Been lurking for a while, thought it was time to introduce myself

[Mr. Kelley]

Hi,

I have been lurking on this forum for a while, learning as much as I can and the insights have been great!

My goal is to retire by the end of the year, buy an RV and tow vehicle early next year, and tour North America with my wife. We are considering either a 297RSTS or 320MKS and a F350 or Ram 3500 for a tow vehicle. We have never RV'd but we live in an apartment so we're optimistic the downsizing won't be too difficult. We plan to put our belongings in storage while we RV (for approx. 5 years).

We live near Toronto, ON and plan to tour Canada and the northern US in the summer, then migrate to the southern US in the colder months. Our plan is to drive to specific destinations and park the RV for 2-4 weeks and explore everything in that area before moving on.

I am not very mechanically inclined so I have concerns about having to do repairs or maintenance. I know there are lots of YouTube videos available but I am not the most patient person in the world when it comes to conducting repairs. My second concern is trip planning. From what I have read, many sites book up early and require reservations many months in advance so I guess it is important to be flexible with dates and destinations.

Any advice, feedback, or tips are welcome.

Looking forward to being an active member here.

Cheers!
Kelley

[acoleman43]

Hi,

I have been lurking on this forum for a while, learning as much as I can and the insights have been great!

My goal is to retire by the end of the year, buy an RV and tow vehicle early next year, and tour North America with my wife. We are considering either a 297RSTS or 320MKS and a F350 or Ram 3500 for a tow vehicle. We have never RV'd but we live in an apartment so we're optimistic the downsizing won't be too difficult. We plan to put our belongings in storage while we RV (for approx. 5 years).

We live near Toronto, ON and plan to tour Canada and the northern US in the summer, then migrate to the southern US in the colder months. Our plan is to drive to specific destinations and park the RV for 2-4 weeks and explore everything in that area before moving on.

I am not very mechanically inclined so I have concerns about having to do repairs or maintenance. I know there are lots of YouTube videos available but I am not the most patient person in the world when it comes to conducting repairs. My second concern is trip planning. From what I have read, many sites book up early and require reservations many months in advance so I guess it is important to be flexible with dates and destinations.

Any advice, feedback, or tips are welcome.

Looking forward to being an active member here.

Cheers!
Kelley

Welcome Kelley! I'm not the best for tips but I can share what we've learned.

1- Let the wife do the trip planning. You can make requests occasionally . I think you'll find you will start planning 6-8 months out. General plans will be about 1 year out, then start to get more detailed by the 6 month marks which is when you'll start reserving camp spots.

2-There are some area that offer boondocking (some call it dry camping or dispersed camping....all the same thing). This does not require a reservation and can save you $$. You will need to learn how to be without hookups for an extended period of time, but it is possible.

3-As far as maintenance and repairs, just dive in. There are a lot of smart people in this forum. If you're a little intimidated, call a mobile tech to help you out. There are many resources out there.

4-Enjoy the present. You will have issues with your RV, there will be stress, but learn to enjoy the adventure and where you are. You can even enjoy the long drive days

5-Visit really popular places during off-peak seasons. Right before or after peak season is usually perfect and allows you to do more in the time you have.

Hope some of this helps. Congratulations on the upcoming retirement! I hope you both really enjoy your time together.

Allen

[TucsonJim]

Hi Kelley - I'm Jim, and one of the moderators here. Welcome.

My 297RSTS is over six years old now, and it's served us well. There are some things we like, and some that we don't like about the model:

Likes:
GVWR is only 9,995 pounds which means it can probably be towed with a F250/2500 truck just fine.
The living room layout is very nice and comfortable.
The electric fireplace.
Head height in all areas, including the shower.

Dislikes:
The bathroom is directly opposite the entry door. Leave the bathroom door open, and guests at the entrance see the toilet area.
The island is nice, but takes up a lot of room.
There should be a lot more storage than there is.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd give serious thought to the new 296RDTS travel trailer in the Reflection line. There is much more storage and the door opens to the back. The only real downside is no fireplace and the slide must be partially opened to get to the bathroom. And the bedroom slide needs to be fully opened to access the bedroom.

Jim

[Country Campers]

One thing I will add is spend plenty of time in the RV's that you are considering. Check how it all flows and walk around inside like you would be using it. Check for draw storage and outside storage for all the items you will want to bring along. You will be spending a lot of time in the RV so choose one that fits your needs, even if it is not a Grand Design. Both models that you have chosen are very good layouts and ones we had considered, but they are also opposites, one fifth wheel and one TT. If you need truck bed space then the TT is better. If you want more outside storage then the fifth wheel is better. We have owned both and most recently a fifth wheel, our first, we like things about both but the weight of the larger TT's is what pushed me to the fifth wheel.

Brian

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Kelley,

When considering different layouts, remember that “your” campsite will almost always be on the door side of the trailer. Best (in our opinion) to have the majority of windows on that side. Also consider what you can/can’t access with the slides in. It is good to be able to access the bathroom and fridge at rest stops without opening a slide.

WRT campsite reservations in the southern US in the winter . . . this typically happens a year in advance. This makes it difficult in your first year. The state park sites book 11 months in advance . . . to the second! You need to have your computer cued up and be quick!

Rob

[Mr. Kelley]

Allen, thanks for your insight. I suspect both my wife and I will be involved in the trip planning. Boondocking should help us a lot, thanks!

I LOVE driving which is one of the reasons we are considering RVing and I appreciate your comment about "diving in" to repairs and "enjoying the present".

Jim, thanks for your perspective on the RV we are considering. One of the features that has attracted us is the outdoor kitchen, mostly because we want to cook outside as much as possible to reduce the amount of cleaning required inside the RV.

Brian, thanks for your perspective. Every time we walk through an RV we are looking at our "prospective" lifestyle and we learn something new. As I mentioned above, we definitely want an outdoor kitchen (unless someone gives a reason why we shouldn't) . I am also leaning to to a 5th wheel for better control on the road.

Rob, thanks for the info re WRT campsite reservations. As I mentioned, that is one of my concerns so I may need to modify our plans once we get going.

[Cate&Rob]

I am also leaning to a 5th wheel for better control on the road.

With the amount of travel you are planning . . . I think this is a wise choice.

WRT your Florida travel plans, the west coast of Florida, starting in the panhandle, has the best series of state parks. The east coast is less “RV friendly” except for very expensive private parks.

Rob

[JBill9694]

At the risk of starting a firestorm, I'm just going to throw this out there. If you are planning on mostly boondocking or staying at state parks, then the lighter and shorter (both length and height) the trailer the better. At 19,000 lbs, 44' long and 13.5' higher there aren't too many non-interstate or non-highway roads that I want to drive, and that definitely includes FS and BLM roads. Also, we have yet to find a state park that has space for or rig or provides the glamping essentials that SWMBOB expects.

[Beachcamper]

We are fulltime since 2018 and very happy we went with a shorter fifth wheel at 32’-6”. I actually wish we could find a smaller unit that would have a ccc closer to 3,000lbs so pay close attention to this. A 25-26’ unit would give you the most options for getting into more sites. With a travel trailer you can use your truck bed for storage but in a fifth wheel having a higher ccc is important. We usually stay at improved campsites about 95% of the time boondocking is very limited and mostly is because I don’t want to take our rig into a lot of the roads to get to BLM lands or Forest service sites. I personally don’t think these rigs are built for off pavement use.

[StephenO]

Hi,

We live near Toronto, ON and plan to tour Canada and the northern US in the summer, then migrate to the southern US in the colder months. Our plan is to drive to specific destinations and park the RV for 2-4 weeks and explore everything in that area before moving on.

Welcome Kelley
I don't have a huge amount to add to this thread, but will say there are a few us from Western Canada. Not trying to start a East vs. West debate, as I feel the answer to that is easy , but if you need advice on places to camp west of Saskatchewan, ask away! As you may know, the Canada national parks book the entire year starting on a specific day, and that process can be challenging. Otherwise, around Alberta, the provincial parks and some of the private ones are on a 90day sliding window, which helps slightly, but you have to be on the ball when booking. Again, if you have any questions or anything, fire away!

[Mr. Kelley]

John, thanks for your insight. We're planning to buy something in the 34' range based on our research and your comment confirmed that a larger RV is probably not the best way to go. Also, we don't plan to do much boondocking in the first year.

Vivian, thank-you for commenting. Since we'll be RVing full-time, I'm not sure a 25-26' RV will be sufficient. Being new to this, I don't know what your comment "I actually wish we could find a smaller unit that would have a ccc closer to 3,000lbs so pay close attention to this" means. What does ccc stand for?

StephenO, I wasn't aware that Canada national parks starting booking on a specific day so that's good to know. When is that? I will definitely reach out to you when we head west (and we will!). In fact our first trip will likely be that way before we head south for the winter.

Thanks!

[Jlawles2]

I suggest you start looking at TV NOW so you get a feel for what you will need. Also this allows you to work the hitch deal into the package with the RV.

Remember if you are not already living in an RV, your needs will change greatly as you travel. Keep in mind that an RV is not a house so you may need to give up some of the comforts in appliances that you like / use frequently because of storage and weight limits.

Vivian is referring to a larger RV not having the same payload capacity as a smaller unit. Smaller units can use the same axles as larger units but since they are physically higher, their payload is higher. This means you can bring along more STUFF.

[StephenO]

StephenO, I wasn't aware that Canada national parks starting booking on a specific day so that's good to know. When is that? I will definitely reach out to you when we head west (and we will!). In fact our first trip will likely be that way before we head south for the winter.

Thanks!

They are upgrading systems this year, so it's slightly later than normal. This year, you can create your account starting March 3, and each park opens on a different date for doing the actual reservation. For example Banff National park opens on March 23 and Kootenay opens March 29. You're best bet is to go to the source for this info
https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/reserve

and get the opening dates for the parks you're interested in.

[Mr. Kelley]

Joseph, thanks for chiming in and clarifying Vivian's comments. My wife and I have been looking at RVs since last summer and have attended a couple of RV shows which has helped us narrow down our selection. One of the biggest challenges is the models we are considering are not always in stock at our local dealership so we can't spend as much time in the RVs as we would like. As I mentioned previously, we live in an apartment so we don't think downsizing will be a too difficult. We know we have to give up certain appliances like our cappuccino machine but there are enough alternatives that I think we can adapt.

StephenO, thanks for the additional info re. Canadian national parks. I have added the link you provided to my ever-growing list of resources.