Wednesday, September 3, 2008


One of my favorite Canadian destinations would be the Canadian Rockies. There is so much to take in you should give yourself plenty of travel time. It offers nature at its finest. It can be wet and it can be cold but you will experience warm and sunny days as well, and sunny or overcast the scenery is magnificent.


The Full-Time Question:

I get questions all the time about full-time living in an RV on the road. Gaila and I did just that for about 10 years before our daughter was born. It was a wonderful life-style. The majority of people living that life-style are retired but many more people each year are discovering the economics of living and traveling cheaply.

Many full-timers stay in one place for weeks or months at a time, driving very little. Since they seldom move the RV, they spend very little in fuel. Without a house, they no longer have that huge real estate tax bill, no homeowner's insurance, or utility bills. Deciding how you plan to schedule your traveling can help you figure out your best vehicle choice. You can figure on approximately 8-10 mpg whether you pull a trailer or drive a motorhome. The difference comes when you stop to work or explore. If you put a lot of miles on the vehicle you pull a trailer with you are still getting poor mileage because its power plant is designed to pull a lot of weight. When not pulling a trailer you may bump up to 15-18 mpg. If you spend a lot of time stationary or do a lot of exploring when stopped in an area, you will do better living in a motorhome and towing a small vehicle that gets exceptional mileage in the 30+ range.

With todays fuel costs you will end up with a much more economic bottom line annually, even considering you have two engines to maintain.The rig you decide on has a lot to do with personal preference. I have to say I was a trailer guy for years. My family had an Airstream since I was seven years old, I worked for an Airstream dealer in high school and Gaila and I traveled for 10 years in a travel trailer.

For the past eight years we have owned a 27-foot class C Jayco motorhome. We are never going back to a trailer. We love to travel in the motorhome. We dingy tow a Saturn SL2. I don't even know it's behind me. If someone stole it I wouldn't know until I needed it.

Another thing to consider would be where you enjoy camping. We prefer national forest campgrounds. Most sites will accommodate up to a 30 foot rig. Longer rigs will shorten your list of remote campsites.

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