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Carl, that is all true. Another check mark in the "advantages of having a DP" list. Another slight advantage I will experience today is driving in storms/rain. We are leaving St. Augustine around 8am and it looks like we will not get out of rain until after lunch. For me visibility is much better sitting up in my DP as compared to my F350 cab.

I know Carl, when you have a box truck that close to your driver's window and your line of sight is under his cargo box, you realize how small you really are in a Mini Cooper. Then to top it all off, the DP next to us this week was getting ready to leave this morning. There were a couple things I observed this week that made me think he may have just bought that thing. For one, he had his Aqua Hot on diesel burn the whole time he was here (we are not charged electric). Anyway, there was a lot of room for him to pull out of his large pull-thru site but I just felt better moving the Mini anyway. Well he pulled out a few minutes after I moved the Mini and if I would have left it in place he would have taken the front left off! There was no need for him to even cut over into my site but typical of an inexperienced large DP driver he came flying out of the site like he was driving a large SUV instead of a 45' rig.

We probably witness more "idiot" drivers in Florida than anyplace else now. Since we have moved up to St. Augustine last week from North Ft. Myers we have gotten stuck two times on the interstate, once in the coach and once in the Mini, for serious multiple car crashes that have closed the road. It is getting almost commonplace to see cars going over 90mph and some RV getting close to 80-85 anymore. It is like the wild west on these sunshine state interstates at times.

Wow, almost averaging 10,000 miles a year for 42 years! Have you been full timing most of those years? I carry four fire extinguishers and haven't needed the either, but those are more important for saving life and property and don't take up as much room as a case of beer actually. I may need a engine or tranny while out on the road but don't carry those with me. My point was a 22.5 tire is very heavy and large so unless you are blowing one every year or so, why drag one around the let it age out? If you didn't use it in 5 or 6 years it would probably be a throw away. I'm pretty new to this DP stuff though. Who knows maybe after a couple years I'll be trying to figure out how to store a spare.

If we were going to be closer I would certainly help you out eodted. Normally this time of year we would be coming right up through Montgomery. However this year we have reservations south for another month. Have you considered finding a cheap place to temporarily store your rig, get him home, and then make arrangements for someone to come back and get it?

I think you will discover, after looking at different fiver floor plans, there may be slightly more storage inside some fiver than some DPs. On the other hand, there will always be more storage under the DP than in any fiver I have looked at. As far as livability while sitting in Florida for 3 - 4 months, you can find really open floor plans in both fivers and DPs given enough large slides that will accomplish this. We also camp stationary in Florida for about 4 months. We are active down here and are on the go a lot. It is much more enjoyable to run around in a small vehicle as compared to a 1-ton diesel. I guess you are also considering the other obvious advantages and disadvantages of both types of RVs. A couple advantages I enjoyed with the fiver was that if something went wrong with my engine or tranny we still had a place to live. Good luck with sorting it all out.

Our last gas MH was 37' with the Ford V-10 (2014 model). We only towed a aluminum trailer with a 1,200 pounds Harley on it. On a really good day I could get 7mpg. Most days were in the 6+ range. Generally drove 62-66mph.

Ernie and Jack, welcome home! If you don't display the VN campaign ribbon on the back of your RV you should find one and put it on. I have displayed one on my Harley windscreen and the back of my RV now for awhile. You will be shocked at how many vets will stop by and shake your hand and have a chat.

I guess I am shocked that anyone with a 40' MH or larger would carry a spare and/or equipment to change a tire. How often do you have flats? Is this an annual event or maybe happens every 4 or 5 years? I have a cheap compressor to air tires to 125psi plus jacks/tools/spare for my trailer. We are fairly new to MH's though, am I missing something?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-NEW-265-70R19-5-Goodyear-G159-AP-Rib-G-14-Ply-BSW-Tires/372257258856?epid=1785841880&hash=item56ac42fd68:g:ofcAAOSwkxRatmZ4&vxp=mtr Maybe these types of ads are old and they really don't have any? I know the articles I read stated they haven't been made since 2003 or so. With all that being said, it probably does not reflect very well on Goodyear if these tires were really that hazardous when they were putting them out there.

Wolfe are you sure about that. I did a search and it looked like there were some for sale still.

I KNEW IT!!!! I shouldn't have posted anything negative about some other person's tires! Yesterday we were out sightseeing (camped at St. Augustine). We were coming from New Smyrna Beach and stopped at a red light. A 5-ton box truck behind me got impatient because the cars in front of me were not moving when the light turned green. He pulled out from behind me and went around in the oncoming lane! The problem was as he did this I recognized immediately that he hadn't cut out far enough and he was going to side swipe us. I pulled up as close to the bumper of the car in front of me as I could but it wasn't enough. His rear duals brushed the front left of my Mini. Of course since this is Florida he kept going with no intention of stopping. Retired RVer Grandpa Joe disappeared and Trooper Joe took over I guess because I immediately pulled out and chased him down. I was honking and flashing my lights offset behind him and when that didn't work I passed him, stayed on the center lane, slowed, and brought him to a stop. I exited and demanded his driver's license and asked him why he didn't stop after hitting me. After I calmed down and he told his story a couple times I started to believe him. He said he had no idea that he had hit anyone. We looked at the front of my Mini and his tire marks can be rubbed out from my protective wheel well rubber, so no real damage there. Of course my DW had already dialed up the New Smyrna police and they arrived quickly. We told our story, he told his, and all was good. I'm thinking if I would have only refrained from talking about other folks issues with tires..........

Nice coach! I was in my late 50's when we decided to try RVing. No part time messing around just jumped right into full timing. The only thing that saved me and shortened the learning curve was a brand specific forum I was on for my fiver at the time. Them folks knew their stuff and it really helped me out. After a couple of weeks on the road you will be surprised how fun and easy RVing is!!!!!

Like I've said before, I love dogs and always have. I just hate lazy pet owners.

I hope folks don't take this the wrong way, or think I am a "sick" individual. When we travel I take note of different vehicles for different reasons. My DW says it is a retired cop thing. One thing I notice and call out to her is my prediction of who will have a future flat tire. I am only right about 10% or 20% of the time but it is fun to do. I generally watch for older cargo type trailers or small open trailers that look like they haven't been maintained. If they are traveling at 70mph or above I will call them out "future blow out". I also watch for TTs or fivers that are running hard, like 75 or more, on days that the temps are in the high 90's or above. I hit on these when we are out west on a regular basis. One will fly past us and maybe an hour or so later we will pass them on the side of the road with a chewed up tire. Sure enough since I posted this I will blow a trailer tire going 62mph next week when it is 75 degrees out.

I came across this on another RV forum and didn't remember seeing it here: https://www.boston.com/cars/car-news/2018/04/05/government-goodyear-tires-may-have-caused-95-deaths-or-injuries I may have just missed the post here or something. I guess it is a good thing FMCA doesn't include Goodyear in their discount program! At first I thought these G159 tires were not even made in 22.5 size but I was able to find them online so I guess they are.

I thought I had witnessed the rudest behavior a couple years ago when early one morning another camper walked his dog past my covered motorcycle, stopped, and allowed his pet to urinate all over it. Then when I exited my camper and asked him not to repeat that behavior he actually denied his dog had done it. But no wait, I think I ran into his twin sister yesterday. It had cooled down so our windows were open about dinner time. All of a sudden my wife says "what is that smell?" The site next to us is turned opposite us so our sewer hoses are all on the same side. She looked out the side window and down. There was a gal in her 60's, or early 70's, watching her dog crap about 2 feet from our coach. This wasn't in the front, this was about a third of the way down and next to the coach! She immediately turned away and briskly walked back to the road and away. I quickly put my shoes on and finally caught up to her several sites away and around a corner. I asked her "Mam, don't you carry plastic bags?" She said she had forgot to carry one and was getting it to go back and clean up the mess. Her husband who was sitting nearby with another dog, spoke up and said "we always clean our messes up". She did show up a few minutes later and pick up the rather large and smelly droppings. I don't know if they "always clean up their messes" or not. I guess what I find more rude than leaving the mess is the fact that she led her dog in between me and the guy next to me in the first place. There are several open common areas with grass within 30 yards plus designated pet areas a little further away. Why would you sneak between two RV's several spots down from your site just before dark to let your dog to that? Getting off my box now.

Jim and Carl, now you did it. He probably won't post again!

Carl, since taking delivery and getting trailer ready we have taken 3 different trips in Florida hauling everything. We "officially" vacated our winter site yesterday to start our travels. Going to stay up here in St. Augustine for a week and check all of this area out. Then we are cutting over to Mobile, New Orleans area for a month before heading to eastern Tennessee and then western Tennessee. Don't want to get too far north until June......us Florida boys don't do good in the cold.

Welcome to the world of RVing I guess. It don't matter if you spend $12,000 or $1,000,000 there will be issues. After spending over $700,000 on a coach and being that freaked out over a mattress switch I'm not sure the OP will be happy with what will probably happen during the first year of ownership.

Jim is obviously up on the comfort drive information/facts. I test drove several DP's in our search late last year. I had never heard of comfort drive and had no idea of what it was. When I finally drove my Newmar there was a remarkable difference. We just traveled a little over 300 miles today. It was heavy traffic all day, windy, plus we got caught in a jam up due to an accident blocking I-4 for almost an hour. After 7 hours on the road I felt like I had driven 3 or 4 hours.

We have the same MiFi activated that we got from Verizon back in 2012 the first time we went full time. When we came off the road we tossed it in a drawer in our new home and deactivated it. Back in November, 2017, we reactivated it and went on their Unlimited Plan (which is really not unlimited). With the discounts I get for paperless auto pay and other things I pay about $10 more a month than I would if I took advantage of the FMCA plan, but of course if you figure in 2 years advance annual FMCA membership then I am saving money, but that is another story. Our old MiFi worked great full timing before (26 different states including Oregon and California coasts), and so far it has worked perfect in several locations in Florida this winter. There are probably 20 other MiFi users in our current CG.

I'm not saying when we downsize and go back to part time RVing I would not go back to a fiver. Actually I probably would, simply because the truck would serve a dual purpose for us, it would pull the RV plus be utilized as our second vehicle while not RVing. Another consideration is drivability. I loved pulling my fivers down the road in almost any conditions. My DP is the same, a joy to drive. Smaller gas MH.......yikes! We didn't enjoy that experience at all.

Here we go again.

Rhino Flex for us also. I originally bought sections so I could reach up to 40'. They were all about 8 years old but in reality only one 15' section got used on a regular basis. Last week I threw it away because it was showing some signs of wear. I wasn't going to wait until that one black tank dump when it finally sprang a leak. I replaced it, cleaned all the other sections, then spent about an hour stretching them all out and treating them with 303. Honestly the Rhino is made so well about the only thing that should damage them is UV rays.