My husband for 36 years and best (worst-sometimes) friend for 39 years passed away while traveling in our RV earlier this month. We have been FTing after my retirement in May 2015 and PT after 2012. As he had suffered 3 strokes since 1991 and was physically disabled, I am physically able to handle our Newmar Bay Star - a smaller Class A as long as I do everything before dark. Emotionally, I'm not sure if I will be able to enjoy this lifestyle in the future; however, being in this RV makes me very peaceful at this time. My brain tells me to move on to sell this RV but a part of me tells me to keep it for a while even though it is not financially the best option. I love to live in the RV for a while in this area to be close to our daughter and non-RVer friends. Being originally from Japan, I only have one blood relative - our daughter - who lives in Kentucky in the US, who invited me to stay with her for a while but she has two cats. One of her cats is quite territorial and aggressive. Our cat has been grieving his master's death tremendously, which is another major reason why I would like to stay in the RV with him to mitigate further stress and confusion. Do you think it is a good idea to live in the RV in winter in Kentucky where January and February months could be extremely cold? Is it safe to stay in the RV alone (well, I'm currently staying alone and so far it is okay but I feel kind of isolated as I don't want everybody know about my situation.)? Any advise is welcome. Thank you in advance.
KY Old Folks said
04:56 PM Oct 16, 2017
I am sorry for your loss.
I am in Northern Kentucky. I don’t know where you are in Kentucky, but I don’t advise staying in your motor home anywhere in Kentucky in the winter. You would almost certainly end up with frozen pipes and damage to your motor home that would be very expensive to repair. Don’t do it.
That’s probably not what you want to hear, but that’s my best advice.
Good luck to you.
LarryW21 said
07:27 PM Oct 16, 2017
I suggest no radical decisions for the future in the next year.
Someday said
08:00 PM Oct 16, 2017
I agree with Larry on your not making any radical decisions for the future until you have had chance to thoroughly process losing your best friend, travel buddy and spouse.
As hard as it is right now with your decisions feeling like they are on a pendulum swinging back and forth on what is the best thing to do, it's by far better to retain as much normality as possible in all other aspects of your life where you can. At least until you have had chance to go through all the different emotional swings YOU WILL likely go through during the grieving process.
Just a thought but could you maybe put the RV in storage for a few months and rent a pet friendly place or a suite near your daughter during the period you are concerned about weather wise?
yroller said
01:54 AM Oct 17, 2017
To LarryW21 - thank you for your advise. I'm in the central Ky area. You are totally right as I won't be able to cope with frozen pipes and other problems.
yroller said
02:15 AM Oct 17, 2017
Thank you-all, for your sound advices. Renting a place and putting our RV in storage (there are 2 underground storage facilities near here) may be the best till spring. As "Someday" says I am not thinking straight now. Renting a small pet-friendly apartment sounds good. No radical decision such as selling the RV at this time, in spite of my non-RVer friends. Thanks again for taking your time to post your advise.
kb0zke said
05:52 PM Oct 20, 2017
Yumiko, I'm sorry for your loss. As others have said, this isn't the time to be making radical decisions. Putting your coach in storage and renting a pet-friendly apartment is good advice. If you can, try to get an apartment that either hasn't had dogs in it or has been professionally cleaned. We spent six weeks in a hotel with our cat while the engine was being rebuilt, and the cat still hasn't recovered from the dog smell in the room. Check with a trusted vet about what to do to keep the cat calm.
Eventually, you will need to think about the future. I'd suggest that you start from scratch - meaning deciding how much you want to travel. You may want to set up a home base somewhere near your daughter, which would allow you to store your coach when you weren't using it. You might also seriously consider whether a MH is the best fit for you now. Anything with an engine needs to get regular exercise, meaning DRIVING it (not just idling) until everything is up to normal operating temperatures and pressures. That keeps all sorts of expensive things working better. A towable RV, whether travel trailer or fifth wheel, doesn't have an engine, so it can be parked for several months at a time with fewer potential problems. Spend some time thinking about how YOU will travel. You have a great advantage over most people in that you already have several years of experience behind you, so you already know much that others would just have to guess at.
Second Chance said
07:54 AM Oct 21, 2017
LarryW21 wrote:
I suggest no radical decisions for the future in the next year.
Yumiko, I am so sorry for your loss. X2 on Larry's advice. When my first wife died, both my grief counselor and the Grief Share group I attended advised not to make any major life decisions or changes for at least six months - and preferably a year (not that I always pay attention to even good advice). We had been married for 36 years, like you, and together for 42. The points made about staying in Kentucky in the RV are valid, but there are many folks to stay in far colder places in RVs and do OK. They just prepare - usually by skirting the RV with insulation panels or hay bales, buying a heated water hose, and managing the timing for dumping, etc. If your "basement" is heated, make sure to run the main furnace to keep things thawed out down there. We have weathered single-digit temps (with high winds) in our fifth wheel and did OK... burned a lot of propane, but did OK. A few weeks ago, we stayed in a park next door to an older man who lives year-round in a fifth wheel on Lake Champlain in Vermont. Talk about winters! He has taken the precautions I have mentioned and has a larger, auxiliary propane tank beside the unit that the local propane company fills for him once a month.
Rob
PIEERE said
08:35 AM Oct 23, 2017
If possible stay with your daughter in Jan-Feb, most apartment owners want first and last months rent plus a security deposit and a year lease! Maybe by that time your cat will settle down and it will give you time to recuperate!
If they have underground storage your RV will be in a warmer place. In Spring you can have it checked over and make a better decision on whether to keep or sell. PIEERE!
My husband for 36 years and best (worst-sometimes) friend for 39 years passed away while traveling in our RV earlier this month. We have been FTing after my retirement in May 2015 and PT after 2012. As he had suffered 3 strokes since 1991 and was physically disabled, I am physically able to handle our Newmar Bay Star - a smaller Class A as long as I do everything before dark. Emotionally, I'm not sure if I will be able to enjoy this lifestyle in the future; however, being in this RV makes me very peaceful at this time. My brain tells me to move on to sell this RV but a part of me tells me to keep it for a while even though it is not financially the best option. I love to live in the RV for a while in this area to be close to our daughter and non-RVer friends. Being originally from Japan, I only have one blood relative - our daughter - who lives in Kentucky in the US, who invited me to stay with her for a while but she has two cats. One of her cats is quite territorial and aggressive. Our cat has been grieving his master's death tremendously, which is another major reason why I would like to stay in the RV with him to mitigate further stress and confusion. Do you think it is a good idea to live in the RV in winter in Kentucky where January and February months could be extremely cold? Is it safe to stay in the RV alone (well, I'm currently staying alone and so far it is okay but I feel kind of isolated as I don't want everybody know about my situation.)? Any advise is welcome. Thank you in advance.
I am in Northern Kentucky. I don’t know where you are in Kentucky, but I don’t advise staying in your motor home anywhere in Kentucky in the winter. You would almost certainly end up with frozen pipes and damage to your motor home that would be very expensive to repair. Don’t do it.
That’s probably not what you want to hear, but that’s my best advice.
Good luck to you.
As hard as it is right now with your decisions feeling like they are on a pendulum swinging back and forth on what is the best thing to do, it's by far better to retain as much normality as possible in all other aspects of your life where you can. At least until you have had chance to go through all the different emotional swings YOU WILL likely go through during the grieving process.
Just a thought but could you maybe put the RV in storage for a few months and rent a pet friendly place or a suite near your daughter during the period you are concerned about weather wise?
Eventually, you will need to think about the future. I'd suggest that you start from scratch - meaning deciding how much you want to travel. You may want to set up a home base somewhere near your daughter, which would allow you to store your coach when you weren't using it. You might also seriously consider whether a MH is the best fit for you now. Anything with an engine needs to get regular exercise, meaning DRIVING it (not just idling) until everything is up to normal operating temperatures and pressures. That keeps all sorts of expensive things working better. A towable RV, whether travel trailer or fifth wheel, doesn't have an engine, so it can be parked for several months at a time with fewer potential problems. Spend some time thinking about how YOU will travel. You have a great advantage over most people in that you already have several years of experience behind you, so you already know much that others would just have to guess at.
Yumiko, I am so sorry for your loss. X2 on Larry's advice. When my first wife died, both my grief counselor and the Grief Share group I attended advised not to make any major life decisions or changes for at least six months - and preferably a year (not that I always pay attention to even good advice). We had been married for 36 years, like you, and together for 42. The points made about staying in Kentucky in the RV are valid, but there are many folks to stay in far colder places in RVs and do OK. They just prepare - usually by skirting the RV with insulation panels or hay bales, buying a heated water hose, and managing the timing for dumping, etc. If your "basement" is heated, make sure to run the main furnace to keep things thawed out down there. We have weathered single-digit temps (with high winds) in our fifth wheel and did OK... burned a lot of propane, but did OK. A few weeks ago, we stayed in a park next door to an older man who lives year-round in a fifth wheel on Lake Champlain in Vermont. Talk about winters! He has taken the precautions I have mentioned and has a larger, auxiliary propane tank beside the unit that the local propane company fills for him once a month.
Rob
If they have underground storage your RV will be in a warmer place. In Spring you can have it checked over and make a better decision on whether to keep or sell. PIEERE!