want to have some fun, ask “What is a fulltime RVer?” and you are in for an entertaining conversation.  The crux of the matter is whether just living in a RV makes one a fulltimer.  Obviously, there’s a difference between living behind your grandmother’s house in their 1947 Airstream which is sitting up on concrete blocks and traveling around the country in a high dollar RV.  The question is, does the first person get to wear the “fulltimer” label?

I think the real problem is that the term “fulltimer” needs a qualifying adjective.

Think of the different kinds of fulltimers there are.  At one extreme there’s that person living in the 50 year old camper on the concrete blocks.  Then we’ll find people in more current rigs spending their winters in the sunny south and their summers in the moderate north, moving back and forth between campsites they may even own.  There are people who follow their jobs, moving when the work moves (and people who are workcamping from place to place).  At the other extreme are those who are touring the country.  Beyond all that, somewhere in the mix are people who are dreaming of becoming fulltimers and those who have had lots of fulltiming adventures but have now hung up the keys.

I propose that we just invite all of them into the fulltimers’ tent (not to offend you tenters who are reading this).  Then, when we want to be more specific, we add an adjective that clarifies just what sort of fulltimers we are at the present time.  In my examples above I’ve mentioned several kinds of fulltimers:

  • Stationary
  • Seasonal
  • Working
  • Touring
  • Wannabe
  • Usedtobe

I’m not trying to do a complete list here – rather, to move the discussion in a positive direction.  If you are a fulltimer, what adjective would you use to describe your fulltiming approach?

Just for fun, I’ve created this flowchart to help illustrate my thinking.

Of course, all of this is worth just what you are paying for it.

Fulltimer

 

Church hopping observations

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Borrowed from Wesley UMC Church webpage

Since retiring and becoming fulltime traveling RVers we’ve become church hoppers.   It’s quite a change from being the parsonage couple and attending our local church every time the doors are open.

As traveling RVers we’re on the move about seven months each year, changing churches every week or two.  We could visit the campground services or watch our home church online – and sometimes we do, but we like going to a local church.  Honestly, we miss our church family.  Going to church as perpetual visitors isn’t the same as being regular attenders.

Here’s our approach: after searching the web for an area church of our denominational flavor we look over the church’s web site for service times and directions.  We look for photos of people at a regular worship service so we have a better idea of the unwritten dress code.  Like most anyone, we just want to fit in and not be too casual or too formal.  When I was a kid people wore their “Sunday best” to church.  These days, not so much.  That makes it challenging to know just what to wear.  Also, we check the church calendar to see if there is a special event that Sunday.  If so, depending on the event, it might make us more or less likely to attend that particular week (VBS program, less likely – southern gospel concert, oh yeah!).  Often, the church with a website that provides us the above information is the one we visit.   By the way, the church that is still promoting last winter’s Christmas program in July automatically loses potential as a likely place for our visit.

If our own denomination has no nearby church, we look for a “sister” group, but really, we’re pretty comfortable in a wide variety of churches.

We try to arrive at the church just a few minutes early.  If we are too early we find ourselves sitting uncomfortably in a less than full sanctuary.  If we arrive late, we fear we’ll interrupt a service already in progress.  You’d be surprised at how often we’ve arrived at churches not knowing for sure which parking lot to use or even which door to enter.  That’s especially true with large churches with multiple buildings on their campus or with older churches that have an old sanctuary and newer buildings around it.

We’ve concluded that most churches are completely unprepared for walk in visitors.  They are comfortable with people who attend as a guest of a regular who is “showing them the ropes” but walk-ins are unexpected and unanticipated.  After being the ultimate church “insiders” we’ve realized just how uncomfortable walk-in visitors are during a meet and greet time.  Everyone is told to stand and greet those around them.  We stand and say a brief hello to those around us and then remain standing with fixed smiles while everyone around us has short private conversations as friends do at such a time.  Even churches that think they are friendly are mostly just friendly with one another, not with outsiders.

One eye opener for me, as a career pastor, has been the demeanor of pastors.  When we first arrive they come up to shake hands and smile, telling us how glad they are we have visited.  Then, they always ask, “Are you from around here?”  When we say we aren’t the light goes out and they quickly move on, sometimes with hardly another word.  I know how busy a pastor is on a Sunday morning, but this response to our not being “prospects” was surprisingly consistent wherever we visited and were greeted by the pastor.

Having said all that I want to add that, in general, we enjoy visiting churches.  As a retired pastor I often remind myself that I’m attending church as a worshiper.  I’m not there to look for interesting ideas or to “fix” the church.  In addition, we’ve been impressed by how many good preachers and singers there are.  We’ve enjoyed the variety and seeing the good that is being done in churches around the country.  It hasn’t been unusual for us to drive away from a worship service and remark to one another, “If we lived here we could be a part of that church.”

We miss our church family and friends.  We’re very aware that there’s a depth of spiritual life that is best fostered by being a faithful part of a good church family.  Also, we’re glad for social media and the ability it provides for keeping up with what is happening “back home.”  At the same time we’re enjoying our travels and the many opportunities to worship with the larger Church with a capitol “C.”

Travel Planning – I confess: I’m a Planner

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strategic-planningLet’s talk travel planning.  Among those who travel in a RV fulltime there’s a wide variety of travel styles.  At one extreme are those who seldom stay in one place longer than a few days and leave a campground in the morning not knowing for sure where they will be that night.  At the other extreme are those who research their trips mile by mile and start making reservations at campgrounds months in advance.  In another post I call the two extremes “planners and freelancers.” I’ve also written about it here. Between those extremes you’ll find the full range of travel planners.

I doubt it will surprise any of my friends to hear me say I’m a Planner.  That was true in my professional life, it’s true in my personal life, and it’s true of my approach to being a traveling fulltime RVer.

Over time I’ll start researching the areas we’ll be in, and by knowing well ahead of time, I can even check out county fairs and other date specific attractions.  This information, too, will be noted on either the spreadsheet or the calendar.  I also spend time checking out highway conditions like mountain grades or alternatives that will let me avoid city traffic.

By having my route and destinations worked out I’m more alert to discussions about the areas on various forums I visit as well as having a list of places I want to check out on the Internet on quiet winter evenings.

A few notes:

Again, don’t feel obligated to tell me you’ve been traveling for years just playing it by ear.  I’m not against your doing that, but I’m a Planner, and we like doing it this way.

Also, don’t get in too big a hurry with the calendar part of the planning.  It’s pretty easy to make changes to the Google Maps and your spreadsheet.  Once you start a calendar any change of days can potentially create a series of “bumper cars” in which you have to change every one of the entries!

Year in review: Random observations on our summer of 2013 Adventure

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In May, after spending a week at Lake Conroe, TX Thousand Trails we hitched the camper to the pickup and headed north on I45 to begin what we’ve called our “summer of 2013 adventure.”  On the first of November, after six months of travel, we arrived back at Lake Conroe completing our big circle and concluding our 2013 adventure.  All told we towed the camper about 4500 miles and, with all our sightseeing miles, etc. included we drove 10,000 miles.  We’ve had a wonderful time and the adventure lived up to all our expectations.

In a few days we’ll leave Thousand Trails and move to a commercial campground located about midway between Houston and Galveston.  That will be our “winter quarters” although we are planning on taking a month off somewhere along the line and head south for warmer temperatures and a change of venue…just because we can!

Here are a few random observations drawn from the past months of travel:

  1. I like planning and organizing.  Some fulltimers detest it.  They want to hit the road in the morning not knowing where they will be that evening.  If they are driving along and see something interesting along the way they change directions and follow their nose.  That doesn’t suit us.  We like looking at the map, planning the best route and knowing there will be a spot for us when we land at the end of the day.  For budgeting purposes, I had planned our entire summer, at least in theory, before we left Conroe.  With only a few changes, we followed that route and schedule all the way.  We liked doing it that way and we’ll probably continue that practice in the future.
  2. We like stays of longer than a week, but not as long as two weeks.  My rule of thumb is that, as fulltimers, we are going to spend every night somewhere.  For us, the journey is the destination so we are in no hurry.  At the same time, we are out on the road to see things we wouldn’t see otherwise.  The occasional one week stay was fine, but having to button down the camper and move every week, we realized, could become a bit of a drag.  At the same time, we had some longer stays in places where it didn’t take long to see all there was to see.  For those I mentioned above, it is easy to just move on.  For us, with reservations already made, we needed to stay put.  We’ve decided that, aside from nights when we are simply “in route” that we like stops of 10 or 11 days.
  3. The most dangerous time for any RVer is arriving at a campground.  As you arrive you are a bit tired and you are now off the highway and needing to maneuver campground roads.  You are looking at campsites and trying to take it all in, and, then you are landing the big rig.  There are tree limbs and power pedestals and ditches.   All this combines to increase the likelihood that something bad will happen.  Another of my new found rules of thumb is this: don’t let anyone talk you into trying to park the camper in a spot where you are uncomfortable.  This applies to pick-your-own-site and assigned site campgrounds.  Even if “people park campers as big as yours in that spot all the time” don’t do it if you have doubts.  After all, when something bad happens, it will be you who will pay for the damage, not the campground.  Happily, I learned the lesson without paying the price – but I came close; not once, but three times, and in the same campground!
  4. When picking a campsite, take your time.  Don’t think you have to take the first spot you come to.  Find a pull through site where you can leave the rig and take a quick walk around the campground.  We’ve learned to keep an eye out for the location of the dumpsters in relation to the campsite.  Who wants to listen to the lid of one of those things bang all day?  We’ve also learned to take the slide outs into consideration before backing in.  A tight fit becomes no fit at all if the slide will hit the power pedestal when extended.   If it fits it fits, even if it’s a tight fit.  If it doesn’t, well, it doesn’t.  It’s good to know that before you fight your way into the site.  We’re still learning this one: unless you like a nice bright campsite, it’s wise to notice where the street lights are.  We like to sit out and enjoy our portable campfire and watch the stars.  Twice now, as darkness fell, we realized the campsite was flooded with light.
  5. Let me provide a spiritual dimension to all this.  For years Jackie and I have stopped just prior to leaving on trips to bow our heads and ask the Lord’s protection for our journeys.  We have carried that practice into our RV adventure.  Each move has started with a prayer of thanksgiving for our stay and petition for a safe, enjoyable journey.  The Bible tells us that if we acknowledge the Lord in our lives that he will direct our ways (Proverbs 3:6).  We have taken that word of instruction to heart.

Campground Review: Rainbow’s End – Escapees – Livingston, TX

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An easy “cruise-control drive” west on I10 returned us to Texas.  We’re bound for a longer landing near Houston but for now we’re still in “approach” mode, spending a few days here near Livingston, then a couple of weeks in Conroe before doing our major stop for the winter.

Maybe most impressive is the Care Center – it is an absolutely unique place providing assisted living facilities for people who retired to RVing but are now unable to travel.  It’s a wonderful program that serves a great need.

Our time here is short and, in addition to that, it has rained almost constantly since our arrival.  Because of that we haven’t gotten to know the campground as well as we would have otherwise.

Off hand, I’d say this place does just what it’s intended to do.  It probably doesn’t measure up to some of the nicer RV Resorts, but no where is as geared to fulltime RVers as is this place.  My guess is that we’ll return here about once a year for a short stay.  After all, it is “where we live.”

Places to get information on Full Time RVing

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As we began planning our transition from a “stix and brix” lifestyle to being retired full time RVers I did considerable research on everything from budgets to campgrounds to RV upgrades. I searched the internet for information and, happily, found quite a bit.

I gleaned a lot of specific information from people’s blogs. If you aren’t comfortable searching Google you are missing out. I was especially helped by several people who posted their expenditures information. It is because of their willingness to open the door a bit to their personal lives that we’ve been willing to share a bit of ours.

There are several RV forums that contain a wealth of information. However, in my opinion there is none better on this topic than one provided by Escapees. Escapees is a camping club specifically for full time RVers. I spent hours reading old threads and then began asking questions of my own. I gleaned a ton of information there and still read the posts there every day.

John and Kathy Huggins of Living the RV Dream are another great resource. Their weekly podcast is positive and informative. They have written a book about full time RVing named “So, You Want to be a Full-Time RVer?” (paperback or ebook) that I recommend.

Facebook has a great deal of full time RVing information. There’s a Living the RV Dream group, a Full Time RVers group, and probably another 20 groups that provide support for this lifestyle.

When one is planning exactly where to camp, a terrific resource is RVParkReviews.com. You’ll find lots of information on campgrounds across the country. We spend a lot of time in Thousand Trails preserves and, in addition to RVParkReviews, we get a lot of campground information from the Thousand Trails unofficial Facebook group.

Finally, of course, I hope you’ll consider this Here and There blog and it’s Facebook page as a good resource for campground reviews, sightseeing information, and all things related to full time RVing. As I’ve researched potential campgrounds I’ve often been frustrated that the only photos I can find are either “glamor shots” posted by the campground itself or people’s photos of their kids or pets, etc. at the campground. I have nothing against such photos, but I want to see some candid photos of the campsites and facilities. I’m focusing on those sort or photos for this blog while Jackie focuses on where we went and what we saw while at that campground.

As it is when one is trying to thank everyone for their support in winning some reward, I know this post leaves out some great resources on full time RVing. In fact, I started out to name just a couple and have had trouble finding an off ramp. Still, the resources I’ve named here are my primary ones and I hope you find them helpful.

Campground review: Lake Texoma Thousand Trails

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Our overlong, road problem day brought us to Lake Texoma Thousand Trails. This is a beautiful park with several amenities: two pools, two saunas, and more. I guess I’d describe it as both full and empty. Thousand Trails has sold most of the place to long term renters so the park is filled with RVs. However, very few of them are occupied, at least during the week. When one arrives, you drive up and down road after road looking for a vacant campsite. And there are sites, you just have to hunt for them. What most people would consider to be the most desirable ones are all taken. Frankly, it’s a bit frustrating, especially when you’ve had road problems and are arriving five hours later than originally planned.

We did find a very nice site with a stand of cedar trees to either side of us. It doesn’t feel like a compromise at all and had there been vacant sites all over the place we would have still happily picked this one.

The preserve has a nice home-like feel to it, mainly because the many annual people have made upgrades to their sites, adding landscaping, decks, lighting, and the like. Two sites across from us are lit up every night even though the campers are unoccupied. There are also many nice little rental cabins.

Lake access is via a road that exits to the back of the campground. Honestly, if the place wasn’t called “Lake” Texoma and no one told you there was a lake nearby, you could stay here a couple of weeks and never discover the lake. However, there’s a big marina nearby. I think that’s the main access for the fishermen and boaters rather than the lake access from the campground.

There’s a big activity center here with games, TV, a store, and more. There’s also an adult lodge with comfortable seating, a nice deck, and laundry facilities. One night we went to the adult sauna. It was relaxing. I opted to not get into the pool as the water felt just a bit too cool for my liking.

We had a night and morning of big storms here and are thankful that the individual cells kept passing just north or just south of us. Our hearts go out to those who were not as fortunate as there was considerable tornado damage a hundred miles or so to the southwest of us. During the first part of the outbreak we went to the activity center rather than stay in the camper. I expected to see others but only one couple came in. Maybe we’ll adjust to weathering big storms in our camper but I kind of doubt it.

Just down the road about 10 minutes is Cedar Mills Resort and Marina – it’s a really nice spot with a restaurant, gift shop, and a big marina. This is where people with boats here at Thousand Trails go to launch (and go to lunch too come to think of it).

Today we got our first mail shipment via General Delivery. It went perfect and Jackie was relieved to receive some meds we had on order. We’re here till Sunday afternoon when we’ll begin our trek north toward Des Moines with a few shorter stops along the way. We’ll attend services here at the campground so we can make a quick exit afterwards. I don’t like moving on Sunday and, if things go as planned, this will be our only Sunday move all year.