Never to Old for RV Adventures!
RV Travel for Seniors? ….. YES!!
“Buy an RV and Travel with Annie and Molly… DO WHAT?”
Learn from our mistakes.
Mistake #1: Plan, do not make this a spur of the moment decision. Discuss, talk to others!
In 2015 we ventured into a realm of travel that was totally unexpected and new for us. “Do You want to buy an RV and travel with dogs?” “What?”, was the response from Jane.” And she continues: “to travel around and enjoy America? In an RV? What are you thinking!? Are you crazy!”
Prior to that outburst, I thought I had an outstanding idea, one that I had no idea where it came from, but at 69 it seemed like a good idea. However, my wife quickly put that to bed. I do love her…… really.
Had I really ever seriously thought about it? Had we done a lot of outdoor camping? Had I gone in search of RV models, and talked to others about their experiences? NO. So why now? The simple answer is, I just do not know! However, I do know we both love our dogs, Annie and Molly, 2 ‘sister’ yellow labs. We always feel guilty leaving them in a kennel, so traveling with dogs seemed like a fun idea, right? But buy an RV and travel with dogs? We needed to have a family council, and soon.
Solution: Explore your options, take a few months prior to the spring and summer months to read and research and talk to others. Make sure, especially if this is the first time entering into this experience.
In any case, I went to look over models at the local Camping World. I liked what I saw, I could visualize the adventure of camping in areas across the US. Was Jane with me? No, but I returned home and I asked the question, “What if we bought …….. ?” After a few minutes of debate, she agreed to visit dealers and take a look at various models and discuss RV travel.
Mistake #2: Don’t just sign the papers, jump in your truck with the trailer attached and take off!
Buy an RV and Travel with dogs was our main thought since they, the dogs, have to experience kennel living otherwise. Within a month we bought one from a local dealer in the Portland, OR area.
Now you must remember, WE HAD NO EXPERIENCE!! ZERO! We did not even know how to connect the RV to our truck! I did not know how to back up a trailer. When we got to the dealer he had it connected during the time we were finalizing the paperwork. I see the setup, the sway bars, the electrical connection, the hitch, and the safety cables. Quick run through and he said, “Well, there you go! You should have no problems!”
So off we go. We drive to the storage site and after thinking I knew everything about backing up an RV (more on this later!), we begin to disconnect. We are not dumb, so we agreed on what would be the first item to disconnect, etc. The hardest part – and this was the case for the first 18+ months – was figuring out how to take the sway bars off. We even had a checklist to follow! Jane would work on one side and me on the other and we started a game of ‘who could get it disconnected first’. Minutes would go by, a couple of times in the rain. This frustrating process was simplified when during the annual servicing at the dealer I asked one of the service techs the secret to disconnecting the sway bars. He positioned the trailer where he wanted, took the sway bar with his foot, swung it underneath the truck, and, to our amazement, the sway bar magically dropped off as he brought it back to him! We looked at each other and started laughing uncontrollably. From that point on we would act so ‘smarty’ as we swung the sway bar with our foot and smiled as it dropped off!!
The next adventure was hitching up the trailer the first time. Believe me, there have been many ‘first times in this adventure. When we unhooked the trailer the first time at the storage site, we told ourselves to remember each step and just repeat these when we hook up on our first trip. After trial and error, we finally got the trailer hooked up. It was always the case, early on, to ‘hold my breath after the trailer was connected moving forward slowly praying that it would not fall off!
Solution: After the purchase, or really before, make sure the dealer walks you through the entire unit, ‘how to do this, how to do that’. Most important, based on our experience outlined above, make sure you know how to hook up the trailer to the truck and how to unhook it!
Oh, have I mentioned yet the joy and thrill of backing up the unit into a space at the storage site or at a resort site the first time?!
Mistake #3: Have you ever backed up a trailer before? This can be a harrowing ordeal if you do not know a trick or two!
We live in Oregon and the coast is one of the most scenic areas in the US, so we scheduled a few days at a resort and began our dog-friendly camping. For some reason, I do not remember backing up the trailer at storage space the first time, but let me describe the backing up experience at the RV Resort on the coast!
Without embarrassing myself further in this article, let’s just say that after a spell of ‘hits and misses’, the resort manager jumped in and, you guessed it, one try and, done! After many attempts to back up, and with Jane directing me from the back, we are now a ‘trained team’ at, most of the time, backing up successfully into the smallest of spaces! …. Yea, right!
Solution: Practice, practice and practice some more. If the dealer offers a short training on ‘backing up’ TAKE IT! The best advice I received was from an ‘old-time camper’, after watching me struggle, he just said, “too fast, slow down”! And from that point on there was a more consistent success.
Our first ‘long trip’ was from Portland to the scenic National Parks in southern Utah. This was within the first 30-45 days after the purchase. We had just returned from our 2nd trip to Italy and a cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Greek Islands and now we were ‘RVing, baby!’.
We quickly learned how to get the trailer connected and disconnected with a bit more confidence and we truly enjoyed the adventure. This first long trip lasted some 2+ weeks and brought us into areas that we would probably never have experienced. Not only the National Parks, but cities like Coeur d’Alene, ID, Walla Walla, WA, Mountain Home, ID, and many more have become our favorites. (I won’t mention in this article having to drive over a couple of mountain passes in western Montana without the trailer brakes working, just the brakes on the truck!)
One of the main reasons for getting the RV, as mentioned earlier, was to have Annie and Molly along with us; the ‘girls’ get to travel rather than stay in the kennel! They love the coast, they love to find their sleeping places at night, they just love to be with us and us with them. Call us crazy, but we absolutely love our dogs.
Well, that quick glimpse of our decision to buy and get moving ahead may discourage some of you from stepping into the world of RVing.
Please don’t let it. Are we pleased with our decision? Absolutely! This does not mean that it has all been rosy, but overall we do enjoy the adventure, the freedom, and the opportunity to just pick up and go!
More later on regarding the planning of trips and other ideas, as ‘newbies’ that we will share with you. Please let us know about your experiences, offer us advice, and other areas that you have enjoyed. Looking forward to getting to know you.
FOR INFORMATION ON PURCHASING TRAVEL PHOTOS
Other Travel Posts that you may be interested in:
The Best Kept RV Secret on the Oregon Coast
Exciting RV Adventures in the Southern Utah National Parks.
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