I think I caught the bug as a teen. On a bright sunny day in June 1965, my Dad arrives with a brand new 12′ pull behind travel trailer. It
would soon become my backyard camping spot, or a late-night sleep it off. We had that camper for a number of years. The trips were often short, a fishing stream north of town, a weekend trip to the state park. As for the wandering, I have always been the one in the family to wander off, exploring, taking photos, just observing my surroundings.
48 Years Later
Fast forward to 2015 after following the travels of close friends in their Class A Motorhome, I started my own research to find our perfect RV. To be noted, I tend to be a bit impulsive when it comes to a purchase like this. Our first visit to an RV Dealer was Lazy Days in Tampa, FL. They came highly recommended by our RV friends.
They were right, this dealership was enormous, had a ton of inventory in every class and had a very good and knowledgeable staff. I thought
I knew what I wanted and headed straight for the Class C’s. They were smaller, more manageable to drive I felt and in our budget range. We came within inches of driving off that lot with one. I am glad Ginny reined me in. I spent the next handful of months reading blogs, books and watching Youtube videos of what to consider when buying an RV. I needed more facts and reviews so I went looking for a good impartial rating company. I choose the RV Consumer Group and bought their reports for Trailers and Motorhome
I’ve Got Numbers and Data
After countless hours on the computer, blogs, various pundits opinions and reviews we decided that a 5th Wheel would be the best for our
needs. It was partially driven by the fact we needed a truck for our everyday work around home and acreage. How much truck did we need? I put together a spreadsheet short list of 5th Wheel Brands, ratings, best pricing, depreciation percentages and GVWR (weights). We knew from previous experiences with horse trailers and trucks that towing capacity was going to be a priority. Word of advice, your RV dealership, and a good Truck Dealer will be your lifeline.
Yes, LazyDays was the best, but they were in FL and we were in TN. What happens when we need warranty work on the RV or just have a problem? You will have plenty of problems, trust me, so get this very right. After a handful of visits to dealerships, we found out that they do service prioritize folks that have purchased an RV from them. That was an awakening that became our guiding principle when choosing an RV Brand or Dealership.
Your Dealership Lifeline
We choose Dunlop RV out of Lebanon, TN and set our sights on the Highland Ridge – Open Range Roamer 347. Now for the truck, again countless visits to dealers. Tons of towing capacity misinformation later, we finally did our research and landed on a RAM 3500 Dually. Giving the weights we wanted to pull and the stability of dually’s while towing we made the right choice. On July 16th, 2016 we took ownership of both the RV and Truck.
The rest of the story will be detailed in my blog posts and stories contained within this site. I hope you enjoy the ride, we certainly are.