Are RVs Autos?

dIDJA EVER BACK OVER A SPIGOT AND WATCH AS THE WATER CAME BLOWING OUT OF THE GROUND LIKE A GEYSER? a TRAILER, ESPECIALLY A BIG 5TH WHEELER IS ABOUT 8 TONS UNLOADED AND CAN CUT THROUGH INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE A COMBINE. FORTUNATELY IT DOES SUCH A CLEAN JOB THAT YOU CAN REATTACH THE APPENDAGES , WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY. ITS JUST EMBARRASING AS HELL

eh beth, I just noticed, one of my very worst drunks was in Madison Wis. I was there in a symposium , and well, we took the word symposium seriously and got very seriously gooned . There are many bars in which to quaff in Madison. And, you can get so drunk , that when you freeze to death, your just like a radiator with antifreeze.

No fear of drinking myself to death in Madison, farmerman. I've got those dogs to report to. They don't approve of drink - if I ever do have a drink after work, they sniff me most disdainfully. I can't even imagine their displeasure if it was more than one drink.

No problem Beth re the driving of a truck with a fifth wheel. It looks like, for now any way, I may just get a large SUV and rent for awhile.

The other rigs are just to much money for me right now. I need a larger nest egg before I invest that much money.

While I am beginning to make money in my little business I still do not feel totally comfortable yet about going into debt.

Perhaps next year I will make the big move to living on the road all the time. Even so I will be on the road most of the time. I found an 02 Ford Expedition that will work for me for now. And I can sleep in it when necessary.

Many of the shows I am now participating in provide bathrooms and showers for the junkers that come in campers and such. So I will just wing it with the SUV and when and if my inventory gets really big I will rent a storage room and pull one of those little hauling thingys.

This is what I think I need and want for now. An 5-150, 4 wheel drive and I am just going to get a cab over the truck bed. I can hall my junk and while the stuff is set up in the show sleep in the truck.

As for living quartr I am looking and a small house in Hillsboro, TX, and spend my time doing shows in TX, OK, LA, AZ, NM and maybe some CA.

When I start making more money I will get something bigger and better.

All the dealers, atnique and junque dealers I have talked to suggest I keep a home base for R&R while on the road. The little house I am looking at has a storage building and a parking area for and RV when I get one.

Well I am going to spending this weekend doing some serious looking for an RV and/or a truck and/or 5th wheel.

Wow this was some time ago when I was thinking I could by that wonderful little house built in 1907.

Life intervened but I have gotten pretty good at rolling with the punches this past year and there have been many.

But that is past and I am going to hit the road in the last part of June, travel to Amherst and then on to Boston and who knows where else before heading back to Texas.

I have never RV'd but have some friends that do all the time (retired 40-year olds - bummer eh?).

The only piece of advice I can offer is something they mentioned to me. The Honda CRV is the vehicle of choice for towing. It's not too big, not too small, gets good gas mileage, and is apparently quite tow friendly. Ask a Honda dealer for more info about this.

Thank you cjhsa, what is so bad about 40 year old retired folks? I am a 57 year old retired folk.

Im serious, if youre gonna do this, get in some practice of towing and backing up before you leave. That little Honda will tow a small trailer, but if you get anything at 18 ft or more, youre gonna need a stiff suspension truck. Makes sure thhe hitch people hook up your rig and that , with the trailer hooked up, the line of the truck to the end of the trailer is even and level. The trailer shouldnt dip down onto the hitch, nor should it rise up.
Have a good garage check all the hookups and wiring because , many times these things , if hooked up half *ss, can melt on the road and your brakes go full on and your in need of a major wiring job.
Our first little trailer was a 19 ft Monitor. It was 20 years old when we bought it, we used it for a couple years and traded it for about 100 arborvitae trees. The guy who we traded with had it out once and smacked it up by turning a corner too tightly, and he ripped a side out. He was all stoked on "ganja" but he sez he drove stoned many times so that wasnt it.

PLEEZE, dont just hop in and go, get used to it and, if you have any trucker buds, get some tips and pointers about towing and backing up and about routine checks on your brake lights and turn signals., cuz these guys do it all week.

Your gonna need a set of electric brake controls. We have Tekonsha electronic controllers, thhey are good for brakes on our goose neck trailer that we haul sheep and a little 18' box trailer . These things set the brakes on the trailer when you step on the trucks brake. That way the truck and the trailer are each braking and the trailer doesnt ride up or cause a skid.

farmerman, the little Honda was to tow BEHIND the RV.

hmmm. I thought Joanne was in the market for a trailer type RV. I seem to have fallen off the melon truck. I didnt know that shes now looking into class A or class C.

And as I've said, I know nothing about RV's!

Well FM it was the sticker prices that pushed me off the melon truck so I have decided I need to downsize my ideas until I have more money.

By the way I am traveling to Amherst, RI, for the Annual Gathering of Friends July 3-10. I will probably leave Dallas, around June 30th or so. Will you and Mrs FM be on the road or at home? Cause I could stop in PA and say hey if you are there.

PS FM I would love to see your studio.

FM I get so confuseled re classes C etc. I was thinking a van with a pop up trailer or a truck with a cover you know what I mean. Sheesh this is so complicated.

The think that I saw recently that I like was the Crylser van, no seats but nice and low for loading and unloading. But then I would have to pay to have a hitch put on plus buy the pop-up.

But if I get a conversion van how do haul stuff around?

The truck: To tow a big 5er, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT ANYTHING LESS THAN A 1-TON DUAL-REAR-WHEEL PICKUP! MINIMUM, you want an F-350, Chevy/GMC 3500, or Ram 3500. My choice is the Ram: by far the best diesel of the bunch (5.9 Cummins), rugged 6-speed manual tranny. For the REALLY big trailers, you will NEED an F-450 or 550 to be safe. In this case, get the diesel & 6-speed with 4.88 gears. In all cases, I suggest the 4-door crewcab.

The RV: For motorhomes, there are 3 basic types, the class A, B, & C.

Class A: These look like a box on wheels, & come in 2 major types: gas-powered front-engine models, & rear-engine (pusher) diesels. There are a few front-engine diesels, but not many. The front-engine models are cheaper, but tend to be VERY thirsty (<6MPG loaded), & some are very limited in carrying capacity, due to chassis capacity. The most common models are Ford-chassis with the 6.8 litre V-10 & 4R100 automatic, or Wokhorse-chassis with the General Motors 8.1 Litre gas V8 & 5-speed Allison automatic. Pushers are usually Freightliners, a few Spartans. Most (~95%) run Cummins diesel engines (many are the same as used in the Ram pickup), Allison automatics, & the larger ones have air brakes. They're slower off the line than the gassers, but get MUCH better mileage (~9-10MPG), last longer, & have more weight capacity.

Class B: Essentially, a conversion van set up as a camper. Probably not for you.

Class C: These have a van cab (99.9% of late-models are Ford Econoline E-450's) that ends just past the doors, with the RV body. They're MUCH cheaper than the A's, & seem to use floor space better. Biggest downside: almost all have gas engines (Ford V-10), & are gas hogs. A diesel class C would be a good choice, if you can find one. Beware of the bigger ones, especially with slides: many have little weight capacity.

There are also what I call "Super C's", which are medium-duty truck cabs & chassis (I've seen Freightliners, GMCs, & Internationals) set up as motorhomes. They're beautiful, but very spendy.

RV stuff: http://irv2.com
Truck stuff: www.thedieselstop.com

Also, do not even THINK of putting a slide-in camper in an F-150!

What is a slide-in camper Jarlaxle? This is going to be difficult I can tell.

joanne-you aint gonna get a 5th wheel . Thats too much of a commitment to RVing and you will need a truck to match the rig, and yes you will probably need a dual wheel ass end. This makes the biggest ugly butt truck around . There are some box companies that design the dual wheel boxes so they arent so damn ugly.
I think you should look at a pop-up.
1 You can tow it with a van with a high suspension. Im not familiar with the designations on vans. But , since your gonna be shopping and selling , your going to need room for your goods

2 Its friendly to turning and backing. You can tow em as easy as a skateboard. Coleman makes good ones that run from 5000 to around 13000 new(never buy new , get an RV news letter from Nacsadoches Texas (I have no idea how to spell Nacsadoches) its a big RV center in Texas. Florida has sales lots all over the place. We got our RV there , it was a unit that was owned by a Canadian corporation that went belly up and we got a major deal.

3 If youre just getting into it, your first exprience shouldnt be based on all kinds of technical crap cause your going to wind up learning all about the camper .

4 A pop-up is cozy and they have heaters and some have 30 lb gas containers that will keep you cooking and warm for a week on the road

5 pop ups lack some of the hygiene amenities, although the larger ones have fold down bathrooms with a shower and potty. Being clean on the road is something that you will want to be. so Id look for a pop-up with a 50 gallon water tank, a large sewer and gray water tanks so you can Have enough flush and go and drain water on the road/.

THE DRAWBACK of a popup is. Every time your done driving for the day , you have to put it up. Some , like the Colemans, have a quick crank up system , then you have to fold up the refrigerator and sink and stove and bathroom. They are all on hinges and it takes little time but it still is a pain if your really tired.
The neat thing about a popup is you have a van and a house, you can unhook the popup and go shopping in the van.

Were gonna be going up to Eastport to take our RV up for the 4th. we will leave around the 30th and be back after the forth. Eastport always has a big festival and we always take part in the art shows . Then we go back up in mid July and stay till Sept. Well be back after labor day unless I have to be at the mines.

A slide -in is one of those box type campers that "slide -into " the truck bed. They look like your carrying a bunch of pianos on the back of a truck. They always appear that theyre held on in semi goofy ways and everyone I see on the road is overloaded and sways around..

This is really good information FM. My lawyer is going to let me use his pop-up for as long as I want to so I think I will start with the pop-up and new van for the time being (cheapest for now). I can trade up later as I learn the trade and can talk and meet with all the other junkers. See how there rigs work for them.

My traveling habits are to be on the road at first light but that will have to change if I have to pack up a pop-up. And I always stop around 5:00 p.m. So I guess I will not make my usual mileage. But this trip and future trips are not about getting their fast the whole purpose is to learn the trade and meet people.

My plan is to give up my apartment and store my furniture for now and stay on a regular basis here: http://www.cantontradedays.com/ There are many large fleas in this area and after tornado season dies down I will be going to Tulsa and Colorado for shows.

Gosh a dream starts to come true.

This is sort of off topic but I have been wanting to move to oils but the apartment it just to small and the ventilation not good. If I do this I can paint outside no problem, except bugs of course.

It looks like I will miss you all the way around on my trip east. But we will meet another time. As for Nagadoches I just say it and spell it like this: NowWhereDoesIt, everyone in Texas always know which city I am talking about.

I my searching last night it seems most RV sites have computer hooks now so I gues I will be able to A2k when I have nothing else to do, haha.

good deal Joanne. Getting used to RVs by gradual immersion is the best way. i know some antique dealers that use the class A (bus) style rV and , to tell thhe truth, thhey always look like crap inside cause theyre always looking for space to store stuff. The van is ideal and you can pull stuff out right at ground level rather than having to run up and down the stairs.

If you hang out till Sept, I can take you up to Adamstown and the Shupps Grove antique centers. These places are full of antique dealers in campers and class A's

Oils on the road , I dont know. I have my one truck outifitted with a backseat drawing board and whhenever I paint , Im in the bed of the truck so I dont spill paint . I am using mostly tempera fo my wildlife work and wc for my "primitive and abstract and industrial stuff"