Home on the Road

For many retirees, “RVing” already was a familiar lifestyle, except now they’re doing it full time.

For some, they’re moving up to a more spacious traveling rig, even selling their home to take to the road in a 40-foot motor coach big enough to feel like their home is still with them.

Others have never camped or traveled in an RV of any size, but they’ve admired the adventuresome attitude of those who talk about their lifestyles of traveling freely about the country in homes-on-wheels that are packed with most of the comforts and amenities of the homes they left behind. Now, it’s their turn.

And with the wireless and satellite telecommunications available today, travelers can stay in touch with family back home, check out RV parks and resorts along the way or keep up on the news through television, radio, Internet and e-mail services.

Abundant information about recreation vehicles, RV lifestyles, camping and resort sites, trips to take, buying, selling or renting RVs, plus gadgets and accessories for RVs and RV clubs for socializing are available in RV magazines, at dealerships and all over the Internet.

A major Web resource is www.rv-info.net, plus RV dealerships and manufacturers have their own sites with photos, floor plans and operating tips for dozens of RVs of every shape, size and use.

“Probably 60 percent of our customers during the year are either retired or near to retirement, and most of them have probably been RVing for years, part time. The rest are mostly first-timers of all ages, including those who want an RV to park at a ski resort for a week or a weekend. Sometimes we get real estate people who want a mobile office on land or home sites they’re selling, or business people who can write the RV off as a business expense while they’re traveling,” said Gary Morris, RV sales manager for Roy Robinson in Marysville (www.royrobinsonrv.com).

He markets and services Itasca and Winnebago motor homes, Tahoe travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers and Citation campers.

“There are so many new RVs on the market, from trailers to fifth-wheels that attach to a pickup truck and the new ‘toy haulers.’ Those are fifth-wheels that feature inside living quarters but with a rear section for housing ATVs, dirt bikes or motorcycles. The rear wall drops down to form a ramp for loading,” said Morris, who has been in the RV sales business since 1976.

In fact, even some of the retirees are buying the toy hauler, he said, because many of the younger “baby boomer” generation are “into Harleys and such, and it’s a great way to haul them with you on your retirement journeys,” Morris said. “You can load snowmobiles or dune buggies and go to the mountains or Oregon’s beaches.”

The full-time RVers who buy a large motor coach in their retirement often sell their homes for the chance of enjoying adventures on the road, even though in four to five years they may sell the RV and buy a home again, he said.

Two of the most frequent questions he hears from first-timers buying large motor coaches is whether they’re hard to drive and how much does it cost to travel in them with gas prices being so high, he said.

“The coaches are designed to be easy to maneuver and smooth-running,” Morris said, “so they discover it’s not really a problem once they get in and try them. … Also, the new motor homes have better braking systems, and they’re made of lighter materials — aluminum and fiberglass instead of steel — so they’re not so heavy. The new materials also allow for larger picture windows and more durability.”

As for gas costs for big rigs that only get 10 miles to the gallon or less, Morris said people often think of driving a 40-foot RV as much as they usually drive their car. Actually, he said, big RVs are often driven point-to-point and then parked at an RV campsite or mobile home park for long periods.

“Motor homes might only be driven 2,000 miles a year. You have to put it in perspective. At $2 a gallon for gas and 10 miles to the gallon, you’re only talking about $400 for that 2,000 miles and only $600 for $3 a gallon,” he said. “Lately, some of the RVs are coming out with diesel engines that get 20 miles per gallon, which really changes the whole picture.”

One of the major changes in RVs over the past few years has been the addition of slide-outs that extend areas up to three feet beyond the walls of the usual “long tube” designs that used to limit living comfort even in big vehicles.

“Now, you have a long tube when you’re on the road, but when you park it and open up three or four slide-outs, you find you have a pretty spacious living area, including an expanded bedroom or extended dining areas,” he said.

Most RVs today, particularly the larger and more expensive ones, have stereo sound systems, radios, televisions and DVD players installed as standard equipment. Plus, dash instruments are arranged better for improved driving ease, and onboard GPS systems and screens provide access to maps, weather and other travel information.

Even propane or electric fireplaces are offered in many floor plans, and more motor homes are being manufactured with access doors on both the driver and passenger sides.

“Fifth-wheels and trailers, too, have slide-outs these days,” Morris said. “Some people like that kind of RVing because they can park their travel home and drive the truck into town, something you can’t do with a motor home the size of a bus. The whole thing has to go to town with you,” he said. “That’s why about 90 percent of the motor coaches you see also have cars towed behind the RV.”

In Lynnwood, Tony Weeldreyer, general manager for Western Motorcoach (www.westernrv.com), said buyers he deals with often are experienced RVers who want to move up to a more luxurious motor home for their retirement.

“Just like when they’re picking out a house, floor plans and the quality of the furnishings are often the deciding factors for buyers,” he said. “Some travel to Palm Springs; others go to Alaska in everything from a 15-foot travel trailer to a 40-foot, $650,000 motor coach, although many quality coaches are available today for much less money.”

The parks for motor homes often have pools, a clubhouse and other amenities, he said, and “you can even buy a site for your RV that’s yours rather than renting a spot.”

Whatever your retirement plans may be, say RV dealers, the marketplace can provide an amazing array of models, styles and types with almost every amenity imaginable, all in varying sizes, shapes, engines and degrees of comfort. Overall, they can provide a retirement travel-and-living package for every taste, every dream and every size wallet.