We have a website. We have four social media channels/pages. We have a new laptop, a drone, and assorted other toys to help us on this As We Wonder journey.
All we need now is an RV, because I’ll be damned if I’m walking.
Seriously, I didn’t know what we were getting into when we started our search for a travel trailer/RV. I had no idea how many there were. I had no idea of the different varieties, the different classifications, sizes, cost, and styles.
I had no idea!
We, wife Bev and I, quickly fell down the YouTube rabbit hole. I would estimate we have probably watched several hundred videos about travel trailers and RVs in the past year. I am starting to feel like “The Greatest RV Expert Who Has Never Owned An RV.” I feel like I’m on a first-name basis with many of the YouTube influencers. I am overflowing with knowledge about Class A’s, Class B’s, Class Cs’, teardrops, 5th Wheelers, truck campers, tent trailers, and any other hybrid which makes up the recreational vehicle industry.
Good God, enough already!
It is time to begin the physical search, and that’s exactly what we did this past weekend.
A couple guiding principles to start with
What we did know, for sure, is we didn’t want anything new. The prices of RVs have skyrocketed since COVID hit the scene, pushing prices to almost double what they were two years ago, and Bev and I are too stubborn to pay inflated prices. So, we began our search of used RVs, knowing there is, of course, a risk in buying used, but also knowing there is a risk in buying any RV/travel trailer.
We also began our search knowing we wanted to start out reasonably small. This whole RV lifestyle is completely new to us. We don’t even know if we will like it once we are out on the road, and we sure don’t need a 30-footer right out of the starting gate.
Our conclusion before we began the search: we will know it when we see it.
The search begins
The first thing we looked at was a sixteen-foot vintage travel trailer being sold by a sweet young girl. It was a 1973 Shasta classic, selling for $8000. It may have been a classic, but it was a classic in dire need of repair. It had water damage. We passed.
The next stop was to look at a 2009 22-foot converted shuttle bus, selling for $8500. It was funky. It had possibilities. We liked it, enough so that we are going to have our mechanic look at it this week.
And that’s as far as we’ve gotten so far.
I forgot to mention that we actually went out a couple months ago, and visited a couple RV dealerships. We looked at probably fifteen different RVs during that trip, and we came away tired and discouraged. So, to be mildly excited about this converted bus, is a nice feeling.
Wednesday we will hear back from the mechanic and we’ll go from there. There is no hurry. We will know it when we see it.
Stay tuned. I’ll let you know when we know.
Bill