As I think about getting down to Roman Holiday to test drive the Winnebago Journey, I’ve realized that I need to figure out how I am going to get a lot more time behind the wheel of a big ass diesel pusher before I make my final purchase decision.
So, I was thinking that I should suck it up and spend the cash on a four day class A rental.
I know I can’t rent the model I would eventually purchase, but (before I make the decision that a big rig is what I actually want) I’d like to get a feel for driving a one around. I need to know that I am comfortable getting gas, getting into campgrounds, managing corners, etc.
I found a local rental company, American Dream Vacations, who said they can prepare all levels of drivers to drive one of their diesel pushers.
After a lesson from them, I could then drive the rig down to the RV Driving School in Mission, Texas. They provide a more extensive two day driving course for $475. (I’ve called before to enroll, but learned you have to provide your own RV.)
A quick estimate on what it would cost:
Four day rental: $1,375 (online reservation estimate; includes taxes and mileage overage)Driving school: $475 650 miles gas: $275 Estimate: $2,125
So, this will probably cost me about $2,500.
What do you think?
27 Comments
Why not wait until you make your purchase to take the school?
I wouldn’t.
I don’t think it is cost effective.
Take a few test drives before buying, then take a driving course with your own rig. There is a lot to learn about these big rigs, and suprisingly no license requirements.
I think the Escapees group has driving and other courses.
Did I mention, there is a lot to learn?
Did I mention you have gone about it in a really great way?
Questions, questions, questions?
Research, research, research!
Check Escapeees out first. You can join them, take the big rig to Livingston, camp there and get a full education on everything, and they will love you. If they don’t have the classes to educate you they will point you in the right direction.
Love
James
Oh, I guess I should better clarify – I want to have to drive one for a few days to make sure I really *want* something that big – that I truly feel comfortably navigating around in it. I am afraid that I’ll buy one with one easy test drive and start crying when I have to drive across country, wishing I had something smaller. ; )
I *edited* my post after your comments so that was clearer.
I wouldn’t spend that amount of money on driving school. Just learn as you go. That’s my opinion anyway.
I’m sure if you posted a “help” post on your blog or on RV.net that someone would come and give you a crash course (no pun intended! Ha!) on Class A’s. That way you aren’t out thousands of dollars AND you made some new friends – which is what the RVing lifestyle is all about. Just a suggestion. You have to do what you feel comfortable with.
As James said there is a lot to learn – about RVing in general. But most of that just comes with experience. You’ll have fun learning all about it! Remember there are many people who have been fulltime RVing for several years now. So if you have a question (and no question is a dumb one) just ASK! As you can see from the outcome of this blog, there are people out here that will help you.
Most Provinces in Canada, and many states, require an air brake endorsement to drive any vehicle that has air brakes…..the law, as i understand it, is that if you are pulled over that you only have to meet the requirements of your home state as indicated on your drivers licence…..but, i’d suggest a commercial air brake course as a minimum
We’ve lived full time in our 39ft. motorhome for 2-1/2 years. It works for us but there are compromises. There are so many places we’d like to go where it’s just impractical to take or park the big motorhome. If I was a solo I’d definitely have something a lot smaller; something that I could take almost anywhere. Especially if Alaska/Arctic Circle is on your agenda, the flexibility of a smaller rig is a REAL advantage and would allow you to see and experience so much more. My rule of thumb…. get the smallest thing that works for you.
Hey Jenn, if you can’t get hooked up with the Escapees, why not hold out for the NuRVers gathering? That’ll probably be sometime in the spring, and probably in Texas. You could crash the party and get a good sampling of a huge variety of rigs. I’m sure you’d get plenty of options to take a ride in pretty much every class and size of rig there is. Some might let you drive, but even if not, you’d find out what’s involved in each type of rig. Even just a ride-along will give you a pretty good idea of how they each handle.
http://www.nurvers.com
Ok a follow up to your follow up!
Don’t worry about driving it, you will learn how to drive it. Even though it is big and wide the back end always follows the front end, so from where you sit it is what it is.
Question of size.
Sit in it for several hours, see what you like and don’t like about the layout try out the bath area and see what it feels like as though you are living in it. Try out the bedroom, the kitchen, watch TV. Some TV are unwatchable in some MH, unless you want a crick in your neck. I replaced mine in the 5th with a new unit last trip and moved it down from the upper cabinet to the desk top, you don’t watch TV at home up on the ceiling. If it is a tube type think of replacing it with a new LCD tv.
We first purchaded a MH, then looked at 5th’s and like the 5th much better since it has so much more room and bought it.
Some folks just don’t need a lot of room, some need more. It is up to you.
Love,
James
What I think… You should decide how you’re going to use a Rig first. Where you want to go and the kind of roads you like to drive.
Many Class A’ers only stay at campgrounds that can accommodate large Rigs. They tend to stay for a long time, set-up a base camp and drive a toad to explore.
Others have smaller Rigs and like to camp in more remote places. Some like to move around a lot and explore back-roads in their RV, find a nice spot and camp there.
There’s no right or wrong way to full-time RV, it’s a question of figuring out what works for you and then getting the best ‘tool’(an RV)to accommodate your individual requirements.
The biggest RV I had driven prior to driving my current Class A, 36′ coach was a 26′ Class C, which was twice the size of anything I had previously driven…..getting used to the Class C took a few hundred miles, and just being patient, making wide turns, watching my “rear end” in the mirrors to be sure I didn’t hit anything, or roll over anything. Making sure I gave myself plenty of room to stop. It was the same with the Class A, only it took a 1,000 miles to really get comfortable, and frankly, after 17,000 miles I still feel more comfortable each time I get behind the wheel. Everyone is different, obviously, and you may take to it immediately, but I would guess your experience would mirror that of most of us out “here”. You will have the feeling of being way too BIG for the lane you are in, and you will think you are going to sideswipe everything on your right, while at the same exact time think you are too far to the left, which results in you being literally too far to the right. The biggest help for me just getting used to driving in the middle of the lane was to have my wife with me in the passenger seat to let me know when I was drifting too far to the right. A good friend will also suffice in this capacity. Now, after 17,000 miles I can drive between two big rigs with just a few feet on each side and not panic.
I say all this to say your first driving experience may not tell you all you need to know about your comfort level with something this big. There is no doubt in my mind that you can do this……a 36′ rig is very a comfortable living space if you plan to fulltime….after a while, at least for us, the Class C was just too small. In the 36′ Class A we never feel like it’s time to go back to our sticks and stucco home, while in the Class C we were thinking that after a couple of weeks.
I think there are less expensive ways to get the experience, and I hate to see you lay out that kind of dough…just don’t think there is enough value there to warrant the expense. That’s my 2 cents, and I’m sticking to it!
Jennifer:
If what you are looking for is something that will deposit you across a continent without disturbing your solipsism, then either of these behemoths will do the trick. So will a jet plane.
If you are looking for an actual journey… that is a different matter.
It is surprising the turn this blog has taken in such a short time. I got here by googling “boondocking RV” or some such term. Your title seemed in line with that: “Living in my Car”. As I read along, I found an articulate person who had temporarily lost control of her life, was drowning in credit card and mortgage debt, and was attempting an escape into alcohol poisoning.
But then she began to snap out of it. She had a plan to sell her house and pay off the credit cards. She was going to AA. And as a celebratory symbol of regained control, she had conceived this quixotic plan to drive to the Arctic.
All well and good.
But now, before any of that plan has been accomplished, we see her setting out to acquire more debt, borrowing $60K to buy a used diesel pusher. Even if she does manage to sell her house, isn’t that just going from one caricature of over-consumption to another? Is that freedom? Is that independence?
There is a subtle psychological effect to these big self-contained buses. They turn you inward. Many times I have seen them come clattering into camp, taking up the whole road. With a gasp of air brakes and a whirring of electric motors, down come the levelers. Out come the slides. On goes the noisy generator. And that’s it. Nobody comes out. Is there anybody inside to care that they are keeping the whole camp awake? For all anyone can see, it’s just a great hulking empty machine blundering down the highway. Like a latter-day Mary Celeste.
There is a loneliness to long distance travel, Jennifer. There is such a thing as being too self-contained. If travel does not bring you out of yourself, is it really travel? Is anything different? Has anything changed? Is drinking alone in your elaborate bus an improvement over drinking alone in your house?
Bob
Wow – I feel like I just read “Zen and The Art of Motorhome Maintenance.”
Now to your specific concern – I certainly agree with the suggestion not to rent the coach just for this purpose. If your economic situation was more better (how is that for fancy prose?) that might make sense.
I believe you can get all kinds of seat time in a variety of coaches just by making appointments and working with the salesmen. They will certainly accomodate your needs as they want to make a sale. Your approach won’t be disengeniuous, because you are contemplating a purchase. Just start making appointments and going. Ask them to take you to a less congested area to drive so you can get the feel for it in a lower stress environment.
For many of us, part of the allure is the machine itself. If you don’t fall into that category and thus derive enjoyment piddling with the coach, simpler and smaller may be much more satisfying. The bigger and more equipped, the higher the maintenance and upkeep. Basic living accomodations may be had in a much smaller vehicle – bed, galley, bathroom, etc.
Try them all out with an open mind. I have a feeling you will know when you have arrived in the right one for you.
Thank you, all, once again, for the feedback. This is so helpful to me!
Based on your feedback, I am not going to do the driving school.
I am also going to seriously consider something smaller.
There is also a (too new and expensive, but properly sized) Sprinter chassis class C at Roman Holiday. I will plan to drive both and spend a lot of time in each. Tomorrow, hopefully!
My head hurts. ; )
Jennifer
Gordon: “Wow – I feel like I just read “Zen and The Art of Motorhome Maintenance.”
Lol. Then let me put it another way:
“If you are trying to get out of a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.”
Bob
WOW!!! Glad you are doing all of my agonizing and researching FOR me!!! Hehheh!
I understand the dilemma…but also, I sooo agree with Bob’s take on all of it. If $$$ is not an issue then take the quantum leap….but if $$$$ IS an issue, where is the logic in getting into more financial stress…the journey is surely to be about leaving stress…well, leaving some of it… behind?
From all the many blogs I have been reading, there had better be a LOT of available $$$ for those surprise mechanical failures…sheesh, even tires run almost $3000.! With a stick/bricks home, many repairs can be “ducktaped” (so to speak) BUT in a motor vehicle it’s all about safety….can’t ignore breakage.
I am thinking smaller and less costly…for a beginning journey. Maybe even hold off sale of abode (rent it?) until the market firms up, and buy a smaller RV…or, just go with an Aliner type, something the car can tow…with the occasional motel or fancy-shmancy campground thrown in…sure would save the bucks!
Only reason I say this is because it’s the direction I think I am going in.
(ummmm…today anyway.)
XOXO Di
Why does this feel like a brutal therapy session?
I am going to bed.
No, really, this is so, so helpful!
Jennifer
(21 days sober!)
PS…Totally off topic…you should read this woman’s blog (thanks to Hobo Stripper for the link!)! An incredible writer-story teller…!
http://thestoryofstory.wordpress.com/
XOXO
Wow. I started from the beginning and can’t stop reading.
Such a strange, mesmerizing writing style! She has an incredibly unique narrative voice.
Thanks for that one…
Jennifer
Lady Di: “From all the many blogs I have been reading, there had better be a LOT of available $$$ for those surprise mechanical failures…sheesh, even tires run almost $3000.!”
I was talking to a friend of mine in California a while back. He’s got lots of bucks, owns his own company. He has a diesel pusher (Bluebird)and he was complaining about some repairs he had to do on the road in South Dakota somewhere. There was some engine work, and some road damage to low storage bins on one side. The bill came to $17000. He wasn’t happy about it, but didn’t consider that a major repair.
That is a third more than I spent on my entire fifth wheel, brand new! And about a third more than I currently have in my 1992 Lazy Daze, even after installing a new fridge, converter, batteries, satellite radio, backup tv, and fresh water pump.
I don’t know about used, but I know several people who have bought new trailers for 30% off list. Including me. There’s a lot of give in dealer RV prices. Especially during the winter.
Bob
again I find myself without voice. i can’t justify the class a, especially the larger one. to me, it’s another reason to stay inside, which is not what I want. I want to get outside, fresh air, explore my area and learn and grow.
I want the Class C for various reasons, but you can also find a smaller Class A that Im sure would satisfy your needs (okay maybe not the laundry center, or the fireplace), but a good working basic vehicle nonetheless.
Think of your future costs too.
Gas being the first, travel always comes with that one. Not that there is alot of difference between a small Class A and a larger Class C, but when going into your 36 footer, you may find a difference there for sure.
I have read alot on the RV forums, seems the larger coaches sometimes get turned away from the campsites, just due to their size. Limits always scare me. If I want to go somewhere, I will do that. I don’t want to be held up becuase of size.
Also, I think the smaller RV will make you go outside, visit with your neighbors and start being more social. I think this is your goal?
Don’t rush into the purchase, throw the question onto the RV.net forum, see what the masses say too. Do lots of research on what YOU want. A bigger RV to get a bathtub? Lots of space to store things? A King size bed instead of a double?
A larger kitchen or livingroom for entertaining?
Take your time, really think about what you want, don’t go big just to go big. It’s only you right? Do you really need all that space?
Good luck
I don’t have a clue one way or another on your test drive deal, but I found another cool “Alaska” link for you
http://tinycamper.com/alaska1.htm
Hey Jennifer,
If I was hitting the road by myself, I would look hard at a nice preowned Lazy Daze C or Born Free C. You don’t need no steenkin’ stairmaster!
Steve
Hey Jeff…great link!!! I LOVE dem teardrops!!
Been pondering that for Moi…but I have a Vibe and doubtful the weight would do unless I carried everything in the car…?
There’s a guy in Tx who makes beautiful well-equipped ones…he just sold one he’d made on EBay…gorgeous work!He thought of everything!
Funny how much attention they bring!
Anyway, you’d definitely have to spend all your waking time outside!
And not great for long-term…home would probably look mighty good after a couple of months on the road.
Great comments by bob, and I’d just add my own experience. Take it or leave it as it may or may not apply. My “journey” is primarily about simplifying my life–shedding crap that I “needed” to have because it was just the thing to do. Enter the RV world…it is a means to an end. It allows me to shed my stuff, gives me some shelter, and will allow me to travel relatively inexpensively while still giving me a sense of home.
As I learned, though, it’s tempting to think of the RV world as being equal to the simple living world. I also learned quite quickly that they are two very different things. The RV community is filled with people who played “the game” their whole life and are as obsessed, if not more so, with stuff as anyone else. They convince people you “need” pricey behemoth RVs, that if you don’t have automatic awnings and a built in washing machine that it’s just not practical to full time in. They often view their RVs as symbolic of who they are, as symbols of their self-worth. Some often look down on older RVs, on smaller RVs, and scoff at the poor guy in the popup, god forbid.
Don’t get me wrong–they most certainly are not all like that. Many, many of them are just awesome people. But the RV community is just like the regular default world–it’s filled with people of all kinds. So…if you’re seeking to achieve a goal that’s not in line with their goals, you may be better served seeking advice elsewhere, and following examples set by others.
The one thing that struck me while reading your wonderful blog was your desire to bring along a stairmaster, hence the need for a class A.
Is it me, or isn’t the point of travelling/fulltiming in an RV to be “out and about” seeing the sites, tourist attractions, hiking – whatnot?
I don’t see the reasoning behind the stairmaster and wouldn’t that be unneccessary weight? I know a lot of fulltimers talk about what they can and cannot bring with them due to weight constraints. [I have no idea what a stairmaster weighs, but I would think more than a couch
]
Just a thought. I think it is a good idea that you have put off the idea of driving school [that is a lot of $$$ for the rental, gas and school] and I have to agree with the other posters that perhaps you should look at something smaller and not take on so much debt for something you don’t really need, y’know?
Have you looked at Craigslist.org? I go over there all the time and drool at the listings…:) You might find a nice class C that will suit your purposes and leave you with extra cash should you incur the repairs / whatnot down the road.
Wish you the best
You’re doing great!
I’ve been absent. I haven’t even updated my own blog in a while. I’m sorry.
Driving school. You’ll be irritated you spent it after the first 500 miles of seat time. It is really not that hard. I was worried to death about getting behind the wheel, but if you have some intelligence (I can see you do) some courage (yep, I see that as well) and just a little bit of common sense, you’re going to be fine. Real world experience. Just do it!
At Learn 2 Drive St Albans we’re passionate about getting our clients from novice to competent driver quickly and with ease. We’ve got truckloads of patience and bags of humour so we can help even the most nervous of pupils get enough confidence to make passing a driving test seem like a walk in the park.