Prepping for RV life!

Hello everyone! I am currently preparing to start RV life, with my partner. We will be looking to buy a Class C (doing our pre-shopping research now), and I will be working remotely from the road. Between the two of us, we have a decent amount of experience being on the road, and just spent 6 months primitive camping in a few different states. So we are looking forward to going back out again, with a few more amenities!

Would love to get some good tips, tricks, and advice from those who have "been there!"

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

It seems like you have a good amount of experience to be able to get started and learn along the way. Exciting times ahead ! If you have any specific questions you can think of then please ask, but for now this page has lots of info on RV'ing. As this will be your home as well as your transport, if you have limited mechanical knowledge it would be wise to get it checked over by a professional before parting with your money and not rush into anything. They can become a money pit and cause stress if you don't start off right so keep the excitement in check when it comes to parting with the cash ! Good luck !

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Originally Posted by MichelleJacques

Would love to get some good tips, tricks, and advice from those who have "been there!"

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I spent 6.5 years on the road, mostly in a Class C -- One of our contributing writers lived and worked on the road for about 25 years and Ron and Patti are out there right now.


What vehicle are you thinking about?

So, the biggest issues with Class C's is keeping the fresh water and waste lines from freezing when temps are below freezing. There are a number of techniques, but I always preferred to wrap the lines with low wattage heating cables. Here's one such product.

If you are purchasing a used vehicle or picking up a rental -- this checklist is very handy. And this article shares some other insights.

I think you already know some of this stuff -- but here is an overview about RV camp sites. And a bit about boondocking.

You are going to like having a RV -- after that primitive camping -- that's probably one of the best things about living and working in a RV -- you can control the state of your bathroom and kitchen areas.

Remote working is actually possible these days. When I was trying to do it in the early 1990's the technology was mostly non-existent.

Any specific questions?

Mark

Years ago, I used to listen to the podcast “Living The RV Dream”. Phred Tinseth published a set of informative papers he called Fred’s Poop Sheets. Although 20 years old, they still contain a lot that you might find interesting.

They can be found here:

http://www.manmrk.net/tutorials/RV/phred/phredex.html

One piece of advice he always stressed was to never buy a new RV. It will likely spend months at the dealer undergoing warranty work while depreciating precipitously!

I’ve never owned an RV (although my 30’ sailboat shares many of the same problems) but I’ve rented quite a few class C. I had things fall apart on EVERY one, despite some being only several months old. Shoddy construction is the norm, even if you’re spending a couple hundred thousand!

Just know what you’re getting into.

I have RV'd a lot, but never full-timed. I'd concur about all of the above. Buy the best used rig you can afford, but still be prepared to spend some time in repair shops or calling mobile repair places to send someone out to you.

Here is an entire forum of public places to "camp" that are close to major highways and interstates in the USA. Some will have the electrical hookups and water that you will need.


Donna

All great advice! I agree, the excitement can be hard to contain, especially as this becomes more "real."

I love the tip for keeping water lines warm! Brilliant.

I also would never buy a new RV (I've bought new cars before, and regretted the instant depreciation, so I refuse to go that route with this type of vehicle. Thankfully, my partner has lots of mechanic experience, and has even worked for RV repair and customization shops, so we can do most repairs/modifications ourselves.

We went and checked out some RV's for sale recently, and I noticed what you guys said, about even new ones having......issues. So that's definitely something on my mind! On that thought, does anyone know of any brand specific issues/brands that may not hold up as well? I was a little disappointed to see a brand new, quarter of a million dollar RV, with lamination problems!

Going to go check out those links shared, now! Thanks again everyone!

Question about the kitchen appliances:

I'm wondering about the differences/cost effectiveness of the combo microwave/convection ovens vs the small "regular" ovens I've seen on some models. I have food allergies, and we love to cook (makes the allergy component safe, it's more cost effective, healthy, and fun to do), so I'm curious which option might work best? Is one more cost friendly? Does one type tend to work better? I like to bake, as well!

After our shopping around, I was starting to think the little oven would be a "must have" for me. But I've never used one like that, and my experience with the combo microwaves is very limited and from long ago.

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Originally Posted by MichelleJacques

Question about the kitchen appliances:

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I think you have already identified the #1 criteria. You like to bake. And, if you like to bake, having a convection/microwave combination is going to drive you batty.

I am not a baker -- our convection/combination unit was OK for baking in-a-pinch and we even used it a couple of time to bank a birthday cake -- but hardly the device for a real baker.

On the other hand, we used the convection/combination unit virtually every day over 6.5 year period and it worked well for us.

The second criteria is space. If you have the room for a conventional oven and microwave -- that would sound like the ideal set-up for you.

Mark

For baking, there's an interesting stovetop oven that I have heard good things about.

https://www.omniasweden.com/us/

I haven't used it myself, but it's been in my Amazon cart for a while. The only thing that's held me back from buying it is that We don't do much baking on the road, and when we do, we break out the cast iron dutch oven, and bake in a campfire.

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Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist

I think you have already identified the #1 criteria. You like to bake. And, if you like to bake, having a convection/microwave combination is going to drive you batty.

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It may not be in an RV, but my convection/microwave does everything for me. Roasts, cakes. baked potatoes, you name it, whatever I need and want. I have never used a conventional oven since purchasing it more than 25 years ago.

Lifey

And don't get too excited over buying stuff that you would see as "camp friendly" or 6 in one tools.

When working, I usually do it outside our parked rv and I would just set up a mini table and comfy chair just so I would have the "separation" space for work vs personal time.