JoDo Chasing Rainbows
Exploring the US and Canada from our RV
What we have learned about Winnebago
Our first RV was a Coachman. We loved that RV. We would have bought another in their line if they had the floorplan that we wanted. We have heard many good things about Winnebago. We liked the product and they did have the floor plan that we desired. I think we did as much research as we could before buying our new RV. We are pleased with our purchase. We spent a few months on Winnebago user forums and Facebook groups for the specific model that we wanted. Even with that research we have learned a lot in the past 30 days.
Winnebago customer service is excellent. A real person answers the phone. While we bought a used RV the first owner had this RV for 4 months. We are now in the process of doing some of the shake out work. We have been able to fix a few items ourselves. We also had a RV technician fix a few. During our initial call we found out our motorhome is still under the initial warranty. Our Winnebago warranty is good through the end of June 2021. Our tire and chassis are also under warranty. Winnebago sent us their warranty information and told us how to acquire the warranty information for the tires and chassis. The customer service rep made sure we knew about the Owners tab in the Winnebago web page and what was under each tab. We were delighted to find 3D diagrams that show all wires, plumbing and walls for each model by year.
Winnebago has a second owner registration portal. In all our research we had never heard of this. We were told by Winnebago customer service how to sign up for this. It is easy. Under the Owners tab on the Winnebago webpage is a section called Second Owner Registration. This way when you call you don’t have to give your VIN and Winnebago serial number each time. They will have you listed by your RV type. It makes the phone call go much smoother. We were not given this information from the dealer that we bought our RV from.
Moving from a class C to a Class A has been a learning experience. Some of the systems on this RV are more complex. We now have auto leveling. There are two slides that are heavy and much larger than the one small slide that we had before. We have taken our time and read the operating manual so that we feel more confident with these new systems. Donna and I are up to the challenge since we both like to learn new things.
So you want to full-time RV?
Donna and I get asked a lot of questions about how we live. I believe this is the number one question – How much does it cost to full-time RV. This is an impossible question to answer for anyone else because most people make it work with the income that they already possess. I can show you how I budget. I have written about that in a previous post.
Here is what I think you should figure out before you jump into full-time RVing.
- What is your source of income? Do you have a reliable retirement income, a job that you can do remotely or do you plan to work camp?
- Is your RV paid off? Do you need to purchase a RV? If so your RV note (and possible truck if have a travel trailer or 5th wheel) and insurance will be the biggest monthly expense. If you have a motorized RV, will you have a tow vehicle? Is that vehicle paid off?
- How fast do you plan on traveling? The more you are on the road the more gas you will use, increasing your cost. Our current gas budget is $400 per month. Many RV Parks have different rates, one for daily use and the other will be a weekly/monthly rate. You will almost always pay less fees for a weekly or monthly rate.
- Where do you plan on traveling? The Northeast has less boondocking and the cost of RV parks is more expensive than the South and Southwest.
- Maintenance and repairs. RVs are in need of continuous maintenance. Something will break at the most inopportune time. If you are not handy this means getting a qualified RV Tech. These folks are not cheap. You must budget for your RV and any engine that you have.
- Health Insurance. Do you have it or do you need to go into the Exchange? This is a big one because one health issue could put you into financial jeopardy if you don’t have a plan.
- Cost of food, dining out and entertainment will probably be similar to what you are paying right now. Most folks want to maintain their same standard of living while living in a RV.
The biggest take away that I can suggest is be realistic. Yes, you might save money if you live a RV. However, if you were not a huge saver before you lived in a RV, you will be taking those same money habits into your RV life. Use your current budget and see what will no longer be an expense once you are on the road. Think about how you like to travel. Be honest. Don’t state you will boondock 14 days out of the month if you want to have full hookups every night. We don’t need a lot of amenities so $700 for campground fees is fine for us. However, if you want pools, activities and the like, you will need to budget more.
Once you have done this you can make a plan to get on the road. Donna and I researched a lot. We made our first budget and ran with that for a few months. We adjusted when we realized we had over budgeted in a few areas and under budgeted in others. We have met folks of all different income levels who are living happily as a nomad. They, just like us, are making it on what they have.
What kind of research or budgeting did you do before you got on the road full-time?