Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2013 06:13:48 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Beyond Vanagon
In-Reply-To: <BLU405-EAS152F87C6F0FB15E443B654BB8D00@phx.gbl>
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I think the motorhom-ing is a compromise, too. RVers who choose the
Motorhome style have to compromise due to it's size and fuel requirements.
They have to decide between having all the comforts of home or not so
much. Full comfort= size and weight= limited access. House-sized vehicle
will just not fit lots of places. A lot motorhomes simply are too big and
unwieldy to negotiate everywhere... So you have to choose...Be really
comfortable and have all your "stuff" but accept that you won't be going
into a lot of places...Or..take fewer cubic feet of living space along and
go more places.
When traveling motorhomes are a compromise. You might see an
interesting looking mining town in the mountains or a small village
somewhere but with the motorhome, you'll have chosen to 'skip' going there
in favor of being totally comfortable where you can go. You'll be looking
for KOAs and reading their websites to see what length they are able to
accommodate. You may have to begin to follow truck routes on your GPS and
check the clearance of bridges and underpasses before you get to them...(or
not, as some seem to do) I'm not saying that's bad, but it is the
compromise of choosing to use a big RV..
We, too, inherited a motorhome and tried it for one winter..drove it to
the tip of Baja and back to the Columbia River Gorge..Nice, comfortable,
take plenty of stuff along but it just wasn't our style. Scary as hell
trying to negotiate Baja hwy 1, which is quite narrow... Replaced it with a
telescoping Alaskan-brand slide -in camper on a 4x4 diesel truck with a
small Wells Cargo utility trailer behind. That was a better compromise,
for us. We could go most anywhere there were vehicle traces and not worry
too much about getting through...though towing a small trailer was at times
inconvenient. Again, though, a compromise....No TVs no DVR no garbage
disposal no generator no power front steps no real living room sized
space....
Then when diesel fuel hit $4+ per gallon, I chose to downsize to the
Vanagon...Which suits us pretty well. I actually still have the Alaskan
camper, the Ford 4x4 and the Wells Cargo, and if the price of fuel ever
dropped I'd prefer that rig for extended traveling...It was the best so
far, but it costs about 3 times as much to drive, so the compromise there
is only to drive it 1/3 as far or 1/3 as often.
For short stays, day or overnight trips, daily driving, bike races and
windsurf outings...the Vanagon is perfect. It works pretty good as a work
vehicle, too...
No one vehicle will ever do it all, everyone has different priorities...
Sent from my iPad
>
> On 2013-03-25, at 10:10 AM, "bernie" <1234bjs@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > Everything is a compromise, except motor homing is not. It is taking the
> > house with you, no compromise at all. mcneely
> >
> >
> > I agree Dave.
> >
> > I don't judge motorhome travel I simply meant it would not work for me.
> > I have really considered getting something bigger but I just can't see me
> > in it.
> > When my Dad died 11 years ago he left us a bigger motorhome.
> > We drove it around the block and found we could not see ourselves lugging
> > it around.
> > We sold it and bought the westy.
> > At the last VW campout I met a nice couple and their two daughters
> camping
> > in a westy. She said that a year ago they were camping in their 20 ft
> > trailer.
> > They found the girls stayed in the unit and watched TV.
> > This was not the experience they wanted to give their children so they
> > bought
> > a westy.
> >
> > Bernie
> > Vancouver BC
>
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