Welcome from we relative newcomers! We took an early retirement 10/07, at age 58, and began traveling 8-10 weeks at a time. We love it, love it, love it, and highly recommend it. We are in a 22' Airstream Interstate, carry bikes but do not tow, and personally feel this is the only way to travel. It is luxurious, yet still very economical.
We have a wi-fi card for our laptop, but seldom use it, finding VZ access much easier and more accessible. We have found the state and national parks generally well kept and beautiful, also the 50% discount with Passport America for overnight stays. We can't obtain a Golden Age Access passport for the National Parks, but these are an exceptional deal, and give 50% discounts at national sites, also many state parks.
Our advice to you is----if you can go, by all means GO. Life is short, you never know what is around the bend, so do what you want and are able to do, while you are able to do it.
Happy travels, and will look for you on the road. )
thanks for all the responses....much to digest and that is the problem...i have been reading and lurking and digesting for over a year and i am getting itchy....but still have to plan more....
i am going by myself, with an english cocker spaniel for my guide...dog is god spelled backwards you know. we are leaving all behind.... all we are taking with us is our airstream, when purchased,...a 2004 serria denali GMC truck for towing and a wanderlust to be satisfied..... i have only been to camper clinic in buda as yet and my seriousness is peaking...getting ready to jump...but atlas will still be several months yet.... still i want to pull out of the dealer's yard with all or most of what i want and need.....solar, tv, computer...generators....etc.
again, thanks and i will ask more ?? later.
You are being very thoughtful about it all, which couldn't be more important. I have thought of two more things. Have you thought about renting a trailer for a few days, to try things out and see what you like/don't like and need/don't need? Trust me, there will still be quite the learning curve once you have your own, but a rental of anything might help you some. Also, there are dealers who have hookups on their lots, where you can stay a night or two, get all the "bugs" out and everything fine tuned to your liking. It seems there are always some adjustments needing to be made, once you start using everything. These dealers are providing an invaluable service in preventing the frustration of little "issues" involving repeat trips back. Good luck, and pat your pooch on the head for we dog lovers. )
If you have been reading this forum for a year you should know all about what kind of trailer you want, what tow vehicle, hitch, etc.
So now the thing to do is buy the trailer and hit the road. The rest you make up as you go along.
You will learn more in one month than you will in 2 years of study. Take in some rallies, do some traveling, and things will become much clearer. There is no reason you have to have everything perfect the first day, in fact I don't believe it's possible.
No doubt you will want to make changes and improvements in the light of experience anyway so why waste your time and money?
Hit the road, have some laughs, and learn as you go along.
__________________
Living in the trailer park of sense, looking out the window at a tornado of stupidity.
If you have been reading this forum for a year you should know all about what kind of trailer you want, what tow vehicle, hitch, etc.
So now the thing to do is buy the trailer and hit the road. The rest you make up as you go along.
You will learn more in one month than you will in 2 years of study.
No doubt you will want to make changes and improvements in the light of experience anyway
Ganaraska has it right. Do it, make your mistakes, correct them, drive. I suggest after you buy your trailer, take some short trips, making each one longer. You'll learn a lot from each trip, and since your are obviously a very thorough person, that should work well for you. You will find yourself wanting things you never thought of until you actually are doing it.
Initially you will find a lot of things that need fixing, so buy from a good dealer. I don't know anything about dealers in Texas; the one in Arkansas has a good rep. That eager salesman who knew less than you has to tell you something about the dealership.
Here's a suggestion for when you are really ready to hit the road: somewhere on this forum is a hilarious, but thought provoking (!), thread in which forum member relate the "stupid" things we've done with our trailers and learned from. For example, pulling out of a campsite before detaching the electric cord from the service pole, or leaving up the antenna and knocking it off when pulling out through tree cover. Really, if you find this and read it, you'll be amazed first and then start your own list of things to do to avoid "catastrophe." Sounds silly, reads smart! ~G
__________________ maxandgeorgia 1995 Airstream Classic Limited 30' ~ Gypsy Chev Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison, 4X4, Crew Cab WBCCI #5013 AIR #2908 WDCU Go, Mizzou...Tigers on the prowl!
Standard bathroom test is to sit on the toilet and see if you fit. The 23' toilet probably doesn't have the knee-bump-on-the-door-when-closed, but check anyway. Also see if you can fit through the bathroom door when it's open because it doesn't open all the way; it hits the bed.
I have a 23' CCD and love it. For two people, you'll read about frustrations with the bed (inside person needing to climb over the outside person). Contrary to Gene's assumption, at 5'-8" I do have the bump the knee issue, but if you're by yourself you won't need to close the bathroom door (unless the cocker spaniel is easily offended). I found the shower to have plenty of room. Not sure on the cost of solar, but I did a $900 honda eu2000i and figure I'm going to wait a year or so until I reconsider the solar. If you're not too persnickety on needing a regular full shower, you can go european style and really conserve water with the help of the sprayer on the toilet, and/or camp near a stream. For one person you'll be able to boondock for a week or two without a problem, and I think you'll find there is more than enough storage for a several month trip. Good luck!
thanks to all of you for your comments and suggestions, all taken into consideration. when this bug first bit me about 18 months ago i was in the process of selling my house and farm. i wanted to sell everything and buy a foretravel coach and hit the road. but alas my sparing partner would have none of it so we bought her some new sticks and bricks and me and the dog have been biding our time. it is funny how unconscious plans guide our destiny. when i quit my profession of 40 years due to cancer(which for all i know i am surviving) and burn out i purchased a truck that would be capable of towing a trailer. i love my truck and it is a 2004 GMC Sierra Denali, AWD, all wheel steering and capable of towing 10,000# and is SILVER. In my prior studying and lurking I had discovered EScapees and did my dilligence there.
Then in an epiphany the Airstream entered my mind and bingo....it fits what i want to do. if i really know what i want to do....i still don't know what i want to be when i grow up.
One of the regrets i carry around is that i did not buy a harley in 1968 when i came home and head out for woodstock and parts there and in between....
but things take time...and in that time possibly the purpose is revealed.
So, having been chained to the business world for 40 years and putting dreams on the shelf...time has come to take them down, dust them off and look for the sunset, and the sunrise.
so all the considerations about the toilet being too small, too big and whether the door opens wide enough are important for sure...the real stuff is hooking up and planning where to go; the main thought in my mind in adapting to this new lifestyle is ....one has to be parked somewhere each night for sleeping purposes...so planning has to be intense to be able to safely and legally park somewhere in the process of going somewhere else????
I briefly discovered the caravan concept here recently and that sounds really neat...that one could plan a years worth of cravaning.... to me that is a concept that would allow one to ease into the lifestyle with a structure and a group of people to learn from???
well ramblin is on my mind and on this page and i will sign off for now.
Some people plan intensely, others plan day-by-day or not at all, and all seem to work well. It depends on what you are towing/driving, what kind of travel you like as well as other individual needs. We like to head to areas we want to see or want to return to, and plan more specifically as we go. You have gotten a lot of great advice here, you will have to find out what works best for you. There are books widely available, and lots of information online which tell of innumerable sites of all types out there, some extraordinary, others not so much. The nice thing about our beautiful Airstreams is that you close the curtains every night and you are home. You are getting close, really close!
i am narrowing down my search and am seriously looking at an 08 safari 23
and the price on first round is about 39000 plus tax title and lic---anyone know if this seems reasonable and are there any thoughts about the best way to finance. just learned that if i put a cd at my bank they will finance trailer for 2% over cd rate---one year cd and renogiate each year---any thoughts-- trailer is equipped as follows
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