#2 invertor generates 110v from the 12v coach batteries. This allows limited use of 110v appliances without a generator or external power cord. Yes you can watch TV with DVD while driving, and also with the engine off, but don't over-do it. We also can make a pot of coffee on the road. How much use depends on how many coach batteries you have. We have two. The engine alternator will do it's best to maintain the coach batteries during such use. Experience will tell how much 110v can be utilized without a secondary power source. There is no concern of killing the engine battery as there is protection built in.
#3 In most RV cases, the black holding tank is reserved for the toilet. The sinks and shower drains go into a gray tank. This is kept separate because some places allow gray water to be dispersed on the ground, but NEVER disperse raw sewage from the black tank.
#4 Driving a class-C, you will adapt very well. Even at 72 years of age. After your first excursion, you will feel very comfortable.
#5 The answer to this is a mouth full.
#6 RV's have furnaces. They run off propane to generate heat, and 12v for the blower. Without enough 12v, you won't have heat at night, so you want to be sure your coach batteries are well charged before quiet hour. Most RV's are not wired for quick charging of the coach batteries. If a quick charge is needed, plan to run your generator for an hour with a 110v house/garage 10amp standard battery charger to help boost your batteries for the night.
Regardless of your planned use, BE SURE to get a new or used coach that was built to last. A couple good examples are the Phoenix Cruiser and Coach House. There are many more good ones out there, but check these two by clicking on the blue names above. They both have on their websites, video and slide show tours with sound, of their construction methods. It will help you understand good construction methods. I look for these things in a well built motorhome.
1) one piece front aero-dynamic cap. This eliminates a lot of water leak-&-rot potential that you read about in older conventional class-Cs. Those have lots of caulked seam work in high stress corners.
2) fiberglass & crowned/arched roof. Flat roofs sag over time. Then water puddles up there. Sure enough water puddles around the a/c and roof vents. Water enters through old failed caulk.
3) 5 sided rear fiberglass cap. This eliminates the caulked corner seams where RVs see a lot of stress and water entry. This is the same principle as my first point.
4) no wood used in exterior walls or roof. If any water gets inside, the wood rots quickly. By the time it is discovered, it's already too late.
5) look for prefabricated walls and roof with aluminum framing and thick vacuum bonded fiberglass exterior side walls, injected with styrofoam insulation for a strong, warm, and quiet RV.
6) insulated coach glass windows. This is two layers of glass with space in-between for sound and temperature control. This is very good in colder weather, critcal if your bed is under a window. Also good when sleeping in noisy rest areas, Walmart parking lots....any place where you are trying to get a good night sleep in an active area.
In the case of the Coach House, that is the best construction method available. It's all one piece of fiberglass with no seams at all. But it has a much higher cost too.
Let the RV construction be your first mission, then find the right new or used price and floor plan.
* This post was
edited 05/15/08 09:04am by ron.dittmer *
Bought new in June 2007, Phoenix Cruiser-2350
Fits inside our garage.
Dingy towing a red Toyota MR2 Spyder
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ron.dittmer has given you a great detailed explanation,I love the "finance for 40yrs with little $ down and the comparing to boats really brought a smile-since, I said the same thing to my older brother last week .Its a buyer bonanza -get out there and take advantage of the situation and have the time of your life-see you in a RV park soon
Thanks Ron for the well thought out guide. I'm at the looking/thinking stage with a lot of apprehension thrown in as oil is touching $134 at this time. I’m not one with high income or too well off financially and know a RV is NOT an investment so I don’t want a total loss in a year or so on a ’06 RV purchase. I see what’s happened to the large SUV market and am afraid that the signs are not very healthy in RVing.
I am fortunate that I won’t have to finance one if the “right” one comes along. I look forward to it then question my sanity. Then again I’ve heard about buy low sell??? BE WELL
i've noticed a bunch of gently used rv's hitting the market due to the price of fuel and the lack of reality. Out here, at least, a lot of people buy a motorhome, and take it for a trip, realize the US is bigger then they thought and come back and sell the rv with 10k- on it.
I have a 1992 class c which i paid almost nothing for, and i replaced the carb on the gen, carpet, and did some other work, but certainly not a money pit. just a big car with a lot of moving parts and little pieces.
I couldn't imagine life any other way, and i'm only 39. we've been fulltiming since 2006, mixing in hiking the AT and dragging the class c around.
travel in a rv is the only way i consider worth travelling, it's nice to always have the comfort of your house around.
As far as the cost of crude, thats just life. we budget 100$ a day for everything, and if we overspend in gas, we sit around in free or low cost cg's for a few days to bring us back into budget. Drive a little, stay a lot, it rounds off the price of the pump. you only live this life once, so you should make the best of the go around....
i would look around at a few older rv's (not too old though), you'll find some sweethearts mixed in that group.
1992 Four Winds Class C 27'
2002 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
A couple of kayaks, bikes, and whatever else we can pile on
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