A thread on John Huggins’ Living The RV Dream Facebook group reflects a comment I hear quite often from wannabe RVers – “I’ve been shopping for weeks (or months) and still have not found the perfect RV. What am I doing wrong?”
Your first mistake is assuming that there is such a thing as the perfect RV. It doesn’t exist. It’s never been made and never will be. There may be a near-perfect rig for your needs out there somewhere, but it will never be perfect.
Over the last 16 years we have been in literally hundreds of RVs. Everything from friends’ RVs, units on dealers’ lots, display models at RV shows, and even prototype RVs that never made it to the market. Not one has ever been perfect.
There will always be compromises one has to make. The floor plan may be just right, but the engine is not as powerful as you want, or it may be more engine than you want. The bathroom may be a bit smaller than desired, or it does (or doesn’t) have an oven. The mattress may not be to your liking, or you would prefer a computer desk instead of that extra recliner. The best you can do is to find an RV that meets most of your criteria and go from there.
In our case, when we bought our Winnebago Ultimate Advantage we took out two recliners and the dinette and had two custom computer workstations, a bookcase, and a custom made table installed. Now if we were to take out the carpet and install a hardwood floor, and figure out some way for it to get 45 miles per gallon, it would be perfect.
Thank you to everybody who posted a comment about me losing my Airborne wings. We looked all over yesterday and were not able to find them. Several people suggested I might be able to find a replacement pair at a pawn shop or a military surplus store, and reader Steven Shunk even offered to send me his wings, which he earned back in 1975. While I appreciate the suggestions, and especially Steven’s gracious offer, it’s kind of like losing a wedding ring. There are a million rings out there, but it just wouldn’t be the same.
Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Fomorian Earth: Star Borne: 1 by my friend Sharon Delarose. To enter, all you have to do is click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.
Thought For The Day – A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life. – Muhammad Ali
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Your Perfect RV is probably available IF price is not an consideration.. You leave the standard production companies and talk to the many factory direct custom builders who make fifth wheel rigs or type Cs or type As. Fork or Travel Units will make your perfect fiver. Powerhouse or Kibbi-Renegade will make your Type C up to 54 feet long with engines up to 700 horsepower and a storage trailer up to 30 feet long to bring all your stuff along. Newell and others will make your type A as you want it and several conversion coach outfits will start with an empty box and build it as you wish.
We never expected to find the perfect RV… but the one we bought 15 years ago and been living in full-time ever since turned out to be the perfect one for us. We’ve thought about getting a newer model a few times, but never have… we’d just get exactly what we got the first time. Yes… we made a few modifications and replaced the chairs, but the rig itself fits us fine. Guess we got lucky 😉
Like you Nick for us our 2003 Winnebago Adventure is a perfect one for us, we knew the minute we walked in that this was the one we had been looking for. It had everything we had been looking for and we had looked for many years, sure it is not as perfect but I don’t want another one. Mike complains about it getting old but then again so are we. The only thing I want to change and one day we may get to do that is to get rid of the carpet and put in wood floors.
This post hits home! My perfect rv (I’ve purchased and then sold three in the past couple of years that turned out not to be a close third or fourth to perfect) would be a darling little mini campervan. No such animal is manufactured in the states and probably never will be (economics and the almighty dollar comes to mind). The UK puts out the “Cutie” and there are others made in Japan and Australia…but, alas, none here. Doesn’t keep me from wishin’ and dreamin’…maybe someday:::sigh::::
One thing we learned from great, wise, experienced RV mentors like Nick & Terry and John & Kathy Huggins has been that securing an RV that allows you to answer the question, “In what ways will you use this to fulfill your dreams?” is a good starting place. Some things are certain, regardless of what you come to purchase:
1) Every RV, from the most expensive to the least, will certainly have mechanical problems, technical difficulties and require work. If you can’t accept this – this adventure may not be for you. You can avoid it by flying on good airlines, staying in nice hotels or condos and driving rental cars. Mechanical problems then are someone else’s frustration. But you will miss SO much that RVing offers.
2) We buy, travel and live in RV’s to experience the great JOY of being part of a wonderful Community of persons who take authentic friendships and caring about one another very seriously. It’s the friends you make and keep while you’re RVing that provide us with the greatest blessings. The problems pale by comparison to the blessings you gain.
3) If and when you commit to do it, there is high probability that your greatest regret will not be you could have chosen a better Rig – but that you didn’t do it sooner. It’s a common theme with RVers.
Thanks Nick, Terry, John and Kathy for all your encouragement, counsel and friendship. You have made RVing one of the major joys of life by letting us learn through your vast experiences.
And to all you Wannabe RVers – seeking perfection is a struggle that hardly ever ends well. But doing responsible research, knowing your top requirements for a Rig, learning well from those who share their wisdom, and coming on IN through a good deal will put you on the path of joyful adventures. We look forward to seeing you down the road.