Recreational Vehicle Choice
The beginning of this adventure started when I was big enough to drag a box home. I loved playing in cardboard boxes and pretending to live in the boxes. This was back when you could get into the trash bins or they didn't crash boxes.
I can't remember not wanting an RV to travel or live in. The option came in 2004 when I got laid-off from my job at 59 and half years of age. I know there is no age discrimination when you are looking for a job (LOL). The search ended when I could not get a job that paid over $7.50 an hour.
Anyway back on the road to the RV life. We (my wife and I) had a house and she was on disability, so we knew we had to find a more manageable way of life, just from the money stand point.
We put the house up for sale and started to look for our new home.
We sat down and made a list of what we wanted in the new home within reason. No upstairs, but it could have a basement storage. No utility room, but a washer and dryer cabinet. No two bedrooms, but two beds for company. The RV had to be at least 36 foot long and meet all of the above requirements, besides good tires, engine and drive train. We wanted to take our car along too. We would purchase a car dolly, because our car was front wheel drive and not tow able on all four wheels.
The pictures above are of the car dolly and 1994 Pace Arrow Fleetwood 37.5' with awning. The RV was in excellent shape with new carpet and low miles. It was a beauty, as you can see. The car dolly I found in the paper was used, but it was in new condition.
The full rig all hooked up and ready to go.
We had read all the RV books to help us locate our dream home. It was a great help in the selection of the correct RV for us (we also have two poodles). There were some extras that came with the RV. One of those items was a shade screen for the front and side front windows. When the screens are installed (they snap on over the front windshield when you are in a RV park), you can see out and no one can see in. The shade screens kept out 90% of the sun's heat too. There are also sunscreens for the windshield wipers to keep the sunrays off of them.
We are in the new house on wheels now, but needed a place to settle in and get our feet wet. We choose a place close to us in Florida. The RV Park is in a central location for shopping, recreation, and the Pinellas Trail. Orlando is a 2-hour ride to Disneyland and all the other attractions. We rented a spot from December to February, before we took off for the western United States.
Almost always there is a story in every stop you make so here is the first one. We were into February and getting ready to leave within a couple of days. I wanted to fill the propane tank for the trip so we would not run out, because the weather was cool. I got the rig ready for the move to go to the propane pump station and then return to our spot. Everything was going smooth and the park person was going to help guide me back into the spot. The only thing was, he backed me into a tree and tore the rubber membrane roof.
Before After
We were lucky in one way, it did not damage the roof structure just the roof material. We felt fortunate and we were able to get it patched before we took off on our trip.
Patched up The tree
This is the first of a series of our RV experience. I will be continuing this series, with how things work and the trip out west and back. Hope you enjoy this first installment.
