Fulltime traveling with 5er

[bacil]

Hi all,

am all new to this forum as well as RV'ing and would very much appreciate input you might give me. I have spent days reading through the threads here :-), and then decided to write my own post.

I have location independent business (yacht charter agency) and experience in "camping on yachts" having sailed in winter atlantic as well as nice warm carribean. And now, me and my better half, have decided its time to go discovering inland. For that we are planning to pend cca $50k on the used rig and tow vehicle.

As it stands right now (3 months before we make the move) i am looking at 2015 Sierra 3500HD / Silverado 3500 HD and used 5er with polar/all weather package. We are looking under 30" 5ers that would allow us to access smaller campsites especially the ones in national parks etc.

Plan is to start on east coast and follow it all the way to keys then turn west and along the gulf coast to reach CA, then continue all the way up north to Seattle and then cross to Canada and possibly make it all the way to AK.

Thats plan so far we are using www.roadtrippers.com to plan the trip and major stops. And also have planed some alternative trips (baja, yucatan etc.).

Any input and/or comments are more than welcome 🙂

[bacil]

Another one we came across that is different between boat and RV is the size of the tanks. Now i have to do it in metric Oceanis 38 has 120l fresh water and small ish grey/black water tank (60l ) that i can empty anytime when more than 5miles from coast or a any marina. Plus watermaker i am independent from land for that perspective.

But with RV how often you fill up and empty tanks and where ? how common are the dump stations and can i just get to campsite to fill and dump and go boondocking again ?

[John_Joey]

FWIW, there is a difference between FT living and FT traveling.

FT Living the main concern will be the comfort of the rig. FT traveling the main concern will be how nimble (easy to move around the country) the rig is.

Like all things in life you give up something to gain something else. Never a perfect solution. Good luck with your choices.

[bacil]

Thanks, this is fair answer, during my research i have already revised our target vehicles (eg. sizes and equipment).

And this making me to review even the type, we plan to move a lot, week or two here another there go exploring, still i am not keen on the layouts of MH, i find 5er much comfier and it is going to be ur residence for foreseeable future so i would like it comfortable.

But i will review them too 😉 in more detailed reserach

[John_Joey]

Once again this is a loaded question, and this is only my feelings.

Your statement of going a few hundred miles and exploring for a week. That's what we did with ours and it worked out well. MH loved being used weekly, the tow car with a GPS (when unhook set as "home" on GPS) was a joy to have while exploring. With a good tow bar I could hook and unhook on any non level surface in a couple of minutes and be off and running.

When we would get to a campground I would unhook the car and we would drive the park to scope it, and the sites out. Wife would then drive the tow car while following me in the MH to the site that WE picked out.

Now with a truck 5'ver you have to deal with leveling boards (guessing the size you're thinking it won't have legs.) Then you have to unhook the truck, and level the front losing the height to hook back up (again guessing the size you're thinking will not have a computer height adjustment.) Don't forget to drop the tail gate before driving away, same with the breakaway line, and cord. When you hook up don't forget to test if you're snapped in or not before taking off. Doesn't happen often but I've seen two rigs that came off the hitch in the last 10 years.

I find myself now with the 5'ver looking for nice level paved pull thru sites and not unhooking unless I really have too. From what I can tell from talking to others 5'vers most drive non stop to their ultimate destination and never unhook to explore things like that little BBQ joint they were told was so good. As they say YMMV

[bacil]

:-), i dont want to start that discussion here again and again 🙂 i have read all the posts here and on other forums, i just dont seem to be able to put it in to simple words. the reasons for me are, TV as discovery vehicle at the destination, space i can get in 5er and "cool" factor for me towing my own home.

Also 4x4 would be fun offroading as i used to do with my F150 🙂

On the other hand i understand reasons for MH, ease of operation etc, (but still need toad). also what worries me i the comfort driving. I am used to long drives, we often drive 800+ miles for the boats, especially when we are in Europe.

So why would you really for our plan recommend the MH over 5er ? what is the major point in our plan that says MH ?

[John_Joey]

bacil wrote:
...Also missus just brought up a question i have no answer for, why 5er and not MH :-).

That's a loaded question. Now once again IMHO, after reading what you wrote I would go with a MH for your type of travel. I've had both and find a 5'ver nice if I sit for awhile, but while on the move you can't beat a MH with a tow car.

A tow car allowed me so much more flexibility to explore with. My truck is always a pain to park, and in high traffic areas I drive with white knuckles.

I also find it much easier to hook up a tow car then hooking up a 5'ver. That might just be me though. Wife likes having a bathroom onboard and if we do spend the night in a noncampground she likes the security of being able to drive away without getting out of the rig.

[bacil]

Boats are expensive to keep, we have several boats in couple of locations around the world and its expensive to keep them there and if it were only for private use i wouldn't bother, but we charter them so it's fine for us 🙂 and if we want to go back to water we just fly to where we want to go to.

For us this is to be complete change from what we were during past 10 years. In my head i compare MH's to the power boats and trailers to sailing ones (or cats) :-). i know its completely wrong comparison but thats how i think of it.

We want to take it easy, as i prepared the rough trip plan on roadtrippers.com i plan max of 200 - 300 miles crossings and then spending time at the places we get to, to really enjoy the locale, be it coat, mountains, lakes, woods, cities etc. we will not be in rush and even if we require to break, we would just camp on some campground and then catch the flight to wherever we want to be.

There is another question SRW or DRW ?

Also missus just brought up a question i have no answer for, why 5er and not MH :-).

[Bumpyroad]

at one time I kicked around the idea of towing a boat as a RV. found a boat that would work, about 24 ft AIR , separate shower/head/sink 8 6" wide and would work fine but to run the AC it had to have running water and I think most campgrounds would fuss if I had water pouring onto the ground all the time it was cooling. 🙂
bumpy

[Veebyes]

RVing is far cheaper than boats. Marinas charge by the foot & charge extra for power & pump out. We measure fuel in MPG. With a powerboat it does not take a very big boat to start measuring in GPM. RV storage is nothing compared to boat storage & haulout costs. Anytime I see an RVer moan about RV costs I have to smile. Try a boat. Break Out Another Thousand.

We used to do over 40 nights a year onboard our 32'er. Loved it. We were weekend warriors on the water. Every weekend was spent with like minded families all rafted up just off a quiet island beach.

At one point we considered getting a 40' or so trawler after the kids grew up but when it got closer to decision time we ran the numbers the boat just did not make sense to us. The daily costs are astronomical compared to the RV & there are so many places a boat simply cannot go. Anything further than easy walking distance from the water is not really an option. Try going to Alaska from the East Coast in a boat. Anywhere there is water somebody has a boat rental business with a boat suitable for the area.

[valhalla360]

bacil wrote:
@valhalla360: thanks 🙂 well our fav. boat is Oceanis 38 so little bigger, but it also have 3 cabins and engine all that eats loads of internal space.

Any suggestions what to look for when we short list couple of trailers and start checking them ?

Water damage is the big item. Otherwise, they are mostly all built similarly and use the same mechancials.

Layout is the big thing. Imagine going thru all the daily activities. Also, make sure the bathroom and fridge are usable with the slides in.

A portable generator is a nice much cheaper option compared to built in units. Yes, take reasonable precautions but theft isn't a big issue. I wouldn't bother with propane. It's a pain to get them refilled compared to 5 gal gas jugs. If you want to run the air/con figure on a 2400w or larger and test before buying.

Polar packages are largely a joke but the standard propane furnace will usually keep up down to around 0F.

We lock the door when we leave but just like boats, if someone wants in, they can easily break in. For the most part it's not a big issue, so don't get too hung up on it.

Marinas are more expensive than campgrounds typically and while you can burn a lot of fuel, if you are full timing, there is no reason to put in 1000 miles per week. Travel a few hundred miles and then stay for a week or two.

[bacil]

Gas prices are definitely on the high side, but we are used to that from our motor boats so its calculated in :), marinas are probably even more expensive so campsites wouldn't be that bad :-).

And i believe that people in rv's are as friendly as ppl on boats 🙂

[John_Joey]

I think you'll find out very fast that you both are over qualified when it comes to RV'ing. What I think might shock you is the cost of it though.

Campgrounds are not cheap, as is the fuel to get those limited miles per gallon. Sailing is a bit spiritual, as is the bond in a sailing community. You may find after a few years of RV'ing that the water tugs at your heart once again even if it does have it's hardships.

Good news is laundry day doesn't require a dingy. 🙂

[bacil]

Oceanis is cramped, i agree as most of sail yachts in this category is and we are used to it.

I ma trying to work out the issues i might need to prepare myself for while on land, as with boat we are planning to live there full time and as we haven't done it i need to get as much info as possible 🙂

[Veebyes]

bacil wrote:
@Veebyes : just curious how does your RV compares to the trawler ?

We use mostly Beneteau and Bavaria yachts (as we are their dealer) and even there quality is lacking (just last year we took delivery of new yacht that was actually leaking 🙂 )

Interior space foot for LOA foot. By nature of the hull a boat is curves to be worked around. With slides extended a RV has much more open space. inside foot for foot to the boat.

Looking at the Beneteau 38 layout, it is extremely cramped compared to a 5er much shorter. My Albin 32 powerboat is much more spacious in the cabin with a centerline queen berth fwd, a proper shower stall & much more galley work area. Our 34 5er is massive compared to our boat. King bed, much larger shower, more than double again galley work area. The boat has 115gal FW, the 5er 100gal FW. Most 5ers only have around 60gal FW. Not much if you are dry camping.