travel trailers and motorhomes

[rockriver]

on a recent camping trip I spent some time in the travel trailer and motor home section of the campground.
the folks sitting under their awnings or just walking were friendly and receptive to questions about their rigs.

if you have a travel trailer or motor home tell us about it! or tell us about your friends unit!

there were 40' motor homes that cost 100k up to ???K new. some of these are now worth ?40 to 50k with some age and miles.
travel trailers from 10k up to ?60k. new and used from 5k up...

costs of maintenance appeared to be an issue.
one real talkative 75ish year old guy told me that he'd bought 6 new Michelins for his unit a few years ago and got a great deal
of 2700$ he said the cost now would be about 3300 or more. he had a 300hp cummins which allowed him to pull his 4000 # toad (name they give
a "towed" vehicle) without any difficulty. mpg of diesel seemed to run 6 to 8

a fellow with a 25' small motor home had a Mercedes diesel 6 cyl spoke of 15 to 16 mpg diesel. his fuel tank was only 26 gallons.

I asked about insurance. normal auto insurance seemed pretty reasonably priced considering the values represented.
the folks with newer units usually bought extended warranties as they report there are usually a lot of expense to repair.
a comment like... "these units are like your house being in a 60-70 mph hurricane while experiencing an earthquake at the same time." was common.

we had a fair amount of rain. most tents would have kept most gear dry.
these folks in trailers and motor homes had everything dry the next morning!

[rockriver]

I called an associate who I thought had a motorhome..
they did have one. but it has not been operated for 10 years.
they moved and left it at old house site. "just an extra bedroom and toilet..."
...
thought..
what if you bought your bo location and wanted to get living quarters in a hurry.
old mh and tt (motorhomes and travel trailers) can be bought real cheap.

transporting a mh which is on it's last gasp, smoking and chugging to your bo location. then parking it with no real thoughts of it ever moving would give you.
a bathroom
a working kitchen
a fuel tank (most of these tanks are huge 50 to 150 gallons)
sleeping quarters for 2 to 6 or more
a generator with a propane tank hooked up. (just about all mh and some tt come with built in generators)

negatives..
if it's old the roof is about to start leaking!
so a tarp or other supplementary roof would be a good idea!

[rockriver]

I was discussing this topic with a friend...
sounded sort of like bob (from ld3 story over in the story forum)

he thought that having an extra bath and bedroom, and cooking utility, and generator, and shelter, on premises was a dumb idea.
I didn't understand why, till he explained the poor defensive characteristics of a travel trailer, and its' poor ability to withstand rounds from a rifle. by golly, he's right.

lol...
he lives in a frame house. my associate is probably doing a study on applying Kevlar to the interior wall surfaces. or maybe sandbags or filled concrete blocks. i'll bet he's got a notebook on the subject.

[jimmycthemd]

I have a 38' 'work and play' by Forest River. First, I DON'T consider this as part of my preps. It has a 5500 watt generator (gas) and a 13' garage in the back. The only 'practical' uses have been 1) when our a/c went out at the house a few summers ago and it was over 100 degrees out. Took 3 days to fix it, but we moved into the trailer and all was cool. 2) When the power went out for a couple of days last summer. Same deal.

We paid about 25k for it used, but it's a toy that just comes in handy once in a while. For those who aren't familiar with them, it's basically a horse trailer converted into a camping trailer. As stated earlier, no ballistic protection whatsoever. It would be cost-prohibitive to fortify it (not to mention the added weight).