September 24, 2020—“They” say that the happiest two days of a boat-owner’s life are the day s/he bought the boat and the day s/he sold it. The same holds true for an RVer.
We sold the truck camper!
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| Good-bye, Lance 1172! We will miss you! |
Actually, although we are happy we sold it, we will miss camping. I know, I know…for the longest time I truly was the Reluctant Rover. I kicked and screamed (not literally, of course) when we bought our first motorhome, that 38-foot 1998 Dutch Star. Of all the RVs we have owned, the Dutch Star by far was the best crafted. We had relatively few problems with it. We traded it in mainly because, with only one slide, we found it crowded with the cats. (Litter boxes take up a lot of room!)
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| This 1998 Dutch Star was our 'Baby.' |
Our next RV was supposedly an upgrade. It was a 40-foot 2005 Country Coach. With its three slides open, it was as big as a New York apartment. Gorgeous. However…it was nothing but trouble. I think Jim spend more time fixing it than he did enjoying it. It did not pain us to get rid of it. We were happy to do so.
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| The 2005 Country Coach was beautiful, but it required a lot of maintenance. We did not regret selling it. |
Our mistake, however, was buying our third RV—a 27-foot Thor
Axis. The downsizing did not bother us; we had decided we were not going to make
any more long, cross-country trips. But, we bought the wrong configuration: One
slide in the back, which extended a queen-sized bed. The cabin/galley did not
have a slide, and we had to put up a table every time we ate. (Other
configurations had a slide in the cabin area, but had twin beds that could be
converted to a king.) The only seating to watch TV was the couch, and it was
not comfortable. Theoretically the driver’s and passenger’s seats were supposed
to turn completely around, but the driver’s seat did not, and neither of them
had a good view of the TV.
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| Thor was 27 feet long. Its configuration (not its size) caused us to dislike it. |
Every time we went camping in Thor we both complained about
how much we hated it. We were not unhappy to sell it.
Jim somehow got the idea about getting a truck camper. When we came across a combination package—the 1999 Dodge Ram 3500 dually truck plus a 2003 Lance truck camper, Model 1121. The combo was a deal we could not resist. Both were only used by the original owner, a local rabbi. We discovered the truck camper actually offered more room than Thor. Jim installed a new flat-screen TV and put in new plank flooring. After having spent so much time fixing our RV, it was a pleasure just to enjoy it.
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| This combo package was quite a deal: 2003 Lance 1121 camper plus the 1999 Dodge Ram 3500 truck. We really enjoyed the camper but it lacked a comfortable seating area. |
However, after a few months we realized that the one thing the camper was missing was a comfortable area in which to sit and watch TV or read. So…
Last September we traded the 2003 in for a brand new 2019 1172 Lance, the largest model the company makes. It had everything the old one had, plus a couch with foot stools. We really enjoyed it. And now someone else will have that pleasure.
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| And this is Lance 1172. We will take it to its new owners next week. We are keeping the truck, though. It will continue to serve us well. |
Why did we decide to sell? Well, time is marching on, and we have found that we don’t have time to do everything we want to do. Right now, instead of traveling, we want to fish. It’s just a matter of priorities.
Jim doesn’t want to rule out getting another RV, possibly a small trailer, in the future. I don’t want to rush into buying anything. Right now, we will just enjoy life.
Will there be any more Reluctant Rover blogs? I don’t know.
Until maybe sometime in the future,
Your Reluctant Rover,
Linda
