I do not want to see my granddaughter every day, nor does her grandmother. We wait to be invited. We are content living our own lives here, as if we had moved here, and this gives us a glimpse of what could be. I continue my consulting work here, go on photojournalism hikes, get to the beach, jog six miles, etc. We are absolutely not expecting to see her often.

Being here six weeks has shown me how absolutely certain we are that minimal time together is just perfect.

The question I asked was about HOW to see our family most effectively, not how to be a grandparent.

Well, as said earlier, if you are planning to travel, and your work lets your work remote, then by all means an RV works.

You seem to understand the work involved, and logistics in the area, think I'd rent my home out and lease an RV or buy a nice used one with a smaller down payment and drive it for a year or two.

You'll get it out of your system or buy in for the long term. Existing home stays yours, and you get a bit of revenue for it to cover the taxes and insurance plus a bit of profit.

You can move back in, or sell it once you experience the road life in an RV

Wife and I sold everything we owned in 2001 and ran away from home in a new Chevy 3500 and 38 foot 5th wheel. We ended our journel with an International 4400 and a 2006 36 foot DRV Elite Suite. We loved the lifestyle. So many places to see, so many new things to do. We limited ourselves to relatively short drives to prevent boring or tiresome days.

Not going to tell you what to do, buy or how unless you ask. One word of advice, Stay the hell out of KOA Campgrounds unless it's an emergency with NO OTHER CHOICE!

The present home is paid for, we owe nothing on any property or vehicle, and we can leave our domicile at any time. I think it would be wonderful to travel more, before age gets the better of us.

Retirement consulting can be done remotely. We could conceivably visit Fort Myers for family, Charlotte for family and consulting, and points west for family and adventure.

In these intervening days since the Mrs dreamed up the RV solution, she continues to maintain some allegiance to her idea. I am surprised. We spent a pleasant dinner at Toni's Detroit Pizza looking at Luxe fifth wheels and Airstream trailers, and various tow vehicles. I've never seen her so motivated, and so curiously cautious on size and weight and money, while being quietly excited to think of doing the RV thing.

Time to look again at my spreadsheet comparing RV and hotel life, with new assumptions.

If I heading out RVing again, I would look very hard at a FOREST RIVER "RIVER RANCH" 5th wheel or something by Brinkley RV.

4MUL8R, in the event you want to pursue RV option, the most important thing (for us at least) is the floor plan, either Class A, Class C, Class B or 5th wheel. Both you and the wife need to agree on what is BEST option for you. No need to be loyal on any particular brand, as all of them will have their of defects (eventually). When you find the floor plan you like, take note on the BRAND, then do your research on the build quality of that particular brand.

One thing I will strongly advise is try to avoid any model that have the Gas Range and Refrigerator on the SAME slide out. That is too much weight to be placed on the SAME slide out. And.... I personally did not like the gas range being on the slide out on our previous Class C. Each time we open and close the slide, I get nervous because the gas line is also placed underneath the same slide out (poor design in my opinion).

RVing is fun and can be challenging at the same time. You and your wife might actually enjoy it, once you start travelling. We are on our 12th year of intermittent RVing (still working Full Time). We have been to Canada 6x (3-week annual summer vacations), and many short US trips. Planning on doing travel nursing in the next couple of years, until when we decide to retire. Then, it will be Full Time RVing. Just waiting for our son to finish college.

I will not comment on the grandparent situation. (Just on the RVing side).

Safe travels.

For the vast majority of people rv'ing is a fantasy. You buy, they sit, deteriorate and drain your asset accounts. Depreciate like a rock. Are hard to sell. A small percentage enjoy.

The only things in life I regret are the ones I didn't do.

You didn't get this far by being impulsive- Good Luck.

I'm looking forward to the pictures of your adventure.

I used to pull a 21’ trailer around when the kids were young, sold it after that. I just have a hard time thinking you are gonna save $$ with the RV.

Everyone is different on what they like to do. It’s not really a biggie, especially buying used as Winter approaches.

You guys have ben great to help me think about this.

I did some serious spreadsheet work this morning, after being all fired up to buy a fifth wheel and a tow vehicle at a rock bottom price.

I assumed bimonthly trips of one week, except for a "rent furnished home" which I set at four trips of two weeks.

Looking carefully at all the associated costs, my Excel totals were:

Fifth Wheel + Tow Vehicle = $47,750
3/4 Ton Tow Vehicle + Rental RV Trailer = $29,605
Rental Class A RV = $26,696
Local 5-star Wild Dunes Resort = $18,335
Quarterly Furnished Home = $12,790
Wife x 3 By Air, Both x 3 Driving Cheap Hotel = $8,747

It appears we have the typical Goldilocks situation here. For six visits per year of one week each, Wild Dunes is an amazing option. We stayed there before, and it is very convenient to the kids.

I could NOT believe the incredible costs of the fifth wheel and tow vehicle. Both used, and that price was affordable, so to speak. But, depreciation, taxes, fees, storage, insurance, etc...you would not believe how that made the seemingly affordable crazy expensive.

Can you find a duplex that maths out so one tenant makes the mortgage? Keep one side for yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
I could NOT believe the incredible costs of the fifth wheel and tow vehicle. Both used, and that price was affordable, so to speak. But, depreciation, taxes, fees, storage, insurance, etc...you would not believe how that made the seemingly affordable crazy expensive.

Yeah, that's what I was finding when looking as well. My $8K figure per year didn't even get it out on the road. I really wanted to do it, but dang - we went on a 7 day cruise to Greece last year can came in under that...

I know you are not looking for family advice but I would take 3 trips to see the kids. Once every 4 months and take your wife on three real vacations on the other 3 weeks. Kids could always make a trip to see you on a long weekend if they choose to. Seems like a good balance for all. Good luck.

47,750 per YEAR!
Damn.

I didn't have to make any decisions about seeing my grandchildren as my daughter did that for me.
I'm an old geezer with conservative principals and she is a modern know it all liberal.
I have been deemed as toxic and that means I'm a danger to her children.

I'm late to the discussion but I also contemplated buying a motorhome and traveling in retirement.

There's not just the initial, maintenance, fixed and variable costs. There's also the unending upkeep. I joined an RV forum and followed their complaints and misgivings, and I learned why buying an RV is in the top 10 regrets for retirees. Right up there with timeshares, boats, and hobby farms.

I have some friends who tried it. They gave it an honest effort for a year or two, but if you have a brick and mortar home, you run out of places to visit that are close by. Then your radius of sightseeing opportunities gets farther and farther away.

Plus, the lady said keeping it clean became a full time job. Cleaning for storing it. Cleaning after using it. Cleaning before using it.

When they sold it, it was like new, but they lost a lot of money.

But, I've gotta say, in today's America, on our highways? I get road rage (in my mind) just driving in my pickup. I can't imagine driving a full sized motorhome. Or even a pickup towing an Airstream.

I couldn't believe the $47,750 either. Components of this cost are:

RV trailer payment
TV (truck) payment
RV insurance
TV insurance
Virginia personal property tax on both
Storage cost for 45 foot covered space
Five years depreciation (my estimate of our active RV years)
Estimated repairs and updates each year
Diesel fuel cost (and DPF)
Campground daily fees

Keep in mind this was based on a very attractively priced 44-foot LUXE fifth wheel with its companion F-450 tow vehicle, a fellow is selling in PA. His price was less than so many others, yet the package was still expensive.

Of special note, of course, is the lack of freedom to drive anywhere with this rig. Dualie truck means NO driving in Charleston city itself. 14-foot high trailer means low-hanging tree branches are a problem. 44-foot long trailer and a 25-foot long truck, even as a fifth wheel, mean only certain roads are viable.