Cross country in an RV?

I may be attending a soaring class this July in Nevada. It lasts five days and teaches Wave Soaring. A "window" is opened up to allow gliders to fly higher than the 17,999 ft. limit; flights to 26,000 are not uncommon.

Anywho..... Rather than fly and rent a car there, how about buying an RV and taking back roads across the country? I'm retired, every day is Saturday. Take a week or so to get there and a week to get back. Any suggestions on what to see? Suggestions on what to bring, not bring, be concerned with?

Thanks, Dan

$5000 RV.

Wave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb1h0YAVPMw&nohtml5=False

Whereabouts in NV? Minden?

Yes, Minden.

Obviously breakdowns are a concern. Some serious, some expensive. And with any RV, water leaks.

I'm not poo pooing the plan. It sounds like egg sackery what I would like to do, only I would want to go to be going to one of the private pilot schools.

If you buy this Dodge, pack a spare ballast resistor.

You can thank me later.

Be sure to stop and check out Moab Utah, and Zion National Park. They are both amazing places. KOA campgrounds are abundant, and perfect for this type of travel. Good luck! You'll have a blast!

I had a 77 or 76 dodge motorhome just like that. 440/727 combo. What a great RV. Had the power to get out of its own way, and stone reliable. Have fun, and keep us posted.
You're going to Minden, but from where?

Couldn't you rent an RV for about $5k?

You really just need to do this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-Airstream-Tradewind-Trailer-Customized-by-Magnolia-Pearl-/252345184502?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3ac0f1f0f6:g:amAAAOSwAvJXBBA0&item=252345184502

Rent one. You get a newer model and break downs are covered and less likely to happen.

Probably better on gas too.

I rented one once to tour New England.

Didn't even have to find a dump station. Get one with a generator.

Old cheap RV problems include, but are not limited to:

Water intrusion destroying the toothpicks in the beer can over toothpick construction.

Single digit gas mileage.

All the quirks of an old medium duty truck, with a tiny house built on top.

If I was in your shoes, I'd be on the road at least 6 months out of the year. That's what SanFord will be doing in another 10 years or so.

Do it, except take a month or so on the way out, and another month or so on the way home. If your glider has a trailer, take it with you.

I rent one of these Aliner Campers for five days of flying at Lake Placid for about $40/day. Hauling one behind the truck to head out west would get about the same mileage as a small motorhome.

In a motorhome the bride can nap or lay back and check out the scenery, cook, whatever; more room than a bench set.

DrBoost, starting near Albany, NY.

petegossett wrote: Couldn't you rent an RV for about $5k?

Given the quotes I see every time I want to rent an RV, I seriously doubt it. Most RV rentals only include fairly low inclusive miles and extra miles aren't cheap. Given that it's ~2800 miles one way if 914Driver takes the direct route, that's going to get expensive.

914Driver wrote: Yes, Minden.

Probably one of the best places for flying gliders out here, so it wasn't that hard to guess .

Of course in the spirit of enabling everybody, I'd say "do eeeeeeet".

Buy the RV, load that BMW on the back and head out. You know you will get home, if you want to? Lake Tahoe is amazing . Enjoy your Saturdays.

Or avoid potential rust issues, fly out here, buy something like this and have an adventure driving it home?

I like the idea. I'd like it more if you got something a bit newer than a Carter administration era Dodge. You can find an RV built since OBD2 was released for under 10 grand and I suspect the difference in drivability and reliability will be WELL worth it. Just my .02

In reply to KyAllroad:

Seems that RVs are cheaper in the East then (like so many other vehicles), out here you'll struggle to get to the early 1990s with ten grand.

Do it. You can tow your own airplane.

In reply to BoxheadTim: Actually the sweet spot for RVs seems to be Florida. Older folks retire there and realize they don't enjoy/can't drive these things so they dump them cheap. In 30 seconds on CL I found this example. Fly-N-drive RV buying is definitely the way to go.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/rvd/5521350532.html

BoxheadTim wrote:

petegossett wrote: Couldn't you rent an RV for about $5k?

Given the quotes I see every time I want to rent an RV, I seriously doubt it. Most RV rentals only include fairly low inclusive miles and extra miles aren't cheap. Given that it's ~2800 miles one way if 914Driver takes the direct route, that's going to get expensive.

Try Cruise America My parents use them frequently. Next week, they're heading from Milwaukee to Seattle, about the same miles. About $2500, for one-way (they're taking Amtrak home).

I think you are missing the obvious.

RealMiniParker wrote:

BoxheadTim wrote:

petegossett wrote: Couldn't you rent an RV for about $5k?

Given the quotes I see every time I want to rent an RV, I seriously doubt it. Most RV rentals only include fairly low inclusive miles and extra miles aren't cheap. Given that it's ~2800 miles one way if 914Driver takes the direct route, that's going to get expensive.

Try Cruise America My parents use them frequently. Next week, they're heading from Milwaukee to Seattle, about the same miles. About $2500, for one-way (they're taking Amtrak home).

Sounds like a nice trip. I'm aware of Cruise America, they're actually one of the places I get quotes from. My issue is usually that I end up trying to get quotes from them for trip during their main season ($$$$) and also need more miles than the 100 miles/day they give you ($$$).

In reply to BoxheadTim:

Is the 100 miles per day literal or total? If he ends up staying parked in one place for awhile, he may not exceed the absolute total for the entire trip.