The RV

Once you and your partner (and three dogs) decide to embark on a crazy adventure across the country in an RV, the next step is to acquire said RV.  Since Dave is a problem solving engineer, he’s naturally quite thorough in weighing all options, doing massive amounts of research and choosing the best possible outcome given any particular scenario.  And thank god for that because I, being the complete opposite, would probably buy a 1967 VW bus from an Austin hippie and our excursion would be disastrously short lived.

 

I learned a lot more about RVs than I ever anticipated and the first lesson was that we don’t want a fifth wheel (which I call a “hitchemon” because that’s way more fun and descriptive than fifth wheel).  That’s the trailer that’s towed behind a pickup truck and for one, we don’t own a pickup truck, but most importantly we have live animals coming along and you don’t want them back there with no AC or heat or ability to check and see if anyone is eating the sofa cushions.  That narrowed us down to a Class A or a Class C.

The Class A is humongous and luxurious and a bit intimidating and did I mention humongous?  Think Aerosmith’s tour bus.  Dave’s thought was that if we really are living it in for the better part of a year, wouldn’t it be good to just have everything we need right there?  My thought was, if you want me to take my turn behind the wheel I’m going to look up Aerosmith’s driver.  

So we climb in this mammoth vehicle for our test drive.  The front of the Class A is about five or six feet of pure windows with no hood so you’re looking right down at pavement.  I cleared my throat and took a deep breath.  Dave fires this bad boy up and the sales guy tells us to drive around the dealership in the neighborhood and get a feel for it.  It begins to move and I reflexively grab the arm rests like a kid grabbing the last chocolate donut.  The speed limit was only 45 on our route and Dave never once got over that, but he might as well have been driving 145 for the way it felt.

When we go see movies and they have that roller coaster point of view commercial to sell popcorn I always close my eyes because I can get motion sick right there in the theater.  This was the POV roller coaster from hell.  Each turn felt like we were going to flip ass over tea kettle and I was clenching every muscle from my jaws to my butt cheeks.  And we weren’t even on a freeway.

Back at the dealership, with little beads of sweat all across his forehead and residual white knuckles, Dave says to me lightly, “Would you like to take a turn?”  Three guesses, buddy.  He admitted later that the drive left him exhausted but he was sure he’d get used to it in no time.  I’m not sure I could say the same.

Next up was the Class C which is much more like a truck with a huge camper on it.  

After the Class A terror trip, this was downright tame!  The look of it when you’re riding is very much like a regular car so you’re in your comfort zone with gear shift, radio, side mirrors and most importantly, a hood.  You have no idea how much your brain comes to rely on certain benchmarks to make sure it’s not in danger and I learned that for me, the hood of a car is one.  Dave drove all around and then asked if I was game and I said, hell yeah!

I was nervous for sure but I just don’t think it’s realistic for us to go on such an extensive journey and have one person drive the entire time.  I need to carry my half of the weight so off we went.  I successfully navigated it up and down the highway and through neighborhoods without crushing any Mini Coopers or taking out any pedestrians and as far as I’m concerned, that means I passed the driving test.

As you may have guessed I lobbied hard for the Class C and Dave continued weighing pros and cons, size of storage cabinets, size of propane and water tanks, and other factors between the two – especially my comfort level so he isn’t the sole driver.  In the end, we chose the…..

Class C!  It’s a Jayco Grayhawk and it’s a beauty.

We’ve already started putting things inside like linens and kitchen items (my favorite part, not Dave’s) and we’re taking our first overnight trial run later this week in McKinney Falls State Park.  Just one night to see how things go, maybe discover something we need or don’t need and how the dogs are going to do.  We’re one step closer to starting something exciting and scary, funny and unknown.  Aerosmith can keep their tour bus.