Greetings to one and all. I guess we, myself Alan, and my GF of 13 years Carol, just wanted to introduce ourselves to this community. We could be classified as possible gonnabees if things work out ok. Our only attempt at RVing was a 26' Class C we rented last Christmas, and traveled from CT to SC. If I wasn't having a senior moment right about now, I could tell you the RV park we stayed at, but I am. It was near Myrtle Beach, a very nice secluded place. I believe Howard and Linda stayed there; I do remember reading it in their journal. Anyway, if I can convince Carol, we plan on flying down to FL this coming Feb. or early March and renting a 37' to 40' Class A motorhome and taking it down to the Keys. If any of you have any experience, good or bad with Southern FL RV rental Companies and have any suggestions as to where to stay in the Keys we would really appreciate it! I figured by driving a motorhome, our choice if full timing, and living in it for a week would give us a much better idea if this is something we really want to pursue. For now I continue to read the RV Journal and dream. Thanks all for reading this and we look forward to being members in this wonderful community.............Alan & Carol
tallan said
06:40 PM Oct 14, 2011
Good luck with your adventure Alan and Carol! Live is always full of adventures. I have never been to Florida in our coach so I am of little help on this category, but can certainly have a few ideas about fulltiming. - Troy
Jim01 said
05:42 AM Oct 15, 2011
Welcome Alan and Carol.
Glad to have you aboard. I'm sure you'll have lots of questions, so be sure to ask. There's a real friendly bunch of folks here that will help in any way they can.
If you're heading down to the Keys, you might want to do a little research. RV sites down there are hard to find during the winter months and are very expensive.
Good luck with your plans,
Jim
PD CFK said
07:01 PM Oct 15, 2011
Hello to you Alan and Carol! We are relatively new to rving, having bought our 5th wheel in November 2010. After packing up we hit the road and then made several stops to see family and adult kids and grands. We then said to our selves, "What next?" The Florida Keys was on our list of places we wanted to see, so off we went. Made a reservation and were down there within days...that was January. Didn't have any trouble finding a place, prices were a bit high but hey, it was our Bucket List. We stayed several places on the way down to Key West. Used RVParkreviews.com and some other similar sites to locate the places that had good reviews. In Key West, we stayed at Boyd's. We are still talking about what a good time we had down there. Go for it and enjoy! See you on the road. Pat and Charlie K
Bulldog said
07:55 PM Oct 15, 2011
Welcome Alan and Carol! Good luck on your adventure. Sounds like it will be a great time. Life's too short - gotta enjoy it while you can!
Bulldog
carolandalan said
06:09 AM Oct 18, 2011
Thank you all for your welcomes. This really is a friendly community! We decided after some quick research to stay at the Blue Water Key Resort in Key West and also rent a 40' Tiffin Phaeton motorhome from Allstar Luxury Coaches. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help..........Carol and Alan
Yonnie said
07:39 AM Oct 18, 2011
You guys picked a great coach to rent. We own a Tiffin 35QBA and are extremely happy with it. Great service and our dealer is here in northern Virginia. Not sure where you guys reside.
Enjoy your trip.
Terry and Jo said
08:29 AM Oct 18, 2011
Welcome to the RV Dreams forums, Carol and Alan.
While we don't own a Tiffin, two of their Phaeton models were vehicles considered within our extensive and extended period of research. I don't necessarily remember the model numbers, but one was a 40-footer and one a 42-footer back in 2008 or 2009.
We had the good fortune of being able to test drive both models and we liked both but preferred the 42-footer because it had a better floor plan and a tag axle to add stability. However, price and floor plan was what helped us choose a fifth wheel instead.
I know nothing about the Keys, so I can't help there. All I can say is enjoy all the experiences and the RV Dreams forum as well.
Terry
mktobob said
11:57 AM Oct 18, 2011
Have a great time in the Keys! I am feeling a bit homesick being an old Florida boy at one time. Some of my best memories are sitting on the dock with a pitcher of Rum Runners watching the sun drop into the ocean. Enjoy the adventure!
Speedhitch said
07:42 PM Oct 18, 2011
Sherri and I too have a new 35QBA and love it. We bought ours in Florida and drove it back to Texas last march. We full time in it now. Check us out on speedysgreatadventure.blogspot.com.
Joe and Sherri
2riker2go said
06:42 AM Oct 19, 2011
Have a great time in the Keys! Harry and I love it there, and it is one of our dreams to stay in a park there when we hit the road. :)
Waggin Tails said
06:54 AM Oct 19, 2011
Have a great time in the Florida Keys. We lived in Homestead a long time ago. Visited the keys while we where there. I remember it was a long trip to Key West but well worth the drive. Welcome to the forum. You will enjoy the folks here. Travel safe.
carolandalan said
03:10 PM Oct 26, 2011
Hello Everyone-Just wanted to give you an update. We confirmed our reservations for both our stay at the Blue Water Keys Resort and the rental of the 40 Tiffin MH. I am a little apprehensive about driving that 40' bus! The biggest thing I drive is an F-450 Mason Dump and sometimes pull my 21' boat with that. A 40' MH is allot of real estate-any good tips or words of encouragement would be much appreciated. Thanks again.......Alan and Carol
NorCal Dan said
11:01 AM Oct 27, 2011
It's heavy, so leave lots of room between you and the next guy.
When in doubt, slow down. Less speed is good.
When you turn right, the rear end goes left...leave plenty of room when maneuvering.
Making turns, kinda tricky since the front wheels are behind you...general rule of thumb is to wait until the turn point is behind your shoulder (as you turn head in direction of turn).
The hardest thing, don't let other vehicles dictate your move. If you find yourself in a bad position and don't feel comfortable, stop, get out, survey the situation, and make your decision. Do not continue on and make a bad situation worse because other vehicles are honking at you because your blocking traffic.
Hope these tidbits help. Have fun.
carolandalan said
08:44 AM Oct 29, 2011
NorCal Dan wrote:
It's heavy, so leave lots of room between you and the next guy.
When in doubt, slow down. Less speed is good.
When you turn right, the rear end goes left...leave plenty of room when maneuvering.
Making turns, kinda tricky since the front wheels are behind you...general rule of thumb is to wait until the turn point is behind your shoulder (as you turn head in direction of turn).
The hardest thing, don't let other vehicles dictate your move. If you find yourself in a bad position and don't feel comfortable, stop, get out, survey the situation, and make your decision. Do not continue on and make a bad situation worse because other vehicles are honking at you because your blocking traffic.
Hope these tidbits help. Have fun.
NorCal Dan-If I am understanding you correctly; If you take a right hand turn stay close to the right hand side of the road, a completely opposite way you would turn while towing a trailer when you swing wide to avoid the towed trailer from running over the curb? Is this correct? Thanks for the quick reply.......Alan
NorCal Dan said
04:11 AM Oct 30, 2011
I mention the rear going the opposite direction because I had a problem in a gas station where I hooked a cement pole with a tow dolly. Truth be told I shouldn't have tried to get into the gas station in the first place. But I was on our maiden trip and didn't know any better. Looking back on it I never would attempt it now. I prefer Flying-J and Loves fuel stations, lots of room for maneuvering.
As for making 90 degree turns, it will depend on the rig. Until you get familiar with the coach I would recommend you not cheat the corners. Stay neutral or opposite until you see how the rear end tracks the turns.
Greetings to one and all. I guess we, myself Alan, and my GF of 13 years Carol, just wanted to introduce ourselves to this community. We could be classified as possible gonnabees if things work out ok. Our only attempt at RVing was a 26' Class C we rented last Christmas, and traveled from CT to SC. If I wasn't having a senior moment right about now, I could tell you the RV park we stayed at, but I am. It was near Myrtle Beach, a very nice secluded place. I believe Howard and Linda stayed there; I do remember reading it in their journal. Anyway, if I can convince Carol, we plan on flying down to FL this coming Feb. or early March and renting a 37' to 40' Class A motorhome and taking it down to the Keys. If any of you have any experience, good or bad with Southern FL RV rental Companies and have any suggestions as to where to stay in the Keys we would really appreciate it! I figured by driving a motorhome, our choice if full timing, and living in it for a week would give us a much better idea if this is something we really want to pursue. For now I continue to read the RV Journal and dream. Thanks all for reading this and we look forward to being members in this wonderful community.............Alan & Carol
Welcome Alan and Carol.
Glad to have you aboard. I'm sure you'll have lots of questions, so be sure to ask. There's a real friendly bunch of folks here that will help in any way they can.
If you're heading down to the Keys, you might want to do a little research. RV sites down there are hard to find during the winter months and are very expensive.
Good luck with your plans,
Jim
Welcome Alan and Carol! Good luck on your adventure. Sounds like it will be a great time. Life's too short - gotta enjoy it while you can!
Bulldog
Welcome to the RV Dreams forums, Carol and Alan.
While we don't own a Tiffin, two of their Phaeton models were vehicles considered within our extensive and extended period of research. I don't necessarily remember the model numbers, but one was a 40-footer and one a 42-footer back in 2008 or 2009.
We had the good fortune of being able to test drive both models and we liked both but preferred the 42-footer because it had a better floor plan and a tag axle to add stability. However, price and floor plan was what helped us choose a fifth wheel instead.
I know nothing about the Keys, so I can't help there. All I can say is enjoy all the experiences and the RV Dreams forum as well.
Terry
Sherri and I too have a new 35QBA and love it. We bought ours in Florida and drove it back to Texas last march. We full time in it now. Check us out on speedysgreatadventure.blogspot.com.
Joe and Sherri
Welcome to the forum. You will enjoy the folks here.
Travel safe.
When in doubt, slow down. Less speed is good.
When you turn right, the rear end goes left...leave plenty of room when maneuvering.
Making turns, kinda tricky since the front wheels are behind you...general rule of thumb is to wait until the turn point is behind your shoulder (as you turn head in direction of turn).
The hardest thing, don't let other vehicles dictate your move. If you find yourself in a bad position and don't feel comfortable, stop, get out, survey the situation, and make your decision. Do not continue on and make a bad situation worse because other vehicles are honking at you because your blocking traffic.
Hope these tidbits help. Have fun.
NorCal Dan-If I am understanding you correctly; If you take a right hand turn stay close to the right hand side of the road, a completely opposite way you would turn while towing a trailer when you swing wide to avoid the towed trailer from running over the curb? Is this correct? Thanks for the quick reply.......Alan
As for making 90 degree turns, it will depend on the rig. Until you get familiar with the coach I would recommend you not cheat the corners. Stay neutral or opposite until you see how the rear end tracks the turns.