Renegade RV

Well, we researched. We searched. We were what we thought as being fairly savvy despite having almost no hands on experience. We went and bought our dream RV. We looked it over, we checked it out, we looked at the roof. Spongy patch? Well, a bit, but not on the inside...surely that's ok, isn't it?

Well, it isn't. I am being a bit fatalistic here. We got it to our RV park which we had booked in advance in a place called Gold Bar. This is not just the name of the RV storage place, but also the name of the town it's in. America, genius and stupid with its names all at once. We rolled up and were greeted a guy dressed in cammo, a fairly common statement around here for 'hunting redneck.' So we rolled into our little space (hit the RV next to us on the way in, but it was a piece of shit...that makes it ok, doesn't it?) and discussed the payment. We had cash. I thought most people were fairly happy with cash. Turns out not. He huffed and puffed, complaining about how no one ever carried cheques any more. He complained about how much effort it was for him to put it in his bank, write a check out to the landlord etc. SO we gave him a tenner for the effort and just to shut the guy up and this really was vexing him in a beyond amusing away. He put us a bit on edge to be honest. So Dave went over once we had settled into the spot. Turns out it was his birthday and he apologised for his behaviour. He was a bit drunk - excusable at 2pm on your birthday. He had a fat BBQ going with ostrich, bison, hot dogs, the works. Now, I don't mean the pitiful excuse for BBQ's that the English embarrassingly produce. This was on a BBQ made from an old oil drum and had obviously been cooking for some time. I only wish I could have tasted it! We then took stock of our surroundings. I wish we had the camera on us at that point in time. The scenery was stunning. Mountains overlook to our left and dead ahead. Not the perfectly round mountains that we usually imagine, but jutting, formidable pieces of rock that look like they take no prisoners. Each formation has trees sticking out like perfectly sculpted bed-head hair, somehow random but somehow placed just right Majestic I believe is the perfect word for the view.

As we felt our way around our newly acquired purchase, we started to notice the little things. Then the medium things. It wasn't until our visit the next day that we noticed the big things. I now know why the dealer was focusing so much on the ceiling. I had noticed discoloration - a fair sign of water damage. But I was tol to check the ceiling an he was right, no spongy feeling. Well, it turns out he was eager to keep my attention away from the wall, which was sodden. Everything I read tells me that this is going to be expensive, and we have already spent the top end of what we wanted, thinking it would be wiser as we would get a better product. Lesson number one - more expensive is not always better quality. Lesson number two - NEVER trust a salesman. His job is to sell, not to be honest. It is your job as a consumer to be smart about what you're buying. He's going to be VERY smart about selling, you can bet on that!

So, at least now we actually have an RV. We can go anywhere we want, and the water damage isn't in the bedroom, so we can at least sleep dry. We will be getting an RV specialist out to look at it and assess the damage and see how much this is going to set us back. To top things off, the key we were given broke off in the lock. Hell, to count the things it does have:

Broken DVD player
TV
Surround Sound speakers (we have yet to see if this works)
An amazing wrap around couch
Walk around double bed
shower & toilet, both working!
a good engine from the sounds of it
A coffee maker
loads of storage space
a fridge that will be ok for how long we need it, I think
A spare tire, locked up and we don't have a key for it...
It came with an outdoor table
Broken awning

But the bloody thing drives. It has a bed, it has a toilet, it has a stove. All rudimentary functions and purposes it serves. And you never know, the mechanic might tell us it will just be a couple hundred dollars in repairs, stranger things have happened.

A New Adventure - Title soon to come (something catchy, mind!)

I thought I would start to chart our progression into a new adventure. This, of course, is our trip across America in an RV. It turns out this is not something to be undertaken lightly. The RV community takes it very seriously. The amount of literature there is into the RV experience is intimidating and borders on ridiculous. But it looks like we have a lot to learn before we embark. However, too much research takes away the opportunity for random experiences. When I went to Central America I had planned very little of the trip and it opened doors that may have otherwise remained hidden.

So, we started by looking at Craigslist. This is the American version of gumtree for all the Europeans reading this. Second hand RV's is the only thing we will be able to afford. We went to an RV dealership and spoke to a guy who was incredibly helpful. He warned us off buying anything before 1990 - too hard to get parts and expensive to run. This does make it harder to get an RV  in our price range - we're looking at $6,000 to $10,000, obviously aiming toward the lower bracket! But it's not impossible, it just requires patience.

But then we have the problem of knowing what to look for when we finally save up enough to make the final purchase. Even buying a second-hand car is intimidating if you don't know anything about cars. So we've done our research - looked at various informative websites, we even borrowed a book! Not only do you have to check the engine, but you have to check the roof, the floor, the windows, the generator, the grey and blue tanks (shit and water). We have also been told that low mileage is a bad thing. An RV that has been left unused will have more problems than one that has been lovingly used and tended to.

It took us a while to decide what kind of RV we wanted - a fifth wheel, travel trailer, Class A, B or C motor home. Well, the price decided for us in this instance. It was either buy an all in one or spend money not just on a trailer, but on a truck to haul it, a hitch and many other items I'm sure that would add to the price. So, Class C motor home it is.

Now it seems we may be entering into a whole community where we will be the youngest for miles around. This past-time seems to be dominated by the retired or mid-life crisis age. As neither myself nor Dave are nearing these twilight periods, I do wonder how we will be received. Or, more to the point, how much I'll like them. It's not quite the stay up all night and get stupidly drunk affair of Central America. But I would love to graffiti the vehicle or make it look unique in some way. Unfortunately this would make the selling on of the vehicle difficult. I have also read that if you want to be accepted into the 'RVing community' it is best not to stand out. So maybe we are best forging out on our own - any community that shuns individuality is not for us.

Now we have to think about the running costs; petrol, insurance, hook-ups, RV park fees, gasoline for the generator, overall maintenance, and all the stuff in between which will blind-side us at the most inconvenient time possible. So, with that in mind we're now starting to look at jobs we can do whilst on the road. I've landed myself a bit of a writing gig with a couple of travel websites which could potentially turn into a paid job. There are a few things out there but it appears every fat, lazy bastard is looking for an easy job and so there are lots of scams to take advantage of these fat, lazy bastards.

I had intended to finish this piece, but as it seems I have abandoned it for the last month, I might as well just post what I have and start afresh! So here is the first instalment of 'Starting the RVing life - information for the non-retirees'