jontwork

Hi: I have been pulling a 12K trailer behind my motorhome for 18 years mostly in the western US, with minimal problems. The motorhome is a 1996 Foretravel U270 (36'/300hp) with a Cummins C8.3 mechanical engine along with an Allison MD3060R (R=Hydraulic Retarder, a must have) along with all wheel disc brakes and an 8 bag air suspension. You can probably buy one comparable for about 50K and it will take take you almost anywhere you might want to go. We have been boondocking in it for 18 years in it with great success. We have been in locations that are probably not on your itinerary. If you pull a 12K trailer, the most important thing is brakes and total stopping power. You can always downshift for going up hills. Open to questions. Jon Twork jontwork@gmail.com

I am an avid boondocker and spend a LOT of time in the southwest and mostly boondocking 20 miles from nowhere. We greatly enjoy our lifestyle and occasionally join groups out in the desert doing the same lifestyle. We do not see many slide units boondocking and it is probably due to the fact that the WIND really blows sometimes, and when it does, it picks up loose sand and drives it into everything. We can get sand drifts a couple of feet high in a big blow. Slides seem to have a lot of holes and places for the wind, sand, and did I mention RAIN to get in when the slides are out. I have been in quite a few slide units over the years during big blows and storms and have had the **** scared out of me occasionally. There is apparently a rain awning on top of a lot of slides and when the wind got ahold of one that I was sitting in, it sounded like a herd of horses ran across the roof of the rig. Scared the owner too. On another occasion, we were in a four slide unit and the wind was blowing just off broadside when the whole rig raised up on the windward side and raised the coach to what we thought was its maximum suspension height. Thank goodness the fat guys were on the windward side, so we didn't roll over. As I understand it, the addition of slides increases the structural weight significantly of any rig that has them. As a fulltimer, I need all the cargo carrying capacity that I can get and therefore slides are not in my future. I try to be a helpful guy when the situation arises. I have helped quiite a few people in situations where they put the slide out for lunch or whatever and it would not go back in, to travel mode. They were stuck until it got fixed. The worst one was probably the guy who pulled off in a scenic viewpoint on I-70 westbound, about 60-70 miles west out of Green River, UT. He had lunch with the slide out and had been there for three days trying to find a solution to the problem. No cell service their either. I tried to assist but it was beyond my abilities to solve it. I have no idea how long he had to stay in that scenic turnout. The initial purchase price of my motorhome had a lot to do with whether or not I purchased a slide unit. Slides were going to cost me many thousands of dollars more and on top of that in 2000 the prices were going crazy. I settled for a 1996 Foretravel U-270/36 and have not looked back. We can entertain 8, dine with four, and sleep 2. I don't much care for groups bigger than that. So, would I buy a slide unit in the future? The answer is NO, because with the ever increasing cost of things, I probably couldn't handle the operational expense with my current portfolio. If you boondock, I suggest that you think about it long and hard before you purchase a slide. Regards,

Regarding going full time RVing, I suggest that you invest in a good used Class C or Class A and get your feet wet. You can purchase a decent unit for under $15K if you do due diligence in researching the project. If you don't want to screw up and make a bunch of bad decisions, then start into this slowly and take a while to figure out just what you REALLY want to do as, after you get into it, you may find out that your initial ideas go out the window when you actually start doing it on weekends or vacations prior to totally retiring and going full time. After you get it figured out, you can sell the first rig and buy the one you really want to do the job that you have now determined it has to do. If you plan on playing tourist and have the money to constantly travel I would expect you to burn out within three years. Full time RVing can mean a LOT of different things.to different people. Some fish, some play golf, some ride motorcycles, etc and people enjoy their hobbies. Where you plan to travel can make a difference in expenses. In the East, you will probably average $35+ per night which is over a $1000 a month for a place to park in a park. That's about 12K per year. If you are affluent, that's fine. I'm not, and our annual campground/RVpark fees are usually under $500 a year. My campsite views are much better than staring at other RV's in an RV park. Are you going to take any toys along on your travels? What? How you going to do it. No toys, no fun. Everything depends. Anyway, don't end up purchasing a new motorhome unless money is no object. You are welcome to email me regarding the lifestyle. jontwork@gmail.com www.werv2.com

We are in our 12th year of full timing and we were not aware that there WERE any drawbacks to full timing. I guess there is one drawback, we have not been able to sell our residential property in Michigan and that causes us some aggravation. Mostly we don't worry about it. I noticed that some have posted that the excitement is going out of the adventure. It may be, that some of you stay in RV parks on a regular basis. We don't. We boondock, remote camp or whatever you want to call it, the majority of the time. We live on solar and wind power and utilize lots of public lands which are amazingly beautiful. Lots of wildlife around and interesting places to see and natives to meet. We'll keep doing it until we can't, either financially or reasons of health.

I have no idea what your battery bank consists of as far as capacity but it is obvious that for real enjoyment of your motorhome, no matter where you are, is to: 1. Determine what physical space you have for batteries as far as length and width and SPECIFICALLY the height. Determine the amphour capacity of the existing set of coach batteries and see what you need to do to increase it by at least 4X or more. More is better. Much more is better yet. You need to install the tallest deep cycle batteries (i.e. L-16) you can find and fit into your determined battery space. You may have to really research where you can put additional batteries. The engine start batteries should be independant of your coach batteries and not counted into the mix. 2. Install as many solar panels as you can on your available roof space. You can use different sized panels to maximize the number of panels you fit up there. Again as with batteries, more is better and many more is much, much better. With your crew, and life style, I would suggest at least 600 watts of panels. You will need to acquire and install a really good solar controller and use LARGE high quality wire to run from the panels to the controller and then to the battery. Make sure the controller is CLOSE to the batteries BUT, NOT in the same compartment. While you are doing it, install a separate adequate panel/controller just for the engine batteries. 3. Run some siamese red/black (www.powerwerx.com) 8 or 10ga wire (consult a wire size/capacity chart) to places where you would like to have 12 volts AND 110volts available on demand. Fuse both red and black at the batteries. 4. Install some of the 12 volt Powerwerx Anderson powerpole outlets in various needed locations. 5. Purchase some 150watt/250watt or 500 watts 12v/110v inverters. You can find them as low as $15each by doing your research. Size them to what ever wattage you need to operate your desired toys, products, etc... A Kill-O-Watt meter will help you ascertain the correct sized inverter. Be sure to put one on the main and auxillary TV sets. Most of the inverters have an On/Off indicator light but, you may want to incorporate a MUCH MORE visable accessory ligh (LED) be sure EVERYONE know the power is ON from ten feet away..... 6. Purchase all family members multiple sets of earbuds or headsets that work with ALL of the noise generating equipment. Make it a rule that no noise is allowed unless ALL family members are actively engaged in what is making noise. There are wireless headsets and earbuds that will work with most TV' and computer audio outputs. Invest in them if you need them and you will find bliss. 7. Make your coffee with a Melitta Number 6 coffee cone and filter into a 50oz Thermos Model 50 carafe and you will not need the **** generator early in the morning or anytime and the coffee will always be available and HOT. 8. If you don't have a propane oven in the rig, get one and then you won't have to be running the microwave for hours. It will be worth it. At this point, you shouldn't have to care if you are plugged in or not and you won't need to run the generator unless you are using air conditioning. You and your neighbors will enjoy the life of silence and you won't have anyone suing you because they tripped over your shore power cord. We have been fulltimers for 11 years and 98% of it is boondocking in nice natural places. Enjoy.......