The Mitch and Val "Roadshow"

Author Archives: RVLuckyOrWhat

By Valerie Coffey

A new  great post on Outdoor Online  from American writer and previous full-time RVer, Katie Arnold, Raising Rippers, goes a long way toward confirming that owning an RV — any RV — is an exercise in patience. All dreamers of this dream (even atheists like me) have a sort of “come to Jesus” moment in which  they  have to ask if all the trouble is worth it.
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By Mitch R.

Happy New Year 2015!

After four months on the road, we posted Mitch’s Interim Report Card Part I, in which we graded ourselves on how well we’ve accomplished the goals of our trip. We also named some best of the bests, like best scenery, favorite place for fun and frolicking, and favorite surprise experience.
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By Mitch R.

Valerie and I have now been on the road for close to four months, the length of a school semester, so it’s a good time to evaluate the best of what we have seen, experienced, and accomplished since becoming full-time RVers. If our trip were to have an interim report card, this is how we would evaluate some of our goals:Love Shack US map
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This is just one of too many stories to count about break downs in RVs … but just like us they are still loving the life!

THEBOATOFJOY's avatar

Boo!

I must admit it has been rather a MIXED BAG since our last post, we reached California:

Woohoo!!!! Woohoo!!!!

Saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever witnessed in Trinidad:

Wowzers! Wowzers!

and reached San Francisco:

IMG_2101

We caught up with our gorgeous friend Bonnie who works at Skywalker sound- GEORGE LUCAS’S studio, and mixes sound for Disney films:

Ooooh!!

Bonnie and Rich Bonnie and Rich

On leaving San Francisco we got about 14 miles South on highway 1 and broke down going up a hill…. Our ‘marvellous’ breakdown company ‘Good Sams’ turned out to be devils in disguise and refused to help tow us off the highway for TWO DAYS!!!!!!! (Don’t worry, a sternly worded email has been written, received, and apologies have been made)… We ended up with a parking fine and a warning from the SHERIFF that he would tow us off the hill in 72 hours:

yikes! yikes!

Luckily Good Sams…

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By Valerie C. Coffey

We decided months ago before we arrived in Florida that we wanted to see manatees, whatever it takes, wherever that would take us. We’ve never seen one even in captivity, much less in the wild. So we booked a site at a charming RV campground called Nature’s Resort, near Homosassa Springs Wildlife Refuge and Crystal River Wildlife Refuge, two places that are considered the best places to see manatees. We arrived in early December.

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By Valerie Coffey

Alright, we’ve been very vocal about the trouble we’ve had with the Beast and how it consumes our days, but what also consumes our days is having fun in new places! So here’s an example of the fun!
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By Mitch R.

Since beginning our RV adventure, many friends and family have asked us, “How’s life on the road?” and “How is your life different now compared to living in one place?” The answer is complicated, but having now completed almost three months on the road, we can better describe how our lives and our lifestyles have changed since leaving our “sticks & bricks house.” Some of these differences we anticipated, but many we didn’t.
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By Valerie C.

Welcome to colorful Colorado! In early October, we passed through southwestern Colorado all too briefly on our way between Arizona and Moab, Utah. We took a day to drive the scenic route into the Rockies between Durango, Silverton, and Ouray (pronounced “your-RAY”), Colorado.
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By Valerie C.

In my previous blogpost, I described how new RVs have many more problems  than used ones, and how you aren’t supposed to begin a year-long trip in a brand new RV — in spite of the dealer telling you not to worry because your rig is under warranty.

We decided to do it anyway, because, we thought, we were going to get the problems fixed right off the bat. After all, our Camping World dealer in Florida kept our brand new Class A motorhome for nearly a month after we bought it to deal with the problems we found our first night.
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By Valerie C.

Whether you’re buying an RV, or just curious about them, buyers have an important decision to make right off the bat. New or used?

“Don’t buy a new RV,” they say, “because it will depreciate 25 to 30% the first year!”

“Don’t buy a used RV,” they say, “because it won’t be under warranty and so many things need service and repair.”

“Don’t buy a new RV,” they say, “because so many things go wrong with motorhomes the first six to twelve months.”

“Buy a new RV,” they say, so you can get exactly what you want custom from the factory.”

Who to believe? What to think? New? Or used?
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