Grugger’s Way

Forward about 43 years. My wife and I decided to purchase a used motor home to see if we would enjoy the “RV lifestyle.” Crawling around inside a tent had become just a bit too confining for a 60-year-old with back and knee problems. We got a pretty good deal on a 1991 Fleetwood Flair 25Y.

The 17-year-old motor home proved to be pretty cramped and confining. Why would we not expect that? Two people can barely move past each other. There are all sorts of overhangs and sharp corners to bump my head. I hope I have found them all.

Cooking in the motor home makes the entire place smell like food. For hours. And it heats up the entire place too. Summer camping in 95 degree temperatures is unbearable without air conditioning. We ended up cooking outside on a campstove half the time. And we set up a tent so we could sit outside in the shade without BUGS! So here we are, a tent and a campstove, sitting alongside a big ol’ motorhome.

We tried dry camping, which means there is no electrical service, water service, sewer service, or cable tv hookups. What an eye-opener! Unless we run the generator we have no air conditioning. Batteries can run down and leave you stranded. When the vehicle is 17 years old, refrigerators don’t always work well, nor do generators. Holding tanks fill up WAY too fast, too.

I now understand why MOST motor homes and 5th wheel RV’s seem to be crowded into RV Parks WITH all the services. I don’t much care for that. Too confining, too crowded, too noisy, too many people. What’s the point of “getting away” if all you manage is to sit around in an air conditioned coach, watching tv and eating junk food and drinking beer? I can do that at home, with a whole lot more privacy.

So, the jury is still out on the “joys” of RV camping, but I DO know that cross-country traveling and/or being an RV “full-timer” will NOT come to pass. Ever.