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Old 09-12-2016, 08:10 AM   #1
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2016 23' Flying Cloud
Fanwood , New Jersey
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 196
AS in Central New Jersey

Hello,

We are a couple in our late 40s in Central NJ (Union County).

We have recently become fascinated by AS and started seriously thinking about buying one. We have only seen some models up close at a dealer once recently, and we plan to take more trips to the dealer and ask some questions. We think we know which model we want, but we have just so many questions.

Most of them are technical and financial in nature, but they can be answered by watching youtube videos or asking the dealer.

But we feel that the most important and fundamental question is something you really can't ask a dealer.

Let me explain: We don't have kids, but we have an aging dog, an aging cat and aging parents (mid 70s). The biggest reason for us to be interested in AS is that we can go places together. We imagine we would be able to have memorable experiences without imposing physical challenges to them.

We know that there is no right or wrong reason to want an AS, but we are very curious to hear about other people's experiences--especially of people who live in New Jersey (or semi-urban area of other states) and have an AS for a similar reason.

The first thing that I thought of was, "Where do we go?" It's not like we can take extended vacations easily. All we have is weekends. That means leaving on Friday night and coming home on Sunday night. Are there enough interesting places to go within 2~3 hour drive distance from Central NJ? If really exciting places to go take a day or two to get to, and because of that, if we can go only a few times a year, then we would rather rent an RV because that would make more sense. But if there enough places to go quickly on weekends without making plans in advance, buying an AS becomes a lot more rational choice.

Anyway, thank you for reading this.

Atsushi
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Old 09-12-2016, 08:20 AM   #2
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Swedesboro , New Jersey
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Welcome

Hello ATsushi and Welcome. I live in Southern NJ, almost at the Delaware MB. There are great places to visit just a few hours from Central Jersey. Lancaster Pa has some great sites, also a bit north to the Pocono Mountains, Delaware Water Gap and the Jersey Shore. There are some great Campgrounds in Southern Delaware. Best of luck with your adventures, Visit the WWWeb and investigate the Private Campgrounds and the State Parks..... Enjoy !
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Old 09-12-2016, 08:48 AM   #3
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You have to step back. While there are countless areas to visit from the metropolitan area you have lost of competition and need to make reservation often months in advance.

Your better source of information than a dealer is to follow the rally schedule at the bottom of this page and plan to stop in to a rally and ask questions. You will be welcomed and Airstreamers are always open to questions.

Something I always suggest to new campers is Never Buy New. Camping is a learning curve and while the champagne glasses and the long stem rose sitting on the dinette at the RV show look great they don't give you the information you need like where to put your shoes.
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Old 09-12-2016, 10:11 AM   #4
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2014 30' FB FC Bunk
Anywhere , USA Living.Somewhere.Yonder
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Atsushi View Post
It's not like we can take extended vacations easily. All we have is weekends. That means leaving on Friday night and coming home on Sunday night. Are there enough interesting places to go within 2~3 hour drive distance from Central NJ? If really exciting places to go take a day or two to get to, and because of that, if we can go only a few times a year, then we would rather rent an RV because that would make more sense. But if there enough places to go quickly on weekends without making plans in advance, buying an AS becomes a lot more rational choice.

Anyway, thank you for reading this.

Atsushi
There really are a lot of places you can go within 2-3 hours of Fanwood (I'm not far from you), and a ton more if you can stretch to 4 hours.

But I'd assess how much you are going to use the trailer. To me it doesn't sound like you have enough time to really enjoy it. Leaving on Friday after work is stressful. Then having to return Sunday only gives you Saturday to enjoy yourself. Would you do that often enough to justify the costs?

Can you take a Friday or Monday off work every so often? That would open up a lot more opportunities.

Also, there are places where you can pay a monthly rate and just store your trailer there, so you don't have to drag it back and forth. Maybe that is attractive?
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Old 09-12-2016, 10:54 AM   #5
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I suppose the aging cat/dog issue is why you're considering a travel trailer over B&B's?
I believe if you want time with your aging parents to build memories you consider a quality kennel or house-sitter for your 4-footed friends for the short weekends you'd like to plan.

An example would be the problems you'd face while out on a camping trip. If you can't take the paws and parents hiking due to age... how can you leave them in an all metal trailer? Think of the stress on the paws locked up inside a small, all-new-to-them/unfamiliar trailer all day. What would you do if you plan to eat out?

The money spent on a new trailer... even the depreciation when you drive it off the lot.... would go a long way to providing pet-sitting...and a lot of care-free moments at nice venues with your parents.... moments that you will treasure later on.
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