RV After Cruising???

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

There's a LOT of the world to see other than near the water.

Sure, but how much of the world have you seen so far by water? I've gone a ways, but can confidently say that there is still 95% of the world near water to see. Back in the day, almost all major cities had some type of water access. Those cities are still there and pretty interesting compared to staying in a Yogi Bear campground. If you like the nature of it, I'd still say water is as good if not better than land.

And, I guess it really doesn't take too much skill to drive the Prevost around. Maybe make it one of those Unimog campers - that would be cool.

[TheRailRoader]

Sailorboy, I have travelled 20+ US states, 5 provinces + a territory. Road trips to Mexico etc over the course of 18 years.

So now I am taking to the water in a few years here after we hit a few more spots with the kids (rushmore again, few other historic places).

I would highly recommend it, but problem is you are stuck to one landmass and RV's are expensive. I've seen your financials on boating and I suspect you will add another 500-1000 to do rv'ing.

I am younger, so we do a lot of roadside tenting and roughing it. So we get by pretty cheap.

RR

[bgall]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

There's a LOT of the world to see other than near the water. My wife and I have been talking for a few years (basically right at the start of taking off to boat cruise) about getting a RV later and land cruising. I wonder how many other water cruisers have, or are considering, going land cruising after they are finished on the boat.

Leave comments, but please also vote on the poll.

We are going from an RV to a boat. And we are planning on returning to the RV world once we get a little less agile on the boat. We absolutely loved the RV and were pleasantly surprised at how little maintenance goes into them. A wonderful experience to take down the entire coast of California and across the United States.

[Chotu]

We do both. One great trick with RVs is to get a small one. The smaller it is, the better it is to use. With the large ones, you can’t really go anywhere. You get stuck in remote areas when trying to visit cities. As I write this, I am in downtown Toronto. I stayed here overnight. No problem.

There is actually a lot more to see on land than on the water. Plus, everything is much more convenient. How about provisioning when your galley is at the supermarket with you? That’s about the most amazing thing i’ve ever seen coming from boats.

Though I haven’t done it yet, I plan to ship this RV over to Europe. So I can see more of Europe then I can from a boat. You just get to see a lot more with the RV than you do a boat. Plus there are mountains, deserts, inland cities, everything really. With a boat you only get to see the shore. That’s awesome, but it does get boring after a while.

I think having both is the way to go. That’s what I have now. Except I have one extra boat. need to get rid of one. LOL

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Chotu

We do both. One great trick with RVs is to get a small one. The smaller it is, the better it is to use. With the large ones, you can’t really go anywhere. You get stuck in remote areas when trying to visit cities. As I write this, I am in downtown Toronto. I stayed here overnight. No problem…..

This approach is partly why I’ve focused my search on the camper-van size.

Clearly the living space of a large trailer/5th wheel, or a Class A, or even most Class Cs is far superior, but then you’re driving around a large truck, or even a Greyhound-sized bus. I can certainly see how this would make RV parks a near necessity. But a small RV, or even a small trailer (think Bowler or tear-drop) would be a lot more manageable.

What RV do you have Chotu?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

This approach is partly why I’ve focused my search on the camper-van size.

Clearly the living space of a large trailer/5th wheel, or a Class A, or even most Class Cs is far superior, but then you’re driving around a large truck, or even a Greyhound-sized bus. I can certainly see how this would make RV parks a near necessity. But a small RV, or even a small trailer (think Bowler or tear-drop) would be a lot more manageable.

What RV do you have Chotu?

As a boat guy, I like things that are easily fixed and replaced or upgraded. I also like things that are convertible from one use to another.

For these reasons, I got a truck camper with a single slide. RAM 3500 diesel. Manual transmission.

It’s great, because of all of the flexibility as compared to other RVs. But also because it is the largest living space that can fit into a single parking spot. That is the golden achievement. The sweet spot for RVs. In my opinion. Unless of course you are looking to stay at campgrounds all the time. Then just get a big one.

Continuing the parallel with boats, the small RV allows you to anchor out all the time. The large RV requires you to stay at a marina.

The big ones sure are nice though. I sure get envious sometimes seeing them. But when I am in say, the Mission district in San Francisco with this thing, where you can barely fit a car... and I have a little apartment that works perfectly for a week there, my jealousy goes away. LOL

[rowingdude]

I am going to take this path in the opposite way.

While I am saving up for my boat, I can use a camper van and live out of it. I gather this will be good practice for me anyways since space within a sailboat is rather limited. The goal would be to take a standard work van and transform it into a Class C motorhome, all in, it should cost $5000 to do this including the cost of the van, in the meantime, that is money I won't have to spend otherwise on housing.

Just my $0.02!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Campgrounds of America, with campgrounds misspelled.
Imagine if you will that one mega corporation bought up 95% of the Marina’s.
https://koa.com

I doubt KOA has even 10% of the market.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by billknny

The problem I have with RV travel is you end up staying in "campgrounds." Having seen the kind of people who stay in "campgrounds" I really prefer to avoid them.

Of course I avoid crowded anchorages too...

There is boondocking...the equivalent of anchoring out. Many public land areas allow dispersed camping in this manner.

[valhalla360]

We've done both along with long stay airbnb apartments.

A few thoughts:
- Camper van = 25' monohull living experience...if you are going from a 35-40' boat to a camper van expect to feel squeezed.
- As with boating, there is no upper limit on what you can spend but we bought a nice used 5th wheel and truck 10yr back for $8k total (truck looked rough but ran great, 5th wheel was in great condition). Recently upgraded both to newer nice condition used for $25k. That's a 4 door F250 with V10 and 36' 5er with two slides, king size bed, dual recliners, air/con, kitchen, etc.etc.etc...
- For similar lifestyle we find RV to be cheaper but not greatly. Of course, that's full timing and traveling at a leisurely pace...we shoot for 100-150 miles once or twice a week with month stays in nice areas. If you go cross country 3 times a year, gas bills will add up.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Your assumption is that “Cruisers” travel from one Marina to the other.
....
You can’t go months in an RV without paying for a place to stay, unless of course you want to stay in a Desert in Nevada or similar.
You just can’t. You pretty much have to travel from one campground to another.
....

Sure you can...but just like anchoring out everywhere, it's less convenient and there are downsides.

You need to do a little research but in most places there are places you can stay for free. Example: Most (but not all) walmart parking lots...but as I said, there are downsides.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by meridian28

Nobody has mentioned cruising at 7 on the ICW vs 70 on the interstates. After living full time on board for 7 years I dread renting a car for a long drive.

Most (but not all) shoot for closer to 55-60mph. Yes after 6kt life, it seems really fast.

Also, at 6kt, you need all day to make 50 miles. 2-3hr at 60mph and you are 120-180miles.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by TheRailRoader

I would highly recommend it, but problem is you are stuck to one landmass and RV's are expensive. I've seen your financials on boating and I suspect you will add another 500-1000 to do rv'ing.

You aren't limited to one land mass.
- We have on the list to do the PanAmerican Highway.
- We have rented RV's in Europe.
- I know Austraila has RV's
- I've even seen a few in Kenya.

Shipping is much more straight forward as it's similar size to container shipping.

[jimglasair3]

I too went the other way, and started with an RV. I had a new semi-luxury 39 ft fifth wheel. I already had the diesel truck. You can get quite a bit of RV in a fifth wheel for the money. It had an electric "fireplace", island kitchen, 3 slideouts that made you feel like you had more room than a New York City apartment.

I made the mistake of buying new. The prices on the brand new unit were pretty soft, they were making deals. Made you feel like you are getting a deal! That's a warning sign... and I found out when I tried to sell it 2 1/2 years later for less than 50% of what I paid for it.
Recommendation: get a gently used unit that is about 3 years old, and has already taken the lion's share of depreciation. And don't count on much resale value...

The other mistake I made was I got something too big. I went for one that I could comfortably fit in the shower (at 6 ft 4 in...no easy matter)...that was 39 ft plus. I also just eliminated myself from most State Parks and other much more affordable RV parks. It was honestly a bear to park (height too - at 13 ft +, a lot of trees prevented me from parking), and those RV parks pack you in REALLY close to each other. I still feel like a crowded anchorage is wide open country compared to the memory of those parks. Further, it was shocking how much these larger RV parks charged for a 40 ft x 10 ft strip of dirt with a water hose, a sewer hose, and a 50 amp power box. It was honestly cheaper in many cases to just stay in a 4 star hotel...! Think $100+ a night! Get into a club to bring those prices down! Better yet, buy a few acres, install some hookups, and get wealthy! (Install money check valve in opposite direction, and restart!)

On that topic, RV parks have been a dying breed... no one wants "Trailer Trash" in their neighborhoods...many more close, than new ones open. Governments have not been friendly to them... see how many RV parks are in Maryland, for instance...

The other thing to consider...fuel costs! If you are coming in from the sailing world into RV's... you are going to get frustrated at those really frequent fuel stops, and how much 60 or 70 gallons of diesel cost. Do you know what kind of mileage you will get? Please do the math before you sign on the line...

One way to beat a lot of these costs is to get your rig as "Off the Grid" capable as you can. Stay on public land with no hookups for a week, and rent that overpriced RV park strip of dirt for one night to empty your black and grey tanks, get fresh water. But that vast majority of RV's have no real "Off the Grid" capability. Namely tankage is way too small and there is little to no battery bank or inverters.

When I am done sailing, I might still go back to RV's, just a little wiser this time around...hope ya'all learn from a few of mine!

It was good living though...

[sailorboy1]

hey, all this is sounding good